"In the early 1970s," according to Library Journal contributor Chris Ryan, writer and illustrator Barry Windsor-Smith "took the comic book scene by storm, changing what comic book art could be." Windsor-Smith was one of the first to demonstrate that such illustration could actually be art, his work on the comic book Conan the Barbarian becoming legendary among fans for its attention to detail and its obvious glee in perspective and movement. Influenced by the work of legendary comics artist Jack Kirby, but not determined by it, Windsor-Smith's subtle blending of Pre-Raphaelite line and art nouveau motifs in other work give a romantic flair to his art that has become his signature. During the mid-1970s, after experiencing a life-altering consciousness-raising experience, Windsor-Smith gave up comics for fine art; a decade later, however, he was back at Marvel and other houses, working on comic-book series from "X-Men" to "Archer...