I F*****G HATE JOHN BYRNE!

[HoM]

Erhem.

www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=14104&PN=1&TPN=1

Scroll down to John's post that (I'm gonna cut and paste) reads as follows:

Okay, time for me to rain on this parade. I didn't know he had kids. YOUNG kids. This alters the mix considerably. This makes him an ASSHOLE. Cops and firemen, to name but two, place their lives on the line every day to protect others. There was nothing Steve Irwin was doing that he could not have done -- as did, say, David Attenborough -- without putting his life at risk.

This takes this from tragedy to stupidity, and, worse, irresponsibility.

So you can excuse my language, I think.

[joker51087]

What's surprising about that thread is how many people agree with him or think what John said was funny, probably just because it's a John Byrne forum. The facts are that the guy had just died, and John Byrne said not only that Steve was irresponsible, but that he was an "asshole." He's entitled to his opinion, but I really didn't think that was necessary, expecially since the man had just died.

[starlord]

My views on John Byrne's thoughts are the same as my views on his art. They're not worth my time, or my respect.

I met the guy once...

[HoM]

And we all know how that turned out. I sometimes think we should blitz the Byrne forums from different computers than our home ones, and just lay into him... But that's just me. And my COMPLETE AND UTTER RAAAAAAAAAAAAGE!

[Brandon]

In addition to just being a self-righteous jerk most of the time, Byrne has recently taken to dancing on people's graves (ex:his comments on Christopher Reeve after his death). I'm not really sure why he thinks this is a good idea or career move, but I'm not about to try to understand the guy. A few years ago I was active on the DC Boards and lurking on the Byrne Forums when the new Doom Patrol series was launching. In a short time I realized what a controlling insecure monster this guy was, insulting and passing judgment on everyone from his colleagues in the industry to his own fans.

I try to keep my personal opinions of creators (if I even have one)out of the picture when looking at their work, and 99% of the time that's not a problem, but with John Byrne I actively do NOT support his work because I know the guy's a tool and I refuse to give him any of my hard-earned dollars.

[l1701e]

Byrne is an egomaniac, plain and simple.

[HoM]

I can take critisism (ha ha ) and I won't shoot anyone down for pointing it out, but Byrne gradually makes me feel angrier and angrier every time he SPEAKS.

[Lantern Lad]

I've been saying this for years, so it came to me as no surprise.

John Byrne is a dick, I will not buy his work... that's how I choose to show my disrespect for his being.

[starlord]

John Byrne is a dick

Quoted for truth

[goldk]

Byrne is what can happen when you believe your own hype. At the end of the day he just draws pictures in a funny book!

[Brandon]

Very good point, Roy.

Normally I'd hate to see a creator receive such harsh criticism (hey, I've stuck up for Rob Liefeld before) but in this case I think he's more than asked for it.

[HoM]

And I of course stood up for Chuck Austen

[Brandon]

Chuck Austen is the most underrated writer of our time!!!

What did he write again?

[Susan Hillwig]

Before I get started, let me say that I agree that Byrne has been steadily flaking out for about a decade now. I used to enjoy his stuff, but now a lot of it makes me scratch my head...and that's not counting the odd comments he makes now and again.

But I do agree with one thing: Steve Irwin's job, for the most part, constituted of poking dangerous animals with a sharp stick. Sooner or later, something was going to happen. Am I happy he died? Not really. Am I surprised? Not in the least. I do, however, feel bad for his family, and I don't want folks to misunderstand me on that.

There's an old episode of "Daria" where an ex-jock that mocked everyone in the school suddenly died in an accident, and Daria was the only one not visibly upset, so folks thought she was insensitive. She wasn't, she was just the only one who didn't get selective amnesia. She remembered him being an asshole, to use Byrne's cuss of choice, and wasn't about to forget that just because he died. She eventually boiled it down to, "I'm sorry he died, but he was still a jerk."

