Tag: Vale

Neal Adams: recollections on the passing of a comic book legend

Neal Adams, the phenomenal comic book artist who brought new life to Batman, Green Arrow and so many others with his hyperreal art, has died at 80.

When I first met Adams it was (unsurprisingly) at a comic book convention. I was in Seattle for the Emerald City Con and momentarily browsing some of the prints for sale on his table. He looked up and said, ‘Have you heard of these things called comic books?’ From memory, I stammered out some gushing praise for his work, paid for my print and off I went.

The following year, when I was working on my book I casually emailed him just before going to bed to enquire about a potential interview. The reply came back immediately: “Is now good?” So, that’s how I found myself talking to Adams for almost two hours, wrapping up at about 1am Sydney time. We spoke about his extensive career, his unique approach to art, the culture at DC Comics and Marvel and his work beyond the Big Two.

Adams began his art career in the late 1950s, initially doing commercial work when he found the comics industry difficult to break into. “I would say impossible,” he told me, adding that he got work on Archie Comics “because they felt sorry for me.” Turning to commercial work for the pay, his work on the Ben Casey strips, Goodyear and AT&T helped developed his photorealistic style that would, in many ways, revolutionise comics.

“We forget sometimes, it’s not just guys with muscles. We’re comic books: comic books are drawings of naked guys with lines on their bodies. Really. Naked, muscular guys with lines on their bodies,” he said of his style. “When do we get to the faces? When do we get to the people underneath it?”

After finding work at Warren Publishing’s black-and-white horror-comics magazines, he would bring this attitude to DC Comics. After working on a variety of titles, his signature comic for the company was initially Deadman. Continuing to freelance for DC, he teamed up with writer Roy Thomas on Marvel’s X-Men, then on the verge of cancellation.

Yet it was his revolutionary work with writer Dennis O’Neil on Batman and Green Lantern/Green Arrow that he will always be remembered for. O’Neil’s New Journalism traditions and ‘realism’ are matched spectacularly by Adams’ iconic character designs. The hyper-realistic muscles of his leads, the heavily detailed and photorealistic faces of average citizens is infused with a mixed-media approach Adams learned in advertising. It all coalesces to ensure that even if the cultural references may date, the spirit and style of this comic will remain forever fresh.

A tireless advocate for the rights of artists and other creators, he formed the Comics Creators Guild in the late 1970s and continued to maintain his voice in the area until his death. “I was doing a lot of fighting,” he said in a personal interview, “but quietly, with a smile.” This included his efforts to get the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, operated by the government of Poland, to return original artwork of Holocaust survivor Dina Babbitt.

Often outspoken about this beliefs, he ran a website claiming that the Earth is expanding. Elements of this belief made it into his 2010 mini-series Batman: Odyssey. Even though it was met with mixed reviews, Adams called it “one of the best collections out there.”

Reflecting on his impressive body of work, I asked Adams what he would have told his early career counterpart. “He would have said everything you did was right, Neal — and you win.”

April 30, 2022
Len Wein, co-creator of Swamp Thing and Wolverine, has died at 69

[pullquote class=”right”]“Hi, I’m Len Wein creator of Wolverine, Swamp Thing and god knows how many other characters…”[/pullquote]

Legendary comic book writer and editor Len Wein, co-creator of Swamp Thing and Wolverine, has died at the age of 69.

Wein was partly responsible for the revival of the X-Men in the 1975 Giant-Size X-Men #1, an issue that introduced Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Thunderbird, and made Wolverine a part of the X-Men world.

Wein’s first professional comics story was “Eye of the Beholder” in DC’s Teen Titans #18 in late 1968, and began a successful career at both DC and Marvel, including a brief stint on Daredevil, co-written with staff writer/editor Roy Thomas.

Of course, it was with The House of Secrets #92 that he co-created Swamp Thing with artist Bernie Wrightson, who also passed away in March this year. The character would go on to high profile status under Alan Moore, and become a platform for the introduction of other characters such as John Constantine. After his stint at Marvel, that included his X-Men work, he returned to DC to edit historic series such as Camelot 3000 and Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ iconic Watchmen.

The House of Secrets #92 (cover date July 1972). Writer: Len Wein. Artist: Bernie Wrightson

He had undergone heart surgery in 2015, and as recent as 8 September his official account tweeted “Out of latest surgery, which went very well.”

Wein was once kind enough to record a brief bumper for our podcast Behind the Panels back in 2013, that began “Hi, I’m Len Wein creator of Wolverine, Swamp Thing and god knows how many other characters.” It seems like a fitting summation of a career that has touched so many corners of the comic book world that we’ll be feeling their impact for years. He will be missed.

September 11, 2017
George A. Romero: a tribute in posters

The film community and fans around the world are saddened by the loss of George A. Romero, best known for the Night of the Living Dead (1968) and its sequels. The horror master died after a battle with lung cancer at the age of 77.

