THE NEAL ADAMS CHRONICLES: One of the master’s favorite characters… People rightly hold Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams’ famed Green Lantern/Green Arrow run in high esteem, because of its political relevance and the often-tumultuous relationship between the male leads. But Black Canary was a main component of a lot of those stories and to this day, I don’t think anyone’s drawn her better than Adams. (Alex Toth, whose style was substantially different, is a close second.) Anyway, there’s a gorgeous Black Canary portrait at the online Neal Adams Store and ya gotta check it out. Here, I’ll help: “Black Canary was one of Neal’s favorite women to draw because of her lustrous, blonde hair,” said Peter Stone, Neal’s son-in-law, whose column is central to 13th Dimension‘s NEAL ADAMS CHRONICLES. “Coming from the school of Stan Drake’s women and his wonderful inking of their hair, Neal had fallen in love with that blonde, beautiful vision of Black Canary.” “Neal readily admitted that he studied Stan Drake’s The Heart of Juliet Jones for the lines Stan drew for one of the main characters’ hair,” Peter added. “Stan could draw a line that started thick, then narrowed to a thin line, then back to a thick line. One line. Neal spent a long time mastering that skill. That was the real love Neal had for Black Canary. “Did he love drawing the fishnets? Probably not. Too many lines. Just to put it in perspective, though, the women Neal loved and lusted over were Sophia Loren (he REALLY loved her), a young Lainie Kazan, Ann-Margret and, of course, Lynda Carter. Odd that he liked brunettes (and a redhead) in life, but blondes in his art, right?” The 8 1/2″ x 11″ original illustration runs for $2,500. Click here for more info. — MORE — NEAL ADAMS CHRONICLES: JOE KUBERT AND NEAL ADAMS: Two Artists, Two Friends, Two Legends. Click here. — THE NEAL ADAMS CHRONICLES: 13 REASONS Neal Adams’ BATMAN: ODYSSEY Deserves Your Respect. Click...
A NEAL ADAMS CHRONICLES birthday tribute to the late Kubert, who was born 97 years ago, on Sept. 18, 1926… By PETER STONE Neal Adams and Joe Kubert. Two names linked by their influence, longevity and iconic styles. Vastly different in artistic approach and associated characters, these two men were closer in personal lifestyles than most people were aware. Neal had five children; Joe had five children. Joe started working professionally when he was 16 years old. Neal started working professionally when he was 19. They both viewed art as a profession, creating working businesses that employed young, hungry artists and writers. Both men quickly became legends and highly respected for their unique work on new and established characters. Sgt. Rock, Deadman, Hawkman, Green Lantern, Justice Society of America, Batman, Uncanny X-Men, Tarzan, Conan, Seven Soldiers of Victory, the Avengers and so many more were the titles and characters Neal and Joe made even more famous. Beyond their personal worlds, the orbits of Joe Kubert and Neal Adams’ professional worlds constantly intersected. From the very beginning of Neal’s love of comics all the way through his professional career, Neal was always aware of what Joe was doing and how he could help one of his icons. When speaking of his childhood, Neal would often talk about how his father (a military man) was stationed with his family in post WWII Germany in the early- to mid-’50s. Eventually, his father was sent home to the States. By boat. And it was not the Queen Elizabeth, that’s for sure. The Atlantic Ocean may not be the Cape of Good Hope (though that’s where it’s located, on the coast of South Africa) but it has its share of violent storms. The journey began in England where, while waiting to board the ship, Neal saw a newsstand that sold comics. There he discovered American comic books, especially Tor in a comic called One Million Years Ago, published by St. John in 1953. Cavemen and dinosaurs existed in the same world. Completely ridiculous, but Neal immediately loved Joe’s work. Who know how many times Neal read that comic on his tumultuous journey across the ocean? That moment cemented a powerful belief in a young Neal Adams: “Comic books are one of the few things that a kid will buy with his own money.” That...
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