The story is centered most on a pair of families and the other characters that shape their lives. At its center is Bobby Bailey, perhaps the most tragic of all the characters in this book. To tell Bobby’s story, Monsters jumps through time, adeptly doing so in ways that sow a heightened sense of connection between plot points, heightening the story’s significance rather than making it feel excessive, novel, or contrived. For such a pain-stakingly put-together work, I’m sure Windsor-Smith was trying to say something “important”, but I couldn’t tell you what it was. As far as I can see, the “monsters” the title is referring to are, 1) abusive men, 2) genetically-modified people made to look like Quasimodo, and 3) Nazi scientists (or just Nazis generally). And so… what? Don’t most people already think those three things are monsters? It’s not like Windsor-Smith is telling or showing us anything mind-blowing.

Barry Windsor-Smith's The Freebooters, Young Gods, The ParadoX-Man. Kingston, New York: Windsor-Smith Studio, 1995(?). OCLC 36362038 THE GORBLIMEY PRESS CATALOGUE 1975•1976". Barry Windsor-Smith. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017 . Retrieved 7 October 2017. On May 20, 5 days before his 73rd birthday, Barry Windsor-Smith, author of WEAPON X and MONSTERS, suffered an Ischemic Stroke. He spent 8 days in an ICU and some weeks in rehabilitation. He has been released from the hospital and is slowly recovering at his home in NY. After leaving Marvel, Windsor-Smith became the creative director and lead artist at Valiant Comics, where he illustrated the company's revival of the 1960s Gold Key Comics character Solar, and created the original characters Archer and Armstrong. He was also the chief designer of the " Unity" crossover storyline. After leaving Valiant in 1993, Windsor-Smith did work through a number of publishers, including co-creating the vampiric character Rune with Chris Ulm, which was published as part of Malibu Comics' Ultraverse. Rune's adventures included a crossover with Conan that Windsor-Smith wrote and illustrated. He also provided art for the WildStorm Productions/ Image Comics storyline " Wildstorm Rising", though he later came to regret that work. He subsequently created an oversized anthology series, Barry Windsor-Smith: Storyteller through Dark Horse Comics, though it was cancelled after nine issues. McFarland, the dude with the Shining, is less of a character and more of a plot device - so much so that you could say this character IS the plot because without him there is no book. He happens to have an extremely contrived connection to the Baileys and he just happens to recommend Bobby Bailey for the Prometheus project and he just happens to have the Shining which helps resolve the whole story that he set in motion. I just found everything about this character far too convenient.

At its heart, Monsters is a tender and involved family drama, but it comes dressed in not one but two layers of fantasy: mad Nazi scientists and a supernatural subplot involving ghosts and psychic powers. Intriguingly, one comics expert I spoke to told me that it started life all those years ago as a Hulk story. With its super-powered, lonely monster being pursued by a furious military man, the suggestion sounds very plausible. a b "Text of Barry Windsor-Smith's Eisner Awards Hall of Fame Acceptance Speech". Comic Book Galaxy. 29 July 2008. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Special mention goes to him waking up during the Adamantium bonding process (i.e. having his skeleton coated in molten metal). Arndt, Richard J. (November 2018). " "[Being In Comics] Was An Important Time In My Life" ". Alter Ego. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (155): 47.

Barry Winsdsor-Smith discussed his July 1984 pitch for a Hulk one-shot story with Comic Book Artist...

Select a format:

Didn't Think This Through: Making Wolverine into a living weapon and somehow expecting it to go well counts, though they initially thought he was just a regular, albeit tough, human. Continuing on with the experiments after realizing that he's already a nigh-indestructible, inhumanly strong mutant with a really bad temper is just begging to get hurt. Gone Horribly Right: The virtual simulation that allows Logan to massacre the staff. It is designed to hone his current animalistic mindset into a more focused and deliberate method. The trauma and catharsis of the simulation actually allow Logan to wake up in the real world and escape. The cross hatched ink art in this book perfectly captures the tone of the story and gives it a timeless feel. You can tell that BWS put a ton of effort in crafting every portion of this book. If I had one small complaint, it is that many of the adult males look very similar and can be difficult to tell apart, especially if they are wearing a hat. With a book this long, it is incredibly impressive that BWS was able to keep up the quality for such an extended time. Together with the X-Men spin-off Excalibur (#27, September 1990), Windsor-Smith's last work for Marvel Comics came with the serialized " Weapon X" feature in Marvel Comics Presents #72–84 (1991), [27] his telling of the origin of the X-Men character Wolverine which he wrote, drew, inked, colored, and co-lettered. In late 1991, he was approached by Valiant Comics, a new comics publisher founded by former Marvel Comics writer and editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, and asked to act as their creative director and lead artist. Valiant had obtained a number of characters originally published in the 1960s and 1970s by Gold Key Comics: Magnus Robot Fighter, Doctor Solar and Turok Dinosaur Hunter, and added their own original titles to the roster, including Harbinger, X-O Manowar, Shadowman, Archer and Armstrong, Eternal Warrior, Bloodshot, Ninjak, and Rai. [28] I recommend this to everyone, but with a massive CW. This is triggering shit. My recommendation is because I believe it’s important literature, and a someday iconic classic of our time. It’s an example of just how serious, mature and transcendental a comic book can be. I think it made me a better and wiser person.

