Neal Adams Explains his Return to Comics & Why He Left In The First Place

[CBR News]

The legendary creator talks about Continuity Studios, Bucky O'Hare, his love of DC/Fawcett's Captain Marvel and more in a far reaching conversation.


Full article here.

[Dataweaver]

Yeah; Marvel's not going to return the Captain Marvel rights to DC. Which makes sense given what they're doing with the name. But couldn't they, like, share the rights? :/

[All-New Valar Stercus NOW.1]

[Adams' expression cannot be summed up succinctly]

LOL That's pretty great.

[JBatmanFan05]

Aside from his pencil work and helping out certain creators in the rights dept, I really don't much like Neal Adams. I really don't like his insisted recoloring of his past work, I don't like his writing skills (or his Expanding Hollow Earth stuff), and I've heard he's a jerk mostly.

[Lemurion]

Yeah; Marvel's not going to return the Captain Marvel rights to DC. Which makes sense given what they're doing with the name. But couldn't they, like, share the rights? :/

I really like what Marvel's been doing with Captain Marvel since Carol Danvers took the name, but it always rubs me the wrong way that Marvel can use the name and DC can't use it for Billy Batson. Sharing would be fine with me, but I don't see Marvel ever doing that.

[rzeilinger]

Neal isn't really an ass, he's a native New Yorker, which gives him a socially unfiltered edge...but that only makes him an ass to people with social filters.
There are millions like him on this planet and they function fine.

With that being said, Neal is great and has done great things. He's a very smart man who has been able to do what he loves and support a family.
For being 75 yrs of age and still very relevant in the multimedia arts (comics, animation, etc etc) that decorates him quite well.

I've heard Neal at a couple panels. He is...the Godfather of Modern Comics and he sounds like it. He is a man who should be listened to as he has had his finger on the pulse of popular media for a long time and still does.
Does every fan like every artist? writer, penciler etc or musician or movie maker...absolutely not.

I've hear many stories of his "Brutal" critiques of young artists work. He was never wrong.
To tell an insecure kid showing his work to Neal Adams and Neal say...go home and learn how to draw the human body...just go home and learn how to draw. (better)
Isn't being brutal, it's truthful and honest. Comics is not an easy career path, it's popular art and artists have to help sell books like musicians have to sell albums.

But Neal knows whats up.

And I totally agree.....Marvel Comics, for the sake of integrity and the preservation of a Historical Comic Book Character.....should allow or give DC comics the right to use the name "Captain Marvel". It was acquired through an opportunistic business deal, similar to how DC acquired it from Fawcett....But DC has the character and should rightfully be called and published as Captain Marvel....The Worlds Mightiest Mortal.

Ok...off soap box.

Maybe Neal can work something out between the two companies. Many New Yorkers are great deal makers.

[Rod G]

Neal isn't really an ass, he's a native New Yorker, which gives him a socially unfiltered edge...but that only makes him an ass to people with social filters.
There are millions like him on this planet and they function fine.

With that being said, Neal is great and has done great things. He's a very smart man who has been able to do what he loves and support a family.
For being 75 yrs of age and still very relevant in the multimedia arts (comics, animation, etc etc) that decorates him quite well.

I've heard Neal at a couple panels. He is...the Godfather of Modern Comics and he sounds like it. He is a man who should be listened to as he has had his finger on the pulse of popular media for a long time and still does.
Does every fan like every artist? writer, penciler etc or musician or movie maker...absolutely not.

I've hear many stories of his "Brutal" critiques of young artists work. He was never wrong.
To tell an insecure kid showing his work to Neal Adams and Neal say...go home and learn how to draw the human body...just go home and learn how to draw. (better)
Isn't being brutal, it's truthful and honest. Comics is not an easy career path, it's popular art and artists have to help sell books like musicians have to sell albums.

But Neal knows whats up.

And I totally agree.....Marvel Comics, for the sake of integrity and the preservation of a Historical Comic Book Character.....should allow or give DC comics the right to use the name "Captain Marvel". It was acquired through an opportunistic business deal, similar to how DC acquired it from Fawcett....But DC has the character and should rightfully be called and published as Captain Marvel....The Worlds Mightiest Mortal.

