Neal Adams on Drawing the Greatest Black Character of All Time

"Every project I do is sincere. For that reason, I didn't realize how significant it was. You cannot possibly know how significant it is, being white. It's as simple as that. I have groups of black men and their kids, and they tell me, "I have that at home," or they bring it and it's been read a thousand times. It meant so much. John Stewart was significant, but Ali. Remember, America didn't love Ali. Half of American hated Ali, but he was a hero to the world.

"I don't know if you know, Denny O'Neill and I both had to be approved by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. We had to go out to Chicago to the compound and sit and be observed by Elijah Muhammad, who didn't actually talk to us. Apparently, he felt that we were not a danger to whatever the hell they were doing, and then we were dismissed and took the limo to the gate, which was two miles away. We found out later that we were approved. [Laughs]

"That was a great project. The point of going to conventions is so people can bring their copies to me, to see the looks on their faces, how it means so much. I can't even explain it. It's emotional, it's not intellectual. They don't talk about Superman and Spider-Man or those other things, which were all very good. They remember Superman with a black eye, and Ali did it. [Laughs]"

Source: Comic Book Resources