Neal Adams: X-Men's Angel versus a Sentinel

Neal Adams did this nifty commission for a fan, featuring the silver age version of the Angel attacking a Sentinel!

Nuff Said.

Giant-Sized X-Men 50th Anniversary Jam Poster

If any image deserved the monicker "Giant-Size", surely it is this incredible poster jam featuring the X-Men!

Drawn by many classic artists throughout X-Men history, many of my favorites:

• Walter Simonson (on the upper left) with X-Factor
• Neal Adams (upper middle) with his Silver Age team, including Havok
• Art Adams drawing the New Mutants from that classic Special Edition
• Chris Bachalo with Generation X
• Stuart Immonen drawing the original blue and yellow uniforms on the lower right
• Even Joe Mad and While Portacio

Great poster!  Would love to have had John Byrne or Jim Lee draw something here, but given the circumstances I can see why they are not included.  Anyone know when it will be sold on retail?  I've been searching and cannot find it for sale yet.  Nuff Said!

The Avengers in Action by Neal Adams

Here is a blast from the Bronze Age past, with Neal Adams assembling Captain America, Iron Man, Vision and Thor as the core of the Avengers!  I am sure everyone is excited about the new movie--I for one am anxious to see if the Hulk talks in this one.  Nuff Said!

Four great Man-Thing pinups by Art Adams, Neal Adams, Vicent Alacazar, and Jim Starlin

Whosoever knows Fear burns at the Man-Things touch!  And these artists burn quite hard for Marvel’s favorite muck-monster. 



Art Adams drew this Man-Thing pinup for a commission in 2004.



This pinup of Man-Thing appeared in Neal Adams 2008 sketchbook.  I just love that overhead angle looking down at him.



This illuminating pinup by Vicente Alacazar appeared in Marvel Preview 8 magazine, 1976.  That kid really needs to be brave and not fearful.



Rampaging Hulk #7 magazine featured this pinup by Jim Starlin and Ernie Chan.
Note to Satanists, Death cultists, racist rednecks, murdering thugs, FoolKillers and evildoers:  Do not get stuck in the Florida everglades this Halloween!  Nuff Said!

Update: Comments from my old MT blog...

2 Comments

By Sanctum Sanctorum Comix on December 24, 2010 11:14 AM

Sweet.
I remember the bottom two from their respective publications.

However, did you know that the Neil Adams piece was also used as the cover to "Strange Tales" v4 (1998) # 2
( http://www.comics.org/issue/62213/cover/4/ )

And that Arthur Adams illo is to be the cover for THUNDERBOLTS # 154

http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/preview2.php?image=solicits/marvelcomics/201103/TBOLTS154_covcol.jpg

Just helping out.

~P~

By Richard Guion on December 26, 2010 7:40 PM

No idea the Adams piece was used on the Strange Tales cover, thanks for showing me that! Yeah, I did see in the recent Marvel solicits that the Art Adams Man-Thing piece would be the alternative cover for Thunderbolts. That was an easy choice for Marvel.

Three Marvel Monster covers by Neal Adams: Tomb of Dracula, Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing

I was actually looking at some of the terrific horror covers that Neal Adams drew for the Distinguished Competition, when I came across these early 70s Marvel Monster covers.



Tomb of Dracula #1 launched the King of the Vampires in his own color comic in 1972.  Entirely spooky and would entice you to buy the comic, especially if you were a fan of Hammer horror films.



Adventure into Fear #11 was Man-Thing's second appearance in the title, also in 1972.  This cover plays on a recurring theme by Adams: children playing innocently while a monster approaches them from behind.  In this case, it's the monster (Man-Thing) that is innocent, as the kids draw a Satanic pentagram in the dirt.



Marvel Spotlight #2 was the first appearance of Jack Russell, Werewolf by Night.  But this has to be one of the worst covers that Neal Adams has ever produced.  A series of panels showing the Werewolf changing, and he doesn't resemble the version drawn by Mike Ploog at all.  What the heck, I had to buy this comic anyway!  Nuff Said!

Update: Comments from my old MT blog...

2 Comments

By Mike on October 31, 2010 2:14 PM

I gotta wonder if John Romita inked the Werewolf cover. Look at the people in the background in the last panel. Those look like Romita-drawn folks to me, not Adams.

By Joe Jusko on November 24, 2010 8:18 AM

Those are Tom Palmer inks

Visions of the Scarlet Witch: Neal Adams and Gene Colan

Here's a super-heroine long overdue for a comeback: the Scarlet Witch.  These two drawings can remind us why she is a great character...

