Under the Microscope

Batman By Neal Adams Omnibus

By Jennifer M. Contino
May 30, 2016

There comes a point as your comic book sensibilities mature, when you realize it's not just about the characters that you love, but it's also about the men and women creating these comics and bringing those characters to life. As a young, naive comic book reader, I never looked beyond Batman or Robin or the Teen Titans, to see the people who were making the books I treasured. But, as I matured, I began realizing that I liked stories that were done by Marv Wolfman or Mike W. Barr. I like stories that were drawn by George Perez or Jim Aparo. And, as soon as I discovered them, I liked stories that Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams had a hand in creating. After Perez, Neal Adams has to be one of my favorite sequential artists of all time.

As soon as I had enough money to start buying back issues from the 1960s and 1970s, I begin to purchase comics that were worked on by Neal Adams. There was something about the way he drew Batman that brought him to vibrant, glorious life, where he felt like so much more than a four-color image on the page. Adams worked on some of my favorite Batman stories in the pages of Brave and the Bold, World's Finest, Detective Comics, and Batman. DC Comics has collected all of Neal Adams' Batman work in one gorgeous, gigantic, heavy (if I lift this enough times, I might get muscles!) Omnibus, showcasing Adams' distinctive, definitive Dark Knight Detective. I was happy to be sent a review copy of this collection, and couldn't wait to dive into the stories.

One of the nicest things about having all of his Batman work collected in one place is the ability to see his evolution as an artist and how his style developed and grew. I always thought Adams did for DC Comics what Jim Steranko did for Marvel Comics. Adams revolutionized the sequential art style with a realistic, dynamic, frenetic look that many would try to duplicate, but few would come anywhere near achieving. His cover work on the Batman family of titles is some of the most distinctive of any era. He didn't just draw the stars of the story; he created memorable moments, distinctive covers that would stay with a reader long past the story (as evidenced by DC recently having him recreate a lot of those covers for their "modern" stories this past March.)

The pre-Crisis world of DC was filled with covers that made a comic book fan feel a compulsion to buy an issue. Adams was a master at crafting those types of covers. One of my favorites was Brave and the Bold # 83, a cover that featured Batman protecting a very mischievous looking blonde 'tween, hoisting Robin up by the neck and saying to him and the other Teen Titans, "No one lays a hand on my son while I live!" Who was this kid!? How could Batman hurt Robin for him? It was the kind of cover that made you have to buy the story. But just as good as the cover was the interiors. Adams was groundbreaking with his realistic storyboards and page layouts. We weren't just getting five or six square panels, these panels were different shapes and form -- some didn't even have the traditional borders. His characters didn't look like cookie cutter stiffs. It wasn't a cartoony style. He was upping the art ante, and setting a very full table that left an indelible mark on the industry.

Although a lot of these stories have been collected in various formats throughout the years, this edition is the definitive Adams Batman collection. It contains all of his work, including two Power Records books with Batman, Robin, and the Joker in one; the Dynamic Duo and the Man-Bat in another. It was nice to get to see those reprinted, since I had not come across them. I know DC released prior versions of collected Neal Adams' work, but I hadn't picked up any of those volumes. I think part of me was hoping for an "Absolute" edition like this, and part of me was waiting to see if the prices on the other volumes would drop. But now, I have all of his Batman work in one convenient place, including his work a few years ago with Batman Odyssey.

I have to admit, being a gigantic Silver Age fan, I loved the books from the 1960s best in this collection. I am a big fan of The Brave and the Bold, and loved seeing those stories in full color. My copies of a lot of these are falling apart, so having it all remastered is awesome. Being able to read these in a hardy volume, instead of worrying about my original copies disintegrating more, is a huge bonus. I don't have a lot of Adams work on other characters, so seeing the way he handles a bevy of them in the pages of BatB, really gave me an appreciation for the newer Adams and the way he enmeshed himself into the DCU. I think he was ahead of his time with his Deadman work, and the teaming of him and Batman was magic. Also magic, and the majority of the stories I loved the most, was the combination of Adams and writer Denny O'Neil. I read somewhere where the two of them hardly came in contact because of the business style of comic creating in those days. I look at the work, some of the best comics of that era, and wonder whether, if they had the opportunity to truly collaborate like Wolfman and Perez did with The New Teen Titans, how much better these comics, which were already of exceptional quality, might have been.ow much better these stories, that were already of an exceptional quality, might have been.

This era of Batman and Detective Comics is one of my favorites. I think Adams helped redefine Batman from the campy image of television that people had in their minds, to his roots as a Dark Knight Detective. I love the '60s Batman and Robin, don't get me wrong, but by the late '60s, I know with the state of the world, I would have been in the minority. This proved a hero could be in the shadows and mature, without having to "dumb" down the stories to the audience. I read a lot of these stories when I was seven years old or younger, and, although some nuances went over my head, I still liked and understood the gist of the tales. I read these now and remember that first time reading the 1970s Batman adventures. I missed Robin, but there was something compelling about these stories that struck a chord with me. Now, as an adult reader, I can appreciate all the bits and pieces of detail that Adams added to the panels, to the characters, and to the scenes. The background is almost alive in his artwork.

What I also loved was seeing his Batman Family cover work included in these pages. It was a nice bonus at the end of the book to get to see some of the covers from stories that were not reprinted, because he was just the cover artist. I know this is a hefty price tag, but it truly is worth it. The first appearance of Ra's Al Ghul alone is worth almost three times the cover price of this volume. The stories reprinted here would cost over a thousand dollars to get the individual issues in your collection. Plus with this volume, you have it all in one place, over 500 pages of stories and art. The pages itself are a sturdier paper stock, so you don't feel as if these are going to rip or fall apart. It's a glossy finish -- not one that makes the work unreadable, but one that really makes the colors pop. I know some have complained about recoloring of some scenes and issues, but the new colors did not detract from my enjoyment of this book. In fact, I liked the neon look to some of the panels. I thought it was a nice addition.

You can go to any story he worked on and read it or flip through it, just appreciating the artwork. One of the things I love the most is that we have both a Halloween and Christmas story reprinted here. (You all know how much I love holiday stories as the Queen of Christmas Comics). In fact, with the House of Mystery team-up story, we kind of almost have two Halloween tales. I am re-reading this in order right now, but I know, when I feel like seeing the early appearances of Talia or when I want to see how Man Bat became a player in the DCU, I will just skip to those stories and read. When I want to remember what I loved about team-ups, I will go back to those Brave and the Bold issues, maybe with a few slices of pizza like I used to do when I was a kid.

This collection would make a fine addition to any comic book library. Neal Adams is a master and this truly is an epic collection. I think the work is just as relevant now to a fan of the media as it was when the stories originally were issued. Adams is a master of his craft and it's rare we get to see a collection of this magnitude. Treat yourself to this awesome book. (At the time I am writing this, the book is on Amazon for less than fifty bucks!)

Neal Adams Official Website
Neal Adams DC Link
Neal Adams work on Amazon