Neal Adams
JfOB
wondering if anyone has thoughts about NA's contribution to the Batman
character (or to comics in general). How does he compare to those who came
before and after? Any favorite work by Neal? Any good stories about him and
Denny O'Neil working together? Any/all thoughts appreciated. Can post here or
send me email to je...@wired.com
thanks
jeffrey o'brien
Loren Di Iorio
: I'm doing a piece on Neal Adams for an upcoming issue of Wired
: contribution to the Batman character (or to comics in general).
Neal Adams' Batman was perhaps the classic blueprint for what
Batman has become today. With Denny's masterful storytelling,
there's no way that team could possibly fail.
...Loren
Comics and Loren, together at: http://www.comicbookgalaxy.com
Loren's country reviews: http://www.countrymusicforthefans.com/albums/
SLWalsh
jf...@aol.com (JfOB) wrote:
> I'm doing a piece on Neal Adams for an upcoming issue of Wired
Magazine. Just
> wondering if anyone has thoughts about NA's contribution to the Batman
came
> before and after? Any favorite work by Neal? Any good stories about
him and
> Denny O'Neil working together? Any/all thoughts appreciated. Can post
here or
> send me email to je...@wired.com
While he can't really be compared to the artists before him on Batman
(it was a totally different feel and era for the character), Neal Adams
pretty much set the standard for all the Bat-artists who followed him.
Before Frank Miller made the Dark Knight dark, it was O'Neil and Adams
who got the ball rolling in the first place...
--
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Before you buy.
Cadmiumred7
to the artwork which was technically more accomplished than anything I'd seen
published before in comics, and this was the influence he had on the general
field. His calm storytelling and sinuous line had a more interesting
legacy,particularly on the early work of both David Mazzuccelli and Bill
Sienkiewicz.Both these artists were hugely popular and influential. Each had a
clearly Adams-influenced drawing style and pacing technique,and it is
noteworthy that each subsequently developed an explosively non-representational
style.
I hope this provides some useful strands.
Cliff Linton
(Cadmiumred7) writes:
>Neal Adams was the definitive Batman artist .He brought an anatomical realism
>to the artwork which was technically more accomplished than anything I'd seen
>published before in comics
This was one reason I loved his work, but another was the little tricks he
would pull. Like the Deadman issue where he had a nine (or so) panel page, each
panel as usual, a different scene, but when you pulled back from the page a
little, squinted a bit and looked at the page as a whole, it coalesced into a
picture of Deadman's head. Another was (may have been Deadman again, not sure)
where there were what appeared to be some thin strands of smoke across the
panel, and when you held the page at the proper angle the smoke turned into the
words "Another neat Jim Steranko effect", or something similar. Anyone know of
any other stuff like this he did?
"Nasteez" Fantasy miniatures
by Grim Reaper Casting
for info contact :
GRC...@aol.com,
BatHe...@aol.com
Chris Small
> I'm doing a piece on Neal Adams for an upcoming issue of Wired
> Magazine. Just wondering if anyone has thoughts about NA's
> contribution to the Batman character (or to comics in general).
> How does he compare to those who came before and after? Any favorite
> work by Neal? Any good stories about him and
> Denny O'Neil working together? Any/all thoughts appreciated. Can post
> here or send me email to je...@wired.com
There's no doubt that the writing of Denny O'Neil and the art of Neal
Adams, shaped what Batman is today. They took deliberate steps away
from the Dick Sprang/Charles Paris era of space monsters and 60's
sitcoms. The mood may not have stuck %100 until Frank Miller's oft
credited "The Dark Knight Returns", but the point is still there --
O'Neil and company were moving the character away from cheese and
children's fare, using the dark roots of the character as a groundwork
for more wide-ranging appeal.
As far as artistic achievement alone -- Adams may not have been alone in
the movement toward gritty realism in his artwork, but I'd say he's
certainly the most conspicuous forerunner, especially in hind-sight.
I think realism in art is an important step away from comics being
perceived as kiddy-fare. When the vast majority of mainstream comics
had an industry style of cartoonish characters -- even if they were
Jack Kirby style cartoonish -- the public perception of the medium was
hampered. I think that if O'Neil and Adams were successful with
anything in their careers, it was that they played a major part in the
eventual movement of the perception of the medium -- using previously
established characters (Batman, Green Arrow) at that.
That's the good thing.
The bad thing is that I think that in many ways other artists began to
emulate Adams, and his type of pencil-realism became over-used. Now, I
like Aparo. I like Nolan. I far prefer Adams-realism to
Kirby-influenced cartoons. But I also want lots of diversity. I like
stylistic techniques abounding. It's unfortunate when (in any medium)
people jump on a bandwagon and use similar styles across the board.
Fortunately, today we have a medium with great diversity. (even if there
are certain companies that still cling to house-styles.) The Batman
books specifically have a wide-range of styles, from Dale Eaglesham's
utra-realistic tenure on Gotham Nights, to Scott McDaniel's extravagant
use of sharp angles, to Mark Chiarello's color study, to Shawn
Martinbrough and Rick Burchett's gritty crime-noir feel. Scott
Hampton's work on Night Cries and Dave McKean's work on Arkham Asylum
exemplify how the Batman books have, in the past few decades, been able
to use a diversity of styles, and has been willing to take risks. Adams
was one of the people to lay the groundwork for what would become this
more diverse and risk-taking medium.
--
~Chris
http://www.buzzingbean.com/chris
Chris Small
<snip>
I should add that I realize that none of the above applies to the
industry as a whole. There have always been indipendents and
alternitive comics that broke every rule in the book.
I was speeking in more sweeping terms of the perceptions of the public,
and the mainstream comic-reading community.