Marvel Treasury Edition: Conan the Barbarian

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Barry Windsor Smith, Conan, Conan the Barbarian, Marvel Comics, marvel treasury edition, Red Sonja, Roy Thomas

Conan’s larger-than-life personality works wonderfully in the first two Marvel Treasury Editions that feature him. These over-sized editions also spotlight the artistic talents of Barry Windsor-Smith. #15 features the Song of Red Sonja, and Smith’s Sonja artwork rocks at Treasury size. Conan would conquer four different Treasury Editions (#4, 15, 19, 23) from 1975 to 1979. Let’s have a look inside the first two!

Before we open them up, dig these back covers. Wow, that Smith one would make a killer poster!

On the inside covers, writer and Editor Roy Thomas gives us a fun history of how he and Smith got started doing a Conan series for Marvel in the first place. Smith contributes some new artwork on a Robert E. Howard memorial page.


Cool! Let’s have a look at these splash pages and stunning interior art.





Dark Horse collected these tales in their recent Chronicles of Conan collections, giving the coloring and paper quality an upgrade from these 1970s editions. But, you really can’t beat reading Black Colossus at colossal size. We also get several bonus pages of Red Sonja being awesome in chain mail underwear.

Dan-Thing Archives: Doctor Strange in Marvel Premiere #3

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Barry Smith, Barry Windsor Smith, Doctor Strange, Marvel Comics, marvel masterworks, Marvel Premiere, Stan Lee, while the world spins mad

Up from the primordial muck slithers… the Dan-Thing! In his oozing fist he clutches a time capsule: Marvel comic books from 1972! Our muck-stomping friend the Dan-Thing asked that we share these bronze-age beauties with you for education and inspiration.

Welcome to our fourth and final installment of the Dan-Thing Archives for 2013. Today, we crack open the Dan-Thing’s time capsule to discover beautiful artwork on Dr. Strange by Barry Smith. The story uses a tried-and-true plot with our hero assailed by a mysterious villain warping his reality. Smith takes the opportunity to present us with stunning page designs, compelling facial expressions for the good doctor, and a delicately sumptuous rendering of Strange’s mystical doodads, magic threads, and spiritual chill pad.

The “reveal” of the villain may seem a little weak to today’s readers, not involved in the Marvel continuity of 1972. But, Stan Lee and Barry Smith nonetheless deliver a truly trippy confrontation, replete with mystic energies and warped realities. While the World Spins Mad is one of the most satisfying Doctor Strange stories we’ve read in a long time.

Collector’s Guide: From Marvel Premiere #3 featuring Dr. Strange. Reprinted in Marvel Masterworks #4: Doctor Strange; Marvel, 2010.

Dan-Thing Archives: Conan the Barbarian #13

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Barry Smith, Barry Windsor Smith, Chronicles of Conan, Conan, Conan the Barbarian, giant spiders, Marvel Comics, Roy Thomas, Sal Buscema, spider, web of the spider god

Up from the primordial muck slithers… the Dan-Thing! In his oozing fist, he clutches a time capsule: Marvel comic books from 1972! Our muck-stomping friend the Dan-Thing asked that we share these bronze age beauties with you for education and inspiration.

Dan-Thing’s archival copy of Web of the Spider-God came without a cover but is otherwise intact. In fact, it kicks major ass! We didn’t expect much from a beat up old copy of Conan. Fitting, because Conan gets beat up pretty badly at the opening of this story. But we were admittedly just as wrong as Conan’s foes who thought him defeated. This story rose up to rock and roll with the best of them, coming out on top as perhaps our favorite of the famous Roy Thomas / Barry Windsor-Smith classics.

Although we have seen Conan in the excessively awesome Marvel Treasury format, he seems just as much larger than life on these regular pages. We admit a preference for the first fifty issues of the Dark Horse Conan series, especially with the amazing Cary Nord painted look. But the more we discover the classic Marvel series, the more we find to like.

And now — into the pit of the giant spiders! YES!

Collector’s Guide: From Conan the Barbarian #13; Marvel, 1972. Reprinted in Chronicles of Conan #2; Dark Horse, 2003.

Avengers 66: The First Appearance of Adamantium!

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adamantium, adamantium skeleton, Avengers, Barry Smith, Barry Windsor Smith, Roy Thomas, Ultron, Ultron-6, Vision

Roy Thomas created the metal Adamantium in 1969 in Avengers #66, the first of a trilogy starring the world’s most evil robot: Ultron! Barry Windsor Smith lays down visually stunning artwork inspired by his predecessors Jack Kirby and John Buscema. Smith returned to adamantium in Wolverine stories Wounded Wolf and Weapon X.

