I think that's stretching Byrne's run, and ignoring how his earlier work was only successful thanks to the more-than-shaping inks of Terry Austin. Moreover, by the start of the 80's, George Perez (who--in the 1970s--had already dazzled comic fans on The Avengers and the film adaptation of Logan's Run) had made an earth-shaking splash (and slight streamlining of his style) with DC's The New Teen Titans.

Perez not only mastered the superhero style in a dramatic, plus wildly detail-oriented manner not seen since Neal Adams and Jim Aparo's heydays, but was one of the few artists capable of illustrating any character--an extremely rare talent in the annals of comic history. For example, Byrne (like Kirby) could not illustrate an acceptable Batman or Spider-Man if his life depended on it, but Perez had no trouble understanding the characters, and how to (if necessary) run with the traditions of the characters' best artists before him. 

I remember the 80s well, and Perez--moving from The New Teen Titans (and gracing other titles), to one of the few truly grand comic events of the remainder of the century (Crisis on Infinite Earths) put most of the superhero-illustrating end of the industry on notice in the sense that one could always reach new heights. Byrne did not break similar ground, with his work (particularly post-Austin) just reduced to more of the same, not very self aware "Byrne-isms" that also plagued Kirby during the latter's last stint  at Marvel. 

byrne could do romance, elegantly.