Kurt Busiek - Early Life

Early Life

Busiek was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in various towns in the Boston area, including Lexington, where he befriended future comic book creator Scott McCloud. Busiek did not read comics as a youngster, as his parents disapproved of them. He began to read them regularly around the age of 14, when he picked up a copy of Daredevil #120. This was the first part of a continuity-heavy four-part story arc; Busiek was drawn to the copious history and cross-connections with other series. Throughout high school and college, he and McCloud practiced making comics.

During this time, Busiek also had many letters published in comic book letter columns, and originated the theory that the Phoenix was a separate being who had impersonated Jean Grey, and that therefore Grey had not died—a premise which made its way from freelancer to freelancer, and which was eventually used in the comics. Busiek explains, "A couple of years later, after I’d broken in, I attended my first convention as a pro, in Ithaca, New York, and I stayed at Roger Stern’s house. And we were talking about how much we liked the new X-Men, and he said, 'It’s just a pity there’s no way to bring Jean Grey back,' and I said, 'Sure there’s a way, there's always a way.'"