New book illustrates Neal Adams' legacy

Neal Adams changed how comic books were drawn in America.

I remember the first time I saw his artwork. It was in the late 1960s. He was something altogether different from previous comic-book artists, who, while terrific, were basically cartoonists with excellent individual styles.

Adams came from advertising, and was a master of the "photorealism" school. His characters had weight and texture. Instead of "spotting blacks" where convenient, his people and objects threw shadows as you'd see in real life. And all his superheroes were anatomically accurate, bursting with the kind of power you see in professional weightlifters.

For the first time, Batman truly became a creature of the night. For the first time, Superman really looked like he could bend steel with his bare hands.

Adams has reportedly said, "If superheroes existed, they'd look like I draw them."

That might be apocryphal, but when I heard that remark as a boy, I could only nod in agreement. It wasn't bragging; it was simply true.

Adams quickly moved from backbench comics such as "Strange Adventures," where he drew Deadman, to big guns such as "Batman" and "Justice League of America."

But that was the 1970s. It has been decades since Adams was a major player in comics, and other artists are the trendsetters now. But Adams isn't really gone. When you look at work by superstars such as Jim Lee (now co-publisher of DC Comics), you can see Adams. He's still an influence, and will probably remain so for generations.

So it's appropriate that Vanguard Productions has published "The Art of Neal Adams" ($25), an overview of his career. Written by Adams, the book has slick paper and high-quality printing to show the art to its best advantage.

Adams has done everything you can do with illustration: advertising, comic strips ("Ben Casey"), every genre of comic books, even movie posters. Plus, he's had an art studio and his own publishing firm (Continuity Comics). "The Art of Neal Adams" covers it chronologically, in Adams' words.