Which is as big an understatement (undersummation?) of that man's life and influence on the world of comics and comic creators, as well as commercial illustrators, as there possibly can be.
Neal Adams was the first comic book professional who changed what I personally thought comic books could and should look like.
He was a classically trained artist with the incredible ability to create imagery of fictional characters that leapt off four-color pages with an almost tangible energy. He took decades old characters and not only reinvigorated them, but he also re-invented them - all while staying true to the roots and ideas of those characters original creators.
His respect for the creators of comic books (and the characters they often anonymously created) was boundless, to the point that he spearheaded efforts to secure not only creators rights for his contemporaries, but long-denied credit and pensions for the Golden Age creators, especially the two men that created the most famous of all superheroes, the last son of Krypton known as Superman.
Those two, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, basically were the progenitors of an industry that is now worth billions.
He was also a truly great human. It was my good fortune and privilege to meet Mr. Adams when I was 12, and he was as graceful (and tolerant) of a young, star-struck fanboy as a man could be.
Over time I continued to be able to sporadically interact with Mr Adams as an ardent admirer of his artwork, and at each and every encounter Mr. Adams continued to be as graceful (and tolerant) of me (now an old star-struck fanboy) as a man could be.
For everything you did and were Mr. Adams, thank you.
If I have a prize possession it's this, an illustration of me as the Green Arrow by Neal Adams circa 2014
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