Romero’s films were subversive, satirical, and sharply aware of the political climate he lived in. Night of the Living Dead sparked a cultural phenomenon, largely seen as the birth of the modern zombie film. It also cast Duane Jones as the lead, during a time when it was not typical for a black man to be the hero in an American film. It’s sequel, Dawn of the Dead (1978) was a cutting look at consumerism, and is largely the model for almost all zombie films that followed.

Romero’s other films broadened his view of the genre, including Season of the Witch (1973), sometimes marketed as Hungry Wives, which was less of a horror film than it was an exploration of the occult. Knightriders (1983) was about a travelling renaissance fair troupe, featuring knights on motorbikes! Similarly, The Crazies (1973) was a sci-fi epidemic film, while vampire Martin (1978) is said the be Romero’s favourite film that he made.

Yet he would continue to return to the zombie genre, beginning with a Land of the Dead (2005), the documentary style Diary of the Dead (2007) and Survival of the Dead (2009). He was prepping the 2018 release of Road of the Dead, which he co-wrote with director Matt Birman, at the time of his death.

Here we’ve assembled a collection of posters from his films, paying tribute to one of the best cult filmmakers in the business.

July 17, 2017
Adam West, star of TV’s ‘Batman,’ dead at 88

We are saddened to report that actor Adam West has died. Following a brief battle with leukaemia, West passed away Friday night in the US at the age of 88. His family released a brief statement.

“It’s with great sadness that we are sharing this news,” read the message. “Adam West passed away peacefully last night after a short but brave battle with leukemia. He was a beloved father, husband, grandfather, and great-grandfather. There are no words to describe how much we’ll miss him. We know you’ll miss him too and we want you to know how much your love and support meant to him throughout the years. Hug your loved ones today.”

Best was of course best known for portraying Bruce Wayne/Batman in the 1960s Batman TV series from 1966 to 1968, a role that he reprised for the 1966 Batman film, The New Adventures of Batman, The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour, and most recently in the animated Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders animated film last year. West said he played Batman “for laughs, but in order to do [that], one had to never think it was funny. You just had to pull on that cowl and believe that no one would recognize you.”

West’s career began in the 1950s, as a children’s TV show host. He played opposite Chuck Connors in Geronimo (1962) and The Three Stooges in The Outlaws Is Coming (1965). For an entirely different generation, his distinctive voice was heard in The Fairly OddParents, The Simpsons and Family Guy, where he played a fictional version of himself.

June 11, 2017
Jonathan Demme: A Tribute in Posters

Today marked the sad passing of filmmaker Jonathan Demme, due to complications from esophageal cancer and heart disease, at the age of 73.

The award-winning filmmaker was perhaps best known for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), one of only a handful of films to scoop Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Actress and screenplay. Yet his career stretched back to the 1970s, with screenplays for Angels Hard as They Come and The Hot Box before making his director debut with exploitation film Caged Heat (1974). His other features included Philadelphia and

Yet Demme was also a successful documentarian and maker of innovative concert films. Stop Making Sense (1984), chronicling three nights with The Talking Heads, is an essential combination of art and music. Three decades later, Neil Young: Heart of Gold looked back at the career of another great musician.

These handful of posters only cover a small number of his dozens of works, but it’s our tip of the hat to one of the greats. He will be missed.

April 27, 2017
John Hurt: A Tribute in Posters

The film community of the world mourns the loss of actor John Hurt, who died in London today, only six days after his 77th birthday. Hurt was knighted in 2016.

The dramatic actor was a veteran of stage, screen and television, earning a well-deserved respect from award-winning roles in Midnight Express, The Elephant Man, and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Of course, to sci-fi and fantasy audiences, he earned immortality as Kane in Alien, Mr. Ollivander in the Harry Potter series, and later became a bona fide British institution as The War Doctor during the 50th anniversary episode of the long-running Doctor Who.

These handful of posters barely show the length and breadth of his career, but they are a good place to start a tributary binge of his work. Hurt will next be seen in Darkest Hour as Neville Chamberlain, opposite Charles Dance in an adaptation of That Good Night, and as Leslie Salmon in British boxing film, My Name is Lenny.

January 28, 2017
Star Trek’s Anton Yelchin dead at 27

Multiple reports have sadly come in that actor Anton Yelchin, best known for his role as Chekov in the rebooted Star Trek franchise, has died at age 27. His publicist Jennifer Allen confirmed the news to the media. He was killed in a traffic accident involving his own car.

“It appears he momentarily exited his car and it rolled backward, causing trauma that led to his death,” Jenny Houser, a spokesperson for the LAPD, told the The Hollywood Reporter.