Steve Irwin regulary put his life on the line in situations where it was unnecessary. He taunted animals for the benefit of a TV show. I didn't even know that he did any major conservation work, all I knew is that I found "The Crocodile Hunter" show annoying since day one. I wouldn't call him an asshole, that's awful strong, but he should have been more careful after he had kids -- I think it's very sad that they'll grow up without a father.

In short: I'm sorry that he died, but he was still a jerk.

[brigante133]

mizzus hillwig tells it like it is.

awesome reference to Daria. exalt.

[HoM]

I understand that, but to say he was "Glad that ASSHOLE died" (and I'm not overemphasising his words, thats what he posted) and I think that a guy has died, and yeah he may have been a jerk, but he brought awareness to the environment and the animals that live there. Plus he had a cool film

[Brandon]

I really don't see how he was a jerk. I believe he had a lifelong enthusiasm for animals and was doing as an adult what he had been doing since he was a wee man. He managed to take the zoo he was in charge of to international fame, helped many animals into better conditions, donated a large amount of the money from his fame to animal causes, and managed to educate people about animals they normally were fearful of and maybe helped people have an appreciation for animals they otherwise would not have. Thanks to a deep irrational fear of my mother and sister, I was conditioned to not like snakes. But through Steve Irwin's "derring do" I learned more and gained a greater appreciation for them that I ever would otherwise.

I believe he was very knowledgable about the creatures he handled (one person in the animal community saying he was perhaps one of the most informed people on the planet when it came to reptiles) and always seemed to do so carefully and respectfully. I think he died the way he lived. That's very sad for his family, but he's also given them a legacy as a worldwide educator of animal preservation. He's given them something to be proud of and to remember.

He was very confident of being with animals and perhaps that led to some bad decisions, but I believe he was a passionate and genuine person that I fully respect. In all honesty, Susan, he may have been an annoying personality to you, but I don't think he was a bad person. Far from it. I fully respect your opinion, but I do disagree with it completely.

As for John Byrne. He is a jerk who has taken to trying to tear down others in what one can only assume is jealously or insecurity, and I can no longer excuse his actions in my mind.

[goldk]

I have to agree with KSM here.
As some of you know I own a pet store and it's in the south so I see my fair share of people poking animals with a stick, and what Steve did was not that.
Steve handled each and every animal with the respect it deserved, because he understood the power and danger some of them held.
What happened to him was plain and simple, an accident. Most people do not die from a stingray barb. It just so happend that where it was located was a fatal wound. What if he had been driving to the beach in a car and gotten hit by a drunk driver, driving a piece of steel through his heart? Would it have been his fault for being on the road at the same time as the drunk driver? Cause statistically speaking that's a far greater risk then being stung and killed by a stingray.
Is Steve a jerk for having a dangerous profession and a family? No. What about firemen, policemen, those guys that go out and catch king crabs, they all made choices to have a family and a dangerous career.
Was Steve a jerk because he was rude and hatefull and made fart noises at the dinner table? I don't know I never met the man.
Is John Byrne a jerk? I think he believes a little too much of his own hype and believes his words and his views have more importance than they really do. And on that note. Thats my two cents.
Roy

[Crow]

::Raises hand::

I really don't feel like adding in my two cents because you've all said really interesting things and I agree with the lot of you, but I was wondering what Byrne said about Christopher Reeve.

[Brandon]

Not long after Reeve's death, Byrne felt it was appropriate to make these comments...

I have noticed that people have begun referring to Christopher Reeve as a “hero”. I do not wish to take away one iota of the courage he must have needed not to wake up screaming every single day, but the hard truth is there was nothing “heroic” in what happened to him, or how he dealt with it. In fact, as far as how he dealt with it, he didn’t even have a choice. We could imagine he spent every hour of every day (when not in front of the cameras) begging family members to simply kill him and get it over with — but none of them did, so he had no choice but to deal with each day as it came.*

Heroism, I believe, involves choice.

