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.
