DC Comics has published a comic paying tribute to legendary artist Neal Adams, following his passing earlier this year. The three-page story, which is called “The Endless Line”, began to be published in all DC titles beginning Tuesday, July 19th, is written by Tom King and drawn by Neal’s son, Josh Adams. The story, which you can check out in a tweet from King below, features snippets from a real-life interview that Adams did with The Comics Journal in 1982, with wisdom that he is bestowing while drawing a sketch for one of his characters, Deadman.
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The final page of the story shows a line of other characters that Adams is known for waiting in line for sketches, including Batman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Green Lantern. Also included among the story are quotes from some of Adams’ contemporaries and fans, including Jim Lee, Frank Miller, and Roy Thomas, which highlight his prolific work as an artist and advocate for creators’ rights.
Adams had a monumental career in the realm of comics, including in landmark work on Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman alongside Dennis O’Neil, and Deadman with Arnold Drake.
“Deadman is, in a weird kind of way, number one,” Adams told ComicBook.com in a previous interview. “Deadman, I didn’t get to finish the story. When I did Deadman…I didn’t tell anybody the rest of the story. all we did was introduce the character. Nobody knows who Deadman is and what his relationships are and what’s going on with him and his real story. You just got to see the beginning. So when I ended, other people picked it up. They started to do ‘The Adventures of Deadman,’ like any other comic book superhero…but no, that’s not what it’s about It’s about Deadman. He’s got a story to tell, and he’s dead.”
Adams was also known for his attempts to create a union for comic book creators, as well as advocating for original pages to be returned to him and other artists. He also fought for better compensation for Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Adams passed away at the age of 80 on April 28, 2022. According to Adams’ family, he passed away due to complications from sepsis.
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