Neal Adams did this pencil and ink drawing of Wanda conjuring up a spell.  If you go to the Neal Adams website, click on his store to find more sketches for sale.

Gene Colan did a brilliant pencil drawing of the Scarlet Witch fighting a pair of nasty serpents in this 2001 commission.  Check out Colan's site for more! 

I'm hoping that the Scarlet Witch will return in one of the new Avengers titles coming in June.  Could she be one of the Secret Avengers?  Nuff Said!

Neal Adams X-Men Wildcats Cover

Neal Adams hasn't drawn the X-Men too many times since he left the series way back when.  He got a chance to revisit the characters in this 1997 cover to X-Men Wildcats The Silver Age.

According to Bleeding Cool, Adams may be drawing a Wolverine limited series for Marvel.  That would be fantastic!  Nuff Said!

Neal Adams Classic Defenders Cover: Original and Re-Colored

In 1972, the Defenders appeared in Marvel Feature #1, with this dynamic cover by Neal Adams.



It’s a great cover.  Each hero has a dynamic pose.  And you are not sure if these guys are here to save the world or destroy it!

In a recent Doctor Strange Barry Smith article, I came across a Marvel Milestones reprint that also had this version of Neal Adams’ cover, sans logo and with new coloring.



The colorist went for more muted tones here, rather than the bright colors on the original.  Doc’s left hand is obscured by the glow of the spell he is casting.  This cover was probably used on an Essentials reprint.  It’s an interesting experiment—but I can’t help think the original version is still superior.

The Defenders are one of my favorite super-hero teams of all time.  I can’t understand why modern Marvel can’t get the formula of Doc Strange + Hulk (smash) + Sub-Mariner to work.  Nuff Said!

Update: Comments from my old MT blog...

6 Comments

By Andrew Wahl on January 22, 2010 11:34 AM

Richard:

I agree that the color on the original was better, but that's almost certainly our Bronze Age bias at play. Color palates were much more limited back then. There's a sample palate from the period in the DC Comics Guide to Coloring and Lettering, and it's completely made up of different 25 percent combinations of CMYK. Certainly more limited, but, damn, if it doesn't look more like comics to me!

Cheers,
Andrew
ComicsBronzeAge.com

By Milt on January 22, 2010 6:42 PM

This is one of my favorite Marvel covers by my all time favorite comic book artist as well as my favorite Marvel superhero team! Thanks for posting this! Hopefully soon we'll see some of Neal's Avengers stuff!

By Richard Guion on January 23, 2010 10:53 AM

I agree, I am very biased towards the old material. Yet strangely proud of it! Thanks for all your comments and tweets, Andrew!

By kcekada on January 27, 2010 11:04 AM

I do believe there are ways to make the classic lineup of the Defenders work. I think Busiek tried to recreate the zaniness of the Gerber era in the 90s Defenders series, and failed. Of course, Erik Larsen's artwork didn't help matters. I think a straightforward approach would be better.

I agree about the covers. I think the artist went a bit too dark.

By the way, I'm a first time poster on this blog. Just discovered it yesterday, and I love it! I saw some panel art from G.S. Defenders #2 with art by the late great Gil Kane and Klaus Janson. I dont buy back issues these days, but I'm going to make an exception and track down that issues.

Keep up the good work.

By Richard Guion on January 27, 2010 1:56 PM

Thank you for the kind words!

By DonKingKong on May 3, 2010 4:16 PM

With the Hobbit movies somewhat on hold, Marvel is gunning for Guillermo del Toro to direct and Neil Gaiman to write Dr. Strange [link removed]

Can a Doctor Strange-centric "Defenders" movie that fits into what Marvel is now calling the “Marvel Cinematic Universe” finally be in the works?...

SHIELD pulls together a paranormal special ops team after the Military/SHIELD/NASA made contact with a "Beyonder" (or Celestial, some sort of "magical" trans-dimensional entity, perhaps an Asgardian?) SHIELD realizes it doesn't have the capabilities to ascertain if this “thing” is a threat or not. Thus sets the premise for the Defenders movie, where the use of occult, fringe science, brains, and brawn are employed to defeat a multi-dimensional and or “secret invasion” cosmic threat to save the day in such a way that Avengers cannot.

