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Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. During his career, Adams co-created the characters John Stewart, Man-Bat, and Ra's al Ghul for DC Comics.
After drawing the comic strip based on the television drama Ben Casey in the early 1960s, Adams was hired as a freelancer by DC Comics in 1967. Later that year, he became the artist for the superhero character Deadman in the science fiction comic book Strange Adventures. Adams and writer Dennis O'Neil collaborated on influential runs on Batman and Green Lantern/Green Arrow in the early 1970s. For Batman, the duo returned the Batman character to his gothic roots as a contrast to the Batman television series of the 1960s. During their Green Lantern/Green Arrow run, O'Neil and Adams introduced a mature, realistic tone through stories such as "Snowbirds Don't Fly", in which Green Arrow's ward Roy Harper is revealed to have become addicted to drugs. The duo created and introduced the Green Lantern character John Stewart in 1971.
Following his runs on Batman and Green Lantern, Adams drew other books for DC such as Superman vs. Muhammad Ali in 1978. In addition to his work with DC, Adams simultaneously freelanced for Marvel Comics on books such as Uncanny X-Men and The Avengers. In 1971, Adams established the art and illustration studio Continuity Associates with Dick Giordano. In 1984, Adams founded his own comic book company Continuity Comics, which was in business until 1994.
Adams was inducted into the Eisner Awards' Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1998, the ' Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Inkwell Awards Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame in 2019.
That panel ran in Adventures of the Fly #4 (Jan. 1960). Afterward, Adams began writing, penciler, inker, and letterer humorous full-page and half-page gag fillers for Archie's Joke Book Magazine. In a 1976 interview, he recalled earning "about $16.00 per half-page and $32.00 for a full page. That may not seem like a great deal of money, but at the time it meant a great deal to myself as well as my mothers ... as we were not in a wealthy state. It was manna from heaven, so to speak." A recommendation led him to artist Howard Nostrand, who was beginning the Bat Masterson syndicated newspaper comic strip, and he worked as Nostrand's assistant for three months, primarily drawing backgrounds at what Adams recalled as $9 a week and "a great experience".
Having "not left Archie Comics under the best of circumstances", Adams turned to commercial art for the advertising industry. After a rocky start freelancing, he began landing regular work at the Johnstone and Cushing agency, which specialized in comic-book styled advertising. Additional, November 16, 2009. Helped by artist Elmer Wexler, who critiqued the young Adams' samples, Adams brought his portfolio to the agency, which initially "didn't believe I had done those particular samples since they looked so much like Elmer Wexler's work. But they gave me a chance and ... I stayed there for about a year".
Comics historian Maurice Horn said the strip "did not shrink from tackling controversial problems, such as heroin addiction, illegitimate pregnancy, and attempted suicide. These were usually treated in soap opera fashion ... but there was also a touch of toughness to the proceedings, well rendered by Adams in a forceful, direct style that exuded realism and tension and accorded well with the overall tone of the strip".
In addition to Capp, Jerry Brondfield also wrote for the strip, with Adams stepping in occasionally.Mendez, . Archived from the original November 13, 2006. Additional, November 16, 2009.
The ABC series, which ran five seasons, ended March 21, 1966, with the final comic strip appearing Sunday, July 31, 1966. Despite the end of the series, Adams has said the strip, which he claimed at different points to have appeared in 365 newspapers, 265 newspapers, and 165 newspapers, ended "for no other reason that it was an unhappy situation":
Adams' goal at this point was to be a commercial illustrator. While drawing Ben Casey, he had continued to do storyboards and other work for ad agencies, and said in 1976 that after leaving the strip he had shopped around a portfolio for agencies and for men's magazines, "but my material was a little too realistic and not exactly right for most. I left my portfolio in an advertising agency promising they were going to hold on to it. In the meantime I needed to make some money ... and I thought, 'Why don't I do some comics?'" In a 2000s interview, he remembered the events slightly differently, saying "I took my to various advertising people. I left it at one place overnight and when I came back to get it the next morning it was gone. So six months worth of work down the drain. ... "
He worked as a ghostwriter for a few weeks in 1966 on the comic strip Peter Scratch (1965–1967), a hardboiled detective serial created by writer Elliot Caplin, brother of Al Capp and Jerry Capp, and artist Lou Fine. Comics historians also credit Adams with ghosting two weeks of dailies for Stan Drake's The Heart of Juliet Jones, but are uncertain on dates; some sources give 1966, another 1968, and Adams himself 1963. As well, Adams drew 18 sample dailies (three weeks' continuity) of a proposed dramatic serial, Tangent, about construction engineer Barnaby Peake, his college-student brother Jeff, and their teenaged sibling Chad, in 1965, but it was not syndicated. Adams later said that Elliot Caplin offered Adams the job of drawing a comic strip based on author Robin Moore's The Green Berets, but that Adams, who opposed the Vietnam War, where the series was set, suggested longtime DC Comics war comics artist Joe Kubert, who landed that assignment.
