Halloween fun with Deadman, but not as you know him. Neal Adams

Here's a fun little strip to enjoy on Halloween from the pages of the January 1973 edition of National Lampoon. The topic of that months magazine was death so the editor decided that it would be fun to have a comic strip about a superhero character that was dead. To bring this creation into print the editor Henry Beard, contacted Neal Adams' studio to ask him to provide the artwork. Allegedly not only was Mr Beard unaware that there was already a comic book character called Deadman he also had no idea that Neal Adams drew the strip. Below is the end result of National Lampoons version of "Deadman".

Those of you who read this blog may be aware that I have been trying to track down many of Neal Adams ( and a few others) comic pages from National Lampoon. I have so far managed to pick up a couple of "Son O God " strips and a Barry Smith strip (Norman the barbarian) which can be found on this blog. But Deadman has been difficult to track down possibly as this issue of NL contained an iconic cover. However, that all changed last year when I found a DVD containing the Deadman comic strip and with the help of my techie mate Steve, I have eventually managed to get the pages sorted. Below is the cover to the iconic January 1973 NL issue.

Favourite Comics: Challengers of the Unknown #74 - Neal Adams, George Tuska, Bernie Wrightson

The Challengers of the Unknown (created by Dave Wood and Jack Kirby ) had their own title which ran for an impressive 77 issues (1958-1970) following their test run which began in Showcase# 6 (February 1957). Despite the titles relatively long run this was a comic that I was unaware of and my introduction to the team would have to wait until issue 79, when the title was re-launched as a short lived all-reprint comic in 1973. It wouldn’t be until 1977 when DC rebooted the title under the stewardship of Gerry Conway and hot artist Mike Nasser when I would become a fan of the team. Although this new series did not last long it whetted my appetite for the team and in 1981, I eventually tracked down my first “Challengers” back issue, the above #74 (1970) featuring art by Neal Adams, George Tuska, Bernie Wrightson and Henry Boltinoff !!!! Below are a few pages from this excellent issue.

As can be seen from the above splash page and cover, Deadman guested in issue 74, an occult story drawn half and half by Tuska and Neal Adams who, at that point, was the only artist who got to draw Boston Brand. Although Adams and Tuska's styles would not be considered compatible, as a fan of both artists I loved this issue even although Tuska's pages had a touch of "Scooby Doo" about them compared to Adams realistic style.

As was the norm for many DC titles at this time (1970) most issues feature a one page humour strip by the great Henry Boltinoff.

An to round of this excellent comic, DC added a one page tale by Bernie Wrightson.

Bring on the back ups - Deadman by Neal Adams- Aquaman #50, 51, & 52

As the dark nights draw closer as we await the arrival of Winter I thought I would take the opportunity to check up on some of my old mystery/horror comics - in this case "Aquaman" issues 50- 52 from 1970. Although Aquaman is not a horror /mystery character the back up feature "Deadman" ticks that box for me. These 3 Aquaman comics contain some of the best art of any comic book at this time with all issues featuring a striking Nick Cardy cover with Jim Aparo on the main Aquaman strip, and the legendary Neal Adams on the back up Deadman tale - how lucky were we back inthe day? Below are some sample pages from the 3 issue Deadman tale - enjoy:

Above: the cover to Aquaman #50 which featured the first part of the 3 issue Deadman tale. I only purchased this issue a few weeks ago in Glasgow as part of my recent back issue binge.

Above: The cover to Aquaman #51 - This issue was one of the very first back issue purchases which I bought back in 1981/2 from AKA books and comics in Glasgow.

In a nice twist, the last part of this story links up to the then current Aquaman tale which featured Jim Aparo's art on some panels.

Above: The cover to Aquaman issue 52 (purchased around 1983 in AKA ) - Despite the excellent art and stories (and covers) amazingly the "Aquaman" title would only last for another 4 issues before it was cancelled.