Ok...off soap box.

Maybe Neal can work something out between the two companies. Many New Yorkers are great deal makers.

That . . . is very eloquent.

Nicely stated.

[Nosocialize]

Can anyone actually back up what he said here:

"What you want to do is take Neal Adams who saved the "X-Men" from cancellation, who saved "Green Lantern" from cancellation, who saved "Batman" from cancellation, put him on a crappy low-selling title and make it work. That's what I would do."

This sounds like utter brag rubish.

[TomSlick]

Can anyone actually back up what he said here:

"What you want to do is take Neal Adams who saved the "X-Men" from cancellation, who saved "Green Lantern" from cancellation, who saved "Batman" from cancellation, put him on a crappy low-selling title and make it work. That's what I would do."

This sounds like utter brag rubish.

Naw, there's some neck-talking going on here, but he did come onto those titles when sales were down. In fact, I think X-Men was cancelled shortly after for awhile.
Regarding Green Lantern, it had great critical acclaim but wasn't a huge seller at the time.
Batman was kind of campy and he did make it cool. I seriously doubt, however, that Batman was ever close to cancellation.
He's a heck of an artist, tho.
Can't write worth a shit but I digress . . .

[Anjohl]

I'd love to see a Captain Marvel series, but that shouldn't hold it up. "Shazam", while not desirable, still works. Neal comes off as rather arrogant here, and how can he honestly think Marvel would drop a trademark to "Captain <company name>"?!

And I think people are insane with their fawning over Adams art. I can't stand his style, his characters are bulbuous and all have the same face. I hate his proportions too.

[curtiselmore]

For the love of Comics, will artist Please start drawing eyes again. I quit reading when they stopped putting in that effort. It's ok for a rare effect of super anger or something, but otherwise eyes are important and should be included.

[rzeilinger]

[QUOTE=And I think people are insane with their fawning over Adams art. I can't stand his style, his characters are bulbuous and all have the same face. I hate his proportions too.[/QUOTE]

Are you referring to his present art? or the Art that made many of the books he touched a high value collectible from the 70's?
Because now....his stuff is not what it is used to be....but it certainly isn't Marvel Bulbous or Leifeld Bulbous.

Many Fawn over his transformative art when Art wasn't realistic or cinematic...it was the cartoony style of the golden and early silver age.

anyway...... It is what it is...

[Miracleman]

I am a native NY'r myself but it isn't so much about social filters, as it is that he seems to sound like the type of person who claims to know what's wrong and that he can fix it all. It comes off like he thinks he knows the perfect answer to answer everything and that everything he touches is gold. Hell he once bragged about how much he bench presses or whatever. I respect his art,and his opinions are his. Truth be told if you're going to speak like what you say is gospel then why don't you tell Stan Lee to his face that he stole the name Captain Marvel. Don't just say it to a random interviewer. Say it to Stan himself.

[KingsLeadHat]

Are you referring to his present art? or the Art that made many of the books he touched a high value collectible from the 70's?
Because now....his stuff is not what it is used to be....but it certainly isn't Marvel Bulbous or Leifeld Bulbous.

Many Fawn over his transformative art when Art wasn't realistic or cinematic...it was the cartoony style of the golden and early silver age.

anyway...... It is what it is...

Realism in comics is an overrated style. I find Finch's art and Van Sciver's art, as two examples, soulless. That said, I don't think Neal's art is as good today as his best stuff from the 70's. Some of the covers he did in the 70's and 80's were jaw-dropping. Much like Byrne, he's gotten a bit too cartoony to my eyes. There's nothing wrong with that, I love cartoony art, just not when it screws up Neal Adams classic style.

[Nosocialize]

Naw, there's some neck-talking going on here, but he did come onto those titles when sales were down. In fact, I think X-Men was cancelled shortly after for awhile.
Regarding Green Lantern, it had great critical acclaim but wasn't a huge seller at the time.
Batman was kind of campy and he did make it cool. I seriously doubt, however, that Batman was ever close to cancellation.
He's a heck of an artist, tho.
Can't write worth a shit but I digress . . .

That was helpful thanks!