With DC war comics stalwart Joe Kubert now concentrating on the comic strip The Green Berets, Adams, despite his opposition to then-current U.S. military involvement in Vietnam, saw an opening:
Adams made his DC debut as penciler-inker of the -page story "It's My Turn to Die", written by Howard Liss, in the anthology series Our Army at War #182 (July 1967). He did a smattering of additional horror and war stories, respectively, for the two publishers, and then, after being turned down by DC's Batman editor Julius Schwartz, approached fellow DC editor Murray Boltinoff in the hopes of drawing for Boltinoff's Batman team-up title The Brave and the Bold. Boltinoff instead assigned him to The Adventures of Jerry Lewis #101 (July–August 1967) and its full-length story "Jerry the Asto-Nut", written by Arnold Drake. (2026). 9780756667429, Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 9780756667429 It became the first of a slew of stories and covers Adams would draw for that series and The Adventures of Bob Hope, two licensed titles starring fictional versions of the TV, film and nightclub comedians.
During this period near the end of the industry revival historians call the Silver Age of comic books, Adams was soon assigned his first superhero covers, illustrating that of the Superman flagship Action Comics #356 (Nov. 1967) and the same month's Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #79 (Nov. 1967), featuring Superman and a mysterious new costumed character, Titanman. Also that month, Adams drew his first superhero story, teaming with writer Gardner Fox on the lighthearted backup feature "The Elongated Man" in Detective Comics #369 (November 1967), the flagship Batman title. Shortly afterward, he drew Batman himself, along with the supernatural superhero the Spectre, on the cover of The Brave and the Bold #75 (Jan. 1968) – the first published instance of Adams' work on what would become two of his signature comics characters. The first instance of Adams drawing Batman in an interior story was "The Superman-Batman Revenge Squads" in World's Finest Comics #175 (May 1968).McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 129: "1968 was the year when Neal Adams and Batman's fates became forever intertwined ... Adams tackled his first interior with Batman on Leo Dorfman's script for 'The Superman-Batman Revenge Squads' story in World's Finest Comics #175."
Another signature character, in what would prove Adams' breakout series, was the supernatural hero Deadman, who had debuted in DC's Strange Adventures #205 (Nov. 1967). Adams succeeded co-creator artist Carmine Infantino with the following issue's 17-page story "An Eye for an Eye",McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 125: "In a story by scribe Arnold Drake and artist Carmine Infantino, circus aerialist Boston Brand learned there was much more to life after his death ... In addition, Neal Adams, the artist who succeeded Infantino with the second issue, would soon become an industry legend." written by Arnold Drake, with George Roussos inking Adams' pencils. Adams went on to draw both the covers and stories for issues 207–216 (Dec. 1967 – Feb. 1969), and taking over the scripting with #212 (June 1968). The series became a fan sensation, winning many awards and being almost immediately inducted into the Alley Award Hall of Fame, with Adams himself receiving a special award "for the new perspective and dynamic vibrance he has brought to the field of comic art".
Adams concurrently drew covers and stories for The Spectre #2–5 (Feb.-Aug. 1968), also writing the latter two issues, and became DC's primary cover artist well into the 1970s. Adams recalled that Infantino "was appointed art director, and decided I was going to be his spark plug. I also thought it was a good idea, and was promised a number of things which were never fulfilled. But I thought it would be an adventure anyway, so I knuckled down to things like 'Deadman', The Spectre and whatever odd things would come my way. I was also doing large amounts of covers".
