I have been thinking about this post of Barry Smith, (later to use Barry Windsor-Smith) for some time now, as he was was getting started in the comic book field, primarily at Marvel Comics.
I really enjoyed watching his growth into the master he is now, from his Jack Kirby influence when he started out.
Barry cut his teeth, influenced by Jack Kirby, on Blastaar in X-Men #53 (2/69) and the cover for #54. The Blastaar comic later came out as a free mini comic, Marvel Comics Presents The X-Men (which also included a pin-up Jim Steranko cover.)
Followed by a short stint on Daredevil, mixing his Kirby influence & pop art, beginning with #50 (3/69.)
Then A Day in the Life of Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D #12 (5/69.) came along. A cool little piece which was a nice distraction from previous issues.
He tackled Ultron in a two part story in The Avengers #66 & #67 (7/69) Hey, isn't that the villain touted for the next Avengers movie? Better check it out as it's an early appearance.
In between here, he did some stories for Tower of Shadows #3, #5 & #7 (1970)
Ultimately, Conan the Barbarian #1 (10/70) came along and really started to shoot him to fame, developing his own unique style especially if you've seen the pencils.
He was really starting to come into his own on Astonishing Tales #4 (KaZar 2/71) and Marvel Premiere: Dr. Strange #3 & #4 (7/72). Here Barry Smith starts shines, the artist we have come to love.
He did some cool pin-ups along the way. The Medusa pin-up was published in Marvel Collector's Item Classics #21, although I'm not sure the others, X-Men, have been published in print.
He did a western for Marvel in Western Gunfighters #4 (1971) and a story for Warren's Vampirella #9 (1971)
Along the line, Barry even did some great covers for a series of King Kung Fu novels (1973). Pretty darn good books from a small publisher, Venus Freeway Press. You can still find them on eBay and at one time were even available on Kindle (with the Barry Smith covers no less!)
I hope you've enjoyed this trip down memory lane.
It's been fun.
Thank you for your time.
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