CSN @ NEWSARAMA: NEAL ADAMS' MONSTERS LIVE

[MattBrady]

by Cliff Biggers

Any new comics work from the legendary Neal Adams is cause for celebration. And that means that it’s time to start planning your parties, because Adams is putting the finishing touches on a new graphic novel that includes new Adams art along with reprints of material not seen for more than a decade... material that has been reworked for this volume.

Neal Adams: Monsters, a seventy-two page hardcover graphic novel, compiles and expands on the serial presented originally in Continuity Studios’ Echoes of Future Past. “Neal’s added new covers, four or five new pages of story, and all of it features all new computer color and cool special effects,” Vanguard Productions’ J. David Spurlock told CSN. “That, along with the top quality printing on the finest paper is enough to make any fan—even the few that have some of the old Echo issues—stand in line... But that’s not all! We added a section of Neal’s history with monsters, including behind-the-scenes film artwork which has never been seen, plus a gallery of vintage monster paintings from Dracula Lives, etc.

“And still there’s more - the deluxe signed edition features a blood-red foil embossed slipcase 16-pg bonus portfolio including unpublished work for Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula movie (yes, Neal worked on it as well as Steranko and Mignola).”

Spurlock considers the work some of the best in Adams’ career. This is partly due to the detail included in the art—detail that seems greater than usual because “Monsters was rendered oversized to take the penciling and inking chores to the max,” Spurlock said. “The end result is a masterwork which features the dramatic linework and exquisite fine rendering Neal Adams has been canonized for.”

The storyline of this graphic novel is a sort of monster-movie-fan’s-dream-come-true. “When Universal did the Frankenstein, Dracula and Wolfman movies, I’d always felt they’d missed the boat,” Neal Adams said. “They didn’t do the one final movie. You know, the one where the monsters all battle. So I developed this ‘Monster Project’ myself. The meeting of monsters.”

Adams explains what brings the three monsters together in one story. “An enraged village hungry for blood pursues Vincent, the nephew-assistant of the now dead Doctor Frankenstein, and his fiancée Erika. From out of nowhere, Prince Vlad rescues the terrified young couple. But Vlad is, in fact, Dracula, and he has a sinister purpose. If he has an unstoppable creature like the Frankenstein monster, his safety will be assured during daylight. To get this, Vlad holds Erika for ransom. The monster is created then kills Erika but, a werewolf’s bite brings her back. The scene is set for a battle of pitiless monsters.”

Neal Adams: Monsters, a $24.95 seventy-two page hardcover, is scheduled for late December release; Vanguard is also offering an eighty-eight page deluxe slipcased version of the hardcover, featuring a bonus sixteen page portfolio signed by Neal Adams, for $39.95.

this article originally appeared in Comic Shop Newsarama #855

[Rockin' Rich]

Neal is a great artist, but once in San Diego a few years back, I heard him expound on the nature of reality and it was truly mind-expanding and hilarious. I'd love to have a DVD of his rap. Rock on Neal!!

[dcpoole]

Good news, but this is the first I've heard of this and am wondering about the best way to get my hands on it. With a late December release has it already been in Previews or was it not in there at all? Would I look for this under Vanguard Publishing?

[Fazhoul]

Damn! Another book I can't afford! Maybe Neal will come out with a paerback version later.

[fuzznugget]

I seem to remember a LP sized Power Records thing from the 70's featureing Frankenstein, Dracula & the Wolfman done by Adams. Is this the same material? or am I imagining the whole thing?

[Doug Smith]

Originally posted by fuzznugget
I seem to remember a LP sized Power Records thing from the 70's featureing Frankenstein, Dracula & the Wolfman done by Adams. Is this the same material? or am I imagining the whole thing?

I don't know if that was Adams' work or not, but I remember the Power Records stuff, and I remember seeing Tomb of Dracula, Werewolf by Night, and Frankenstein. The 45 with the comic book, right? I had the Spider-Man one with the Man-Wolf, an FF one that retold their origin, Hulk vs. Abomination, and Captain America & the Falcon vs. the Phoenix (aka Baron Zemo II). Oh, and some Planet of the Apes record/comics as well!

Ahhhhh, to be six years old again...

[Burnrate]

I seem to remember a LP sized Power Records thing from the 70's featureing Frankenstein, Dracula & the Wolfman done by Adams. Is this the same material? or am I imagining the whole thing?

Hello, newbie here so if I screwed up your quote, my apologies.

You are not imagining the whole thing. I had this, too, in audio cassete format. It was a pretty elaborate package called "House of Terror", which included two tapes and an LP sized reprint of this comic.

