Dolmen publishes this unpublished material in Spain, one of the author’s creative peaks, with a lot of additional content.
In the mid-1990s, and after thousands of editorials were exhausted in the war, Barry Windsor-Smith had completely lost faith in the comics industry, which he had mortally wounded for creativity through the harmful and constant repetition of clichés and stereotypes.† A notorious fatigue that prompted him to invent the magazine Barry Windsor-Smith Storytellerwhere he is the full writer and breathes new life into genres such as heroic adventure monthly and serially (young gods), science fiction (Paradox Man) or sword and magic (freebies† Despite their different status, the three titles in this magazine edited by Dark Horse shared a common goal: to get as far away as possible from the cliché that the London author calls the ‘demon of comics’.
freebiesone of both freebiesThe title, in which Dolmen edited and compiled the work in Spanish, always stood above the other two titles. Bearing in mind that Windsor-Smith has insisted that the best songs in the Conan the Barbarian collection are those he signed in his early days at Marvel, It is surprising here that he reformulated the popular Cimmerian barbarian figure, placing it in front of a distorted mirror.† His Great Axus is an aging warrior grappling with a midlife crisis. Many years ago, he saved the inhabitants of the city of Shahariza from the demonic threat of Ammon-Gra (whose name is unexplained, but whose constant mention has led to one of the best running pranks in history). Today, he spends his days running the real tavern El Pavo, demonstrating this feat for tourists, while harassing the Caliph of the city of Shahariza with low-intensity acts of banditry at the head of the exhausted Red Army troops.
Windsor-Smith’s capture of superior human emotions makes us feel, beneath Axus’ evil tongue and sullen demeanor, an incurable melancholy that manifests in his sad gaze and silence when there is no one before him to hold his breath. view things. The grown barbarian is the most visible face of a fantastic human melting pot, with his advisor and innkeeper Eeyeekaldu and his sweet niece Alita, or the young and stray Aran who has come to town to warn people of the impending resurrection. Ammon, but for whom is the prophet’s position great. His stories, desires, and shortcomings inevitably capture the reader, thanks to the author’s extraordinary mastery of narrative pace, who cooks various events over a slow fire while working on the construction of characters whose deficiencies are primarily defined through dialogue. – hardly any unnecessary speech bubbles or explanatory text –. In order to reinforce their three-dimensionality and encourage metatextual discussion at the expense of mainstream comics, Windsor-Smith sometimes plays to confront them with archetypal entrenched characters (the young warrior Arcofuerte or the poet Corolanus).
we can’t find it in freebies Monsters of the Moon Not even the action sequences themselves are plentiful—and when they do, they’re portrayed in a revealing irony or overly theatrical way., fights outside in taverns or clashes in wars between Axus and his believers. They can’t be missed either. They are part of the general conventions that Windsor-Smith has always regarded as “emotionally immature and intellectually empty” and have no place in a work that continually challenges expectations and speaks directly to the reader’s intellect.
freebies An ingenious summary of all the ideas Windsor-Smith had in mind to arouse readers’ interest. comics† For those already mentioned, it’s worth it a wonderful sense of humor—sometimes clever irony is drawn, others badly—which will surely delight readers of the saga. disc world by Terry PratchettIt is he who shares his passion for dazzling urban architecture, which brings together elements from different eras, and the natural trails in which he portrays legendary characters in the twilight of their lives.
To the intrinsic value of the work, which is a cheerful display of Windsor-Smith’s creative expertise, we must add the wonderful collection of extras that make this title essential. Such is the case with the journal article. Hogan’s StreetIt documents four days in the author’s life as he tries to understand the content of issue 11. to do freebies (Designed for Storyteller’s number 10, which never came to light due to disagreements with Dark Horse, but is included in this compilation). interspersed with the adventures of Axus, This volume also contains numerous notes from the author on the nature of the creative process and allows us to learn more about his frustrated future plans for the collection.a series of short stories, two of which are exemplary, where the personal conflicts of the characters abound, and the discarded stories, for example, that offer to take back the young love of an old Axus, Isandra.
even more interesting save the pages of the first attempt freebies made a year before the magazine was published storytellerand Winsor-Smith cast it aside because the rhythm and staging were too similar to that of a traditional comic. In an attractive sepia tone and distinctly epic in character, this material was based on an unreleased series from the 1980s. Aran’s Diarieswhich in turn will serve as an inspiration for Archer and Armstrongseries created by the author for Valiant.
After just nine issues and poor sales, Dark Horse asked Windsor-Smith to republish all three stories. storyteller shaped comic independent. The author categorically rejected and shelved collections – with those yet to be completed – with a hallucinogenic farewell party, where the characters of the three series share sketches and thoughts in an old Italian mansion overlooking the Mediterranean; A thought-provoking idea, but a messy execution, it doesn’t take away the frustration of not being able to read about that final encounter between Axus and Ammon-Gra, which seems to be heading the story. It remains to hope that material with this potential will one day be picked up by the author.†