Adams was called upon to rewrite and redraw a Teen Titans story which had been written by then-newcomers Len Wein and Marv Wolfman. The story, titled "Titans Fit the Battle of Jericho!", would have introduced DC's first African American superhero but was rejected by publisher Carmine Infantino. The revised story appeared in Teen Titans #20 (March–April 1969).
Adams' art style, honed in advertising and in the photorealistic school of dramatic-serial comics strips,Mendez, . Archived from the original July 9, 2007. Additional, July 16, 2009. marked a signal change from most comics art to that time. Comics writer and columnist Steven Grant wrote in 2009 that,
He teamed with writer Roy Thomas on X-Men, then on the verge of cancellation, starting with issue #56 (May 1969). Adams penciled, colorist, and collaborated on plotting, including the entire plot for issue #65. In that issue, his final work on the series, Adams and writer Dennis O'Neil, in one of that creative team's earliest collaborations, revived the Professor X character. (2026). 9780756641238, Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 9780756641238 While working on the series, Adams was paired for the first time with inker Tom Palmer, with whom he would collaborate on several acclaimed Marvel comics; the duo's work here netted them 1969 Alley Awards for Best Pencil Artist and Best Inking Artist, respectively. Thomas won that year for Best Writer. Though the team failed to save the title, which ended its initial run with #66 (March 1970), the collaboration here and on the "Kree-Skrull War" arc of The Avengers #93–97 (Nov. 1971 – May 1972) produced what comics historians regard as some of Marvel's creative highlights of the era.For example: Hill, Shawn, " Essential Avengers v4" (review) , Comics Bulletin, February 15, 2006, re: the "Kree-Skrull War" arc: "This story set the standard for years to come, even if it has since been surpassed"; and Sanderson, Peter. Marvel Universe. New York City: Harry N. Abrams, 1998, , , p. 127: "Running nine issues, much of it spectacularly illustrated by Neal Adams, the Kree-Skrull War had no precedent in comics. ... With this story The Avengers unquestionably established its reputation as one of Marvel's leading books"; and Stiles, Steve, "The Groundbreaking Neal Adams", re: X-Men: "Even knowing that the book was slated for the axe, Adams poured out some of the finest, most innovative work of his career".Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 150: "Unprecedented in Marvel history, this epic spanned nine issues of The Avengers. The saga began in The Avengers #89." Adams also wrote and penciled the horror story "One Hungers" in Tower of Shadows #2 (Dec. 1969), and co-wrote with Thomas, but did not draw, another in Chamber of Darkness #2 (Dec. 1969). Thomas and Adams collaborated again along with scripter Gerry Conway and penciler Howard Chaykin to introduce the series "The War of the Worlds" and its central character, Killraven, in Amazing Adventures vol. 2 #18 (May 1973).Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 159: "Roy Thomas conceived the initial idea of an alternate-future Earth sequel to H. G. Wells' classic science fiction novel The War of the Worlds ... Neal Adams plotted the first story with a script by Gerry Conway and art by Adams and Howard Chaykin."
Rechristening Green Lantern vol. 2 as Green Lantern/Green Arrow with issue #76 (April 1970), O'Neil and Adams teamed these two very different superheroes in a long story arc in which the characters undertook a social-commentary journey across America. A few months earlier, Adams updated Green Arrow's visual appearance by designing a new costume and giving him a distinctive goatee beard for the character in The Brave and the Bold #85 (Aug.-Sept 1969).McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 134: "Artist Neal Adams targeted the Emerald Archer for a radical redesign that ultimately evolved past the surface level ... the most significant aspect of this issue was Adams' depiction of Oliver Queen's alter ego. He had rendered a modern-day Robin Hood, complete with goatee and mustache, plus threads that were more befitting an ace archer." A major exemplar of what the industry and the public at the time called "relevant comics", the landmark run began with the 23-page story "No Evil Shall Escape My Sight" and continued to "... And through Him Save a World" in the series' finale, #89 (May 1972). It was during this period that one of the best known O'Neil/Adams stories appeared, in Green Lantern #85–86, when it was revealed that Green Arrow's ward Speedy was addicted to heroin.McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 146: "It was taboo to depict drugs in comics, even in ways that openly condemned their use. However, writer Denny O'Neil and artist Neal Adams collaborated on an unforgettable two-part arc that brought the issue directly into Green Arrow's home, and demonstrated the power comics had to affect change and perception." Wrote historian Ron Goulart,
After Green Lantern was cancelled, the adventures of both super-heroes continued in the pages of The Flash #217–219 and #226 (1972–74).
