Customer Reviews

Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams: Volume 3

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This third volume collects the last portion of the Neal Adams Batman. While the second volume is in and of itself excellent, this volume is indeed superior. Phenomenal writing, superb coloring, quality paper, and timeless art.

Present-day comic "artists" still have miles to go before they reach this type of comic storytelling.

You get:

"Daughter of the Demon": (R'as al Ghul)
"Half an Evil" (Two Face)
"Night of the Reaper" (Harlon Ellison assist)
"The Lazarus Pit" (R'as al Ghul)
"The Demon Lives Again" (R'as al Ghul)
"The Bruce Wayne Murder Case"
"The Joker's Five Way Revenge" (Joker)
"Moon of the Wolf"

My only complaint is the re-inking of two Power Record Books that were excellent the way they originally were.

Still, a volume to be read, re-read, and treasured.

A great third book with a lot of covers thrown in. Neal Adams is the expert Batman Artist and it's great to get these stories collected in one bound edition. Also includes sketches at the back of the book and a brief synopsis on Neal and the people who worked with him. My only negative about this book is that (as in the previous two books), they recolored the stories instead of leaving them in their original form. I think it takes away from the authenticity of the work, but it's still a great purchase if you're a Batman fan, or a Neal Adams fan.

I have all three volumes of these sensational collectibles and I have to say this was "The Batman" not only as I remember him but the definitive Batman as he should be both artistically ( he looks like an athlete not a steroid pumped jock! No offense Jim Lee fans...but Neal Adams is the master! )and the character and stories themselves are barnone so timeless that it seems every writer for the character since Mr. Oneil refers to those incredible stories in some form or another. I am a firm believer in progressive or evolving a character but this time period of the Batman is untouchable!

I'm a huge fan of the 70's batman, Neal Adams' art, any kid of Ras story, so of course I was excited to pick this up. I usually like to thumb through a copy before ordering, but I imagine because of the cover price these were all sealed. I'd heard complaints about "retouched" inking on these Neal Adams volumes before, and chocked it up to people being too nit-picky. Well, I ordered the book, got in the mail, and ripped it out... then my heart sank. While I can't say that the re-touching of the art is bad per se, it totally took me out of the 70's comic feel, and actually ruined the book for me. I couldn't finish the first story, and thumbed through the rest of the book to see if it was all like this. Except for the black and white sketches, it was. I normally rate very high, but I wish I would have heeded the warnings about the re-touched art. Let me be clear that the stories, binding, paper-quality, and extras (intros by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams, plus some of Adams' commercial Batman work) were all top notch--but the colors were so at odds with Adams pencils that I feel like I've completely wasted my money. If you're thinking about getting this, head over to brick-and-mortar bookstore first to thumb through it. If the art isn't totally off-putting to you, then there are some great stories in here that you'll really enjoy.

When I was a kid reading Batman comics, I never realized my enjoyment was 99% due to the artist's new and exciting take on the caped crusader's appearance. Neal Adams' work was a giant bat leap ahead of everybody else's. Reading through the 3 volumes of this series, I found every Batman tale I thought I had lost to history and enjoyed them all over again.

Neal Adams saved Batman. Batman was suffering from the absurdity of the 60s TV show and all those goofy stories from the 50s and 60s. Adams understood why kids love Batman--because he's dark and mysterious.

Once fans saw Adams' Batman, the whole franchise was changed forever. Part of it was stripping Batman back to his roots, but much of it was modernizing the look. This Batman looked REAL for the first time. Much is made of Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns, but all Miller did was channel Neal Adams.

It wasn't necessary for Adams to re-ink any panels, but DC let him anyway. Oh well. I do give a big thumbs-up for the new computer coloring.

Denny O'Neil's stories might not seem as dark as they did way back when, but he did manage to make Batman menacing while keeping him likable. The modern Batman is just a jerk. This Batman is the best he's ever been.

I'd give TEN stars if I could.