Friday, March 12, 2010

If You Blinked You Missed: The Outcast by Steve Parkhouse and Barry Smith

Hey, hey, hey! Here's another one'a those short-lived features you probably never heard of, Groove-ophiles. This one, though, has a bit of pedigree that just might shock the socks off of ya. Y'see, the Outcast, whose one and only appearance was hidden in the pages of Western Gunfighters #4 (November 1970), was created by Roy Thomas, written by Steve Parkhouse, and drawn by Barry (Windsor-) Smith! Yeah, the fantasy artist supreme actually drew a western, and Ol' Groove's got it for ya! Look!

Check out the blurb on the last page--could this be one of Smith's earliest pro jobs? It doesn't completely look like it to my tired old eyes, but Stan and/or Roy could've let him dress it up a bit before it saw print. Whaddya think, Groove-ophiles?

3 comments:

  1. This is a fun one. I learned of this book a year or so back and immediately went out to my local stores and was able to scarf up a reading copy of this comic.

    Barry Smith's artwork in this period is so raw, but so full of energy and enthusiasm. I love this time, though I am glad he evolved too.

    He was the first artist I watched grow up before my eyes. It was neat to see.

    Rip Off

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  2. It's a shame Marvel never followed up on this story. I'm not even sure Outcast was on their radar when they commissioned that brief Western revival a few years back. Heck, I'd never known about this until now. Thanks, Groove.

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  3. Thanks for posting this. I had forgotten about it. I love Smith's early work. I remember thinking how odd it was at the time, yet still fascinating.

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Special thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics and Grand Comics Database for being such fantastic resources for covers, dates, creator info, etc. Thou art treasures true!


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