Windsor-Smith, Barry - Weapon X (1992 and 2011)
Artist: Barry Windsor-Smith (All)
47 Comments - 10,268 Views - 31 Likes
Artwork Details
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DescriptionThis piece ends a long journey for me in finding a 'definitive' image of Barry Windsor-Smith's Wolverine/Logan/Weapon X. This piece is a massive 23'' x 31'' and is absolutely stunning to look at in person - it just jumps off of the paper it is drawn on.This image was inspired by the drawing of Logan on page 65 of BWS' Opus: Volume One. He decided to revisit and expand on the piece - this was the result. He began working on the piece in 1991, first completed and dated the Opus image in 1992 and then made final finishes in 2011. Windsor-Smith had this to say about the piece in Opus: Volume One, "This shot was a cliche of my own making right up until the moment that I realized that his eyes should be shut. With closed eyes he's passive and tortured, but eminently capable of terrible ferocity. It's my classic Weapon X shot." Barry Windsor-Smith (born 1949) gained international acclaim as the original artist for Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian from 1970 to 1973, where he rapidly evolved a unique, sophisticated and intricate artistic style. His first Marvel assignment was drawing both the cover and interiors for issue #53 of the X-Men (February 1969) . The quality of that issue secured Windsor-Smith further work with Marvel – namely, the art for a number of stories in the horror anthology titles Tower of Shadows and Chamber of Darkness. He would eventually pencil the company’s adaptation of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian character, starting with the 'The Coming Of Conan’ story in Conan the Barbarian #1 (October 1970). His last major accomplishment for Marvel was the serialized Weapon X feature in 'Marvel Comics Presents' #72-84 (1991). Weapon X was his personal conception of the origin of the X-Men character Wolverine. He wrote, drew, inked and colored the entire 120-page story. Set years before Logan would adopt the Wolverine moniker, the series lacks many of the typical comic book character story elements - he never appears in costume, almost all of his trademark personality traits are absent and none of his super-powered acquaintances are shown or even mentioned. What the heck kind of comic book story is that? Well, a great one. The code-name Weapon X was first mentioned in Wolverine’s first appearance in The Incredible Hulk #181 (November 1974). It would take some time for the specifics of that program to be revealed, but eventually fans would come to know that Weapon X was part of a larger program called Weapon Plus, a United States super-soldier program created in the 1940’s with the purpose of creating super-soldiers and assassins. While originally intended to create an upper hand for the U.S. in conventional wars, writer Grant Morrison's run on New X-Men in 2002 revealed that Weapon X was the tenth of an entire series of projects under the Program, and the X in "Weapon X" referred not to the letter X, but to the Roman numeral for the number 10. Further, the first project (Weapon I) was actually the super-soldier project that created Captain America. Weapon X would be where the Program branched into the extermination of mutants. It’s at that point that we join our hero, Logan, as he is about to be abducted into Weapon X - a fictional clandestine government genetic research project & facility operated under the Weapon Plus Program through the Canadian Government's Department K (which I am assuming had to do with the fact Logan was a Canadian citizen – or, conversely, like today, when we start to do really bad things we domicile it in a foreign country). The project’s mission was to capture mutants (although they also captured regular human beings), experiment on them to enhance their superpowers and turn them into weapons (as a side note, the project was pretty successful – it produced such characters as Wolverine, Deadpool, Maverick & Sabretooth, among others). The series tells the tale of Logan’s adamantium bonding process (a.k.a. Experiment X) that, in conjunction with his healing ability (his natural mutation), will make him virtually indestructible. He’s also subjected to brainwashing in order to bring out his most basic murderous instincts and transform him into the perfect assassin. The scientists christen their new killing machine "Weapon X". He eventually escapes into the wilderness after going on a murderous rampage at the Weapon X facility. It’s a surreal take on what is done in the name of science and national security that explains the brooding and troubled hero that Wolverine would become – and it is a foundational tale in the Marvel universe. His sporadic participation in the industry notwithstanding, Windsor-Smith would receive numerous awards for his work in the field from the Academy of Comic Book Arts, the British Fantasy Society, the Comic Buyer’s Guide Awards, the Inkpot Awards and the Harvey Awards. Most important among them, though, was his 2008 Eisner Award Hall of Fame induction. Social/Sharing |
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Comments on this Artwork
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Peter P 
Member Since 2009
Posted on 2/6/2011
Amazing!! Another STUNNING addition, this is spectacular, congrats! =)
Bryan Simmons
Member Since 2009
Posted on 2/6/2011
Wow, that is just stunning. Super sized congrats on this. If you don't have this professionally framed and hung above some mantle somewhere there is something wrong with you! ;) Enjoy.
