Marvel’s Roy Thomas Recalls His ‘X-Men’ Actor Neil Adams As ‘Larger Than Life’

The death of Neil Adams stunned the comic book world on Friday, sparking great excitement among fans young and old alike. Among them were many comic book professionals and filmmakers who worked with or were influenced by the 80-year-old icon.

Artists like DC Publisher Jim LeeArtist alex rossFormer mentor Bill Sienkevich and film director Guilherme do Toro He took to Twitter to pay tribute to the man who took Batman from the world of children’s comics and the comedy styles of Adam West’s TV series to the dark, no-nonsense, gothic undertones that still exist today.

Another person in shock and grief is Roy Thomas, the man who took over the reins of Marvel Comics in the early 1970s after Stan Lee gave him the job of editor-in-chief. Prior to that, Thomas spent several years writing and managing many Marvel titles.

That’s when he started writing about low sales. x Men Comic who first worked with Neil Adams. Their collaboration lasted only nine issues, no. 56-63, no more. 65, and it was too late to save the book from effective cancellation. But it had an impact and is considered an artistic achievement. The team, which included Tom Palmer, even won the Ali Writers Award for Best Writer, Best Pencil, and Best Artist in 1969, an acknowledgment that was the precursor to today’s Eisner Awards.

In the early 1970s, Thomas, Adams and Palmer worked together on parts of a long script. ᲨAvengers Known as the “Cray-Scroll War”.

In recent years, Adams and Thomas have bickered over their accurate memories and contributions to their current classic stories, but as Thomas says in a Facebook post, Adams is always fondly remembered as a friend and master artist.

Here’s Thomas’ post.

I am deeply saddened today to learn that my former colleague Neil Adams has passed away. Unfortunately, this news was not as unexpected as before. After all, he was a year younger than me… and I learned of his death from sepsis last year.

Neil was one of the great comic book artists of the 1960s… or, you could say, any decade after that. His work first on Deadman and Specter, then on Batman, X-Men, Avengers and Inhumans at DC and Marvel, broadened the expected reach in comic book art, combining the flourishing of action kings like. Jack Kirby with a more realistic approach from masters like Reed Crendall and others. Realism, romance, dynamism… Neil had a cover that never failed with new arrows to surprise and amaze us.

After working with him for several years in the late 1960s and mid-1970s, I saw him as both an inspiration (in terms of talent) and a challenge (in terms of opportunity). We often had problems, sometimes “we have words”, but I think we always respect each other. One night in late 1972 when I was at a low point in my personal life, my first wife left the day before, I told Neil my condition in a phone call (I forgot which of us called the other) and he was there some 15 minutes later by car and he brought me the friendship and comfort that I have always remembered and cherished, even though the dark days between us only happened two or three years ago.

Even after the increasingly hostile comments in the quasi-public sphere, it’s surprising that we’ve maintained any respect for one another, not just as professionals but also as people. We last met at the New York premiere of Avengers: The Last Game, with bathroom in and out. And despite recent angry words, each of us greeted each other politely… and we were both sincere in those feelings. Some things, many things, actually, are bigger than the comics and their hazy subtitles. And I like to think that Neil and my relationship was one of those things.

You will definitely miss him. How can it not be? It was a little larger than life, almost the power of nature. However, on the other hand, it will be difficult not to see him, because he will still be here, his works will be printed infinitely and deservedly, his influence will radiate directly and indirectly to new generations. He knew it, I believe, and that’s why I can’t help but believe he’s come to an end as a man in his own right. None of us can demand more from life.

One day, no doubt, I will write more about Neil. But this is not the time. This is a time to think about the greatness of the human being as an artist and as a being.