Like many, I poured over article after article, post after post, and comment after comment to find out what people were saying about Neal Adams, my favorite comic book artist. The response to Adams's passing overwhelmed the digital universe, providing solace in the shared grieving. Personally, I did not find adequate words but shared only a terse expression of my own sense of loss.
Universal Admiration for Neal Adams
As expected, posts from professionals and fans were universally appreciative of Neal Adams's unique talents, his industry influence, and his battle to secure greater creator rights. Long-time fans of Adams know he also had his critics. But, even among those he struggled with at times, many were quick to express their sympathy to the family and recognize his positive attributes.
Possibly, his greatest attribute resides in the area of family. I recall watching one of Adams' Facebook auctions. He liked to reminisce and tell stories. I was struck by his comment that comics were still just a family business. Odd when considering the mega-corporations producing comics today, but not odd when watching his family pulling together like a mom-and-pop comic art shop.
A Fan Asks "If Only" Neal Adams...
Putting aside all of the great works that Adams did for his professional family, can I ask, just as a fan, "If only"? Here, I'm pushing aside what Adams did to help creators get their rightful piece of the pie. I'm also wishing he didn't form Continuity Associates, a launchpad for many artists. I'm just fantasizing about what DC Comics would have looked like throughout the mid-seventies, eighties, and nineties if Neal Adams had regularly been doing cover art and stories for my favorite comic company?
I admit that occasionally something brilliant like the cover art for Superman #308 appeared. And can we agree that Superman vs. Muhammad Ali was Adams' greatest artistic achievement after going independent?
But how great would it have been to have Adams as the regular Bat-artist for a couple more years or a decade? How about a few more of those oversize epic-length limited collectors editions? What if there were 40 or 50 more Justice League of America covers by Adams? For goodness' sake, Neal Adams's art makes back issues of Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen buyable just for the cover!
Spectre and Deadman
Artistically, Neal Adams's accomplishments could be measured best by work he did on secondary characters and horror comics. The Spectre and Deadman are two examples of characters that I wouldn't have cared about as a kid if not for the Neal Adams art. Unbelievably, his art was NOT universally accepted at first. In "The Definitive Artist" article I wrote, I excerpted a letter column where half of the respondents dissed Neal's Spectre work replacing Murphy Anderson. "Neal Adams is okay--but compared to Murphy Anderson, nothing". That letter writer should have been banned!
But think about these stories featuring Adams art AND scripts-- Spectre and Deadman. Both dealt with questions of life after death. Even finding purpose in life after death. There was a spiritual component of Adams that makes me ask "If Only".
Finally, If Only
And I also ask "If Only" as I think about an opportunity I had to talk to Neal Adams and have him sign my price guide as well as my beat-up copy of Limited Collectors Edition C-51.
I admit that I was a little fan-boy and too timid to talk to a personal hero. It's true that I rationalized I should earn enough money from sales to justify the expense.
I probably thought there would be another opportunity, not knowing COVID was right around the corner ready to shut down fan gatherings.
IF ONLY, I was a little more bold and said what was truly on my mind...
Please share your Neal Adams experiences below.
*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not reflect investment advice on behalf of GoCollect.
