Those of you back in New York who didn’t get to go to Comic-Con will enjoy this team up of two comics masters, in an event moderated by Christopher Irving.
The legendary creative team of artist Neal Adams and writer Dennis O’Neil reunites for a special panel on “Social Relevance in Comics” at Housing Works Bookstore on July 17th, moderated by Christopher Irving, writer of Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics (powerHouse Books). Leaping Tall Buildings gives a historical survey of the comic book medium through photographer Seth Kushner’s unique portraits and Irving’s interview-based essays. The pair are celebrating the book’s release through this benefit panel at Housing Works.
“Through their revolutionary work on both Batman and Green Lantern/Green Arrow, Adams and O’Neil literally redefined the superhero, pushing the genre into wider social acceptance and more mature themes,” Irving, a Housing Works member, says. “When you think of what they each did on their own, and then look at their combined efforts, it’s mind-blowing. Getting to moderate the two of them together is beyond an honor for me–it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
“When thinking about who to feature at an event for Housing Works, Adams and O’Neil immediately sprung to mind,” says Kushner. “Their Green Lantern/Green Arrow work broke new ground in social consciousness in comics and we’re thrilled to be reuniting them for so great a cause.”
The panel will cover the use of social relevance in the O’Neil/Adams issues of Green Lantern/Green Arrow from the early 1970s and will also touch on their milestone work on the Batman comics during that time. Their Batman run redefined the character for the post-television generations by restoring the character’s status as “The Dark Knight,” while their GL/GA run brought mainstream media attention to the then-underappreciated superhero genre.
Neal Adams brought an unprecedented sense of realism to superhero art in the 1960s. His work on X-Men, as well as his dynamic cover and interior art for DC Comics, redefined the look and dynamism of the superhero genre for generations. Currently writing and drawing the limited series Batman: Odyssey, Adams is gearing up for The First X-Men, a mini-series that he will be drawing and co-writing with Christos Gage.
Dennis O’Neil continued to bring a real world gravitas to superheros through subsequent decades, with stints as writer and then editor of Daredevil at Marvel Comics (where he edited Frank Miller’s iconic run). O’Neil returned to DC Comics in the 1980s as editor of the Batman titles where he masterminded the creation of Batman villian Bane, who serves as the villian in this month’s film The Dark Knight Rises.
