BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH: STORYTELLER (1995 - 1997)

During the decade following his return to comics in 1984, BWS created a wide variety of works for a host of publishers. In late 1995 the accomplished artist and writer decided to explore a new paradigm for the American comics form. He had been working on ideas for several original, creator-owned series, and formulated a plan to publish three of these titles - The FREEBOOTERS, Young GODS and The PARADOXMAN in serialized installments in a monthly omnibus comics magazine to be called Barry Windsor Smith:STORYTELLER.

Windsor-Smith's goal for STORYTELLER was to create comics that would appeal to a sophisticated adult audience. The writing and graphic storytelling on the new series were characterized by a naturalistic, organic flow of dialog and pacing, reflecting all that BWS had learned over the span of his career.

BWS was also determined to make the new magazine physically distinctive by making it noticeably larger than the standard 6 1/2” x 10” pamphlet-like size of virtually every comic book being published. The reason was that Windsor-Smith hoped, with his new book, to attract a wider, more mature and mainstream audience than was being targeted by modern American comic books. The larger size was intended to allow STORYTELLER to fit in, or rather stand out, in the primary marketplace it was intended for - the newsstand.

Above: The cover of BWS: STORYTELLER #3,
featuring H.R.H. Princess Adastra of Young GODS (1996)