Neal Adams

Neal Adams cover DC 100 Page Super Spectacular #6 1971

Adam's influential upgrade of Superhero visuals changed comics for DC Comics and Marvel

"I look at other people's work, especially the realistic guys - - that is, the guys who don't know how to draw, they don't know how to do "big foot," never did "big foot" stuff. They use photographs, they use other people's work, and they seem incredibly limited. They have no expansiveness in their work. They are a very constipated kind of artist. They do one kind of thing, and that's all they do. I don't understand that kind of thinking - - or dealing with the world... artistically. I don't understand how people can have that kind of limited outlook. From the point of view of exercising ability, to draw "big foot" stuff makes you see all kinds of shortcuts that are available in all kinds of different ways."

"One of the things I did early in my career, after I finished the strip, was become a cheerleader. I'd say, "This stuff is great!" I yelled at people fro throwing out artwork. I got into a big hassle with the DC people. They'd wait three issues and then throw the artwork out, and I just stormed around the office yelling. This guy would be in the production room, and he'd be slicing pages so that they'd fit into the garbage can. I'd constantly talk to guys who were ashamed. Part of forming the Academy or the Guild was to try and get people to be proud of what they were doing. People would say it was awful, and they'd go through embarrassing experiences. At a party they'd say they did comic books, and they'd never be able to defend it; you know, people would attack it. ...You go to europe and it's totally different. The best thing you can do to a comic book artist is send him to Europe."

From Will Eisner's Shop Talk, published by Dark Horse Maverick, June 2001. Quotes are from the 1983 intervew between WIll Eisner and Neal Adams printed in the book. amazon.com