I was shocked and saddened to read of Neal Adams' passing just a short while ago. I never had the chance to interview him, but we met a few times at conventions, long before I was working professionally in the industry.
Neal had a reputation for being simultaneously generous to newcomers in the business (undoubtedly remembering his own difficulties breaking in) and, at times, rough on those he felt didn't meet his standards. Those familiar with his work do not need me to give a list of the major characters and titles he worked on and usually improved. He introduced a more "photo-realistic" look to superhero comics, one that he developed in his time working in advertising and newspaper comic strips. (He notably drew the comic-strip version of the TV series Ben Casey, as well as "ghosting" on other strips over the years.) He was instrumental in getting DC Comics and Warner Bros. to restore Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's creator credits on Superman (including the first movie). He went on to similar campaigns for other creators.
In addition to obituaries in all the usual places, his passing is noted in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, and on Twitter by celebrities such as Guillermo del Toro, and James Gunn.
