Neal Adams is an icon in the Comic Book Industry, an amazing artist and creator that has been working with DC since 1967 and Marvel since 1969 with long continuities in his work spanning decades. He’s a Hall of Famer, an Eisner Award's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame inductee since 1998 and a Harvey Awards' Jack Kirby Hall of Fame inductee since 1999.
Neal has created some amazing characters, notably, Deadman and Ra’s al Ghul (among many others), along with his signature work on Superman and Batman. He’s also worked on X-Men, revived Professor X and was part of the team that created the Kree-Skrull war, regarded as some of the best comics Marvel created during that era, including his work on The Avengers.
Adams work at DC was also defining, if not redefining, for Green Lantern and Green Arrow in the 70’s, rechristening Green Lantern as Green Lantern/Green Arrow and aiding in creating the iconic Green Arrow beard and goatee we know so well, which is among the minor details he did to redefine these fan favorite characters. I can go on and on about his resume which spans over 50 years since his early work in 1962, starting on comics that depicted Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis; However, I think most of you out there understand the legendary work this amazing icon in the industry has produced.
There were very few interviews given with Neal at Wizard World and I was fortunate enough that he asked me to sit with him so he can roast me for a bit and show me material from a project he’s most proud of, Batman Odyssey, among showcasing dozens of his other works.
Neal Adams: Ok, We definitely don’t want to start an interview with "greatest [frick]ing projects" [laughs] let’s start with What am I on!
DC Comics for Bah...Batman…excuse me, I have Batman on my mind--Superman and Jack Kirby’s New Gods. You may have heard of Jack Kirby’s New Gods
CBM Manny: Oh yes...
NA: After Kirby stopped doing New Gods, people kind of played with them a bit but haven’t made anything of them. I think I want to establish them more in the DC Comic Universe, I also am introducing 3 new Supermen. Which of course you can’t do, but I am. There you go! [chuckles] Before that, Batman Odyssey was the most important project I had done [recently] […]
CBM Manny: So tell me…
NA: I figured you were going to ask about that comic so I’ll tell you more [as he cuts me off and places this glorious comic on my lap]
He further begins to school me in the ways only Neal Adams could, regaling me with tales of how he got to this point to work on this comic which he refers to as a book, not a comic. He also messes with me for slouching and tells me to enunciate in usual Neal Adams fashion.
NA: There is Batman Odyssey [as he has me hold it up to show the audience building around us during this interview], it's probably the most significant project I have ever done in comic books, because it is a book, rather than a comic book…it’s something in the order of 300 pages and we are going to look at…not the whole book [it’s too large] […] I’m going to let you take a few pictures of some pages until we get to the end and you are not going to see that…because I know you haven't finished reading this book. Shame on you!
He shows me a pivotal moment in the comic that could be deemed irregular or almost sacrilegious to comic readers that expect their Batman books to be deeply rooted in his principals and then he asks me a few fundamental questions as my curiosity peaks toward the climax of said book.
NA: Now you can zoom in on that sucker and then we’re going to flip it around and see the shock on his face [referring to me because I was holding it up for my crew to photograph Neal and myself].
My reaction was of course a minor amount of shock as he revealed another pivotal point in the book.
NA: That’s the best shot of the day, his face [referring to the look of surprise I had]…kind of shocking isn’t it!
CBM Manny: Yeah indeed. It’s not what you’d expect Batman would do in the comics these days. Here he’s doing two things together that are unusual and a bit shocking. Something we saw him do in the beginning between Detective Comics 27-33 but not much more after that. Since he was fundamentally changed.
NA: So what’s going on here is that’s the sensei, he’s the head of the league of assassins, the son of Ra’s al Ghul, who did not get to use the Lazarus pit and he’s pissed off! He’s decided to kill Dad [Ra’s], Batman, Talia and anyone they know and love. Being the head of the league of assassins and has 6,000 guys working for him—he can pretty much do that job, no matter who you are and where you go. Prompting Batman (in fact) to go on an Odyssey in this story. He has to face the modern world. The modern world in this story is a lot tougher than what he's ever faced. […]
People are going around killing, more people that are recently freed from Arkham are also killing other people freely. Isn’t batman sort of responsible for them, for each guy they kill
CBM Manny: Every single one!
NA: You would think so.
CBM Manny: He carries the guilt with him everywhere
NA: So why doesn’t he kill them?
CBM Manny: His damn sensibilities…
NA: What’s in it for him to not…
CBM Manny: His damn principles.
NA: Think about it. He gets them and the law doesn’t kill them, they put them in a looney bin and they escape and he does it all over again.
So here in Gotham for this story he goes on an odyssey. […] This is the result of that odyssey right here [showcasing another page with a large reveal that I won’t state here if you haven't read this book].
We talked a bit more about the feeling the reader gets from these moments in a comic book, a graphic novel or a book like this. I like the direction and the story and state “This Batman makes sense,”
NA: Now the thing is […] Who am I?
CBM Manny [perplexed]: You? You are Neal Adams.
NA: If I were Neal Adams, would I ever let Batman down or betray his image…
CBM Manny: No, of course not, because you are Neal Adams.
NA: That’s right!
CBM Manny: Absolutely not [completing my previous statement]
NA: But yet you’ve seen this.
