NEAL ADAMS: A LEGENDARY ARTIST FOR ALL AGES

NEAL ADAMS: A LEGENDARY ARTIST FOR ALL AGES

Written by Jared R. Salita; Editor: Chris F. Castillo

Arguably one of the most influential creators in comics history, Hall of Famer Neal Adams is known far and wide by comics aficionados for revolutionizing the comic book industry in the 60s and 70s. Adams’ work gave readers a reinvented look of Batman, introduced the world to Ra’s al Ghul and the Man-Bat, revitalized various DC characters such as Green Lantern and Green Arrow, and together with Roy Thomas, saved Marvel’s X-Men from early cancellation. Following the footsteps of comics legends such as Jack Kirby, Neal Adams’ influence in the industry is celebrated by creators and readers alike.

Before he worked with present-day comic book giants Marvel Comics and DC Comics, Adams started sketching at the early age of 18 drawing various Archie titles and Ben Casey comic strips based on the 60s TV series. From there, his next step was working as a freelance artist with DC Comics and the franchise’s superheroes, starting his illustrious career with the character Deadman in Strange Adventures #206. He then penciled the Elongated-Man strip in Detective Comics #369, debuted his work with Superman as cover artist for Action Comics #356 and created the iconic Superman #233 cover, and became cover artist for Brave and the Bold #75, featuring Batman and the Spectre, two of the characters Adams would work on during his stay with the company.

Adams’ first work on Batman as overall artist (note: cover, penciler and inker) was in World’s Finest #175, and from there would work with Dennis O’Neil to reimagine the World’s Greatest Detective to the fans’ delight. On the other hand, Adam’s most iconic work with the beloved Kryptonian would be the Superman vs Muhammad Ali title where two of Earth’s greatest champions go face-to-face. The title’s wrap-around cover would prove to be one of Adams’ most iconic works. On his initial work with Marvel Comics, Adams collaborated with writer Roy Thomas and partnered up with inker Tom Palmer to take on the worst selling title at that time, The X-Men!, which landed them the Best Pencil Artist, Best Writer and Best Inker awards respectively in the 1969 Alley Awards. Despite ending their work with the The X-Men! series early (#56-65), the trio then tackled on the Kree-Skrull War storyline that ran through The Avengers #93-96.

However, what’s more notable in Adams’ career is the incorporation of real world issues in the comics he worked in. Working with Denny O’Neil once more, the two would work on the Green Lantern/Green Arrow title where problems such as substance abuse, racism and pollution were touched on. This is no surprise as Adams himself advocated for the rights of creators in the comics industry. In 1970, Adams lobbied for the unionization of the creative community. Although Adams’ efforts to create the Comics Creators Guild came to a halt, his being vocal led to the industry’s practice of giving ownership of the artwork to the artists. These efforts helped him and other Marvel artists, together legend Jack Kirby himself, gain rights to their original artwork, as well as Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman, receive long overdue credit for their work.

Sources:

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