Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
OP Offline
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29


DEADMAN six-issue series (2017) story and art by Neal Adams
https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=44710982


The reviews I looked at are all over the place.

My general sense is, it's a re-tread that has the flavor of the original, but like virtually all nostalgic new stories with old characters, is a pale shadow of the original.

The new Neal Adams art of the last 25 years or so doesn't appeal to me. For me, Neal Adams has lost it. If he drew like this in his best 1967-1978 period, I never would have looked twice at his work.

And the worst of it is when he "corrects" his best work in reprint editions, such as the DEADMAN hardcover, and the BATMAN ILLUSTRATED BY NEAL ADAMS vol 1, 2 and 3 hardcovers.




Joined: May 2003
Posts: 43,951
Likes: 6
Officially "too old for this shit"
15000+ posts
Offline
Officially "too old for this shit"
15000+ posts
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 43,951
Likes: 6
His new artwork is still competent and often better than what passes for good art in modern comics but, yeah, he's not what he used to be.

And overall, he's just not a good writer.

Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
OP Offline
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29



I have to say, at least back in the day, Neal Adams did script some good stories. Of the four SPECTRE issues Adams drew in 1968, Adams scripted SPECTRE 4 and 5. (Issue 2 was by Gardner Fox. Issue 3 was by Mike Friedrich, the best of the four).

Adams began writing issues of STRANGE ADVENTURES (Deadman), when the series was suffering from not having a steady writer. I think this was Adams' best writing effort. Adams scripted issues 212-216, which were on a par with the best previous issues.
STRANGE ADVENTURES 213 in particular I find one of the best issues of the series.
And also (less impressive) was writer/artist on Deadman backup stories in AQUAMAN 50-52.

Adams also both wrote and illustrated another good story, "Holocaust", in EPIC ILLUSTRATED 7. It was originally to be a Power Records book, was in inventory for 10 years, and completely rewritten for its published form.

To support your argument, G-man: SKATEMAN # 1 (and mercifully, the only issue).

And really, just about any of his Continuity comics of the 1980's/early 1990's make your argument. The art was decent, if often garishly colored. But the Adams writing in those 1980's Continuity stories was like a throwback to something out of a mid/late 1960's DC comic. They were like stories that appeared 20 years late, out of a time vortex.


Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
OP Offline
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29


Neal Adams on Creating Batman's Iconic Look, Deadman and More
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z03Np_fBAI

Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
OP Offline
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29


Okay, I re-read those SPECTRE stories over the weekend, they were actually pretty horrible, writingwise. Even the Gardner Fox story (issue 2), and Friedrich story (3) were pretty sub-par.

You can read them online at:
https://readcomiconline.to/Comic/The-Spectre/Issue-2?id=68081

The memory of them was better than the actual stories. Neal Adams has talent, but writing stories generally isn't one of his strong points.

There was a beautifully illustrated short piece "The Game" in HOUSE OF MYSTERY 178 with both story and art by Adams. Conceptually it was a very good story, but the dialogue was very clunky.

On HOUSE OF MYSTERY, Adams did stories in 178, 179, and 186.
And covers on 175-192, 197, 199, and 251-254.



Joined: May 2003
Posts: 43,951
Likes: 6
Officially "too old for this shit"
15000+ posts
Offline
Officially "too old for this shit"
15000+ posts
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 43,951
Likes: 6
Really, he's on a par with the late Bob Haney: some interesting ideas but clunky dialogue and inability to keep everyone in character

Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
OP Offline
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29



Yeah, the Haney comparison fits. And either one of them might be considered Ernest Hemingway, relative to Silver Age DC standards.

A 13-year-old Jim Shooter set the world on fire in 1966 with his writing on Legion in ADVENTURE COMICS 346-380, simply taking notes on the storytelling techniques used at Marvel, and submitting them to use on a series for DC. In that era, he also worked on ACTION and SUPERMAN for editor Mort Weisinger.

It still amazes me that a 13 year old kid could enter comics and write professionally with more engaging stories than the DC pros at that time. But such was the standard of comics writing in that era.
When DC's editors found out Shooter was under 18, they took away his books and said he could come back when he was an adult. Which Shooter later did from 1974-1976, but by then Mort Weisinger had retired, and Shooter found it far more difficult to work for Julius Schwartz and Murray Boltinoff, at which point he defected over to Marvel.




Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
OP Offline
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29




STRANGE ADVENTURES 213, one of my favorite Adams covers. One I had in a glossy mylar sleeve on the wall in my home art gallery for several years.

