Tuesday 20 May 2014

NEAL ADAMS' BATMAN COVER GALLERY - PART FIVE...

Pencils & inks by NEAL ADAMS.  Copyright DC COMICS

Oh, look what I have here to lure you into my lair, my pretties.  (Cripes!  I even scared myself then!  Don't worry though - no puppies' tails on offer.)  It's only another bombastic batch of BATMAN covers (and associated titles) by Nifty NEAL ADAMS to tease and tempt you, and which demonstrate what a superb practitioner of his art he is.  But you knew that anyway, right?

With covers of this quality it's hard to play favourites, but I must admit to being partial to the ones featuring the MAN-BAT, in particular DETECTIVE COMICS #402.  Do you have a favourite from amongst them?  Go on - tell us all which one(s) it is - and why.

Pencils & inks by NEAL ADAMS

Pencils & inks by NEAL ADAMS

Pencils & inks by NEAL ADAMS

Pencils & inks by NEAL ADAMS

Pencils & inks by NEAL ADAMS from a sketch by CARMINE INFANTINO

Pencils & inks by NEAL ADAMS

Pencils & inks by NEAL ADAMS

Pencils & inks by NEAL ADAMS

Pencils & inks by NEAL ADAMS

6 comments:

Gey Blabby said...

Indeed, the cover for Man Or Bat is a beauty — even if the garishness of the colours in the reprint fails to highlight the subtleties of Adams' original art. The worst culprit in that respect is probably #225, where much of the detail has been lost. I know they've done it to appeal to the modern market, but to me it seems almost a crime.
The Beatles issue (#222) is a personal favourite, bought in a wee shop on the Isle of Bute away back when. It was probably my older brother who filled me in on the Paul Is Dead aspect of the story. Our Ford Anglia had an eight-track cartridge player fitted, and Abbey Road by The Beatles was the best of the few we had to play, so it was pretty nifty to see Adams playing with their cover on his, even if it wasn't quite the iconic image that it's become nowadays.

Kid said...

GB, do you have your screen on energy-saver? The reason I ask is because I compared DC #402 with the original (online) and, certainly in that instance, the recoloured version (which only varies slightly from the original) is far superior. Perhaps you need to brighten your screen? I have to say that I enjoyed the recoloured contents in the 3 Neal Adams Batman books, because it's quite subtle and adds extra depth. I think it was Adams himself who recoloured them. Great reminiscence by the way - keep 'em comin'!

Unknown said...

I preferred Detective Comics number 400 ( Challenge of the Man-Bat) to issue 402's "Man or Bat" although both contain Adams interior art so are both great imho (think most others are drawn by Irv Novick) - I wonder why there was an issue between the 2 Man-Bat stories (I have these 2 issues in a reprint edition but can't recall if the stories led on from each other or not and Neal Adams was just late with his art etc)

The Beatles homage issue (I think the band were called "Oliver Twist" in the comic) was pretty clever for the time especially linking it with the "Abbey Road" cover and conspiracy issue of the time (ah Ford Anglia that brings back memories my Dad had that car as well Gey ) I think DC did a few comics with the Beatles (or a band that looked like them) in other comics around this time also as I recall.

Kid said...

Would that be the Titan Books b&w reprint book from the late '80s or early '90s, McScotty? I remember the DC comic you're talking about, but not the name. I'll check through some ads when I get a chance.

Unknown said...

Yeah it was indeed the B&W Titan books reprints of the late 80s early 90s - the Man Bat one was called "Challenge of the Man Bat" - Think I also read these in the the London editions DC reprint mag "The Super-Heroes"

Wee link to the Titan book covers below:
https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?SeriesID=19323830

Kid said...

I've got the book - going by memory, I think the Man-Bat stories followed one another with no interruptions. I've also got The Super-Heroes - must do a cover gallery soon.



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