FIRST LOOK

I own about 9,000 comic books but ask me to pick my single favorite and I don't need to think twice. It's "Superman vs. Muhammad Ali," which (despite the smirk-inducing title) was a world-class knockout when it arrived in the fall of 1978 and remains an enduring classic all these years later.

Above, you can see a new nod to the legacy of the Neal Adams masterpiece,  a statue due this fall from DC Direct and Ali's licensing team that re-creates the cover clash between the titans of the sports world and comics. This is the first time the images of the statue are being seen anywhere.

The first time I met Adams, I had to profess my love for this giant, tabloid-sized book that still looms so large in my fanboy heart. "I always tell people that 'Superman vs. Muhammad Ali' is the greatest comic book ever published." The artist grinned and gave an Ali-style answer: "And you're right, it is."

Here's another look at the statue from a different angle...

I have four copies of the book. I got the first one when it came out, just before my ninth birthday. I bought three more over the years because, well, I don't know why. I just loved it so much. The comic book has never been reprinted, either, but that changes this fall when it will be released in two versions: The first is a deluxe hardcover edition that will feature a new cover by Adams and the second is a limited-edition hardcover printed in the original book's trim size with the original cover. Sign me up for both right now. Here's the Adams art from the original wrap-around cover...

The book felt like a conceptual mash-up of the 1976 film "Rocky" and Richard Donner's 1978 film "Superman" and with that "Star Warriors" line above the title you get the feeling DC was trying to shoe-horn in a third 1970s box-office sensation.

When I first got my hands on the oversized issue I probably thought: "Superman would kill him!" but the story, by  Adams and frequent collaborator Denny O'Neill, is remarkably affecting, surprising and suspenseful. In a nutshell: Some nasty aliens called the Scrubb arrive on earth and threaten to invade unless the planet's greatest champion will fight their massive, snarling gladiator, Hun'Ya. Superman steps forward as the obvious choice but then Ali cries foul -- Superman is an alien himself and if Earth needs a champion, shouldn't it be a human? Superman and Ali then fight for the right to go and since the Man of Steel is stripped of his powers during the bout, Ali wins. But the two heroes of Earth have a plan of their own that involves working in the same corner, not just trading blows.

Here's one last look at that statue...

A lot of comics -- like sitcoms and sailors -- age terribly, but this one holds up far better than most. A big reason is the Adams art, which is is sublime (with inks by Dick Giordano on figures and Terry Austin on backgrounds) and manages to be both city-street gritty in its realness and cosmic in its other-world vistas and alien armadas. The cover is a remarkable time capsule with a strange all-star audience of Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Frank Sinatra, Sonny Bono, Joe Namath, Pele, Wolfman Jack, Kurt Vonnegut, Wayne Rogers and many, many others. My understanding is the reprint was long-delayed by the permissions process needed for the use-of-likeness approval.

The reprints may not help the value of my old original copies but that doesn't really matter -- in truth, a collectible goes up in value only when you're actually willing to sell it and there's no way I could part ways with the old champ.

-- Geoff Boucher

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IMAGES: DC Comics 

This Friday night is the premiere of "Batman: The Brave and the Bold," the new Cartoon Network animated series that revives a classic brand that always brings a smile to my face. "The Brave and the Bold" comic book was one absolute all-time favorite with its monthly conceit: A team-up between Batman (who, ironically, is the ultimate DC Comics loner) and some other superhero, be it the classic top-tier characters like Green Lantern, Flash or Wonder Woman or more offbeat and obscure types, such as Kamandi, Metamorpho and Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter. Neal Adams, the greatest Batman artist ever, did some memorable work on the series (Especially those covers in the late 1960s and early 1970s! I put a few of them after the jump, so click below to check them out.) and the steady and underrated Jim Aparo proved to be adept at drawing any hero in the DC stable with a relaxed expertise. As a kid, I also loved staring at the logos for each guest-star hero and trying to trace them, which explains why all of my vintage issues have bad indentations on the covers ...

Anyway, this new "The Brave and the Bold" animated series has a nice, fresh feel to it and (judging by the response of my 7-year-old son, Ben) the retro art and non-threatening action are great for little guys. These frames here with good old Plastic Man and Gorilla Grodd are from the second episode, which airs Nov. 21. Other heroes featured in early episodes include Blue Beetle, Adam Strange, Green Arrow, Wildcat and Dr. Fate.

There's so much superhero content in pop culture now that isn't kid-friendly that it cab be a bit frustrating as a parent. For example, the toy aisles were overflowing with action figures for "The Dark Knight," which made it difficult to explain to my elementary-age kids that no, sorry, that movie is not for you. The same with "Revenge of the Sith," which was way too dark for my lightsaber-loving son when it came out a few years ago. This new "Batman" show (as well as "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" series, also on Cartoon Network) give him sleek and satisfying entertainment and (thankfully) they are both so good, I can watch them with him without wincing or checking my watch. 

I'm working on a long article about the author Brad Meltzer, and we had a great steak dinner last night in Hollywood Beach, Fla. I grew up here in Broward County and Meltzer spent a chunk of his childhood here too, and it turns out that we bought our comic books at the same shop, a long-gone little shop called Starship Enterprises. It's pretty amazing, actually, how much we have in common. When I told him that I'm of the opinion that "Superman vs. Muhammad Ali" from 1978 is the greatest single comic book ever, his jaw dropped.

