Adastra in Africa Hardcover by Barry Windsor-Smith

Product Details

• Publisher: Fantagraphics (1999-09-01)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 56 pages
• ISBN-13: 9781560973577
• Item Weight: 567.0 grams
• Dimensions: 0.0 x 0.0 x 0.0 cm

Originally conceived for X-Men, this story was re-invented by Windsor-Smith and recast with his character Adastra as a compelling, touching and magnificently drawn fable, with informative and amusing extras!

Barry Windsor-Smith originally conceptualized this self-contained adventure as the third "Lifedeath" story for Marvel Comics' Uncanny X-Men. The book was shelved for several years when Marvel claimed that Windsor-Smith's ending condoned and/or promoted suicide, an assertion that Windsor-Smith says is as laughable as it is unfounded. He refused to acquiesce to the editor's demands to change the story and pulled the book from them. He liked it so much, however, that he decided to rework it as an Adastra story shortly after undertaking the BWS: Storyteller series a few years ago. Now, more than a decade after it was begun, it is finally in print.

Adastra in Africa spotlights the young, exiled goddess traveling to an African village and striving to bring salvation to the famine-stricken area. It's a compelling tale of an outsider attempting to use her own non-traditional methods to help a defiantly proud people regain its vitality, without compromising the tribe's heritage and values. This stand-alone graphic novel features some of the most beautifully intricate and graceful drawing of Windsor-Smith's legendary career.

About the Author

Barry Windsor-Smith began his career by drawing mainstay Marvel characters such as the X-Men and Daredevil in 1969 in the traditional Marvel style. However, in 1971 he broke from the Marvel formula when he started drawing the Conan series, turning heads with a fresh and controversial stylistic approach and winning numerous industry awards. Part of a young generation of artists that included compatriots Bernie Wrightson, Mike Kaluta, and Jeff Jones, Windsor-Smith proceeded to carve an independent path for himself. In the ‘90s, he conceived, wrote, and drew three independent series, The Freebooters, Young Gods, and The Paradox-Man. In 1999 and 2001 Fantagraphics published Opus volumes 1 and 2, autobiographical coffee table art books. The critically acclaimed and award winning Monsters (2021) is his most recent work. He currently lives in New York.