Neal Adams was the rock star in comics when I first skated in for a look-see. He was a young talent, the beginning of a wave of talents who would soon enter the field and supplant the hoary veterans who had been manning the battlements of comics since the earliest days. The thing about Neal Adams is that he didn't draw comics like anyone else, his work was much more realistic in many ways, infused with a drama and depth of field which had not been the standard of a field which rewarded stalwart abstraction. Adams was an illustrator who turned to comics, but did so with a dedication and a relish which made him a favorite of editors and fans. He broke at DC, doing a few things here and there on the outer edges and I first found him on Deadman in Strange Adventures, a weirdo comic if there ever was one. About this same time he got a gig on Batman in The Brave and the Bold. I think the breakthrough for Adams for me was when gave us a new Green Arrow. Here was a hero who had been the very definition of bland for much of his days and now he was suddenly the interesting guy at the dance, dangerous and quixotic and draw very very well. With Denny O'Neil as the writer Neal Adams had Ollie Queen hook up with another hero on the rocks named Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) and the duo changed comics pretty much. Next Adams took on the whole of the Bat-mythos and redefined the series which had struggled a bit since the wonderful TV show had mired it in a light-heartedness which was not really core to the character. Batman was fucking scary when Neal Adams drew him. And like all great talents eventually Adams switched teams and joined Marvel for some highly memorable issues of X-Men, Avengers, and Amazing Adventures starring the Inhumans. By this time Neal Adams had a ticket to ride where he wished and he became one of the guys who kept telling us all that comics could be more. Turns out he was right.
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My all time favourite comic artist bar non. I can still 'recall the excitement of seeing an Adams cover and when his work was also inside I was in fanboy heaven. His work at Pacific (Skate boy- what was he thinking?) and his own Continuity company was at times soulless ( still good to great art but somethng was missing too many poses) and his recent writing on Batman Odyssey was just insane ( in a bad way) still for me his early work was and still is comics at its very best and probably the main reason I stayed hooked on comics.
ReplyDeleteSkateman -- What a weird comic! I just last week picked up the trade collection of Neal's return to Deadman but haven't read it yet. With a spring holiday in my immediate future it seems a prime time.
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Definitely one of the best and one of my favorites
ReplyDeleteA great artist and important figure in the history of the field.
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someday someone has to work out a deal to print the complete Ben Casey comic strip. I've seen some of it but want to see the whole thing in a nice format.
ReplyDeleteStill remember the first time I saw his art in Brave & Bold "But Bork Can hurt you" Mind-blowing!!!
The Ben Casey stuff is so real, the hairy muscular arms stick out in my mind for some reason.
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Hi Rip, long time lurker, first time writer here. The image you've got for the DC 100 page Super Spectacular is not Adams. It is the reprint and Giordano re-produced the original Adams drawing. The original does not have the UPC code on it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the correction. I knew about that recreation and still fell into the trap, but the UPC symbol should be a flashing red light. Glad you caught it.
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