The last complete story that Adams drew at DC before opening his own company, Continuity Associates, was the oversize Superman vs. Muhammad Ali (1978) which Adams has called a personal favorite.McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 178: "Writer/artist Neal Adams proclaimed that Superman vs. Muhammad Ali was "the best comic book" he and co-writer Denny O'Neil had ever produced." After this, Adams' production for DC and Marvel was mainly limited to new covers for reprint editions of some of his work, such as Green Lantern/Green Arrow, The Avengers: The Kree-Skrull War, X-Men: Visionaries, Deadman Collection and The Saga of Ra's al Ghul, which were variously published as reprint miniseries or trade paperback collections. In 1988, he designed a new costume for DC's Robin character Dick Grayson.Manning, Matthew K. "1990s" in Dolan, p. 247: "When WB made the decision to include Dick Grayson in the Batman Movie DC editorial was required to modify the classic costume of the iconic Boy Wonder to better suit the tone of the movie, they called upon several artists to put their own spin on it. It was legendary artist Neal Adams who delivered the winning concept. Robin is Dick Grayson. An Acrobat that calls himself Robin. I was charmed by the Robin costume as a child so I just made it more sensible. Tights, turned the cape inside out and the boots, well Dick is an acrobat so I gave him footwear that allows him to have better grip" DC loved the redesign and adopted it to the comics years later when they introduced new Robin Tim Drake. A miniposter was included in the first issue of the Robin limited series.Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 248: "Complete with a Neal Adams poster stapled to its spine, the first issue of featured an apprehensive Robin doubting his place by Batman's side."
In 2010, Adams returned to DC Comics as writer and artist on the miniseries Batman: Odyssey.Manning "2010s" in Dougall (2014), p. 313: "Writer/artist Neal Adams returned to the character of Batman with this series that took place in its own slightly altered continuity" Originally conceived as a 12-issue story, the series ran for six issues, being relaunched with vol. 2, #1 in October 2011. A total of seven issues were published for the second series until its end in June 2012.
Apart from those assignments for DC, Adams penciled New Avengers vol. 2, #16.1 (Nov. 2011) for Marvel Comics. In May 2012, Marvel announced that Adams would work on the X-Men again with The First X-Men, a five-issue miniseries drawn and plotted by him and written by Christos Gage. Adams produced short stories for Batman Black and White vol. 2 #1 (Nov. 2013)Manning "2010s" in Dougall (2014), p. 339 and Detective Comics vol. 2 #27 (March 2014).Manning "2010s" in Dougall (2014), p. 341
In February 2016, Adams revisited some of his most notable covers done for DC Comics in the 1960s and 1970s, replacing the original characters with some of the New 52 ones. Later that same year, Adams wrote and drew the six-part Superman: Coming of the Supermen miniseries. In 2017, Adams wrote and drew a Deadman limited series. He drew a new five-page story titled "The Game", which was written by Paul Levitz, for the Action Comics: 80 Years of Superman hardcover collection.
In August 2020, Adams and writer Mark Waid released Fantastic Four: Antithesis, a four issue miniseries starring the Fantastic Four in a battle with a new cosmic threat. This would be his final work as an interior artist. Adams' final work as a writer (in addition to providing the artwork) would be Batman vs Ra's al Ghul, a miniseries that was originally published in November 2019 before the final two issues were delayed to March 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the early 1970s, Adams was the art director, costume designer, as well as the poster/playbill illustrator for Warp!, a science fiction theater by director Stuart Gordon and playwright Lenny Kleinfeld under the pseudonym Bury St. Edmund. Additional.
In 1980, Neal Adams directed and starred in Nannaz, later released by Troma under the title Death to the Pee Wee Squad. The film co-starred Adams' children Jason and Zeea as well as fellow comics professionals Denys Cowan, Ralph Reese, Larry Hama, and Gray Morrow.
In late 2013 Adams appeared in the PBS TV documentary Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle.Spry, Jeff (February 2014). "Neal Adams: Up Close and Personal". Bleeding Cool. #8. Avatar Press. pp. 57–63.
