News spread yesterday of the passing of Neal Adams, at the age of 80.

For those who don’t know, he was a legendarily famous artist and writer for both Marvel and DC, as well as his own studio. He championed creator rights and diversity in the field of comics. You may have seen some of his iconic work on such titles/characters as:

  • The X-Men;
  • Batman;
  • Superman, including:
    • Superman vs. Muhammad Ali, and
    • “Kryptonite Nevermore;”
  • Green Lantern/Green Arrow, including:
    • The controversial “My Ward Is a Junkie” comic (Issue 85), and
    • The creation and introduction of GL John Stewart (Issue 87);
  • The Avengers;
  • and dozens of others.

I had the fortune and privilege to meet him, while he was in town for that winter’s Salt Lake FanX. He did a signing even at Dr. Volt’s Comic Connection. I had a couple of comics signed and bought three prints of his work. The whole story can be read here.

The comics world has lost one of its great ambassadors and advocates. And, the world at large has lost a good man.