I'm not really sure when I first grokked the greatness of comic book artist Neal Adams, but it might have been when I flipped a comic book page and beheld the maw above.
It was just a moment in a staggering Spectre story when time was tumbled and ancient beasts from the dim past were thrust into the modern day. It's a common enough trope in comics and other entertainments, but rarely have I seen it done with such absolute potency as in this double-page spread.
Here is the artwork in its published form, with colors and a bit more depth of shadow. It becomes even more powerful.
How this farm boy came to get his clutches on a comic book like The Spectre #5 is a bit of mystery, but there's no doubt that it made the great Neal Adams one of my absolute favorite artists. I'm of course far from alone in that opinion.
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Is that family threesome in the foreground the same trio that appeared on page one of Thor #180, Adams's first pencilled two-parter...?
ReplyDeleteSame pesky kid in tie and V-neck sweater pointing and stating the obvious, only this time it was "Look, Dad! It's Thor - the god of thunder!"
The hair is colored a bit differently, but that's a tiny thing when dealing with multiple dimensional travel. I think you're onto something here. Thor later was part of another cross-company family unit transfer with Manhunter when one Walt Simonson was in charge. The multiverse is a strange and wonderful place.
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Very emblematic of the kind of shock Adams generated when he came roaring in to comics.
ReplyDeleteIt was (to overstate it somewhat) a new way of seeing. Comics had looked a certain way for a very long time and suddenly they felt more real.
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