Seeing as how nearly every superhero movie or TV show have used a comic book as their launchpad, fans often wonder what the talented folks developing the source material think about the adaptations. To be completely honest, I’m right there with those of you who are curious in this regard.
Though not every writer and illustrator is quoted as often as Rob Liefeld in this particular arena, there are other industry legends willing to give their two cents if asked. And those who know anything about the one and only Neal Adams can tell you he’s not afraid to pull punches.
Adams, as you may be aware, is undoubtedly one of the quintessential artists to ever work for DC Comics, having lent his powerful pencils to the likes of Batman, Superman and Green Lantern/Green Arrow. Knowing that he kept up with earlier seasons of Arrow, I wanted to learn what he thought about more recent offerings, what with the series soon coming to an end.
Here’s what he said during our discussion at Michigan Comic Convention:
“It’s a great show. It’s one of the best shows on television. I haven’t kept up with it lately, but that’s only because Donald Trump is hogging the news, and it’s very hard to watch shows like that when MSNBC comes on and tells us what the latest disaster Mr. Trump has been perpetrating.”
Well, considering how Neal and his former creative partner Denny O’Neil were at the forefront of socially conscious storytelling in comics with the aforementioned Green Lantern/Green Arrow, it makes sense that he keeps up with the news. But as he continued, the compliments directed at Arrow didn’t stop:
“Periodically, I’ll get to the other shows and tune in, but the show’s always a good show. They keep on trying new things and throwing my characters on the show, like Ra’s al Ghul, because they figure ‘what the hell? Nobody else is doing it. Why don’t we do it?’ It’s amazing what they do with that show.”
Actually, both Adams and I wondered how much oversight there is on DC TV because they’re given so much creative freedom. We both seemed sure that WB is so concerned with the movie side of things that the Arrowverse producers can pretty much roam free. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be gearing up for “Crisis on Infinite Earths” at this point.
Arrow returns with new episodes on Tuesday, October 15th on The CW. For more, be sure to check out our review for season 7’s Blu-ray set.
