Strange Adventures #206
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeStrange Adventures #206 marks the debut of Neal Adams on the Deadman feature — his first penciled artwork on Boston Brand — just one month after the character's origin in issue #205. Adams's dynamic, diagonally-composed layouts and naturalistic figure work transformed Deadman from a promising debut into one of DC's most visually distinctive Silver Age strips, winning Adams the 1968 Alley Award Hall of Fame honor in part for this work. The issue continued the murder-mystery framework Arnold Drake had established, keeping Deadman's cast — Lorna Hill, Tiny, and Vashnu — active in the ongoing hunt for Boston Brand's killer, and demonstrated that the series could sustain its gritty, street-level tension beyond the origin installment. It stands as a creatively pivotal handoff: the moment Neal Adams claimed Deadman as his defining early DC showcase.
In "An Eye for an Eye!", Deadman finds himself entangled in a deadly game of suspicion when Lorna's brother Jeff reappears at the circus, eager to claim Boston Brand's insurance money—just as Deadman begins to suspect him of the murder. Written by Arnold Drake and brought to life with striking detail by Neal Adams, with inks by George Roussos and letters by Milt Snapinn, this issue blends mystery and suspense with a haunting atmosphere. The cover by Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos captures the tension perfectly.
In "An Eye for an Eye!" from Strange Adventures #206, Jo finds herself caught between loyalty and suspicion when her brother Jeff arrives at the circus with a sudden interest in Boston Brand’s insurance payout—just as Deadman begins to suspect Jeff might be behind the murder. With tensions rising and secrets buried beneath the big top, trust becomes the rarest commodity of all.
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Deadman was conceived by writer Arnold Drake and artist Carmine Infantino as a vehicle to revitalize Strange Adventures, which had shifted from science fiction to supernatural content beginning with issue #202. Drake recalled pitching the concept while DC was searching for something to bolster the flagging anthology, and he fought to retain the title 'Deadman' over Comics Code concerns. For issue #206, Infantino — by then ascending to DC's editorial management — transitioned off the art as Drake supplied the script, with Neal Adams stepping in as penciler and George Roussos inking; the script was subsequently miscredited to editor Jack Miller in several later reprints. The cover was produced by Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos, separate from the interior art team.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Second appearance of Deadman (Boston Brand); his debut was Strange Adventures #205 (October 1967), created by Arnold Drake and Carmine Infantino.
- First artwork on the Deadman feature by Neal Adams, who would become the character's defining artist for the remainder of the Silver Age run.
- Story titled 'An Eye for an Eye'; script by Arnold Drake, pencils by Neal Adams, inks by George Roussos; cover by Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos.
- Editor Jack Miller is credited as scripter in several reprints, but primary sources — including Arnold Drake's own Wikipedia entry and the Grand Comics Database — confirm Drake wrote the script.
- The Deadman story runs across 17 pages (with pages 8 and 17 as half-pages); a backup sci-fi story, 'The Earth-Drowners!', also appears in the issue's 36-page package.
- Characters appearing: Boston Brand/Deadman, Lorna Hill, Tiny, and Vashnu (in flashback); supporting cast from Hill's Circus as Deadman investigates Lorna's half-brother Jeff Carling as a suspect in Brand's murder.
- Reprinted in World's Finest Comics #223 (May–June 1974); also collected in Deadman (DC, 1985 series) #1, The Deadman Collection hardcover (DC, 2001, with new inks by Adams over the Roussos originals), Deadman (DC, 2011 series) #1, the Deadman Omnibus (DC, 2020/2021), and the DC Finest: Deadman volume (2026).
- The Deadman strip (launched in issue #205) won the 1967 Alley Award for Best New Strip and Neal Adams received the 1968 Alley Award Hall of Fame recognition for his work on the feature.
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Reprints
↩ Reprints Strange Adventures #64 (1956)
Reprinted in Eclipso #5 (1969), Aventures Fiction #13 (1969), World's Finest Comics #223 (1974), Superman Presents Wonder Comic Monthly #116 (1974), Deadman #[nn] (1978), Démon #10 (1979), Batman #9 (1985), Deadman #1 (1985), The Deadman Collection #[nn] (2002), Deadman #1 (2011), Deadman Omnibus #[nn] (2021)
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