"Maybe we should just get married right now. That is my all-time favorite too." He then started rattling off the celebrities who appear in the famous wraparound cover that shows the ring-side audience watching the bout. "Lucille Ball, Jimmy Carter, the Sweathogs ..."

Two of the people also depicted in that spectacular cover by Neal Adams are Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, the creators of Superman. Siegel is a key part of Meltzer's new novel, "The Book of Lies," which hits stores Sept. 2. Meltzer is fascinated by the fact that Mitchell Siegel, the father of Jerry, died in a robbery just months before his teenage son created the most famous bulletproof hero in American pop culture. Meltzer melds that story with, believe it or not, the biblical story of Cain and Abel. "I know, it sounds crazy right? You can imagine how thrilled my publisher was," Meltzer said with a grin. Meltzer can make any mystery work, as far as I'm concerned; not only did he write bestsellers such as "The Tenth Justice" and "The Zero Game," he penned "Identity Crisis," which is one of the finest and most deftly written comic books you'll ever read.

Expect to hear a lot more about this new book in the weeks to come. I'll be posting the feature on Brad in the weeks to come. In the meantime, check out the compelling trailer for the book, which you can find at Brad's website. It features Joss Whedon, Christopher Hitchens and other pals of Meltzer's.

And if you want to check out that brilliant "Superman vs. Muhammad Ali" cover, it's after the jump.

-- Geoff Boucher

Cover of "Book of Lies" courtesy of Grand Central Publishing

Who is the greatest living comic book artist?

As I’ve said before, my vote is for Neal Adams, so it was a real treat to join him and his family for a big pasta dinner at Buca di Beppo in downtown San Diego last night. Before we even got to the table, I had to ask him if he had seen “The Dark Knight.” “I did and I thought it was great,” Adams told me. But he did have some reservations about the body count in the Christopher Nolan film and the fact that, in his view, the villains seem to triumph in the film. “Batman fails and fails and fails,” said the artist who drew the Batman so definitively in 1970s. 

Adams is a champion of artist rights through the decades and we talked a lot about the wear and tear of the comics industry on creators through the years. Adams, who is a portrait of clean living, also talked about the casualties of drinking and drugs in the business, such as the late Marshall Rogers, who “just got eaten up” by his addictions. A brighter note was a great yarn he told me about a trip to Spain with his wife, Marilyn, and sitting watching the setting sun with the late Will Eisner. “It was such a great moment, a great day.” Adams talked about a book he wants to do with Batman, Deadman and the Joker crossing paths in an intriguing way. After way too much food, we walked over to the DC Comics party, where I got to introduce Adams and his son, Josh, to filmmaker Zack Snyder. The two immediately hit it off and talked intently about motion-capture technologies and the state of CG special effects in Hollywood. It was a real treat to listen in and inspiring to hear two guys so passionate about their crafts. The brawny Adams is a locomotive guy and he expects others to keep up. The last thing he said as he headed back to his hotel: “Work hard.”

-- Geoff Boucher

Neal Adams cover for "Batman" No. 241 (1972), courtesy of DC Comics.

I was wandering the showroom floor at Comic-Con International and I came across some big-time wheeling and dealing that had absolutely nothing to do with film options or Hollywood agents.

There was intense buying and selling in the booths where vintage original art from comic books and comic strips was on display in thick, oversized portfolios that were worth far more than their weight in gold.

Take dealer Joe Mannarino, whose booth had amazing original pieces by the brilliant Windsor McCay, Jack Kirby and Neal Adams, who is my personal all-time favorite artist. "The marketplace has never gone down, but we're seeing major interest right now. It's a very robust market." One reason is there are several generations of fans now of collecting age (i.e., they have enough money to jump into a pricey hobby) and the huge Hollywood afterlife of comics properties has also attracted investors who are just looking for a place to double and triple their money in a a few years. Mannarino is right in the middle of it all with one of the most respected appraisal businesses in the scene. He's also worked as an agent for iconic artists such as Frank Frazetta, Mort Drucker, Joe Simon, Carmine Infantino and Jim Steranko.   

When I stopped by, Mannarino had just paid $115,000 for a full 22-page story drawn by Adams and inked by the brilliant Berni Wrightson. Yes, you read that number right. "And someone has already offered me a $140,000 for it," Mannarino said, clearly torn about whether to part company so quickly with such a rare find.

"It's the only time Wrightson ever inked Adams, I believe," Mannarino said of the issue, "Green Lantern" No. 84, circa 1971. (The purchase did not include the cover, which is pictured above, but I love the work of Adams so much i thought I would share it with you.)

What's the big downside to the whole original-art scene? I spoke to Adams last year at Comic-Con and he seethes every time he hears about a purchased piece of his old art. He said all of those pages were stolen (his word, not mine) from him during a nasty dispute with DC Comics about artist's rights. It certainly doesn't help when he hears his old labors are fetching six-digit figures and he's getting zilch.

I got a nice e-mail the other day from Adams (which is quite the thrill for someone who grew up staring at his "The Brave & the Bold" covers for hours) and we made plans to say hello tonight at the DC Comics party. It should be a great night so I'm not sure whether I'll even mention Mannarino's big buy.

-- Geoff Boucher

Neal Adams cover art from "Green Lantern" courtesy of DC Comics.

Photo: Joe Mannarino at Comic-Con. Credit: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times