The team that SHIELD assembles to defend us from such an invader will be a group of eccentric scientist/academia types culled to form the "Defenders", the oddball counterpoint to the distinguished Avengers team. Project "Defenders" will be the “Twilight Zone” of the new Marvel movie franchises; they want it to be less of an action movie and have more of a creepy thriller type of vibe to it. The Defender operatives will consist of group leader - the brilliant Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange former renowned neurosurgeon turned occultist scholar and “metaphysicist” (character to be loosely based around Aleister Crowley/Terence McKenna eccentric by way of Robert Langdon), Namor McKenzie (Sub-Mariner, the superhuman Jacques-Yves Cousteau by way of Rudolf Steiner, believes he’s the literal Prince of Atlantis) , Dr. Robert Bruce Banner (Hulk, brilliant “omnidisciplinary” scientist, the world’s greatest expert on gamma radiation… need we say more?), Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym (Ant-Man, MIT professor renowned quantum physicist), and his partner Janet Van Dyne(Wasp, one-time student to Pym now associate, extremely bright but introverted Lady Gaga “individualist” type). Themes incorporated into Defenders movie include motifs from the bestselling magical/occult/secret society Dan Brown books, along with themes from the more recent Marvel series involving Secret [link removed] storylines (specifically the newer S.H.I.E.L.D. 2010 comic series). They'll be looking for lean lesser-known actors to play non-super hero type characters, and there are ruminations that Strange may be pushed forward to play a crucial role as catalyst to merge the magical other-dimensional realms like Asgard into the more "realistic" Iron Man universe.

Questions remain about the timeline and release of the Doctor Strange character into the big screen. Will we see Doctor Strange in a smallish part for the upcoming Avengers movie helping to usher in the “magical” component onto the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Or will Strange remain left out of the Avengers universe altogether for now, and another plot device or character be used to infuse the “magical elements” instead of him?... They are determined to bring on Dr. Strange movie post Ant-Man, the question remains will Strange remain side-lined for now? Some at Marvel are extremely hush-hush as plot points, characters as well as want-lists that are still being hashed-out for upcoming films, others think it’s good to gauge public opinion about what properties the public truly cares for and how they can be incorporated to the larger Marvel Movie-verse whilst staying true to the premise of the characters. Some of us like me see the potential and are really pushing for a Doctor Strange-centric Defenders movie but more importantly having Strange play a pivotal if not smallish role in the upcoming Avengers movie.

King Kull, Red Sonja, Solomon Kane by Neal Adams

Neal Adams did great work on Savage Tales covers featuring Conan, but did you know about this piece featuring Robert E. Howard's other heroes?  It was published in a Marvel black and white magazine called Kull and the Barbarians (issue #1, 1975).

King Kull and Red Sonja.  Kull's tiger totem rages in the background, while Sonja looks rather shyly toward the viewer.  It was an interesting choice to depict Sonja this way rather than baring her sword and looking feisty.

The Roman era Bran Mak Morn and the puritanical Solomon Kane.  Adams and his Crusty Bunkers crew also inked a couple of Kane stories.  By now you can tell these two images are connected together, with the fallen tree connecting all these characters together.

Neal Adams did a great job here.  Every time I look at these Robert E Howard characters, I also think that Roy Thomas is the man responsible for their popularity.  I can't believe there is a Solomon Kane movie on the horizon in 2010.  Nuff said!

Neal Adams Savage Tales Starring Conan, Ka-Zar, and Zabu, Too!

One of my favorite Marvel magazines of all time was Savage Tales #2, featuring Barry Smith's Red Nails adaption.  I blogged about that giant-size wonder earlier this year.  Apparently Red Nails made Savage Tales a hit, and editor Roy Thomas commissioned Neal Adams to do three covers that would spin the magazine in a different direction.

Savage Tales #3 (1974) features Conan going berserk, about to behead another barbarian before he can defile that babe in the metal bikini.  I think it's terrific; Adams always excelled at portraying characters losing themselves in rage.  A painting like this could sell a comic, regardless of the content inside (which happened to be quite good in this case).  Adams also did a series of paintings for a line of Tarzan paperbacks, which again, were quite irresistible.

The baton was passed from Conan to Ka-Zar in Savage Tales #4 (1974).  If one barbarian magazine was successful, why not two?  (If one Deadpool book is successful, if one Wolverine book is successful, if one X-Men book...you get the idea.)  This was Conan's last appearance in Savage Tales before Roy Thomas spun him off in his own super-giant magazine, Savage Sword of Conan.  It would be up to Ka-Zar and Zabu to carry ST forward.  Zabu looks very intimidating here, doesn't he?

