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This week we celebrate the artwork of comics legend Paul Smith! The 600th issue of Uncanny X-Men hit the stands this week and I was very pleased to see that Smith contributed one of the variant covers for this landmark issue. X-Men was really the reason I got into comics as a kid. In fact the very first comic I picked up and read(besides the Bob’s Big Boy comics they used to give away when you ordered a kid’s meal..) was Uncanny X-Men #166 with that glorious Paul Smith cover of The X-Men battling the Brood!

A good friend of mine at the time(probably ’83/’84) had an older brother who collected comics and he had an big, old chest full of them(no bags ‘n boards, mind you..). So, when I’d go over there for a sleep-over, I’d get to rummage through his treasure trove of funny-books and then pull a few out for some late-night sleeping bag reading! Those Paul Smith issues of X-Men were truly magical, and always will be to me. There have been many great artists to work with Chris Claremont on his classic X-Men run, including legends like Dave Cockrum, John Byrne, Terry Austin, Bob Wiacek, John Romita Jr, Barry Windsor Smith, Arthur Adams, Alan Davis, Jim Lee, etc. etc, but for me, my favorite X-Men artist will always be Paul Smith. 

Smith is mostly a self-taught artist. He worked as an animator on Ralph Bakshi’s The Lord of the Rings and American Pop before working at Marvel Comics in the early 1980’s. After establishing himself on titles like X-Men, Doctor Strange, and Marvel Fanfare, Smith would go on to do more independent, critically acclaimed series like Leave It To Chance and The Golden Age, both with writer James Robinson. He continues to work in mainstream comics for special projects, and cover illustrations, while also staying very busy with private commission work.

The best place to get updates on what Paul Martin Smith(PMS) is up to and to see more art is on his website here.

For more comics related art, you can follow me on my website comicstavern.com – Andy Yates

Comics veteran Paul Smith—X-Men, Leave it to Chance and The Rocketeer— has a website with lots of art to keep you busy for ages.

Smith is perhaps best known as the artist who took over the X-men after John Byrne’s run so his take on Kitty Pryde, Lockheed and in particular Mohawk Storm remains a nostalgic ones for certain parts of the Gen X audience. IN fact, Smith says it was he who put the mohawk on as a joke – and it stuck.

Smith has been doing some great Rocketeer stuff of late. Nice to see he hasn’t lost his touch.

Smith has also been blogging about his history in comics.

Roy Thomas is doing a book signing. I bring my portfolio along with my comics. I ask if Mr Thomas might take a look, provide some tips. He graciously agrees. Flipping through, he stops when he sees the Conan pieces.

He makes me an offer I can’t refuse. He says he no longer works for Marvel. He can’t hire and he can’t pay… but… he can guarantee this: If I let him mail the pages to Marvel in an envelope with his name and handwriting, Marvel will open the package. He won’t promise print, pay or, most importantly, return of the originals… but Marvel will see them.

While flabbergasted by his generosity, the “too good to be true” light flashes before my eyes. The voice of reason instantly pulls the plug; Two sheets of paper vs the rest of my life. I thank Mr Thomas profusely and step aside for the kids behind me.
- See more at: http://paulmartinsmith.com/blog/i-left-my-heart-winnemucca#sthash.SIbceaWs.dpuf

Granta magazine worked with fashion designer Paul Smith to create the cover for its upcoming issue, Granta 119.

Dedicated to the theme of “Britain,” the issue will be released in the U.K. on May 10th and in the U.S. on May 17th.  Contributing writers include Adam Foulds, Mark Haddon, Robert Macfarlane and Rachel Seiffert.

In the release, Granta artistic director Michael Salu explained the cover: “Britain’s oldest literary magazine creating an issue on ‘home’ needed a package of distinction. Why not ask a revered British designer to collaborate on creating the cover for ‘Britain?’ We worked with Sir Paul Smith and his team to create an image that we feel is beautiful yet disquieting and saturated with generations of British identity and understanding.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Granta magazine worked with fashion designer Paul Smith to create the cover for its upcoming issue, Granta 119.

Dedicated to the theme of “Britain,” the issue will be released in the U.K. on May 10th and in the U.S. on May 17th.  Contributing writers include Adam Foulds, Mark Haddon, Robert Macfarlane and Rachel Seiffert.

In the release, Granta artistic director Michael Salu explained the cover: “Britain’s oldest literary magazine creating an issue on ‘home’ needed a package of distinction. Why not ask a revered British designer to collaborate on creating the cover for ‘Britain?’ We worked with Sir Paul Smith and his team to create an image that we feel is beautiful yet disquieting and saturated with generations of British identity and understanding.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

By Emily Ardizzone

2012 will be a momentous year for the UK capital, and the new collections presented in London in this week will no doubt add to the growing feeling of excitement in the run up to the Olympic Games.

London’s Fashion Royalty will all be present, from established design houses such as Aquascutum and Paul Smith, to new and emerging talent in the form of the Central St Martins’ Graduate show. Highlights of this year’s Fashion Week will include the first ever catwalk show for the late Alexander McQueen’s diffusion line, McQ, and of course, Dame Vivienne Westwood’s Red Label collection.

Looking back to last year’s amazing display of ‘Alice through the looking glass’ inspired designs, Westwood’s Autumn/Winter 2012/2013 Red Label catwalk show will no doubt be a fantastically theatrical event that should not be missed.

Westwood, who celebrated her 70th birthday last year, showed her first ever collection (inspired by pirates) in London in 1981 and 31 years later, the Vivienne Westwood label is still going strong. Photographer Niall McInerney has witnessed the Westwood label grow and develop over the years first hand as a top catwalk photographer. You can see one of his iconic photographs from Westwood’s autumn/winter 93-94 collection featuring a young Kate Moss.

If you are fascinated with Westwood and want to learn more, you can now see a free sample article from the Berg Fashion Library here – available for a limited time only! Emily Ardizzone is the Editorial Assistant at Berg Publishers, an Imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, with responsibility for the Berg Fashion Library and other fashion projects including the recently acquired Fashion Photography Archive.

I love things like this–art created by a typewriter (primarily a tool for writers) AND created by someone who might struggle in other areas. This incredible art–incredible because it is rendered so beautifully, and incredible because it’s created only through the use of a typewriter and an eraser–is created by Paul Smith, who has spastic paralysis. It took him 32 years to learn to walk, about half that to learn to talk–and he creates this amazing art. I find that inspiring. How about you?