Posted By Dan Greenfield on Mar 11, 2024 | 4 comments

An outstanding miniseries written by Peter Milligan…

By PETER STONE

Born in 1969 in Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia, Edvin Biukovic was a superstar in the making. He had started to make a name for himself with his work on Dark Horse’s Star Wars comics. He was becoming better and better. Not only was he a good penciler and storyteller, but he was a great inker. His Star Wars work is eminently readable and exciting. I personally prefer “The Phantom Affair” because he inked himself and was getting better almost with every page. The style was very European but was influenced by the American comic style he’d seen. That was published in 1997 and it’s worth finding.

Then there was “The Last Command,” but he didn’t get to ink himself. Eric Shanower inked his pencils, showing how good he is as an inker. Shanower is an amazingly smooth, (I believe brush) inker who knows how to draw. However, Buikovic was (fortunately) better at inking himself. He was a terrific comic book artist who should have always inked his own work. Bigger and better things than Star Wars were calling for him, though.

DC/Vertigo’s The Human Target was waiting in the wings and it was the best thing he ever did.

The Human Target four-issue series, written by the amazing Peter Milligan, was a new version of the character who kept the basic concept (bodyguard/investigator Christoper Chance assumes the identities of clients marked for death). It was the best four-issue series produced in 1999. The collection was released in 2000 but unfortunately Edvin had already died. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in December of 1999, then two weeks later died suddenly from it. He was 30 years old and just starting what was looking to be like a fantastic career.

Edvin had worked in Croatia since 1987, honing his skills and abilities. That material was collected and reprinted in Croatian as well as various stories in the United States through Caliber’s Negative Burn. Then in 1994, Edvin got a shot at new American comics with Dark Horse’s Grendel Tales: Devils and Deaths. He did a second Grendel series and was given a Russ Manning Best Newcomer Award in 1995. People that matter were starting to notice this kid and how good he was becoming. Dark Horse Comics gave him Star Wars. It must have been a dream job for a kid from Croatia.

DC Comics certainly noticed. I can only assume that Peter Milligan pitched a new view of the Human Target and DC Comics looked for something that Edvin could really bite his teeth into. He was on the cusp of being great. Then I’m sure those pages started to come in and he wasn’t on the cusp anymore. He was there. He shot to being one of the best artists working at the time. A brilliant combination of old school storytelling with the flavor of NOW, sprinkled with the spice of style. Christopher Chance looked masculine and irresistible to women while the women were beautiful and sexy. The action was clear and understandable with a hint of over-the-top excitement.

The gunfire was cool and felt real. The art was clear and wonderful. Better than that, Buikovic’s art was a precursor for Javier Pulido, David Aja and many others. Edvin had obviously studied anatomy and spent more time on learning how to draw than most. His style was so solid. Artists certainly saw his ability, because I’ve talked to more than a few artists who know how good he was and how much better he could have been.

This series, with covers by Tim Bradstreet, is a real buried treasure. Too few people are aware of it. Check out the images here and see if this is something you like. Personally, I think Edvin Buikovic is spectacular. Peter Milligan’s story is solid and well-plotted for a second-, maybe third-tier character. They worked so well together. I wish they had the opportunity to work on more wonderful series.

We lose amazing talent once in a while. While it’s a tragedy, we have to embrace the brilliant work they gave us. Edvin Buikovic was one of those artists. He gave us one absolutely fantastic series. I accept that and weep for the loss of future work.

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MORE

— BURIED TREASURE: P. Craig Russell’s PELLEAS & MELISANDE. Click here.

— BURIED TREASURE: GENE COLAN’s Magnificent PREDATOR Miniseries. Click here.

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Peter Stone is a writer and son-in-law of the late Neal Adams. Be sure to check out the family’s twice-weekly online Facebook auctions, as well as the NealAdamsStore.com, and their Burbank, California, comics shop Crusty Bunkers Comics and Toys.