How Neal Adams and Denny O'Neil Made the Modern Batman
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- čas přidán 4. 07. 2024
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▶Chapters:
0:00 - Intro: The O'Neil/Adams Era Begins
01:45 - Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams: Secret Origins
05:37 - The Introduction of Ra's al Ghul
10:17 - The Demon Lives Again
15:08 - A Closer Look at the O'Neil/Adams Batman
18:47 - O'Neil and Adams Post-Demon
20:34 - Conclusion: The Legacy of Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams - Zábava
I just learned this morning of the passing of Neal Adams. He was my favorite Batman artist & his artwork gave the Caped Crusader a more dramatic look. He will be missed by all of his fans.R.I.P.
I loved his work on X-Men.
I was doing a school project in my art class and I had to put artists I liked and I decided to include Neal Adams, much to my surprise he had only died hours ago it was very surreal may he rest in peace
Everyone gives credit to Frank Miller, but Denny O'Neil and Neil Adams were the ones who brought the character back to his roots
Yes very very true. Batman was not campy on their watch. RIP Mr. Adams.😢
@@northprime_unlimited Batman was still pretty campy under them. I just reread a detective comics issue written by O’Neil that had Batman solving a hamlet play inspired crime. Pretty stupid if I do say so myself. Detective comics issue 425 to be exact.
These guys were who I collected when I went into back issues. They’re work was incredible. But thank God for Frank Miller…he totally transformed how people were treating Batman because of that ridiculous TV show. Every Batman movie made since his great work came out copies something he drew in a panel.
As a big Frank Miller fan I still get annoyed by the notion that he somehow created the modern Batman. I love TDKR but that version of Batman has nothing to do with how he is depicted in modern media, the popularization of that version is all thanks to Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams.
This is the Batman I grew up with. Like you said “there’s no way to draw Batman to look totally realistic” but Neal Adam’s did. He drew him with grace, not overly muscular but a human at his absolute peak when performing. The splash page you showed said it all.
Would you be willing to do a series like this where you cover the history of Superman? I know you love him just as much as Batman and I'd love to hear your take on his history too
I'd love that too. I find comics history fascinating and am greatly enjoying these videos.
Steve, please do it.
Absolutely! I think "Best Superman Ever" would be a great companion series to this one. I'll start making a list of possible topics, and hopefully start making some in the new year.
@@SteveShives I definitely would love to see your analysis of the story "What's So Wrong About Truth, Justice, and The American Way?"
@@ConorCarlisle Topics for a Superman series could include the brilliance of the Imaginary Stories, for being able to ignore continuity and do crazy stuff two decades before Marvel's What If...the greatness of Curt Swan and Kurt Schaffenberger...is Silver Age Krypton a fascist society? (Kryptonians had their careers dictated to them by computers!)...a look at Alan Moore's legendary trio of Superman stories...Jim Shooter's contributions with the Legion of Super Heroes...the Superman propaganda stories of World War II (which were published in hardcover a few years ago)... And, oh yeah. The modern day Superman, too. :P
Rest In Peace, Neal!
and Denny, but Neal passed today. :(
19:05. THE most iconic single image of Batman EVER.
This pose is reproduced just EVERY-FREAKING-WHERE.
T-shirts, drink glasses, kids' bedroom sets; many people who have never even picked up a comic in their lives have seen some rendition of this dramatic pose.
Because it's just that awesome.
Thank you, Neil.
I Agree. The movies havnt even come close to Batman yet. I won't hold my breath.
may he rest in peace
Hardly. Not compared to say, the cover of Batman #9. Besides, all merchandise with that Adams' image are "doctored" to add in a utility belt (which in the story the Joker had removed before dropping Batman in the shark tank).
@@sausagefestcity5078mask of the phantasm and The Batman beg to differ
O’Neal’s Batman was dark but he still had a moral compass, unlike Frank Miller’s Batman and later other writers who over did it and departed from the source material. O’Neal’s Batman had the right balance and I like the ghost and paranormal stories here and there, it gave the stories variety. Five Way Revenge and the Laughing Fish are my favorite Joker stories.
Agree about O'Neill, but Laughing Fish was by Steve Englehart. Also, Miller's Batman DID have a moral compass (or code) -- he refused to kill or use guns.
@@sayitwithhellhounds (cough) The Dark Knight Returns (cough)
@@tonyknighton4019
“Rubber bullets, Honest.”
Although in TDKR he did use a machine gun on one of the Mutants trying to use a little girl as a shield but he shot him in the shoulder and at the worst the mutant would have lost an arm there.
