• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

DC Special #15 - 48 pages?

Started by Susanville,

34 posts in this topic

PovertyRow

PovertyRow

Posted
Posted

OK - all joking aside - a serious question - Adams did these covers that really get to me. Now - and yes this is a newbie to DC BA - did he do the interior art as well and if so, how did it compare to the covers?

 

Also, are there certain writers that tended to match Adams' style for the books Adams DID do the stories for?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BachelorOfComix

BachelorOfComix

Posted
Posted
OK - all joking aside - a serious question - Adams did these covers that really get to me. Now - and yes this is a newbie to DC BA - did he do the interior art as well and if so, how did it compare to the covers?

 

Also, are there certain writers that tended to match Adams' style for the books Adams DID do the stories for?

He was a horrible interior artist. Don't even bother. Move along pov, nothing to see or buy Adams-wise.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites
PovertyRow

PovertyRow

Posted
Posted
OK - all joking aside - a serious question - Adams did these covers that really get to me. Now - and yes this is a newbie to DC BA - did he do the interior art as well and if so, how did it compare to the covers?

 

Also, are there certain writers that tended to match Adams' style for the books Adams DID do the stories for?

He was a horrible interior artist. Don't even bother. Move along pov, nothing to see or buy Adams-wise.....

 

hmmmm - why are my Spidey Senses tingling?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Joanna

Joanna

Posted
Posted
OK - all joking aside - a serious question - Adams did these covers that really get to me. Now - and yes this is a newbie to DC BA - did he do the interior art as well and if so, how did it compare to the covers?

 

Also, are there certain writers that tended to match Adams' style for the books Adams DID do the stories for?

 

Incredible interiors, POV. Dynamic storytelling at its absolute finest. As identifiable as his covers are, his interiors are just as stylish and unique. You look, you immediately think "Adams!" And man, those stories just sing! It's almost startling to see an Adams story next to an "ordinary" story in a book. There's such a marked difference. His panel layouts, perspective, sense of action -- your eyes are just electrified looking at the pages, even if it's just two people having a conversation.

 

And although these guys make you think he only did Batman and Bat-related books, he did all sorts of DCs back in the day. I've got a bunch of Lois Lanes and Jimmy Olsens up right now with Adams covers. He did a ton of work for DC, including Teen Titans, Superman, Superboy, Flash, JLA, GL -- you name it. Not just superhero, either.

 

And the prices are incredibly reasonable, because they're all DC. Granted, they're tough to find in high grade, but if you're looking for a midgrade, then they're cheap and somewhat plentiful.

 

And if you want interiors, then why go high grade where you have to worry about ruining the book? I say buy the books with Adams interiors in lower grades, so you can just gaze and get lost in it, without having to be distracted by condition worries.

 

But that's me.

 

 

-- Joanna

 

Just to show you his diversity, here are my current Neal Adams listings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Zonker

Zonker

Posted
Posted

Never fear my good man, Zonker is awake now and will give you a straight answer. Only because I'm the resident DC BA evangelist here-- remember my lonely voice calling out for the first O'Neil/Adams Batman as the start of the Bronze Age? (Detective 395 January 1970)

 

Adams made his name on the interior storytelling of the Deadman series (Adams did Strange Adventures 206-216). A revolving door of writers, but amazingly Adams' style kept the series somewhat consistent. Believe this series like almost all DCs of the time was done full--script.

 

Next he moved to the Batman teamups in Brave & Bold 79-86, written by Bob Haney. Supposedly they had a falling-out over Adams fixing Haney's scripts, such as setting the stories at night to take advantage of the Batman's night-time appeal.

 

About the same time, Adams worked for Marvel's Old X-Men, mostly written by Roy Thomas. A few years later, Thomas & Adams would do several beautiful Avengers, during the "Kree-Skrull War" issues of Avengers (93-96 if memory serves).

 

But the best synthesis of story and art IMHO is the Denny O'Neil - Neal Adams team (O'Neil scripting, Adams drawing). Together they did:

 

- The Batman revitalization (without them, no Frank Miller's Dark Knight, IMHO)

Detective 395, 397, 404, 410

Batman 232, 234, 237, 243, 244, 245, 251

including the introduction of Ras al Ghul and Talia, and the re-introduction of Two-Face and the Joker.

 

- The ground-breaking Green Lantern / Green Arrow

GL 76-87 + 89

 

For a complete checklist, get thee to http://www.nealadams.com/comicchecklist.html

 

Not only do you get all the cover scans, you also get a list of all the books Adams did the interiors for!

 

Cheers,

Z.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
chrisco37

chrisco37

Posted
Posted

Granted, they're tough to find in high grade, but if you're looking for a midgrade, then they're cheap and somewhat plentiful.

 

Tough in HG is right! And if you do find HG copies, be prepared to pay. In my experience, Adams books are the only books I've come across that Dealer's just won't budge on price. As one put it to me, "I'm not discounting it, cause I know I can sell it for that price." And, dammit, he was right. I bought the frikkin' book an hour later.... crazy.gif

 

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites
PovertyRow

PovertyRow

Posted
Posted

Adams made his name on the interior storytelling of the Deadman series (Adams did Strange Adventures 206-216).

 

Serendipity. Deadman in Strange Adventures was something I read back in my SA days and it left an impression to this day. Now I know why!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ghoulaid

ghoulaid

Posted
Posted

I'll join the chorus and agree that Adam's work was awe inspiring! He was probably the most important artist working in comics at that time. I really don't think anyone had more impact (and that includes Wrightson, Kaluta and Smith) because Adam's worked in all genres. smile.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Aman619

Aman619

Posted
Posted

yup - - Adams work stood out above ALL of his contemporaries! His art was the most exciting, dynamic, stylized and surprisingly (given all that) REALISTIC! of them all.

 

Its no wonder that POV remembered the Deadmans (though Im shocked, SHOCKED, that such a learned comics fan apparently (dont know if yer kidding yet) couldnt place Adams and his work....

Link to comment
Share on other sites
PovertyRow

PovertyRow

Posted
Posted

Its no wonder that POV remembered the Deadmans (though Im shocked, SHOCKED, that such a learned comics fan apparently (dont know if yer kidding yet) couldnt place Adams and his work....

 

Well, the stuff Bachelor brought up - - yes - my reply was a joke. But you have to remember I have a fairly different background - I rarely read comics as a kid and only started collecting at 30 or 31, around 1980/81. I started because my godson wanted me to colect with him. He was a MArvel fan so I strated reading Marvel books. It was actually a lot of fun - I felt like I was getting a megadose of kidhood! Then I picked up my first Silver Age books - as I recall Hulk 102 and Doc Strange 168. After that I started collecting Marvel SA - all the pre-hero titles when they started the heroes, Iron Man, Daredevil, all the 1968 re-starts etc. I never got into DC and really never read them until I started collectng GA. Then I shifted more towards DC than Timely. Finally I discovered pre-code horror, crime, adventure (like Dagar Desert Hawk) and Romance. Now all the genres I was into I read up on, especially when I hit GA and Atom Age. But I never really had a chance with DC and, since I never really collected it except for the horror/mystery titles (including Deadman's Strange Adventures) I was never really exposed to Adams. tend to be very focussed on whatever is capturing my interest.

 

But I really appreciate your position. There have been many times here when I or someone else posts some covers from the Atom or Gold Ages and some folks express amazement or first-time interest and I am furrowing my brow and saying to myself "Huh? You aren;t aware of these?"

 

So I guess it all evens out. grin.gif

 

The more of Adams I see the more I am impressed. He has a real dynamic tension in so many of the covers - absolutely astonishing and quite beautiful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Go to topic listing