Barry Windsor-Smith - Kull of Atlantis Page 2
Artists: Barry Windsor-Smith (All) , Roy Thomas (Writer)
16 Comments - 5,724 Views - 8 Likes
Artwork Details
|
DescriptionAn outstanding 100% Barry Windsor-Smith page that I'm really happy to add to my collection.The story behind it is rather well-known, now, but is worth recapping a bit... In the late 60's, Marvel and the RE Howard estate got into talks for a possible comic book adaptation of Conan that was to be written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Barry Windsor-Smith (purely, as history says, because he was the cheapest-paid artist at Marvel at the time...). In the meantime, the new creative team started work on another Howard character, Kull, and came up with a sort of illustrated story, actually more suited for book publishing than for comics, with all the art grouped on text-less pages. When the Conan deal got secured, this other project mostly fell aside and was forgotten. Some of the pages got printed, some not... But all of the graphic elements, including, of course, Kull's figure and helmet, were immediately transferred in the Conan comic book. What is fascinating to me in this penciled and inked BWS page is the quantum leap between his work up to this point and this one. I even find the art quality better here than in the first couple of Conan issues! The "Conan" portrait (Yes, I cannot call him otherwise...) on the first panel is mesmerizing. And the Barbarian horde on the second is just as great (with some very nice shady foliage effect as well...)! All in all, both as piece of comic history and a piece of art, there's plenty of greatness for me here!... Social/Sharing |
About the Owner
|
 |
Contact the OwnerUse can use a contact form to send an email to this gallery owner,
|
Comments on this Artwork
You must be logged in to make comments.
Al Simpleton
Member Since 2013
Posted on 8/31/2018
Damon Wright wrote:
Legendary!
Thanks Damon! It feels like it!...
Davide G.
Member Since 2009
Posted on 9/1/2018
Two epic panels by BWS! He was just 20 back then, but his style was already so distinctive and powerful...
Al Simpleton
Member Since 2013
Posted on 9/2/2018
Davide G. wrote:
Two epic panels by BWS! He was just 20 back then, but his style was already so distinctive and powerful...
Thanks Davide! You're right, of course! It's really clear he drew some big inspiration from RE Howard!
Red Raven
Member Since 2012
Posted on 9/3/2018
Grail pièce by the magic master BWS - congrats AL !!!!!
Al Simpleton
Member Since 2013
Posted on 9/9/2018
Red Raven wrote:
Grail pièce by the magic master BWS - congrats AL !!!!!
Thanks Adom! BWS is a passion we share!...
Al Simpleton
Member Since 2013
1 - Posted on 5/8/2020
Kit Walker wrote:
EPIC
Thanks Kit! This is one piece I hold dear, indeed!...
Sylvain R
Member Since 2014
Posted on 1/26/2021
I just get one of those for myself, so I was curious to check who are the other owners of those pages... and... nothing else to say, you're the winner :-)
Al Simpleton
Member Since 2013
Posted on 1/26/2021
Sylvain R wrote:
I just get one of those for myself, so I was curious to check who are the other owners of those pages... and... nothing else to say, you're the winner :-)
Thank you Sylvain! I admit I jumped at the opportunity when these pages came up for sale. This was early enough and most of the lot was still available, so I was able to pick that one, which I dearly love! But yours is also very impressive, I'll say!
gene o
Member Since 2018
1 - Posted on 2/21/2025
Kull shmull. That's straight-up BWS Conan! And it is bad a$$!!!!
Al Simpleton
Member Since 2013
Posted on 2/25/2025
gene o wrote:
Kull shmull. That's straight-up BWS Conan! And it is bad a$$!!!!
Thanks Gene! It packs a punch, for sure...
Bill J 
Member Since 2009
1 - Posted on 4/18/2025
Like you, I am a huge fan of Barry Windsor-Smith's work on Conan and I love seeing this early piece done for the proposed Kull book. I agree with you that the top panel IS Conan and it's a gorgeous piece of art. I also like BWS's use of screen tones on this page, something he dropped when he started work on Conan. But it works extremely well here, helping to create the sense that we are in a tent or a cave or some shadowed place, That second panel reveals more, we can see that we are in some kind of sheltered area and there are mountains in the distance and the tribe seems to have gathered around some boxes and maybe a coffin, this does feel like a ceremonial gathering. Here again the screen tones do a lot to create depth and shadow. IMHO, it's a superb page and I really appreciate you sharing it with us.
Al Simpleton
Member Since 2013
Posted on 4/18/2025
Bill J wrote:
Like you, I am a huge fan of Barry Windsor-Smith's work on Conan and I love seeing this early piece done for the proposed Kull book. I agree with you that the top panel IS Conan and it's a gorgeous piece of art. I also like BWS's use of screen tones on this page, something he dropped when he started work on Conan. But it works extremely well here, helping to create the sense that we are in a tent or a cave or some shadowed place, That second panel reveals more, we can see that we are in some kind of sheltered area and there are mountains in the distance and the tribe seems to have gathered around some boxes and maybe a coffin, this does feel like a ceremonial gathering. Here again the screen tones do a lot to create depth and shadow. IMHO, it's a superb page and I really appreciate you sharing it with us.
Thanks Bill! It's a fascinating quest to retrace the tortuous journey that led to the publication of Conan in Comic version... Among all the twists and turns, this Kull avatar is one of my favorites! BWS did put some extra care and, maybe, he was already considering evolving beyond comics and towards illustration...
Latest Updates
All |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
Auctions ADVERTISEMENT
 |
Auctions
| Juan Giménez Metabarons #2 Story Page Preliminary |
Auctions
 |
DAVE COCKRUM AND TERRY AUSTIN X-MEN #122 COVER (SOLD FOR $250K) |
Auctions
 |
John Byrne - Iron Fist #11, Page 17 |
Hakes Auctions
 |
SECRETS OF THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #3 COMIC BOOK COVER ORIGINAL ART BY DICK GIORDANO |
Subscribe to the YouTube Channel.. FREE!
ComiConArt
22 Accepting Commissions
Commission an Artist
For Sale Updates
Classified Updates |
|
Monty B9/5/2025 3:53:00 PM |
|
Saxa Luna Galianan9/5/2025 1:01:00 PM |
|
Will Gabri-El9/5/2025 12:25:00 PM |
|
Michele M9/5/2025 12:05:00 PM |
|
Tim J9/5/2025 12:04:00 PM |
|
Keith Veronese9/5/2025 11:09:00 AM |
|
Dealer Updates |
|
Anthony's Comicbook Art9/5/2025 4:39:00 PM |
|
Will's Comic Art Page9/5/2025 12:25:00 PM |
|
Essential Sequential9/5/2025 12:15:00 PM |
|
Achetez de l'Art9/5/2025 12:15:00 PM |
|
Galerie Daniel Maghen9/5/2025 12:15:00 PM |
|
ComicLink Art Exchange9/5/2025 12:15:00 PM |
|
|
Become a Premium CAF Gallery Owner & you'll be supporting CAF and also gain access to many services and features not available to standard members.
|