Doane, Alan David (2006). "Comic Book Galaxy presents an exclusive first look at the new Thing graphic novel by Barry Windsor-Smith". Comic Book Galaxy. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012 . Retrieved 9 January 2006. Logan's claws seem to be made entirely of metal here and are an accidental product of the initial bonding process mistakenly pumping too much metal into his forearms and wrists. Somehow. It's later established that Logan had bone claws all along, and the process just bound the metal to them like it did to all his other bones. Apparently, the project never bothered to give their subject an x-ray before injecting him with metal. Barry showed the work around a bit to people in the office. I guess he allowed Al Milgrom or someone to make photocopies of it. Ask Al. Acquired Poison Immunity: Courtesy of Logan's Healing Factor, he eventually develops a tolerance and fights off the effects of all the drugs being constantly pumped into him. The memory erasure/mind control seems to be a purely chemical/mechanical process. Later stories would include a telepathic mutant assisting with this step of the process.The Drifter: Logan starts the series having recently been discharged from the military. His basic pattern includes going from town-to-town, getting into drunken fights, and eventually moving on. Marvel Treasury Special Featuring Captain America's Bicentennial Battles #1 at the Grand Comics Database I've enjoyed Barry Windsor-Smith's work in the past, but this one unfortunately left me cold and bored. Manning, Matthew K. "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 252: "It was not until Barry Windsor-Smith wrote and illustrated the thirteen-chapter Weapon X serial that fans really sat up and paid attention [to the Marvel Comics Presents series]." Other American Awards". Comic Book Awards Almanac. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015 . Retrieved 4 February 2016.

But even if you didn't do any of these things, you should still take a minute to see what Barry Windsor-Smith — Eisner Award Hall-of-Famer, genre-shaping fantasy artist and 50-year veteran of the comics industry — has been up to for the last three-and-a-half decades. Western Gunfighters #4 (Feb. 1971) at the Grand Comics Database: Special note at the end states "This strip was conceived by Roy Thomas and executed by Smith and Parkhouse nearly Two Years ago!" Monsters is a graphic novel written, drawn, and inked by Barry Windsor-Smith. It is published by Fantagraphics and was originally released in 2021.Rosenfeld, Jason (April 2021). "Barry Windsor-Smith's Monsters". The Brooklyn Rail. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021 . Retrieved 1 May 2021. As of 2021, Windsor-Smith was living in the United States, which had been his home [38] since 1971. [9] Awards [ edit ] BWS tenía que haberse buscado un guionista para, al menos, redactar los diálogos (lo que seguramente habría conducido a una poda de páginas) y corregir las incoherencias del relato (¿junio de 1945? ¿No debería haber sido mayo de 1945? ¿Qué cojones hacen los nazis en esa casa?). Pero entonces nos habríamos perdido parte de arte, y Monstruos es un tebeo para mirarlo y remirarlo mientras te deleitas con los detalles de las ilustraciones en glorioso blanco y negro. El excelente trabajo sobre las tramas y en el detalle de ciertas estampas que se ajusta a lo que demanda la narración, morosa en la mayoría de las partes, precipitada al final. Weapon X. New York: Marvel, 1994. ISBN 0-7851-0033-4. Republished as Wolverine: Weapon X. New York: Marvel, 2009. ISBN 978-0-7851-3726-9 With Jim Novak. Shazam Award, Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards Best Individual Story ("Devil Wings over Shadizar," by Roy Thomas and Barry Smith, from Conan the Barbarian No. 6 and "Tower of the Elephant," by Roy Thomas and Barry Smith, from Conan the Barbarian #4) (nominated) [43]