This cover always made me think that a time travelling team-up between Conan and Ka-Zar would have been a nifty idea.

Ka-Zar took cover the masthead in Savage Tales #5 (1974), with another rip-roaring cover.  Within this painting, Adams captured all the elements that should make Ka-Zar a fantastic series.  He's surrounded by prehistoric creatures, about to get his chest ripped to shreds, with Zabu the Sabretooth Tiger as his backup.  And the requisite modern babe in the foreground waiting to be rescued.  Shanna the She-Devil and SHIELD agent Bobbi Morse (who later became Mockingbird) joined Ka-Zar in subsequent issues.

Notice also that the figures of Ka-Zar and Zabu from issue #4 were used on the corner masthead.  Nuff said.

Update: Comments from my old MT blog...

2 Comments

By Andrew Wahl on December 18, 2009 6:42 PM

Richard:

These Adams covers are absolutely gorgeous. I've seen them all before over the years, but put them altogether like this and they're simply stunning. Thanks!

Andrew
ComicsBronzeAge.com

By Andrei on December 20, 2009 10:05 AM

Superb. I think the 70's had extraordinaire artists. I mostly like the way that the pencils and inking were done back then. There was this liberty and exuberance in the art style that the modern artists kinda fail to deliver. I am buying all the Conan Savage Sword TBPs from Dark Horse, and one of the motives is that they include all the black and white covers inside. A truly joy.

Neal Adams Avengers Kree-Skrull War cover progression: Three Cows Shot the Vision Down!

Neal Adams joined Roy Thomas on the Avengers with issue #93 (1971) to kick off the Kree-Skrull War.  That story was titled This Beachhead Earth by Thomas.

Adams originally wanted the story to be titled Three Cows Shot Me Down!  As you all know, the story opens with the Vision stumbling into Avengers Mansion.  He's severely damaged after a skirmish with three cows...who happen to be Skrulls in disguise!  When the Kree-Skrull saga was collected in trade paperback, Adams was able to use his original title on this dynamic new cover.

Here are the pencils to this cover.  This was published in the Neal Adams 2007 sketchbook.  Adams commented: You have no idea how many years I have waited to put those words on this picture.

And now the inked version, which was featured in the Neal Adams 2008 sketchbook.

For more tidbits on Neal Adams Avengers (and other Marvel) work, you can read the excellent interview with him from TwoMorrows Comic Book Artist #3.  Nuff said.

Neal Adams Man-Thing, A Monster Unleashed!

Finding that Neal Adams pinup yesterday reminded me that wasn't the only time the Nefarious one drew Marvel's muck-monster!



There was this terrific cover to Monsters Unleashed #3 in 1973, featuring Man-Thing cracking a couple of redneck heads as a young woman looks on in horror.  If she's feeling fear, then I don't like the way Man-Thing is looking at her!



But wait--if we go back even further in time--we can find this Man-Thing story that Neal Adams drew, featured as an interlude in Astonishing Tales #12, 1972.  Ka-Zar, the star of the series, met Man-Thing in the Florida everglades.  Since Manny had only appeared in Marvel's black and white Savage Tales #1, this story introduced him to Marvel's color comics.  Man-Thing would become the lead character in Adventure Into Fear #10, a few months later in 1972.

You'll notice the story doesn't have color, it's printed in black and white with yellow tones.  Perhaps it was originally meant for publication in Savage Tales #2?



One panel in this story always stuck in my memory--the one above where Man-Thing watches an old lady walk across the swamp.  Notice the way Manny stands, left arm braced against a tree, right arm supporting himself on the muddy floor.



This same pose was used in the Man-Thing cover, the one Marvel usually put on the left-hand upper corner, featuring an iconic shot of the titular character.  Neal Adams' drawing isn't used line by line--but someone must have used that panel above as a reference.  It's exactly the same pose.  Nuff said!

Update: Comments from my old MT blog...

2 Comments

By Klaus Nordby on October 30, 2009 4:26 PM

Yes, you've showcased some great Adams art on Manny here! I'm happy to say I own both the magazine and the inside story. Do you know why the inside story is printed with only yellow colors? It's because it was printed from Adam's pure, uninked pencils -- possibly due to, ahem, deadline-problems? -- and hence regular colors would have made (or so at least the production people feared) the artwork too muddy. This was back in the day when the reproduction qualities of comics was far, far below what we find on printed toilet paper in our enlightened days! But it gives us a through-a-glass-darkly view of Adam's glorious pencil work.

