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Comic Books Comic History Profiles Senior Stripper Club

Sal Buscema, Senior Stripper

Published: January 26, 2026 1 minute 4 comments
Sal Buscema self-portrait with a few Marvel Comics characters.

Marvel comic book artist Sal Buscema, born January 26, 1936, joins our Senior Strippers club today.

Rawhide Kid #68 (February 1969) – Sal Buscema
Silver Surfer #4 (February 1969) – Sal Buscema

Sal is one of a few remaining creators from The Silver Age (1960s) of Marvel comic books. With the help of big brother John Sal started his Marvel career in 1968 by inking but was soon laying out and pencilling stories.

Bouncing around Marvel comics titles (notably The Avengers) he soon settled in on long runs for Captain America and The Defenders. He is also noted for his long run on The Incredible Hulk and as a cover artist for many of the comic books. He continued with Marvel for decades drawing just about every character there. Sal was also the Marvel character go-to guy for those ubiquitous Hostess ads in the 1970s.

Of course we at The Daily Cartoonist have to note Sal’s brief career as a comic strip artist when he drew The Amazing Spider-Man Sunday comic strip for two months from July 28, 1996 to September 15, 1996.

The Amazing Spider-Man by Stan Lee and Sal Buscema/Joe Sinnott – July 28, 1996
The Amazing Spider-Man by Stan Lee and Sal Buscema/Joe Sinnott – September 15, 1996

Happy birthday to “Our Pal Sal” and welcome to the club.

Update: Sadly hours after this post Sal’s family revealed that he had passed away.

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Comments 4

  1. Sal was never as celebrated as his brother John–and fairly so, I’d say–but he was/is a solid artist who could draw anything and must have been incredibly reliable, since Marvel used him for everything.

    I remember an issue of Marvel’s 1970s fan publication “FOOM,” in which Stan Lee showed some of the sample pages Sal submitted to get work with the company. As I recall, it was a Hulk fight, with lots of fists and punches and flying bodies. At the time, when there was so little information about how cartooning and comics worked and the practical nuts and bolts of making them, I studied those pages as if they were the keys to the kingdom.

  2. Interesting and maybe (or maybe not) unfortunate timing because news is emerging that Sal Buscema died today. He was a mainstay of the Marvel Bullpen and his work shaped my childhood. Sad to hear it.

  3. Unfortunately, Sal died on January 23 at the age of 89. The family held off making the announcement until today, on what would have been his 90th birthday.

  4. Sal Buscema, beloved comics artist, passes away
    Russ Burlingame on 01/26/2026 https://www.comicsbeat.com/sal-buscema-beloved-comics-artist-passes-away/

    Sterling Clark
    [” I just received word today from Mrs. Joanna Buscema that Sal Buscema passed away last Friday.”]
    Jan 26 2026
    https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1C8EB4LBYQ/

    Sal Buscema, Comic Book Legend, Dead At 89
    Alex Zalben
    Jan 26 2026
    https://comicbookclublive.com/2026/01/26/sal-buscema-comic-book-legend-dead-at-89/

    He lived close to me but I never met him. I read hundreds of his comics from Marvel in the 70s-80s.

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