In addition to the issue 213 cover and interior art, Adams scripted issues 212-216. Adams in an interview said that the series was suffering from having a different writer just about every issue, so he pushed to take over writing the series to give it a consistency it was lacking till then.


Joined: May 2003
Posts: 43,951
Likes: 6
Officially "too old for this shit"
15000+ posts
Offline
Officially "too old for this shit"
15000+ posts
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 43,951
Likes: 6
I think you meant to post a different cover. That one's a mock up.

Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
OP Offline
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29



No, that's the cover for STRANGE ADVENTURES 213.
Maybe you thought I was trying to post a cover from the new series. I meant the original series.

For anyone who hasn't seen them, here are all the STRANGE ADVENTURES Deadman covers (issues 206-216).
https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?tid=181031&pgi=201

I was glad Adams still did the STRANGE ADVENTURES covers for 2 issues even after the Deadman series ended (217-218). For readers buying these when they came out, that must have lessened the sting of Deadman being cancelled.

It was also kind of a natural choice to have Adam Strange reprints as the replacement series in STRANGE ADVENTURES. Issues 217-244 were my first time reading these Adam Strange stories.
I had a bitch of a time over several years much later, finding all the back issues of them in their original MYSTERY IN SPACE form. Also nice was the complete run of Murphy Anderson "Atomic Knights" stories reprinted as well.




Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
OP Offline
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29


You can read the whole 6-issue 2018 series by Neal Adams online:

https://readcomiconline.to/Comic/Deadman-2018/Issue-1?id=124519#1



The art is very loose and sketchy, very different than Neal Adams in his prime.


Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
OP Offline
brutally Kamphausened
15000+ posts
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,963
Likes: 29




For anyone who isn't familiar with the original series, here's a link to all the issues that you can read online, starting in
STRANGE ADVENTURES 205, Oct 1967. (issues 205-216).

Issue 205 is Arnold Drake story, Infantino pencils/Roussos inks.

Issue 206 is Drake script, Adams pencils/Roussos inks (Sekowsky/Roussos cover). Adams/Roussos is obviously a horrible mismatch art collaboration, but I've come to appreciate it for what an unusual combination it is. It shows that no matter how unsuited an inker, you still can't overpower and hide Adams' distinctive style.

207 is where it starts to get good. Jack Miller script, Neal Adams pencils and inks. The same creative team on issues 207-211.

Issues 212-216 are Neal Adams script, pencils and inks. When Jack Miller left, Adams pushed to be the writer, to give the series a consistency it otherwise wouldn't have. And 213-216 present some of Adams' most wild and innovative page layouts.

Other issues that have Deadman stories in the Adams canon are:

BRAVE AND THE BOLD 79, Sept 1968.
Story by Bob Haney, art by Neal Adams.

And BRAVE AND THE BOLD 86, Nov 1968 (concluding the Deadman series from STRANGE ADVENTURES).
Story by Neal Adams, art by Neal Adams/Dick Giordano.


And after the original storyline was resolved, the series was loosely continued in:

AQUAMAN 50-52, April, June, August 1970
Adams story, Adams art, backup stories 9p, 8p, and 9p respectively.
The Adams back-ups tie loosely into the Steve Skeates/Jim Aparo lead stories in the 3 issues.

CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN 74, July 1970.
O'Neil story, Tuska art 16p, Neal Adams 7p

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 94, Nov 1971.
Friedrich story, Dillin/Geilla art 18p, Neal Adams 4 p, 22 pages total.

BATMAN 232, June 1971
O'Neil story, Adams/Giordano art 22p
A Batman story, Adams just drew a Deadman face into a mountain landscape, to express his affection for Deadman, and that he hadn't forgotten the character.



Even the "complete" Deadman reprint collections don't include the complete set of Adams stories. If you buy the expensive slipcased hardcover, or the 2 collected trades it was split into when reprinted again in softcover, you still won't have included the BATMAN 232 and JLA 94 stories I linked above.

I also prefer the printing and colors in the original stories.

There was also a DEADMAN 7-issue 1985 reprint series on Baxter paper, with some odd changes (reprinting STRANGE ADVENTURES 205-216, BRAVE AND THE BOLD 79 and 86, not the other stories).

And as in all the Adams reprints by DC, the colors, even when done right, reproduce darker and make the art less visible. Somehow even with lesser-quality printing techniques back in 1967-1971, it still looked better in its original form.

The new Adams series is very substandard in both writing and art.
I wanted to include the original series here to compare it to, and give those who haven't read it a chance to enjoy a series that's a lot more satisfying than the new 6-issue disappointing re-tread, of what was done so much better the first time.




Link Copied to Clipboard
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5