FWIW, four years ago I visited Adams at his fancy NYC Continuity studio -- which employs his whole family, including his ex-wife! There I spent some happy hours talking to Neal about comics in the 60s and 70s, but mostly about his, umm, well, "rather radical ideas" in physics. He is, alas, not fully content with having revolutionized comics, so, in his sunset years, he also wants to revolutionize science. 'Nuff said!

Oh, and the day after visiting Neal, I visited another long-standing Art Hero of mine: Frank Frazetta. Yes, it was a good week. 'Nuff said!

By Klaus Nordby on November 1, 2009 5:39 AM

(I posted this some days ago, but it never appeared, hence suspect SNAFU, hence I repost.)

Yes, you've showcased some great Adams art on Manny here! I'm happy to say I own both the magazine and the inside story. Do you know why the inside story is printed with only yellow colors? It's because it was printed from Adam's pure, uninked pencils -- possibly due to, ahem, deadline-problems? -- and hence regular colors would have made (or so at least the production people feared) the artwork too muddy. This was back in the day when the reproduction qualities of comics was far, far below what we find on printed toilet paper in our enlightened days! But it gives us a through-a-glass-darkly view of Adam's glorious pencil work.

FWIW, four years ago I visited Adams at his fancy NYC Continuity studio -- which employs his whole family, including his ex-wife! There I spent some happy hours talking to Neal about comics in the 60s and 70s, but mostly about his, umm, well, "rather radical ideas" in physics. He is, alas, not fully content with having revolutionized comics, so, in his sunset years, he also wants to revolutionize science. 'Nuff said!

Oh, and the day after visiting Neal, I visited another long-standing Art Hero of mine: Frank Frazetta. Yes, it was a good week. 'Nuff said!

Monster Monday: Neal Adams Man-Thing

I found this drawing of Marvel's Man-Thing in Neal Adams 2008 Sketchbook.

Startling, eh?  Fantastic point of view, as if the viewer were sitting in a tree and seeing Man-Thing trudge through the swamp below.  What makes Manny look up?  Perhaps it is because the voyeur suddenly feels...fear?  Nuff said.

The Vision Needs to be Restored to Full Avenger Glory

I think the Avengers comics are pretty darn great these days.  Bendis has shaken up the team with one big event after another: Disassembled, House of M, Civil War, Secret Invasion, and Dark Reign.  But there's one classic element to the Avengers team that seems lost in all of this.  And that is the Vision.

Fans who loved the 1970s era of the Avengers will know what I am talking about.  The Vision was the standard bearer of the Avengers.  He appeared front and center on many covers as well as the above pic from the 1975 Marvel Calendar.



The Vision was popular for a number of reasons.  The design of the character and his costume was out of this world.  He looked spooky and unreal--like DC Comics' Spectre--and his power to control density and transform into near-ghostly intangibility contributed to this effect.  The Vision was also a robot who struggled with emotions, as you can see on the cover to Avengers 96 by Neal Adams.



The Vision, along with the Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye, were characters who made the Avengers' stories exciting.  That was because Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart could actually change them over time--sometime they couldn't do that easily with Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man.

Sure, I know the Vision's been resurrected in Young Avengers, and he's now in Dan Slott's Mighty Avengers team.  But that version sure as heck isn't the Vision I grew up with.  I want the Vision with Simon Williams' brain patterns, the one who remembers his failed marriage to Wanda, and his entire history with the Avengers' team.  It should be a snap to bring all of this back--just find some memory backups somewhere and rebuild his android body according to original specs.



Here's the biggest flaw to me in the entire Avengers saga since Bendis took over.  The Vision was destroyed, ripped apart by She-Hulk during Disassembled, yet none of the Avengers made an effort to restore him back to life?  It doesn't compute.  The Vision saved his team-mates and the world countless times since he joined the team.  In West Coast Avengers #45--after the Vision was taken apart by the US government--Hank Pym rebuilds the Vision very quickly (ok, minus a few memory tapes).  You could say that Skrull Pym would have no incentive to rebuild the Vision after Disassembled--but why wouldn't the rest of the Avengers?

I think 2010, which brings Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man back in Siege, is the perfect time to restore the Vision back to full glory.  And maybe the Scarlet Witch as well.  Do you agree?  Nuff said.

Update: Comments from my old MT blog...