Joseph Melchior
Member Since 2005
Posted on 2/6/2011
Absolutely killer Wolverine image. Huge score, Chris.
Felix Lu
Member Since 2005
Posted on 2/6/2011
Wowza. Can only imagine what this looks like in person. Congrats!!
George H
Member Since 2009
Posted on 2/6/2011
I agree truly STUNNING!!! Not sure how any one could top this!!! Mind-blowing to say the least. WOW. Congrats my friend.
Ron S
Member Since 2007
Posted on 2/6/2011
Awesome in every way. Huge congratulations on a great grab!
Keith Veronese
Member Since 2005
Posted on 2/7/2011
Speechless - i could look at this piece for hours. Congratulations!
- Artemaria
Member Since 2007
Posted on 2/7/2011
Very nice piece. While it may not be published now, with an image and subject matter like this, there is an excellent chance that it soon will be. Congratulations on an excellent acquistion!
Jeremy Radisich
Member Since 2004
Posted on 2/7/2011
Wow, fantastic. A great centerpiece to any collection...
Dave Kopecki
Member Since 2008
Posted on 2/7/2011
Wow, this is incredible! I can only imagine how much bigger and better it must look in person! Congrats on such a great BWS piece!
Michael Peters
Member Since 2004
Posted on 2/7/2011
Amazing, as BWS's work always is! 23'' x 31'' ? Wow!
Nelson Animated Ink
Member Since 2005
Posted on 2/8/2011
A fantastic rendition by BWS. Congratulations Ronan, this is another great acquisition to your collection. Btw - If BWS claims copyright of the image, he can't refer to the character as Weapon X, Wolverine, or Logan as Marvel (Disney), owns those rights. "Man with claws" just dosn't have the same impact. Lol. Cheers! N.
Jonathan Mueller
Member Since 2005
Posted on 2/12/2011
Hmph... Unpublished = Unworthy of your collection! I'll take this eyesore off your hands! Seriously though, as you and so many others have indicated, this is a stellar example of BWS's Weapon X! Just awe-inspiring! Thanks for sharing!
Maria Coppola
Member Since 2011
Posted on 8/25/2011
Wow, I am like a kid in a candy store! So many fantastic images! Gorgeous!
Matt S
Member Since 2006
Posted on 9/21/2011
i wonder if this is would be considered the Mother of all Weapon X pages?... sure looks like it to me... i'd love to see what could beat it.
Luca Baldi
Member Since 2008
Posted on 1/29/2012
Oh my God!!!!!!!!! I can't believe that someone have this incredible art..... Thanks for sharing!!!!
Michael One Minute Later
Member Since 2005
Posted on 2/24/2012
What exactly does one say when confronted by such an Amazing Masterpiece
Dimitrios Z
Member Since 2011
Posted on 10/16/2012
This piece is insane, Barry is a weapon himself. Congrats!
Malvin V
Member Since 2004
Posted on 10/23/2014
A great representative BWS Weapon X piece! Very nice!
Bill J
Member Since 2009
1 - Posted on 8/29/2020
Stunning BWS Weapon X piece! Just blows me away how cool this is!
CJ Design
Member Since 2018
1 - Posted on 5/24/2023
Beautiful. Amazing how BWS style slight morphed over the years
Comic Art Channel
Member Since 2018
1 - Posted on 5/24/2023
Stunning doesn't even begin to describe it.
Peter Sullivan
Member Since 2006
1 - Posted on 5/24/2023
Fantastic! The for sale description makes me laugh though. I mean, we all have that delusion but none of us are immortal. It will become available at some stage.
Chris K.
Member Since 2008
1 - Posted on 5/24/2023
Peter Sullivan wrote:
Fantastic! The for sale description makes me laugh though. I mean, we all have that delusion but none of us are immortal. It will become available at some stage.
You make a great point. I changed the sale description.
Dan Lawlis
Member Since 2021
1 - Posted on 5/25/2023
Barry Windsor excellence!! Such a designer! Such a visionary!
James Dornoff
Member Since 2019
1 - Posted on 5/25/2023
Enjoyed the history and write up for this beautiful BWS piece. Yes, absolutely stunning is the way to describe.
Randall Glass
Member Since 2004
1 - Posted on 8/29/2024
Museum grade piece. Exhibits all the great BWS hallmarks. Can't imagine how glorious it looks at 23x31. Congrats!
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