One tape was a performance of the comic. The second included various novelty horror songs (Monster Mash, Witch Doctor, Purple People Eater, etc.) as well as some sketches that were mostly disturbing as hell then, and kind of creep me out now.

[chuck gibson]

I realize it's been awhile since this story was re-printed and that Adams is doing new material for it---that's all great---but why is it that we never get any material from him from the big 2??? I mean, if they stuck him on Batman I think the fans would go absolutely NUTS. You'd get people into the stores that hadn't been there in years. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the sales on an Adams Batman project ended up rivalling Jim Lee's sales on the title. Now, there's no way in hell you're going to get Adams for 12 issues---give up that dream---but maybe a 4 issue story arc? Batman aside, I'm sure you could put Adams on most ANY mainstream title with the right writer and get good sales out of it.

This book's a good idea because this stuff hasn't been reprinted in a long time, but if you think I'm going to throw down $25 just because Adams has a couple of new covers and 5 new pages to a story I already own, (it was also reprinted in black and white in the Art of Neal Adams vol 2) you're high on drugs and in serious need of an intervention.

[benhameen]

this has nothing to do with the whole monsters thing but does anyone know what happened to ARMOR and MEGALITH and the other Neal Adams stuff I think from Comico? Did those series ever finish? I saw some weird Oblvion war stuff or something like that but Neal wasnt doing it and it didnt look like they were on the same story that I remeber. (rage taking out armor's hand and eye)
now thats some classic art. and Neal used to have these moral stories in the back one was about prison very classic and informative

[TRaik]

Originally posted by dcpoole
With a late December release has it already been in Previews or was it not in there at all? Would I look for this under Vanguard Publishing?

I don't recall seeing this book in Previews yet either, but, yes, Vanguard's stuff is indeed usually listed in the comics section under "Vanguard"...

Originally posted by Fazhoul
Another book I can't afford! Maybe Neal will come out with a paerback version later.

Vanguard's usually reasonably good about issuing paperback versions of their hardcovers (often, simultaneously, which doesn't seem to be happening here...) so I'd guess that chances are good that there'd be a paperback someday...

[theodoros]

I don't have as much books of Neal Adams as I should have.

He really is a great artist. He respects his characters, they are real and realistic. And he has the best perspective (sorry about my english, still learning)!!

[stvnhthr]

I still have the record and book, it was one of the coolest things my parents bought for me, even thogh they cringed every time I played it ("and what now Beast, will you consume me?")

I can't wait to get it in another format.

[grphxkindaguy]

Originally posted by theodoros
I don't have as much books of Neal Adams as I should have.

He really is a great artist. He respects his characters, they are real and realistic. And he has the best perspective (sorry about my english, still learning)!!

I concur!

I recently got into Neal Adam's art, after completing my run of BRAVE & THE BOLD comics and finally beginning to read them.

His art KNOCKED MY SOCKS OFF, which I haven't experienced since I first encountered McFarlane's art on Amazing Spidey all those years back.

Besides his run on Brave & the Bold and Batman, what other books has Adam's done artwork on? Please help!!!

(oh, and Theodoros, your english is fine!)

[dollman]

Originally posted by benhameen
this has nothing to do with the whole monsters thing but does anyone know what happened to ARMOR and MEGALITH and the other Neal Adams stuff I think from Comico? Did those series ever finish? I saw some weird Oblvion war stuff or something like that but Neal wasnt doing it and it didnt look like they were on the same story that I remeber. (rage taking out armor's hand and eye)
now thats some classic art. and Neal used to have these moral stories in the back one was about prison very classic and informative

I think Armor and Megalith was published by Adam's Continuity Press, not Comico. As for whether or not the series finished, I suspect they felt into the same scheduling hole that caught Ms. Mystic and Toy Boy....monthlies that turned into annuals. And people complain about Millar and Hitch's tardiness on Ultimates...yeesh!

I love Adams art, I think Superman vs Muhammad Ali was his best work. But as a writer....I think he should stick to drawing.

[Somebody]

Have to agree about his art being great

Originally posted by grphxkindaguy
Besides his run on Brave & the Bold and Batman, what other books has Adam's done artwork on? Please help!!!

Other than that, stuff he did that leaps to mind is the tail end of the original X-Men run (traded a couple of years ago), Green Lantern/Green Arrow (traded too, IIRC) and part of the Avengers' Kree/Skrull War (TPBed).

Anything else?

[shakey]

Neal Adams run on the original Deadman story arc, through Strange Adventures and The Brave and Bold was outstanding.