I agree about O'Neal's Batman having the right balance. It ditched the goofiest elements, made the characters more adult and three dimensional, and brought in more darkness, in both the "gritty mean streets" way, and also bringing the gothic element to the fore in a way it hadn't before. Importantly, Batman was a human living in the real world, not a monster in a grotesque world, as he later sometimes was depicted.
Dont agree at all
FrankMillers Batman was just as good
O'neil and Adams were an extraordinary team, very inspirational for aspiring comic creators. RIP Dennis O'neil and Neal Adams.
When I was a kid, I was given a digest with the Ras al Ghul saga compiled - having only known the Adam West Batman before that, it totally changed my view. That was my Batman, from then on.
Rest in peace Neal Adams! 😞
Batman being the gritty prowler of the night has never been anywhere near as interesting as Batman the gothic pulp detective.
Incidentally, your mention of their work on Superman makes me curious to see your opinion on some of the iconic Superman renditions of the same era. A video on Maggin and Swan would be amazing.
This is exactly the Batman I fell in love with as a kid. And it just looks so pure in blue.
Neal Adams was a great artist. He will be missed.
RIP Neal Adams. The Batman of my childhood started with issue 255 and I was hooked ever since. Almost 50 years later his run has lost none of its impact
My Favorite BATMAN artist may he rest in peace 😔
Neal Adams and Denny O'Neil are among comic books best! And their work on the Batman comic books is superb! And a superb job done on the narration of this video by Steve Shives as always.
Matches Malone is such a gritty aspect of the character, I’m surprised they’ve never covered it in a live-action Batman adaptation…
Adding the dead Matches Malone persona to Batman's toolkit of resources was a brilliant move. I couldn't help but notice that a certain writer at Marvel applied this to their own caped creation.
Technically, they did. If you check the Batman 66 comics, you will see that Adam West was given the Matches Malone persona in one of the stories.
Another great achievement of O'Neil's career was revamping The Question in 1986. I'm really glad you did this video, because I always thought the pair had a much longer run on Batman. Even still, as you point out, Adams remade the character to such an iconic image, one that would last till the 90s. Great video, Steve.
I came here to say something similar. Best redemption arc in comics
I Prefer the Steve Ditko original, but the writing of O’Neil is great though.
I just found out about the passing of our dear #NealAdams . I am really very sad. His art accompanied me since I was a child, despite the thousands of kilometers that separated us, his talent came to me in the comicbooks that fed our creative impulses. Thank you for so much, master, Rest in peace. My condonlences for the family
Denny O Neil's time as Batman Group Editor is, to me at least, the real Golden Age of Comic Books.
Great Bat video as always 🦇🦇🦇
R.i.P. Neal Adams, we'll miss you.
Unfortunately, since then everyone has been so obsessed with Frank Miller's Dark Knight stories. Was it O'Neil or Adam's who said, apparently from personal experience with Frank, that Miller actually hates Batman, specifically the fact that the least selling Batman comic outsells Sin City by a wide margin, so he deliberately sets out to get revenge by writing crappy Batman stories that DC pays him top dollar for? I don't know if this is actually true, but it WOULD explain the Dark Knight Strikes Again!
That sounds like fanfiction lol
Miller wrote TDKR and Batman Year 1 several years before he did Sin City though, so it doesn’t add up.
NOTHING can explain The Dark Knight Strikes Again.
Except maybe that Miller was suffering from psychosis.
Master Race was better than strikes again, but all-star batman, and Robin...ohh boy
It would explain All Star Batman
RIP Neal. A true Legend.
Neil Adams was far and away my favorite comic book artist. I tried to get all his books; Batman, Deadman, Green Lantern/Green Arrow, X-Men and as many other that I could find. R.I.P. Neil.
Rip Neil adams
watched this yesterday n learned abt neal and today i learned that he passed away 🤕 rest in peace to a legend i really can't comprehend creating something or revolutionizing the way we read comics and the way that certain characters are portrayed as time goes on n he laid the foundation for batman n arrow
Gerry Conway on Detective Comics in the early 80s was really good too. Tales Of The Batman: Gerry Conway is a must have for any fan. He created Firestorm, Power Girl, Jason Todd, Killer Croc and Marvel's Punisher.
RIP Neal Adams and Denny O'Neil
I miss Detective Comics having an Elongated Man backup. Love the character.
Me too. I wish the Cw had given him his own series spinoff. I think it would have been a lot of fun.
It’s interesting that you mention how Adams colours for Batman get darker as his take on the character evolves, considering finding the original colouring for those stories in reprints is becoming increasingly harder since Adams re-inked his work for the Batman by Neil Adams omnibus (something I’m still not over)
Neal Adams will be always inmortal with his own lazarus pit, his art.
