Conceived by DC editor Julius Schwartz and written by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams, this titanic throwdown was a landmark pop culture event that kicked off a big year for both of its stars with its publication in January of 1978. Originally slated for release in fall of 1977, delays pushed the book back and by the time it was widely available on newsstands Ali had lost his title to Leon Spinks in early February. Ali would go on to reclaim the championship in September of that year, while Superman's Richard Donner-directed silver screen debut premiered in December becoming a massive box office hit capping off 1978 with both heroes on top!
This page from early in the story sees Ali and Superman confronted by a representative of the Scrubb, an alien race who have come to preemptively challenge humanity before Earth's 'warlike and savage' nature presents a true threat to their empire. After both Ali and Superman step up to fight as Earth's champion, they turn their attention back towards the Scrubb emissary on this page where the alien reveals the leverage held over our planet.
This page is a fantastic example of the qualities that make Neal Adams one of the all-time great comic artists with his trademark fluid figure work and incredibly expressive faces front and center here. The layout is stunning as well with subtle touches like the tail of Superman's cape in panel three syncing nicely with Superman's flight trajectory in panel six as well as the plasma missiles' path in panel four running parallel to the right leg of the Gateway Arch also in panel six. These panels all wonderfully frame the central image of Superman as he unexpectedly passes through the "missiles", a wonderful straight-ahead shot of Superman flying directly toward the reader.
Signed by Giordano in lower right margin. Also included is a copy of the published issue signed by Neal Adams as well as a 7" x 2 1/2" identification placard, likely from when this beautiful page was displayed publicly. Pencil, ink, and screentone on art board. 11 3/4" x 16".
NOTE: Two word balloons ("Listen, Buster--..." in the first panel and "We Scrubb..." in the second) became detached at some point and were reattached with both tape and glue. It's unknown when the detachments occurred as the balloon in the first panel is slightly askew from where it's placed in the published version, but the balloon tail in the second panel is missing its outline on the published page indicating that the detachment was likely present during the production process.
Zoom Front Cover
Zoom Back Cover
Zoom Other
Zoom Other
Zoom Other
Zoom Other