Innovative layouts, amazing art. Buy the hardcover, or find the reprint series from the 80's on Ebay.

You might have to declare Adams as the best Bronze Age artist.

[hunterjax]

Besides his run on Brave & the Bold and Batman, what other books has Adam's done artwork on? Please help!!!

Adams also had runs on some DC Romance titles (mostly covers), some amazingly eery work in DC's horror title The Witching Hour; he also did some covers and interiors for All Star Western (which later became Weird Western Tales) and Weird War Tales. His best known work was on Detective Comics and Batman, starting with the classic Detective Comics #395 which is credited with taking Batman back to a darker, more realistic style and changing the previous ten years worth of schlock! He also created Talia and Ra's Al Ghul ('Tec #411 I think and Batman #232, respectively.) Adams also did some work on Conan for Marvel, I believe. His run on Green Lantern/Green Arrow (with writer Denny O'Neil) is considered the most though provoking and mature comic run of the Bronze Age.

Hoep this helps

[Harry Tzvi Keusch]

His best known work was on Detective Comics and Batman, starting with the classic Detective Comics #395 which is credited with taking Batman back to a darker, more realistic style and changing the previous ten years worth of schlock! He also created Talia and Ra's Al Ghul ('Tec #411 I think and Batman #232, respectively.) Adams also did some work on Conan for Marvel, I believe.

Adams did not do DETECTIVE COMICS # 411, but he did do BATMAN # 232 - first Ra's Al Ghul. He drew DC # 395, 397, 400 (first Man-Bat), 402, 407, 408, 410. He also drew a back up Elongated Man in # 369. In BATMAN, he drew # 219 (a christmas story), 232, 234 (first Silver age Two-Face), 237, 243-244, 251 (one of the best Joker stories EVER) and 255.

He also drew WORLDS FINEST # 175-176, AND two back up stories in SUPERMAN - #249 (the origin of Terra Man) and # 254 (the Private Life of Clarck Kent).

As for Conan, he did #' 37 and 116, as well as a few stories in the B&W magazines.

Of course, he also drew hundreds of covers for DC comics (Superman, Batman, World's Finest and many more).

[Jeremy Williams]

There`s monsters everywhere.

LONG LIVE HORROR!

[Mike Tyler]

Originally posted by chuck gibson: I realize it's been awhile since this story was re-printed and that Adams is doing new material for it---that's all great---but why is it that we never get any material from him from the big 2??? I mean, if they stuck him on Batman I think the fans would go absolutely NUTS. You'd get people into the stores that hadn't been there in years. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the sales on an Adams Batman project ended up rivalling Jim Lee's sales on the title. Now, there's no way in hell you're going to get Adams for 12 issues---give up that dream---but maybe a 4 issue story arc? Batman aside, I'm sure you could put Adams on most ANY mainstream title with the right writer and get good sales out of it.
I couldn't agree more with your statement Chuck. I mean, don't get me wrong. I love Jim Lee but I think if they were to reunite the classic Oneil & Adams team back on Batman for even 4 issues it would rock. Hell put him on anybody I just wanna see him do more comics work! The man is a genius and visionary who was truly ahead of his time.! And I would love to see a whole new generation rediscover his work. Case in point my 16 year old nephew. He just recently read my copy of The complete Neal Adams Batman Vol I and he loved it! In fact he's eagerly awaiting the next two volumes! Neal Adams Rules! 'Nuff said!

[utiti77]

Let them include Adams' roughs for the Phantom of the Paradise poster finished by Corben please please please please please please please please please please please please please..........


u77

[benhameen]

Originally posted by dollman
I think Armor and Megalith was published by Adam's Continuity Press, not Comico. As for whether or not the series finished, I suspect they felt into the same scheduling hole that caught Ms. Mystic and Toy Boy....monthlies that turned into annuals. And people complain about Millar and Hitch's tardiness on Ultimates...yeesh!

I love Adams art, I think Superman vs Muhammad Ali was his best work. But as a writer....I think he should stick to drawing.

Thanks for the info I remeber Mystic and Toyboy too did Neal write Armor if so it wasnt bad... and whoever wrote those backups were amazing.
does anyone else have any info on the late lamented armor?

[Zig Zag Wanderer]

Originally posted by MattBrady
“When Universal did the Frankenstein, Dracula and Wolfman movies, I’d always felt they’d missed the boat,” Neal Adams said. “They didn’t do the one final movie. You know, the one where the monsters all battle.

Well, there *was* Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein.....

[roblewmac]

love neal adams! The price is steap but reasonable