I agree O'Neal and Adams are one of the best writing/art teams ever to pen Batman
Everything got better when Neal Adams got involved. I remember the amazing work he did on Green Lantern and Green Arrow back in the 70s.
Dennis O’Neal came up with the idea and wrote the back story of the autobot/deception civil war for the G1 Transformers comic books series and cartoon series. Hasbro hired O’Neal when they did not have story behind their new toy line yet. Dennis O’Neal is my favorite comic book writer.
I had a lot of those comics when they first came out. I love the way they made Batman a serious character then.
I'd love to see bronze age Batman make a full comeback. I'm so sick and tired of this post-iron age Batman.
The Batman we have today is like an extreme exaggeration of bronze-age Batman, to the point of self-deprecating parody. He's so humorless; so wooden and dry, with the personality of a stump; perpetually sullen, gloomy and broody with just one facial expression: permanent grimacing scowl.
B:TAS is the last iteration of Batman (that I know of) to be a fully fleshed out human being by design. Every iteration afterwards has been nothing more than an edgy caricature (basically, Frank Miller's Batman ..ugh).
1. I think these characters in DC & Marvel have nothing left to say, not enough for a monthly book anyway.
2. TDKR is overrated
@@bryansteele832 I agree with not a monthly book but I still think the characters have something to say. I still find them entertaining at least.
I agree 👍
These days Batman is nothing but a GRUNT.
He doesn't really seem to be WORLD'S GREATEST DETECTIVE 😕
Although he is COOL in JUSTICE LEAGUE.
In Justice League, you can tell that he is a SON of a DOCTOR... But in his OWN BOOKS... He's TOO much of a CAVEMAN! 😒
What I love about BTAS is that we got to see a Frank Miller-esque Batman that made sense. Batman Beyond Bruce is pretty similar to Miller's version of the character, but when you realize all he's been through and such, you can understand how he got to that point.
Great exposition video. Legendary run.
Just found out that Neal Adams has sadly deceased three days ago.
Such an iconic artist. He will surely be missed.Thoughts and prayers for his loved ones.
Thank you for this chronological look back at the O'Neil & Adams stories i grew up reading, which I came into the middle of in '72. Its sad that both of them are now gone.
I didcovered some months ago that O'Neil and Adams collaborated in Brave and the Bold #93, making 12 the Batman stories where they worked together.
I worked for Neal Adams for ten years making 3d models. Thanks for posting.
I got to meet Neal Adams and get three autographed Batman prints including one of the first appearance of Ra’s Al Ghul. So sad to hear he’s passed away
When I imagine The Batman, his voice is the voice of Kevin Conroy; his image is the artwork of Neal Adams.
Those are some really great Batman stories.
RIP, Neal.
I remember buying these back issues from our local used book / magazine store in Addison, Illinois when I was a kid in the late 70's. Great stories and great art.
RIP Neal Adams. This is a great video. I laughed when you broke the Ra's/Batman duel down into wrestling terms.
Adams is the first artist I think of when it comes to Batman.
I am baffled there's no comprehensive collection of Dennis O'Neal Batman comics. I have the collection of Neal Adams Batmans, but they recolored the issues so they look off, but still readable. I read these issues for the first time about two years ago and while they show their age and the new coloring can be distracting, they're also still cool as hell and an absolute blast. I recently got physical copies so I can enjoy these stories over again on my shelf
agree 100%. this was my Batman. i grew up with the books on record, and loved the art style
Neal Adams has always been my favorite artist.
R.I.P. Mr. Adams. One of the best in the industry. We'll miss you man.
I'm old enough to have read this when it first came out (shut up), and it has stuck in my head ever since. Adams' art was incredible. So was the whole James Bond, putting a team together plot. I especially loved how this Batman was mature enough to know he needed a team of experts for the job because he knew he couldn't win on his own and it took a whole team to replace Robin. The story was Lawrence of Arabia epic. It also has to be said that his art was incredibly sexy, as evidenced by the tween boner that I got looking at a hairy-chested mostly naked Batman take out R'as with one punch in an orgasm of masculinity usually reserved for leather-panted Turkish wrestling.
The best comic artist… 🙏🏼
Let me state an aggressive opinion...Neal Adams is the greatest comic book artist in history. Love his work so much and he doesn't seem to get the love that he deserves.
It warms my heart to know that you are much more than a Star Trek nerd but a comic book nerd too (neither are bad). Back when these were new issues, I didn't actually buy them, I read them at the local barber shop. I distinctly remember O'Neil/Adams work on GL/GA. This is great stuff.
