Each week, the pop culture website Pop-A-Looza shares some posts from my vast 'n' captivating Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) archive. The latest shared post is my recent tribute to the impact of the late artist Neal Adams.
Adams' work and legacy were very important to me, especially his work on The Batman. My appreciation of Adams also informs a piece called "My Two Batmen," which reflects on how I've reconciled the dichotomy of becoming a Batman fan via Adam West's portrayal of the character in the campy '60s TV series and then embracing the Dark Knight as depicted by Adams. My debt to the latter is also part of my obituary of Dennis O'Neil, the writer who often collaborated with Adams on those Batman stories (and on their award-winning Green Lantern/Green Arrow stories).
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| Commission drawing for Dan Greenfield at 13th Dimension |
(And, for a compact illustration of just how important Neal Adams was to the comic book industry, please read Mark Evanier's thoughts on that subject.)
Adams and O'Neil were not the only artist and writer to shape me. My single biggest writing influence was the late Harlan Ellison; I should probably attempt to chronicle my reactions to some of my other primary writing models some day. Among other comics writers, I've also written of the day I met Martin Pasko, and my appreciation of E. Nelson Bridwell.
As a tangent, my affection for all of this is expressed in a look back at my letters to DC Comics. For a deeper dive into personal reminiscences of how I attempted to channel my influences and inspirations into creation (with varying results), I direct you to He Thought He Was An Artist: Agent 690: Man Of Action, He Thought He Was An Artist: Hero, The Jack Mystery Story, The Undersea World Of Mr. Freeze, the intro to the unfinished Paradise Does Not Believe In Tears, a subsequent stream-of-fantasy about Batman in The Brave And The Bold, my rejected DC Comics submissions, The Green Hornet and Kato in The Beat And The Sting (teaser and introductory script pages), five chapters of my abandoned novel Eternity Man, and even my successfully-SOLD!! short stories "The Last Ride Of The Copperhead Kid," "The Copperhead Strikes!," "The Copperhead Affair," and "Chaos At The Copperhead Club." A fifth story in that continuity, "Flight Of The Copperhead," has also been purchased by the good folks at AHOY Comics, and is awaiting publication.
To paraphrase the Jam: Direction Reaction Creation. Most of my limited success as a writer has been nonfiction. But whether speaking truths or telling lies, those who make that attempt to put words and/or pictures on the page are standing on the shoulders of giants. Neal Adams was a giant. My memories and gratitude provide the latest Boppin' Pop-A-Looza.
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This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.
I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl
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