RIP The Champ! Arlen Schumer, who wrote "Alex Raymond's Last Ride" did the definitive Neal Adams interview on SUPERMAN VS. MUHAMMAD ALI for COMIC BOOK ARTIST magazine. Well worth searching out.
My favourite Ali story is one Norman Mailer told on himself.
Ali considered Mailer the Literary Champ because he was the first one to get a million-dollar advance for a book. "Nommin Millions".
Their paths crossed infrequently and the last time had been a Charity event of some kind and Norman was there with his VERY attractive twenty-five-years-younger-than-him wife, Norris Church. And Ali came over to talk to them and enthused to Mailer about how good he looked. "I hope I look as good as you when I'm you're age, Nommin" saying the same thing several different ways.
At one point Mailer excused himself for a call of nature. Norris later told him that the minute he left The Champ had turned to her and said:
The HBO Thrilla in Manilla documentary is also very good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUQNKb_1xlc.
Ali was so shitty to Joe Frazier, calling him an "ugly gorilla" and an Uncle Tom for years, that it's hard not to agree with Gale Day. On the other hand, he did apologize for what he'd said, whereas Frazier remained bitter to the point of gloating about Ali's Parkinson's disease.
A great George Carlin bit about Ali's refusal to go to Vietnam: "Of course he had a very unusual job: beating people up. The government just wanted him to take it a little further: the government wanted him to kill people. Ali said, 'No, that's where I draw the line…I'll beat 'em up, but I don't wanna kill 'em.' "
Actually the Muhammad Ali piece is a replacement for the one that I did for Sandeep that burned in his apartment fire. I also did a replacement Malcolm X for him, getting them framed and taking them out to The Jane Bond where he was d.j.ing. "What are these for?" he asked. I said, "I think I owe you them." And he said, "You don't owe me anything." And I said. "I think I do." And that was it. Good GUY conversation with nothing to add to it.
It was funny, I asked him if he still had them just last week. Starting over from scratch, he could definitely be forgiven for selling them on eBay (which is why I didn't personalize them). No, he still has them.
I haven't made the joke yet (too soon!), but my thought over the weekend was "I guess somebody showed Muhammad Ali that Harley Quinn solicitation!" That's cool that Dave looks at Previews still! I know the relatively recent HC reprint of the Superman vs Muhammad Ali book is also re-offered in the DC section as well (although it's probably in the Star System anyway).
I also had that whole Carlin bit in my head over the weekend, Tony. "Then the government said, if you won't kill 'em, we won't let you beat 'em up! Ha ha!" "Muhammad Ali...nice musical name"
Speaking of the latest Previews (and someone show this comment to Dave if he doesn't look at it himself), in the Fantagraphics section, the book titled (as I recall) See, We Told You So is a back patting book from them as to how TCJ pushed the notion of comics as art, and among the many luminaries mentioned in the solicit text as being featured in the book in some way is Dave. Interesting...
Superman vs Ali... ok, unless the gloves, the ring, heck, the STADIUM is made out of kryptonite, Supes would tear off Ali's head with a flick of his wrist. This kinda stuff just looks stupid to me. Guess I had to be there at the time of Alimania.
No dis on the champ though. Credit where it's due.
15 comments:
This certainly was one of my favorite comics growing up, as were so many of the DC and Marvel treasury books.
(One of my custom bound hardcover volumes is of the DC Famous First Edition series.)
But, Neal Adams wants to be remembered as the 'father of comic books'?
I guess, if he writes his own epitaph, but I doubt that's how he will be memorialized.
Steve
Ali talking about Life and Death
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igx3NWQHNkM
Ali: Great fighter, greater human being.
And Neal kicked major ass on this
RIP The Champ! Arlen Schumer, who wrote "Alex Raymond's Last Ride" did the definitive Neal Adams interview on SUPERMAN VS. MUHAMMAD ALI for COMIC BOOK ARTIST magazine. Well worth searching out.
My favourite Ali story is one Norman Mailer told on himself.
Ali considered Mailer the Literary Champ because he was the first one to get a million-dollar advance for a book. "Nommin Millions".
Their paths crossed infrequently and the last time had been a Charity event of some kind and Norman was there with his VERY attractive twenty-five-years-younger-than-him wife, Norris Church. And Ali came over to talk to them and enthused to Mailer about how good he looked. "I hope I look as good as you when I'm you're age, Nommin" saying the same thing several different ways.
At one point Mailer excused himself for a call of nature. Norris later told him that the minute he left The Champ had turned to her and said:
"Are you STILL with that OLD MAN?"
The Champ elicited strong reactions in people pro and con.
I remember Gale Day, Gene Day's wife literally refused to speak to me for several days because I said I was a Muhammad Ali fan.
Also recommended: Mailer's THE FIGHT and the documentary made from it WHEN WE WERE KINGS.
Oh, yeah, WHEN WE WERE KINGS is phenomenally good. Riveting.
What was the impetus for the drawing Dave did of Ali here? A commission?
The HBO Thrilla in Manilla documentary is also very good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUQNKb_1xlc.
Ali was so shitty to Joe Frazier, calling him an "ugly gorilla" and an Uncle Tom for years, that it's hard not to agree with Gale Day. On the other hand, he did apologize for what he'd said, whereas Frazier remained bitter to the point of gloating about Ali's Parkinson's disease.
Travis, I think, but am not positive, that Dave did the Ali drawing as a payment for services rendered by Sandeep Atwal.
The blood sport of Empire
A great George Carlin bit about Ali's refusal to go to Vietnam: "Of course he had a very unusual job: beating people up. The government just wanted him to take it a little further: the government wanted him to kill people. Ali said, 'No, that's where I draw the line…I'll beat 'em up, but I don't wanna kill 'em.' "
Actually the Muhammad Ali piece is a replacement for the one that I did for Sandeep that burned in his apartment fire. I also did a replacement Malcolm X for him, getting them framed and taking them out to The Jane Bond where he was d.j.ing. "What are these for?" he asked. I said, "I think I owe you them." And he said, "You don't owe me anything." And I said. "I think I do." And that was it. Good GUY conversation with nothing to add to it.
It was funny, I asked him if he still had them just last week. Starting over from scratch, he could definitely be forgiven for selling them on eBay (which is why I didn't personalize them). No, he still has them.
The latest PREVIEWS has a solicitation for Harley Quinn vs. Superman drawn by Neal and modelled on his SUPERMAN VS. MUHAMMAD ALI cover.
Dave Sim, mensch!
I haven't made the joke yet (too soon!), but my thought over the weekend was "I guess somebody showed Muhammad Ali that Harley Quinn solicitation!" That's cool that Dave looks at Previews still! I know the relatively recent HC reprint of the Superman vs Muhammad Ali book is also re-offered in the DC section as well (although it's probably in the Star System anyway).
I also had that whole Carlin bit in my head over the weekend, Tony. "Then the government said, if you won't kill 'em, we won't let you beat 'em up! Ha ha!" "Muhammad Ali...nice musical name"
Speaking of the latest Previews (and someone show this comment to Dave if he doesn't look at it himself), in the Fantagraphics section, the book titled (as I recall) See, We Told You So is a back patting book from them as to how TCJ pushed the notion of comics as art, and among the many luminaries mentioned in the solicit text as being featured in the book in some way is Dave. Interesting...
Superman vs Ali... ok, unless the gloves, the ring, heck, the STADIUM is made out of kryptonite, Supes would tear off Ali's head with a flick of his wrist. This kinda stuff just looks stupid to me. Guess I had to be there at the time of Alimania.
No dis on the champ though. Credit where it's due.
But still.
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