Batman # 232 was the first Batman comic book I read after a 3-year hiatus. I went back to buying comic books and saving them shortly afterwards,and now I am proud of all the comic books I still have today. Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams did many classic stories of not only Ras Al Ghul, but Two-Face and the Joker.
Neal Adams art was absolutely beautiful. I love the sketchiness of it all.
Only knew Neal from his all too short time at Marvel.
What an artist!!
R.I.P. Neal. Besides his talent,he was one of the nicest pros I ever met. He would take the time to talk to any collector who approached him, always with a smile.
To this day, Adams and Infantino are my favorite comic book artists
When I was a kid, I had a job counting and putting out the comics twice a week at a stationery store in NYC. The comics came bundled with wire and the bundles were tossed around. Many books were damaged. I always collected Neal Adams Comics regardless of what they were, and I was able to cherry-pick the best copy in the bundle. Still have them today.
I love how the Mexican tombs are for persons named "John Dead" and "Dolores Dead"
This is where I came in. The stories. The art. I knew whenever I saw this duo, I would never be disappointed. Probably where I actually came to like Green Lantern. And especially Green Arrow. But it will always be these two that won me after the campy TV series. Which I adored when I was younger. Thanks for this episode!
Neil Adams Batman run was just phenomenal in Comics lore…….love the Reaper issue as well👍
Love your content!! I read #232 as an 8-year old recovering from surgery and quoted “Nice atmosphere, but the chow’s lousy” when discharged from the hospital. A lifetime of memories has ensued. I have all of the O’Neil/Adams issues individually and in collections. One of my Crown Jewels is a CGC graded 9.0 signed by Neal at my LCS in 2015. Thanks so much!
neal adams made the most pleasing drawings of everything he put his hands on. the guy was a genius.
Love Denny O'Neil. He wrote the two episodes of the 1988-1992 live action Superboy tv series. Both episodes starring Michael J Pollard as Mxyzptlk. Just one of many comic writers that wrote for that show. Gotta love him.
O'Neil, Adams, and Giordano all breathed new life into the World's Greatest Detective at the dawn of the Bronze Age Of Comics (1970-86) and revamped the floundering character practically overnight not long after the cancellation of the live-action "Batman" television series starring Adam West! Adams is, in my honest opinion, the greatest Batman artist of all time! May Adams, Giordano, and O'Neil all continue to rest in peace...they are still missed!
Rest easy, thank you for my Batman, Neil.
Neal Adams and Denny O'Niel were the creators of the modern Batman. Frank Miller was the guy who successfully brought their creation into the mainstream.
A lot of people shit on Miller for his later takes on the character whenever Adams and O'Niel are brought up, yet completely miss just how much Miller idolised both of these people. So much so that Adams was Miller's mentor and personally taught the latter everything he knew.
Hell, even Batman's design in the first chapter of TDKR was, in Miller's own words, "A Neal Adams Batman."
Give me a compassionate Batman who works with his allies without hesitation and has a sense of humour. Not Frank Miller's edgy, brutal, psycho Batman.
I’m opposite
the Dark knight returns run was decent in SOME parts but everything else he did completely and utterly missed the point of batman in every way. And even if we pretend it isn't Batman, if we pretend its some original edgy character, they're still terrible.
I love both. However I'm always drawn more towards Miller's Batman.
Millers Batman in TDKR and year one is recognizable as the same guy Denny O'Neill and Gil Kane made stories about; everything after? Nope.
The Dark Knight Returns works only as an elseworlds. I love it, but it should not be part of continuity. The problem is too many people took the wrong lessons from stories like The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen
When I was four years old my cousin, who was fourteen, gave me a whole bunch of his comics - including his Neal Adams and Denny O'Neill Batman's and GL/GA issues. That is and has always been *my* Batman.
Great summary. The Denny O'Neil/Neil Adams Batman stories blew my little kid's mind away after being raised on the 60's Batman TV show and the Super Friends and Batman cartoons that were staples of traditional Saturday mornings. Here was a serious, athletic, intelligent and emotional version of the superhero who actually came across as both a real human being and also an otherworldly superhero. He came across as genuinely supernatural in ability despite having absolutely no super powers which is taken very much for granted now but honestly was a spectacular achievement at the time. The portrayal was so good that they could have him seamlessly mix it up against supernatural forces, common criminals and supervillains without skipping a beat and made it all read so naturally. It truly was an impressive run.
One does not understand the artistic force Neal was in the late 1960’s -1970’s. How different his photo realism was such a game changer that Rich Buckler, Bill Siekiewicz and Mike Nasser all made a decent living drawing like, and at times tracing directly like Neal Adams. People used to think he was too slow to do a 20-30 issue run on anything, when actually he was in high demand producing print and commercial advertising that paid much better than DC or MARVEL.