5 Comments

By Yuri on October 21, 2009 1:02 PM

Hi Richard

Love the blog. I've always been a big Vision fan myself, but I guess the difference is that I love the new Young/Mighty Avengers version. I was reading the Byrne run on WC Avengers when they started to basically ruin the origin of the Vision, and eventually turned him into the white version. If you remember, Byrne decided he wanted to resurrect the original Human Torch (which was the Vision's body along with Simon's brainwaves) so he pulled one of those "everything you knew is wrong" tricks and changed everything around. We were left with an even more confusing origin story, as well as a barefoot white Vision. Ack!

Just to geek out a bit more, I think the best reason for no one attempting to rebuild the Vision after Disassembled is that there was no one left to even try. At the end of that story, the Pyms were taking off on vacation, which leaves Tony Stark. Stark was dead broke at the end of Disassembled, which is why he had no choice but to crate him up and put him in storage. By the time the Civil War ended and Tony had resources again, the new Vision was already in action. I sort of like the fact that the new vision the Iron lad (Kang)armor with the old Vision's brainwave patterns. It gets us closer to the old Human Torch body/Wonder Man Brainwave version that we loved as kids.

Hey, on a closing note - it is great to read someone who actually likes Bendis' run on Avengers. He gets bashed everywhere I read, and I personally think he's done more for the Avengers than anyone since Roy Thomas.

Kepp up the great work!

By Richard Guion on October 22, 2009 9:52 AM

Thanks, Yuri! Nice to know that someone else likes the Vision.

I didn't like how Byrne threw out the Human Torch origin of the character.

Did you read Avengers Forever? In that story, Kurt Busiek tried to factor the Human Torch back in, explaining that Immortus used the power of the Forever Crystal to split the original Human Torch into two entities: one body remained the original Torch while Ultron rebuilt the other as the Vision.

I see your point--trying to explain all of that to new readers is too confusing.

// Richard

By Rob on October 29, 2009 6:43 AM

I've been reading comics for over ten years and never really been exposed to the vision...not much anyway. I've always liked the idea of the character, but hated his appearance. I mean REALLY hated. As much as I hate Martin Manhunter's look. He's in need of a major redesign. Presumably he'll appear in a movie at some stage, and that might prompt marvel to make him look better. Until they sort that out, I'm happy for him not to be in my comics.

By Jay on November 7, 2009 11:30 AM

Redesign The Vision? I think not! He's already been torn apart and rebuilt too many times--and in not so great ways. Rob I respect that you like the idea of his character, but really--it you weren't into him and then you want him to be different...maybe he's not for you?

/LOVE The Vision!
//And his colorful costume!

:)

By Steven R. Stahl on December 26, 2009 9:35 AM

Nice entry on the Vision. I'm as much an enthusiast for the Vision and the Vision & Scarlet Witch love affair as anyone is. Heinberg might have meant well with Vision II, but the similarities are superficial. Vision I was a synthetic human man. Vision II is a computer program emulating a human.

If a writer wanted to have the Vision's body rebuilt, doing that would be trivial, since the brain is undeniably functional. Hooked up to a computer, he could oversee his own reconstruction, as in Busiek's AVENGERS.

There's not much of a point in bringing him back, though, in any sort of body, unless it was part of a plan, and I don't see anyone at Marvel who could write such an introspective character well. He requires an "old school" approach.

SRS

Neal Adams Avengers cover to Marvel Comics Index

George Olshevsky was able to corral a number of great artists* to provide the covers for his Marvel Comics Index series in the 1970s.  Neal Adams drew this nifty cover to issue #3, which featured the Avengers, Defenders, and Captain Marvel.



On this cover, my favorite Avenger, the Vision, is featured front and center.  The Scarlet Witch is providing cover over him and Captain Marvel is taking care of the rear guard.  All three characters were featured prominently in the classic Kree-Skrull war arc that Adams illustrated in the Avengers.  The only Defenders representative is Valkyrie hacking away on the right.  Adams really did a great job with all these characters.

*Editor's Note:  Check out Steranko's Cover to the Marvel Comics Index, Nuff said!

Update: Comments from my old MT blog...

2 Comments

By Rob on July 8, 2009 11:38 AM

Thanks for the blog. The large covers are amazing - a great reminder of the comics I read as a kid. Keep up the good work

By dusty abell on August 20, 2010 3:29 PM

I loved this books when i was younger! This was a fantastic Adams cover done during a period when he had pretty much moved away from doing material for Marvel, cool that this book allowed him the opportunity to throw down on these awesome characters!

dusty