JTLarsen

One of the greatest comic-book artists of all time, hands down. The single, undisputed, greatest horror comic-book artist of the modern era.

OMG.

I agree that Starlin has a much better track record as a writer than Neal Adams does. I don't, however, think Infinity War is going to make Starlin big the way you're suggesting. I'm having trouble thinking of any movie that elevated a comic book creator that way. I also disagree, though, that Starlin has been under the radar. I've been a Starlin collector on and off for decades. Iron Man 55 was on my "if I get a chance" list to pick up for years--for Starlin, rather than for Thanos.

Sally Forth #8 with Adam Hughes cover for $80 in Fine-plus condition at MCS: http://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=24145575

Fair enough argument, I just disagree. And I'm a big fan of Starlin-art-wise, certainly. But (a) Adams did do some of his own writing and, more importantly (b), Adams shot to artistic prominence NOT on the back of Batman. In retrospect it may seem that way because those books have absolutely taken off, but back in the '70s and '80s, Batman was by no means the sole driver of Adams' popularity and esteem. And while Starlin may have written his own stories and created the whateverest villain in Marvel, Neal Adams changed comic books, both artistically and professionally.

Well, it's a lot easier to write space stuff that doesn't date than earthbound stuff that doesn't date. And I believe Neal actually did a fair amount of credited writing back in the day. Deadman, I think, for one.

I think you're not supposed to put this here, but in the WTT boards. Or something.

Disagree strongly. I think delays may have hurt at the box office, but the ending of Ronin absolutely pays off the story, improves it and makes the whole thing work. Likewise, the ending of DKR is relatively satisfying and memorable and provides a true ending. Similarly Year One and Born Again. I'm curious which ones lost you along the way. From the '80s anyway. I can certainly see this argument being made for more recent stuff.

It's also the most thematically mature, I'd say. It's a comment on power and fantasy and, if you look closely enough, it's about kids and the power fantasies of reading comics. Vastly underappreciated.

OMG, you are freaking cursed with this book. Kimota!

Absolutely. I never considered it before, but O'Neil really was the first to give Batman an internal voice and personality like that. Well said.

Novick obviously wasn't Adams, but I always enjoyed his work on Batman (and on Flash -- his Flash was THE Flash for me!)

Bronze, I believe. (But yes, great covers.)

255 is Len Wein. It was reprinted in glorious black and white in the beautiful Titan TPBs of the '80s. The Demon Awakes is the volume in which it appears. Comics.org might list other places it was reprinted. And yes, holds up!

I'll hunt down some of those standard issues and give 'em a look. Thanks. Sorry, I meant the ADAMS books were like lightning bolts. Although, to be sure, some of the "standard" ones were quite good, too. You had Simonson Batman in a couple stories. Archie Goodwin writing. Englehart. I very much enjoyed the David V. Reed "mystery" style stuff. All of this is slightly AFTER Adams first came in and reflected the influence O'Neil/Adams had on Batman... but the "standard" stuff around the time Adams first came in will definitely give you an idea of how radical and powerful the advent of Adams...later augmented by O'Neil and other writers...really was. And how much it influenced decades of Batman up through today.

Dead on with the "where are they now" artists list. When I first started seriously collecting in the early 1980's BWS was one of the kings of the high priced back issue bins along with Neal Adams. Still to this day Smith's run on Conan is one of the most beautiful (and modern collector $$$ speaking under appreciated) works of art that Marvel had ever put out. The oversized Marvel Treasury Editions from the 70's with BWS reprints are worth picking up just to appreciate the art and see it larger than usual Early Byrne and BWS stuff still command a premium. At some point Byrne was doing so many titles it become not a big deal. As for BWS... he peaked in the early 70s and then disappeared for a while. Weapon X was interesting, but his stuff after that...it was ok, but nothing "wow" like those early Conan books seemed like back in the day. Byrne was not helped by the fact that his stuff just did not look as good without Terry Austin inking it. What Alex Ross stuff was expensive? Was his run on the Terminator books expensive at some point? Marvels wasn't. Popular, yes. Also, I'm not sure how many of those artists did covers that generated big price runups in the first place. They mostly drove prices by doing interiors, I think, and I would guess have plateaued more than plummeted.

Reading a few "standard" issues from around the same time is highly recommended. These books were like lightning bolts...even when I first read them years later. Batman 255 came at the END of the Adams run on Batman (last regular-series interiors, I think) and was still an amazing story.

If I haven't mentioned them yet, Myra 8 and Mad Dog 10. UK books with Alan Moore.

Elementals was AMAZING.

Don't have a picture but I got one long ago...couldn't believe the first appearance of Beast Boy/Changeling hadn't taken off yet!

156 was always impossible for me to find until I overpaid a few years ago. Glad I did. Still an underrated/under-appreciated book with all-time classic cover.

I HIGHLY recommend the Titan TPBs of Neal Adams Batman (which also has another contender for top ten Batman bronze: Night of the Stalker, from Detective...438 maybe? I can't remember. It's an Adams cover, but the interiors are Sal Amendola...)

Thanks for the info. I have one of Adam's recolored volumes and the digital coloring did throw me off. I actually picked it up at one of his signings and he was telling everyone how proud he was of the new coloring. I feel there is too much contrast now and I'm focusing more on the bright colors vs the beautiful art and story. I would've sold my copy had he not sketched in my book. I will try to hunt down those treasuries! The treasuries are easy enough to find in mid-grade and will give you a wide selection of classic stories. However, the Tales of the Demon tpb is worth picking up as well as it has the DC Special Series 15 that others have mentioned, which is a key story in the Batman/Talia/Ra's relationship, as well as a few other post-Adams stories (I believe all are penned by O'neil, though). -------------------------- Here's a question for everyone, too. Which B&B would you place in the Top 10 of this thread: 79 or 85? I've seen mention of 85, but I always thought it was more significant for GA than Batters. 93.

Suck it, Batman 227. And Neal Adams, generally. You, too, Frazetta. The very IDEA that visual artists might affect appreciation for a visual medium. NUTS, I tells ya.

If I may add/disagree a bit...interior art was the driver well before the '80s. I remember collecting Adams INTERIOR art first, because that's where the attention was. It was only later, when I was basically where I wanted to be on my Adams interior collection, that I broadened out to covers. Early Overstreets noted interior art more often than cover art. Also, cover art has been driving value since early on. In Overstreet, they were broken out as "classic covers," which basically meant people liked them and that this affection sustained over time. So, I think what we'll see happen is that some current "cover" books will diminish in value simply as collector focus coalesces around a growing consensus of which new covers are "classic." I suspect Supergirl and the Legion 23 will go in there. Zatanna 15 and 16, too. Catwoman 51. But I think we'll see a "sorting," where some high prices being realized now don't hold up because no consensus builds around the speculation that those covers will stand the test of time. Others will continue to be stratospheric as the consensus DOES solidify around them. That's my guess, anyway.