Inker Bob McLeod recalled in the 2000s the unique place Adams held in the industry when McLeod entered the comics industry in 1973:
In 1978, Adams helped form the Comics Creators Guild, which over three dozen comic-book writers and artists joined.
Also during the 1970s, Adams illustrated paperback novels in the Tarzan series for Ballantine Books. With the independent-comic publishing boom of the early 1980s, he began working for Pacific Comics (where he produced the poorly received Skateman) and other publishers, and founded his own Continuity Comics as an offshoot of Continuity Associates. His comic-book company's characters include Megalith, Bucky O'Hare, Skeleton Warriors, CyberRad, and Ms. Mystic. He and fellow artist Michael Netzer entered into a dispute over intellectual property rights to Ms. Mystic, a character they had worked on jointly in 1977, which Adams had published under the Pacific Comics and Continuity Comics imprints, leading to a lawsuit against Adams in United States District Court in 1993. The case was dismissed in 1997, citing the statute of limitations.
In 2010, Adams and Medoff teamed with Disney Educational Productions to produce They Spoke Out: American Voices Against the Holocaust, an online educational motion comics series that tells stories of Americans who protested Nazis or helped rescue Jews during the Holocaust. Each standalone episode, which runs from five to ten minutes, utilizes a combination of archival film footage and animatics drawn by Adams (who also narrates), and focus on a different person. The first episode, "La Guardia's War Against Hitler" was screened in April 2010 at a festival sponsored by the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, and tells the story of the forceful stand New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia took against Nazi Germany. La Guardia's actions stood in contrast to the relative passivity of President Franklin Roosevelt, who historians such as David S. Wyman believe did not do as much as he could have to save European Jews, a point underlined in the episode "Messenger from Hell". Other episodes include "Voyage of the Doomed", which focuses on the S.S. St. Louis, the ship that carried more than 900 German-Jewish refugees but was turned away by Cuban authorities and later the Roosevelt administration, and "Rescue Over the Mountains", which depicts Varian Fry, the young journalist who led an underground rescue network that smuggled Jewish refugees out of Vichy France.Chandler, Doug. "A New Medium for Holocaust Studies", The New York Jewish Week, Vol. 222 No. 46, April 16, 2010
He also won in 1970 for Best Individual Story ("No Evil Shall Escape My Sight" in Green Lantern vol. 2, #76, with writer Dennis O'Neil), and Best Pencil Artist (Dramatic Division); and in 1971 for Best Individual Story ("Snowbirds Don't Fly" in Green Lantern vol. 2, #85, with O'Neil).
Adams won the 1971 Goethe Award for Favorite Pro Artist, as well as the 1971 Goethe Award for Favorite Comic-Book Story for "No Evil Shall Escape My Sight" (written by Denny O'Neil) in Green Lantern/Green Arrow #76.
He won an Inkpot Award in 1976 and was voted the "Favourite Comicbook Artist" at the 1977 and the 1978 Eagle Awards.
In 1985, DC Comics named Adams as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great.
Adams was inducted into the Eisner Awards' Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1998, and the ' Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1999.
In 2019, Adams was inducted into the Inkwell Awards Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame for his lifetime achievement and outstanding accomplishments.Almmond, Bob (April 13, 2019). "2019 INKWELL AWARDS VOTING RESULTS AND CEREMONY". First Comics News. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
Adams appeared on the radio show Coast to Coast AM several times to discuss his claims. He was also interviewed by Steven Novella on a Skeptics Guide podcast in 2006, and afterward continued the debate on Novella's blog. Japan Times columnist Jeff Ogrisseg wrote a three-part feature promoting Adams's ideas, which was roundly criticized by Novella for being an example of "outright promotion of pseudoscience as if it were news." Adams also used the concept as the basis for his Batman: Odyssey series, in which the planet's expansion has produced a Hollow Earth, the inside of which is inhabited by dinosaurs and Neanderthal versions of the main characters.
Adams and his second wife Marilyn lived in New York. Together they had one son, Josh. Josh illustrated a pinup of Batman in Batman: Odyssey #1 (Sept. 2010).
Adams died in New York on April 28, 2022, at the age of 80. Marilyn, his wife of 45 years, told The Hollywood Reporter that Adams had died from complications of sepsis.
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