CBM Manny: Well, it’s an interesting take.
NA: …and I’m telling you…
CBM Manny: Is it a retcon, a mulligan, a revision?
NA: …and I’m telling you that I would not let Batman down […] I won’t let him shoot anybody or kill anybody. Yet you see the dichotomy. Seems like a contradiction. Of course there are another 5 pages to the story [laughs]
CBM Manny: Which you haven’t shown me yet! [Loud laugh]
NA [laughs]: That’s right! Which I’m not going to show you!
CBM Manny [laughing]: Show me right now! [both laughing] …amazing
Ed Fortner, who was part of my crew for the weekend taking photographs and helping me document the interview was astounded and let out a laugh of his own and stated “Master! What a Master!” and he was right. The small group of people that were surrounding us as we conducted the interview were salivating to see the ending of this book. Especially how Neal was demonstrating this aspect of Batman during the interview itself.
CBM Manny: [looking at my crew] He just totally hooked me on a book I haven’t read […] o.k. now I need to get that book--Finish that story.
NA: Thank you so much, you responded perfectly! That is why that is the best book on the table
He said “table” but his booth was over six, 6’ tables in length…there were hundreds of his comics and works on display. It was staggering
NA: Because now you, both of you, have to finish reading this!
CBM Manny: Obviously aside from Batman, which is your favorite character that you have ever worked on?
As I asked him this he signed another young mans book and went over costs and a deal for him to buy two different books and save ten dollars. He explained it eloquently and expressed to this young man why he had to tell him, because he is a male and doesn’t read signs. The 20 or so people gathered, including myself, exploded with laughter as we watched Neal continue to harass and break comic fans balls. To get Neal to do this to you is like getting a kiss on the cheek by a famous porn starlet or to ask your favorite wrestler to clothe line you in a ring for the fun of it. Neal busting balls is his thing and getting it done to you makes you family.
NA: [responding to the laughter] I am just saying, I am a member of your tribe and I know how stupid we are! We do not read signs, we do not get them, if we read them we'd need woman to tell us what they mean!
He continued to harass and poke fun toward other patrons that were buying materials from his table much to their glee “Pitiful!” he’d exclaim when someone wasn’t taking advantage of the best deal.
NA [All laughing]: Pitiful, Just pitiful! I’m ashamed to be a member of your tribe. On the other hand, I do the same stupid shit. […]
We continued to talk more as he kept signing autographs, take a few photos and continue to jokingly harass random attendees as they walked by. He started to answer my question about his favorite character and exclaimed that he has no favorite.
NA: No, no that’s ridiculous! I don’t have a favorite, nor is Batman my favorite.
CBM Manny: None that you favor more than any other?
NA: No, no, I’m a, I’m a professional [my mouth stopped working for a minute][chuckles]. Why would I have a favorite character? Preposterous.
CBM Manny: But we all have some kind of favorite, whether we’re reading it or working on it…
NA: No you have favorites, you’re a fan, and you report and write about the fandom, you’re a wonderful geek fan that has his favorites. Likewise other geek fans have theirs, they just may be less wonderful.
CBM Manny: Absolutely! [laughing]
NA: I’m working on Superman, if it wasn’t my favorite one I’d do it. I created Ra’s Al Ghul, shouldn’t he be my favorite? What about the armor I created for my company? What about Megalith? Strongest teenager in the world…I mean I’m just saying [smiles and chuckles]
CBM Manny [chuckles]: O.K. let me restructure my question. Of all the work you’ve done which has brought you the most pride or pleasure?
NA [leaning over to Ed]: He thinks he’s going to get an answer out of me! [laughs]
In these terms, Superman vs Muhammad Ali […] is the best project I ever worked on, upto Batman Odyssey. Superman vs Muhammad Ali is famous around the world, more countries in the free world love that book […] because they get it.
CBM Manny: It’s a fun and amazing book.
NA: It was more than amazing! It had a black [lowers his voice and looks around for a moment as he mumbles] [frick]ing superhero [chuckles]! What do we do in America, we ignore them you know. If it wasn’t for John Stewart, how many black superheroes would we have in America
CBM Manny: Very little, virtually none in the same context as Stewart.
NA: John Stewart is not a gang banger and he’s not an African Chief. He’s a college graduate, Black American. That’s what we need in comic books.
CBM MAnny: Did you like Ra's Al Ghul in Batman Begins?
NA: I enjoyed it, it was well done, I liked Liam Neeson in the role.
CBM Manny: What about the Green Lantern film?
NA: Don't get me started on that film [laughs] [...]
CBM Manny: With that, I’m going to take my leave, I know you’re busy and I appreciate the time we had to talk. I also love that you busted my balls and kept me honest and simple. Neal Adams busted my chops. I can die happy.
NA [laughs]: You deserved it! Thank you for sitting and talking with me, I enjoyed it very much.
Neal Adams is a powerful voice in the comic book world, he pushed for creator owned rights, aided Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s family in receiving decades old credits and royalties from DC. He won battles against Marvel to regain rights to his work. He is a political force that moved mountains for the industry and helped it get to where it is today. He’s even worked toward helping creators unionize to maintain control and ownership of their work through the years. Whether you love his work at DC and Marvel or comics from his company Continuity Associates, Neals work has likely impacted all of us as comic book fans one way or another.
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