In the mid-1970's, my first Batman comic was a GIANT SIZE edition which collected the O'Neil and Adams Ra's Al Ghul stories. I was only like maybe 5 or 6 years old and my only knowledge of Batman was reruns of the Adam West show. The story and artwork blew my young mind and the imagery has stuck with me ever since. It was so much heavier than the TV show and even at that tender age, I loved it. When I got back into comics in my late teens, I was looking around in a comic shop and noticed a trade paperback called Batman: Tales of the Demon. The cover art had a rendering of the Michael Keaton Batman (this was 1989, the year of Tim Burton's BatMania) so I was surprised to open it and find the O'Neil and Adams stories. I bought it for nostalgia but when I re-read it, I enjoyed it even more than when I was a kid. To this day, I consider it the most iconic comic ever.
The Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams version of Batman of the early 70s was the one I grew up with and for me was always the definitive one and “Daughter of the Demon” which I had was the most memorable issue for me. If I remember correctly Denny O’Neil said that his and Adam’s take on Batman was influenced by Bond.
I have many Neil Adams' Batman when I was little, in the '80s. Don't know where they are now. You've just inspired me to pursue collecting the digital version.
Awesome video! Your close was moving. Great job!
I was so, so lucky to start reading Batman just before these comics.
Thank you for such a perceptive analysis, and your selection of panels. You made 50 years melt away. Thanks
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. This transition was such a high step from the campy Batman.
This has been pretty interesting. I would like to see a retrospective like this done for Superman, or even Wonder Woman who doesn't have nearly as much coverage.
Such a great video.
Wow that’s an awesome presentation Steve much enjoyed ty
Very well done video. It's unfortunate that both of these comic book titans have not passed on. But at least the stamp they've left on the industry will always be there. Neal Adams especially I think is in my opinion the best artist that ever worked in the medium. It's easy to see why that even though he didn't have a super long run when he did comics, his legacy is as strong as anyone that has had a huge body of work. Remarkable that anyone can draw that well.
Have you noticed that on that great splash page from Batman #251, that he isn't wearing a utility belt? When asked why he didn't give him one, Neal Adams simply said "I guess I forgot". HAHA, I loved it.
Thanks for talking about my first and favorite Batman story
I don't much care for Adams' later work, but man that art in those two issues is beautiful!
Just wanted to say R.I.P. to the great Neal Adams.
This was my childhood Batman, Athletic, more finesse and stories involving more Mystery with more deduction.
Agreed, bit I heard you were dead.....
O'Neal and Adams are my favorite Bat creative team. Their Batman stuff is great. Their Green Lantern/Green Arrow is pretty damn amazing. But my favorite O'Neil and Adams stuff... out of pure visual- is Deadman. But I love the Deadman concept. I love the personality of the character. Basically, I love Deadman. I have O'Neil and Adams to thank for that because the Arnold Drake era Deadman is kinda generic.
But you forgot the longest lasting comic creative team on a mainstream comic... Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragones. They have been working together on comics in some capacity (Groo, Mighty Magnor and plenty of other titles) for 39 years.
Deadman has a nostalgic place for me also. When I read those comic books, I felt like had discovered a 'Great Treasure'. I also loved reading The Spectre issues illustrated by Neal Adams.
What a nice tribute. Great job too.
I've just bought a collection of Adams and O'Neill stories in trade, so this is a great bit of background information for me.
Well done. Yes, that version was mind blowing, taking the world of Batman to a maturity level that was the rebirth of a new age.......
Excellents Comments About Neil Adams Batman. Thanks a lot 😊
I'm a little biased, but I think that O'Neill and Adams's best work together is on their run of Green Lantern/Green Arrow comics from 1970 to 1972 - in fact, it remains my favorite run of superhero comics to this day. However, I also think that their teamwork on Batman is a not-too-distant second.
Fantastic work. Subscribed!
Thanks for the great video
Thanks a lot for the video. Denny O'Neil will always be my favorite Batman writer of all time. He resurrected the character after falling into campiness. His Batman was truly a knight, and yet, a human being, with his classic TEC 457 adding a crucial trait in his character in a poetic way.
All about Batman, like TDKR, TAS, or the movies, would have never been possible without O'Neil.
This is really great! Solid context and a genuinely critical voice. A little sarcasm to spice it up.
rip neal adams, no one's art will ever compare to yours.
:50 looking that frame image was the first thing i do when i knew the bad news about Neal Adams...i saw when I was a kid in 1985 and never forget it.