Born in Brooklyn, New York City, to Sicilian parents,[3][1] Silvio "Sal" Buscema was the youngest of four siblings.
[5] As a youth, Buscema was a fan of Hal Foster's Prince Valiant comic strip,[6] of George Tuska's comic-book art,[7] and of commercial illustrators such has Robert Fawcett and Norman Rockwell.
He quit, then spent less than a year filling wedding-ring orders for the jewelry manufacturer J.R. Wood and Sons before being drafted into the peacetime U. S. Army in 1956.
"[12] Sal briefly returned to New York City to assist at a one-man art studio, but through a friend from the army, he secured a position at Creative Arts Studio in Washington, D.C. where he did illustrations for government agencies, including the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Defense.
[14] Sal had spent "every night for about a year" teaching himself "how to produce a dynamic page" in the Marvel Comics storytelling style, enduring harsh critiques from John.
[15]The interview had come about after Buscema, at his brother's urging, had first written to Marvel production manager Sol Brodsky to introduce himself and his work.
[7] That story, "The Coming of Gunhawk", by writer Jerry Siegel and penciler Werner Roth, was published in the omnibus title Western Gunfighters #1 (cover-dated Aug. 1970).
[17] John Buscema specifically asked for his brother as inker on The Silver Surfer, at the time a high-profile project dear to writer-editor Lee, who gave the character an unprecedented for the time double-sized, 64-page (with ads and covers) solo series priced at 25 cents, more than twice the price of the standard 32-page, 12-cent comic.
"[19] Sal and writer Roy Thomas introduced the Squadron Sinister in The Avengers #69 (Oct. 1969) as a homage to the Justice League.
[20][21] The Thomas/Buscema team produced the last new story in The Uncanny X-Men before that series became all-reprints for several years,[22] and created the super-villain Llyra in Sub-Mariner #32 (Dec.
[23] Buscema drew an Avengers story plotted by science fiction writer Harlan Ellison, which featured the debut of Psyklop.
[24] Writer Steve Englehart and Buscema launched The Defenders as an ongoing series in August 1972[25][26] and introduced Valkyrie to the team in issue #4 (Feb.
[28] The pair teamed on several issues of The Avengers as well[17] and Englehart has described Buscema as being one of his "all-time favorites" and "a perfect comic book storyteller.
"[29] With writer Steve Gerber, Buscema co-created Starhawk, adding the character to the roster of the future-based super-team, The Guardians of the Galaxy.
[30] [a] In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked Buscema's collaboration with Gerber on The Defenders first on its list of the Top 10 1970s Marvels.
[31] With writer Bill Mantlo, Buscema created the supporting character Jean DeWolff in Marvel Team-Up #48 (Aug.
[17] In the late 1980s, he returned to inking others' work, again including that of his brother John Buscema on an Englehart-scripted run on Fantastic Four.
[17] This included such story arcs as the "Lobo Brothers Gang War" with Gerry Conway[43] and "The Child Within", written by J. M. DeMatteis, featuring the death of Harry Osborn in #200 (May 1993).
[44] In a 2002 interview, DeMatteis said, "I really loved the two years on Spectacular Spider-Man that I wrote with Sal Buscema drawing.
[17] He recalled, "[T]he short time I worked for DC, they were giving me all these young guys that could hardly hold a pencil in their hands, and asking me to 'tweak it.'
"[18] Buscema then returned to Marvel, inking Pat Olliffe on Spider-Girl 1999, the summer annual of that series, and did work for both companies briefly before becoming the regular inker on The Incredible Hulk vol.
[11][47] In 2017, he started inking long-time collaborator Ron Frenz on The Blue Baron, written by Darin Henry and published by the new company Sitcomics.
[48] In February 1959, Buscema started dating Joan, a secretary at Creative Arts Studio in Washington, D.C., where he worked.
He was recognized in 1987 with BRAPA (Blue Ridge Alliance of Performing Arts) for his portrayal of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof in which he appeared at the Little Theatre of Alexandria, Virginia in 1998.