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| Above, Paul Levitz and Mrs. Jerome Siegel at the Superman week luncheon in Los Angeles, July 2001. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
When his "big burst" upon the comics scene came around 1967-68, my first reaction was neither liking his work nor hating it. It was just so different. Later, when he started drawing Batman and Deadman stories, his work really grew on me.
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| Above, Superman #204 cover by Neal Adams. |
Neal Adams was a giant in the comic book industry. His passing two days ago caused a huge outpouring of appreciation of his artistic talent and leadership in artists' rights that revolutionized the comic book industry.
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| Above, Neal Adams and yours truly at the 2012 Comikaze Expo in Los Angeles. |
One such outpouring of appreciation came from former DC Comics President Paul Levitz that was posted at 13th Dimension. It is an excellent read.
It begins with:
Comics has lost a force of nature. Neal Adams was a magnificent artist, but that might have been the least of his talents. It would have been enough if he had just been an artist, of course: being one of the two newcomers to comics in the 1960s (with Jim Steranko) that rekindled the aspirations of a generation to reshape the pages of comics; drawing the definitive Batman that Neal would argue with his customary modesty would make possible billions of dollars of revenue for the company; moving the world of American comic art back from design (exemplified by Carmine Infantino) and exaggerated cartooning (as leaped from the pencil of Jack Kirby) to a new balance of dynamism and illustration; and entertaining so many millions of us.
To read the rest of Levitz's appreciation of Neal Adams, go here.
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