*Not in any way suggesting this is what was happening, just in case there are those who are paralyzed from the neck up who might be reading these words...

...and this...

I’ve gotten tired of people calling Christopher Reeve a hero. A really terrible thing happened to him and our society can’t deal with it when terrible things happened so we try to make out that it isn’t a terrible thing - ‘It’s an uplifting thing. He’s a hero.’ He’s not a hero, he’s in hell.

And for more of Byrne's "words of wisdom" look here...
en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Byrne

[Brandon]

You read through the quotes and even though poorly timed and pushing the barriers of taste and tact, they don't seem entirely unreasonable (or at least like someone who thinks too much of himself trying to make a valid point), but couple that with his insults and grudges with other comics pros (most notably his recent stand-off with Peter David, his infamous comments on Dave Cockrum, and many other incidents), the uproar he caused with Wikipedia because he wasn't happy with his entry there, the allegations of his manipulating and editing posts, threads, and user accounts at his site, his unfavorable comments on fans and participants on his site that disagree with him, and it all paints a really dismal picture of an aging, once-superstar of the industry.

I do not believe John Byrne is honest or really thinks of anyone but himself now due to his self-presentation on the internet. I could be wrong as I have never truly met the man, but I doubt it.

[starlord]

I honestly never watched much of Mr. Irwin's shows. I know he was doing the one thing that made his happy, and how many of us over thirty can say that. I also know that one of the things that my father taught me when I was a young man was to respect the dead, and to sympathize with the family's loss. To one person the deceased may have been an asshole, but that person was also a son/daughter, husband/wife, mother/father. Except in rare occasions, everyone has those that love them and will grieve for them. Respect that. Respect them.

This kind of forum aside, when very recognizable people like Byrne, and I believe there was another lady from Australia that was on the news spouting the same type of thing, says the things that they do, it hurts. It hurts those that honored, respected, and loved the man. Everyone has the right to their opinion, that's a given. Everyone has a right to voice that opinion if they choose, it's called freedom. Calling the recently deceased person names and proclaiming them to be whatever it is they think they were, before they are even buried, it's disrespectful. Not only to the deceased and his family but to mankind in general.

I know Byrne is one of the last people that I would ever want to represent mankind.

Whew! Boy do I feel better.

[HoM]

I'd want Brian to represent mankind. You're quite the honest guy, B-Miester

[starlord]

lol. That's very kind of you, Charlie, but I'm not the person to do that, either. My paternal grandfather... he could of. Jimmy Carter and Mother Theresa, they could too. Actually that's an interesting question for another thread.

[HoM]

Who would you prefer represent humanity? Brian Burchette or Mother Theresa. A new poll from the DC2!

[Romans Empire]

Freakin' Charlie

First giving into the weakness of hate and now this?

If there is so much dislike and hate for John Byrne what would you (or anyone else that wastes feeling and time on him)say about him if he died tragically?

I wonder what kind of nice things we can say about people BEFORE they die?

I wonder if I had a point or not?

[brigante133]

haha, john byrne has beef with latino women with blonde hair? crazy

[HoM]

He said Jessica Alba looked like a Latino Hooker when shown the first Sue Storm image from Fantastic Four promos.

Pssh.

[Brandon]

I think Byrne gave a quote by Voltaire and a kinda sorta validation for his comments. "One owes respect to the living, to the dead one owes only truth."

In my opinion, Byrne deserves the truth now. It won't do him any good later.

But if this is his rationale for making these crass comments about Reeve and Irwin then I think he's really missed the point. Regardless of the title of this thread, this hasn't been about "hating" John Byrne for me. At one point when as a young man he was the artist I most looked up to. But the slack in his work in recent years coupled with his own very poor judgment in presenting himself online has all but destroyed that. I just wish the guy would wise up before he's burned his last bridge.

Or would that be "byrned"?

[HoM]

Budum Dum Tssh!