Iron Man: Hypervelocity is all about speed. And Brian Denham, the Bedford artist drawing the comic book, is renowned for working fast.
But Denham, 37, would never have gotten the assignment, his first full-length gig for Marvel, if he hadn't been working on a relatively slow-moving bus.
A few years after making his name by drawing Violator vs. Badrock, a 1995 miniseries written by Alan Moore, Denham walked away from comics. A tumor on his right hand made drawing too painful, and the industry was in a slump.
"Editors were losing their jobs weekly, so it was tough to be a freelancer at that time," Denham said.
Denham took a series of jobs outside the industry, including working in a grocery store. By 2000, he was briefing tourists on buses taking them from the Los Angeles airport to cruise ships.
"We would give them a speech about, you know, have your tickets ready and how to go through the line faster," Denham said.
But Denham's life changed when he found himself preparing participants for a themed cruise full of comic book writers and artists.
One of them was Neal Adams, who illustrated the Batman comics in the 1970s that took the character back to his dark roots from the campy image created by the 1960s TV series. Adams was an early influence on Denham's style. As a teenager, Denham learned to draw by studying a collection of old Batman comics that he found in the Richland High School library.
"I was giving the speech, and I was like, 'Oh my God, it's Neal Adams,' and I could barely finish the speech," Denham said. "I just went and sat down, and I was like, 'I'm going the wrong direction.' "
His first step in the right direction was to call Top Cow Productions, the California studio that gave Denham his first work after his epiphany. He subsequently published two semi- autobiographical comics, Killbox and Bit Torment, through San Antonio's Antarctic Press.
Then Denham found out about Hypervelocity from some friends at Guru-eFX, the studio that had been contracted to color the project for Marvel. He'd heard his name was in the running to draw the book, so he lobbied for the opportunity.
"We gave the script to Brian for a tryout, and he turned in, like, a third of the book in a week," said Molly Lazer, Denham's editor at Marvel. "We looked at it, we liked it and said, 'Let's go.' "
That experience, and his fateful encounter on the bus, taught Denham a valuable lesson: "When destiny knocks," he said. "You don't tell him, 'I'll be right back.' "
Dan is dedicating his QFL championship (see Page 13) to all the other dorks out there. Send congratulations to dkoller@quickdfw.com.
Iron Man: Hypervelocity
Written by Adam Warren. Drawn by Brian Denham. First of six issues due in stores tomorrow. $2.99.
Denham will be signing copies beginning at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Zeus Comics. 3878 Oak Lawn Ave. 214-219-8697.
•Brian Denham (right) is believed to be the first person to write, pencil, ink, color, letter and publish a comic book on his own: 1994's My Name is Mud. "George Pérez congratulated at me at the time and said he was jealous because he always wanted to be the first one to do that," Denham said.
•Denham's first full-length work for a big-time publisher was Image Comics' Violator vs. Badrock. Denham was recruited after meeting Image co-founder Rob Liefeld at the Dallas Fantasy Fair.
•Denham is one of the only artists in comics who doesn't use a pencil. He works exclusively in Adobe Illustrator. "My hands and wrists stopped hurting as a result of using the program and a digital tablet," he said.
Marvel's blockbuster Civil War is back in stores tomorrow with the release of the penultimate sixth issue ($2.99). Iron Man: Hypervelocity takes place before Civil War, so the story doesn't get into the "registration or not" debate, but Denham is on Iron Man's side. "I signed on the dotted line to serve my country," the former Marine said. "I'd think all the heroes would do the same."
Also hitting stores tomorrow is Iron Man: Armor Wars. This trade paperback ($24.99) collects Iron Man Nos. 225-232, a 1980s arc in which Shellhead tried to take out every other armored hero and villain, fearing they had stolen his technology and used it to hurt people. Can't Iron Man give peace a chance?
