X-Men #53 p 1 SPLASH (VERY FIRST BARRY SMITH PUBLISHED MARVEL PAGE RIGHT HERE!) 1969 by Barry Windsor Smith and Mike Esposito!
Artists: Barry Windsor-Smith (Penciller) , Mike Esposito (Inker) , Arnold Drake (Writer)
12 Comments - 2,190 Views - 7 Likes
Artwork Details
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DescriptionThis is a cool historic piece of art! The first page splash of Barry Windsor-Smith's first Marvel work. Did an overall easy trade with Mike Burkey, and this is one of the cool pieces of art! And it's the PAGE ONE SPLASH!From Barry's website which I think is cool: While BWS was finding employment in his chosen field in England, there was a very limited amount of work available in the style he most wanted to pursue. He was determined to work for Marvel Comics, the home of his greatest inspiration, Jack Kirby. Barry sent samples of his comics drawings to Marvel in New York. Encouraged by a friendly but non committal response from Linda Fite, assistant to Marvel Publisher and writer Stan Lee, 19-year-old Barry and his best friend Steve Parkhouse, an aspiring comics writer, flew to the U.S.A. in the summer of 1968 and presented themselves on Marvel’s doorstep. Stan Lee was sufficiently impressed with the young Englishman’s facility that he offered him work. The resemblance of Windsor-Smith’s still rough yet dynamic drawings to the company’s unofficial Kirbyesque house style convinced Lee to give him a chance. Barry's first work for Marvel comics was the cover and interior story for X-Men #53. He followed that with a western short story, “Half Breed,” and issue #12 of Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (both scripted by Steve Parkhouse). As Barry and Steve had virtually no money between them, they were eventually kicked out of their hotel, and BWS actually drew much of X-Men #53, and the other earliest Marvel works while sitting on park benches. The talented Londoners managed to stretch a five month stay in the New York out of a limited two-week visitor’s visa, but were sent back to England in December of 1968 by U.S. Immigration authorities who suspected them of working without a permit. By then though, Barry had made his inroads at Marvel, and he continued to work for them across the Atlantic while trying to secure a Green Card to return to work in the U.S. with valid resident status. Synopsis for "The Rage of Blastaar!" Deep in the Negative Zone, Blastaar seeks to return to Earth so that he can find a realm worthy of plundering and scourging. Furious over his past defeats, he travels onward vowing to get revenge on those who have defeated him in the past. While on Earth, at Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Marvel Girl attempts to use a device left behind by the late Charles Xavier that can convert her thoughts into radio waves. Although cautioned by Beast and Cyclops to be careful, Jean continues to use the device and suddenly it begins going out of control, eventually overloading and exploding. Jean is knocked down from the explosion but only suffers a mild case of shock. Ordering Hank to shut the machine off proves to be easier said than done, as it begins to pull all the energy from the X-Mansion's atomic reactor. The device then somehow pulls Blastaar from the Negative Zone and teleports him into the mansion. Because of the pain caused by the teleportation, Blastaar believes he is being attacked, so when he first sees the Beast, he incapacitates the mutant with one of his powerful power blasts. Cyclops calls Angel and Iceman down to help and the two arrive to distract Blastaar while Cyclops can escape to get Marvel Girl medical attention. While Blastaar is occupied with Angel, Cyclops deposits Jean and Hank in the infirmary before returning to the fray just as Blastaar has succeeded in defeating Warren. With Jean back on her feet, Iceman also helps revive Hank with frozen oxygen, and the trio comes up with a plan to help Scott against Blastaar. Having Iceman create ice statues, Jean animates them with her telekinetic powers and sends them out with Iceman and Beast to counter attack Blastaar. During the fight, the ice statues knock Blastaar near the device before they are shattered into bits by his powerful blasts. However, Blastaar meets his defeat when the fragments of the statues melt and the water created by them causes the machine to short out. Its energies linked to Blastaar also causes a backlash that seemingly kills the Negative Zone tyrant. As the X-Men regroup, Jean is mortified that she brought about a living creature's death, however Cyclops comforts her by assuring her that Blastaar was truly evil. Social/Sharing |
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Comments on this Artwork
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Mark Levy 
Member Since 2004
Posted on 3/10/2020
Great splash and 51 years old as of this comment, geez, time flies!
Bill J
Member Since 2009
1 - Posted on 3/11/2020
Phenomenal! How cool to score BWS's first published work! Congrats!
Red Raven
Member Since 2012
1 - Posted on 5/24/2020
Exceptional piéce by the marvelous master British - BWS - Congrats my friend !!!
Kevin Koch
Member Since 2015
1 - Posted on 2/23/2025
What an amazing piece of comics history! And say what you want about Smith just doing his best to copy Kirby at the very beginning, he still brought his own energy and intensity to the job. I've always found young Barry's earliest work surprisingly enjoyable, plus it's fascinating to track his rapid evolution from issue to issue.
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