Very First Neal Adams Batman 0

[Zonker]

OK, I don't think we've done this one before...

 

I was recently surprised to find what I consider to be Neal Adams' first published Batman work. Up until a year ago, if anyone had asked, I'd have said Brave & Bold 79, the first story Adams illustrated with Batman in it. (The classic first Batman/Deadman x-over). That was dated August/September 1968.

 

But that was in the days when I felt like cover-appearances "didn't matter." Since hanging out around here, I'm getting much more cover-conscious. So the first Neal Adams Batman artwork, including covers? Well, the first one in the main title is Batman #200 (March 1968). The first one in Detective Comics is #370 (December 1967). But look again, that issue only has Adams inks over Carmine Infantino pencils, and the Batman figure is almost unrecognizable (either as the Batman or as Neal Adams!)...

 

 

The book I consider the first full Neal Adams art on Batman is the little-known Brave & Bold 75 (December 1967/January 1968), including the classic Neal Adams Spectre treatment as well...

 

Anyone else with me on this? (i.e. should inks-only count?)

Anyone know of any earlier candidate?

Anyone wanna help me corner the market on B&B #75?

[Mushroom]

Your summation's I believe are correct. I don't count inks as an original Batman cover. As you say the Batman bears no resemblance to his style.

 

I will go with the B&B #75. So let's push that book as much as we can so that all my B&B's raise in price.

[Bonds25]

According to the Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams book, here is the progression:

 

1st Batman art was Detective #370, but he only inked the cover.

 

Brave and the Bold #75 was his 1st full cover - he pencilled and inked it.

 

The next 4 covers he both pencilled and inked were:

 

Detective #372

Brave and the Bold #76

Batman #200

World's Finest #174.

 

and on World's Finest #175, he drew the cover, and also pencilled the interior art, with Giordano inking it, making it his first full interior Batman story.

 

 

[minutekev@50]

To me Adams' work looked so much worse when someone else inked it..

[Zonker]

Oh, good call Bonds! Forgot all about those World's Finests! So I'd've been wrong to cite B&B 79 as the first Adams story. Still, one of my all-time faves, though:

 

What did you think of the Batman Illustrated book? I never got it, and I've read mixed reports about Adams' touch-ups of the original stories (I really disliked what was done to that story in the Deadman volume).

[Rip]

[Rocketeer]

think you're right,..first full Detective is #372 feb 68....World's Finest #174 mar 68 and jla #66 nov 68

[Bonds25]

I actually like the touchups - they look good. He didn't touch up all the stories, just some of them. I would like a copy of the original though to see the difference.

[Bonds25]

It looks like the first full Batman story that he both pencilled and inked was Brave and the Bold #84 (with Joe Kubert inking page 19).

[Rocketeer]

By the way this is an invaluable web-site for all adams fans adams check-list

[garthgantu]

That is an awesome website. I love Adams' work, especially when he pencils AND inks. I've got my copy of B&B 75, so I'm ready to help corner the market, Zonker - just say the word!

 

BTW, have any of you ever heard about Neal's "expanding Earth" theory? Here's a great article about Adams and the theory, from WIRED Magazine: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.03/adams.html

 

...it's pretty loopy stuff... did the comic he was writing about this ever get published? The 'panels' that were shown in the article were the usual Adams' gold, but they were all talking heads and virtually no action... kinda like "Harvey Pekar meets Neal Adams."

[drbanner]

I don't know if "Two men at a bar" (or whatever bizarre name he had for it) was published, but he made a video! Click here for a sample, and visit his homepage for one or two more...

[aardvark88]

To me Adams' work looked so much worse when someone else inked it..

Tom Palmer did a great job inking N Adams' X-men. Also enjoyed Giordano's inking on Bat/Detect but u are right in that pure N Adams pencils & inks on the Batman 100 pager vs Werewolf were outstanding.

[Joanna]

 

I remember buying that one off the newsstand. I still have it.

[Zonker]

To me Adams' work looked so much worse when someone else inked it..

 

Well, yeah, solo Adams is sweet sweet stuff, but I'll echo the appreciation for Giordano on Batman & GL/GA and Tom Palmer on Avengers (Silver Age X-Men too, if I remember?).

 

The only inker I recall that really spoiled Adams' pencils was John Verpoorten on the Inhumans strip in Amazing Adventures. And Joe Sinnott wasn't a really comfortable mesh with Adams' pencils on Thor either.

[Electricmastro]

Well depending on what you count, you could count Metal Men #29 (on-sale October 19, 1967), as the Direct Currents page contains the Batman cover done by Neal Adams.

[kav]

One of my favorite books!  This was couple months after I bought my very first comic too.

[ADAMANTIUM]

9 minutes ago, kav said:

One of my favorite books!  This was couple months after I bought my very first comic too.

That's awesome kav

and I forget did you ever read this issue?

I know I've asked before but I forget, I would recommend it, but don't know if it would fit the same

[kav]

2 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

That's awesome kav

and I forget did you ever read this issue?

I know I've asked before but I forget, I would recommend it, but don't know if it would fit the same

omg wow

[kav]

A composite Superman!