Born in Leningrad in 1989, the young actor began his career at the age of 9 in the indie film A Man is Mostly Water. The world if indies is where he made his start, in films like Alpha Dog and Charlie Barlett, before getting his big break in J.J. Abrams Star Trek in 2009.

Yelchin would go on to appear in Terminator: Salvation as Kyle Reese, opposite Felicity Jones in the romantic drama Like Crazy, and reprise his role as Chekov twice in the Star Trek franchise.

His Star Trek co-star Jon Cho commented, “I loved Anton Yelchin so much. He was a true artist – curious, beautiful, courageous. He was a great pal and a great son. I’m in ruins.”

Star Trek Beyond is in cinemas in July, with his last performance in a film said to be 2017’s Thoroughbred, directed by Cory Finley.

June 20, 2016
Tony Scott Dies in Apparent Suicide

Early reports are coming in that filmmaker Tony Scott, brother of Rodley Scott and director of Top Gun and more recently Unstoppable, has died from an apparent suicide. He was 68.

The LA coroner indicates that he jumped from the Vincent Thomas bridge near Long Beach. He was said to have jumped “without hesitation” from the bridge, leaving a suicide note behind in his car.

Scott is best known for his films Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop II in the 1980s, along with a string of hits with star Denzel Washington including Crimson Tide, Man on Fire and The Taking of the Pelham 1 2 3.

Working with his brother Ridley, they formed Scott Free Productions. He was also in the process of developing a sequel Top Gun 2.

Full tribute coming soon.

August 20, 2012
Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch of the Beastie Boys Dies

Adam Yauch, better known by his stage name of MCA as part of the seminal rock-rap group the Beastie Boys, has passed away aged 47. Yauch was diagnosed with cancer in 2009, and had been undergoing treatment since, including Tibetan practices. He is remembered by his wife and daughter, along with the entire music and film community who mourn his passing.

As one of the Beastie Boys, he was behind the seminal albums Paul’s Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication and Hello Nasty. The band began life as a hardcore punk band in the late 1970s, but found their voices in a winning fusion of rock, rap and other musical influences as their albums progressed over the next three decades. He also became deeply involved with the Tibetan freedom movement from the 1990s, founding the Milarepa Foundation that produced the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits.

In addition to his role as part of the Beastie Boys, he directed a number of their videos under the name Nathaniel Hornblower, including the epic Japanese monster film inspired “Intergalactic” and “Make Some Noise”, both of which won MTV Video Music Awards. He also dire several cted features including the innovative concert documentary Awesome; I Fuckin’ Shot That!, basketball documentary Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot and the 30-minute Fight For Your Right Revisited video, starring Danny McBride as MCA, and Seth Rogen and Elijah Wood as the rest of the hip-hop trio.

His passion of independent filmmaking leading to the building of his own studio Oscilloscope Laboratories, which has distributed Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy and Meek’s Cutoff, Oren Moverman’s The Messenger, and Banksy’s Exit Through The Gift Shop among others. It could also be argued that the Beastie Boys, along with a number of other seminal acts of the 1980s and 1990s, were directly responsible for the rise of filmmaker Spike Jonze, who made his start on their music videos.

An official statement can be found on the Beastie Boys website.

On a personal note, ‘MCA’ will be deeply missed by me. The Beastie Boys were not only one of my biggest musical awakenings during my seminal ‘coming of age’ years, but opened my mind to a wider variety of musical influences and ways of looking at the world. Having seen the Beastie Boys live in concert, and followed them over the last few decades, their winning fusion of sounds and energy and passion for music is nothing less than inspiring. MCA may be gone, but he has left a legacy of some of the most anthemic songs of every decade since he first started performing professionally. We wish his friends and family all the best during this sad time.

Fight For Your Right Revisited Full Music Video

May 5, 2012
Lord of the Rings and Star Wars sword master Bob Anderson dies

TheOneRing.Net has announced the sad news that Bob Anderson, the legendary sword master who worked on the sword fights in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, has died aged 89.

Anderson began his career alongside the likes of Errol Flynn, but lists The Princess Bride, Highlander, First Knight, the recent Zorro films and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl amongst his credits. All of those films had memorable swordplay, and Anderson was the man to thank for it.

Of course, he was most famous for two of the biggest film franchises of all time. Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy benefitted from his wisdom, and it was to Anderson that George Lucas turned when he was making a little film that we now know as Star Wars.

According to Empire Online, Mark Hamill has noted in a 1983 interview: “Bob Anderson was the man who actually did Vader’s fighting. It was always supposed to be a secret, but I finally told George I didn’t think it was fair any more. Bob worked so bloody hard that he deserves some recognition. It’s ridiculous to preserve the myth that it’s all done by one man.”

The former champion British fencer died peacefully on 1 January 2012, and his IMDB listing credits him as having worked on The Hobbit. His legacy will go on yet.

January 3, 2012