Collector’s Guide:
– From Avengers #66
– Reprinted in Marvel Super Action #27
– Reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers #7
– Reprinted in Essential Avengers TPB #3

This three-parter may well be our favorite classic Avengers story. Once upon a time, we had only read the conclusion in the reprint Marvel Super Action #29. A big Thank You to @GInvestor888 and @Horace_Austin for opening the doors of our memory, and for reminding us on Twitter this first part of the trilogy introduced adamantium to the Marvel Universe!

Our Mr. Logan Is Somewhat More Than Human!

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adamantium skeleton, Barry Windsor Smith, Weapon X, Wolverine, Wolverine Origin

Welcome to the Wolverine Gallery! It’s an ongoing project, so just click Wolverine Gallery to see everything in this virtual exhibition. We continue our look at the terrible procedure that implanted Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton. This amazing artwork from Barry Windsor Smith appeared in a thirteen-part story serialized in Marvel Comics Presents #73-84.

Collector’s Guide: From Marvel Comics Presents #73. Reprinted in Marvel Premiere Classic Library Edition #5; Marvel, 2007. (Collects Wolverine: Weapon X, from Marvel Comics Presents #72-84.)

Who Shaved the Patient?!

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adamantium skeleton, Barry Windsor Smith, Weapon X, Wolverine, Wolverine Origin

Welcome to the Wolverine Gallery! It’s an ongoing project, so just click Wolverine Gallery to see everything in this virtual exhibition. Here begins a thirteen-part story with incredible art by Barry Windsor Smith in Marvel Comics Presents #73-84. This marks the first time we saw Wolverine’s torturous adamantium implant procedure in such detail.

Collector’s Guide: From Marvel Comics Presents #73. Reprinted in Marvel Premiere Classic Library Edition #5; Marvel, 2007. (Collects Wolverine: Weapon X, from Marvel Comics Presents #72-84.)

Drop by tomorrow for more of Wolverine’s adamantium procedure.

Your Biomed Transformation has been Completely Successful!

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adamantium skeleton, Barry Windsor Smith, Chris Claremont, Lady Deathstrike, Wolverine, Wounded Wolf, X-men

Welcome to today’s exhibit in our Wolverine Gallery! More Barry Windsor Smith art for you — this time from Uncanny X-Men #205. Here are some totally gruesome human science projects for you, and lots of Wolverine in berserker mode. The story is called “Wounded Wolf.” Smith also drew the first look we had at the full procedure for implanting Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton.

If you want to know who this Lady Deathstrike character is and why she wants to kill our favorite mutant, go check out Wolverine’s origin as revealed in the mid-80s in Alpha Flight #33-34. You’ll get the lowdown on psycho-lady and learn a few awesome things about Wolverine!

Collector’s Guide: From Uncanny X-Men #205.

He Wants to be Born!

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Africa, Barry Windsor Smith, birth, birth scene, Chris Claremont, Storm, Uncanny X-Men 198, X-men

You know, we haven’t had a good childbirth here since we dug that issue of MiracleMan. Lots of carnage involving dinosaurs and mutants, but not many childbirths. Here’s one from artist Barry Windsor Smith and Chris Claremont. Remember when Storm lost her powers? She went on a trip to Africa to find herself. She used to be revered as a goddess in Africa when Professor X first found her. This time around she nearly dies — and helps bring new life into the world.

Collector’s Guide: from Uncanny X-Men # 198.

You can see Barry Windsor Smith’s cover art before coloring and lettering at Marvel 1980s.

Wolverine Gallery 16: Barry Windsor Smith

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Barry Windsor Smith, Wolverine, X-men, X-men covers

Welcome to the Wolverine Gallery! It’s an ongoing project, so just click Wolverine Gallery to see everything in this virtual exhibition!

Today’s portrait of the world’s baddest mutant comes from a collection called Wolverine: Evolution of an Icon. Evolution of an Icon reprints some of Logan’s most historic moments.

This cover to Uncanny X-Men #205 by Barry Windsor Smith disturbed us when we first read it. Even more unsettling was Barry’s interior art — twisted, hideous amalgamations of evil machinery and distorted flesh. If you’d like to see more pages, jump on over to Your BioMed Transformation has been Completely Successful!