Denys B. Cowan (born January 30, 1961) is an American

comics artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon ...

, media executive and one of the co-founders of

Milestone Media Milestone Media is a company best known for creating Milestone Comics, which were published and distributed by DC Comics and the ''Static Shock'' animated series. It was founded in 1993 by a coalition of African-American artists and writers, co ...

Early life

Denys Cowan was first inspired by superheroes as a child from reruns of the 1950s TV show '' Adventures of Superman'' with

George Reeves George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer; January 5, 1914 – June 16, 1959) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series '' Adventures of Superman'' (1952–1958). His death at age 45 from a g ...

. He did not yet know what a comic book was, and would not learn about them until the third grade. After Cowan's mother died, he moved in with his grandparents, and attended school in that district, where he met a future fellow comics creator, Derek Dingle, who drew comics with his brother. Dingle showed Cowan his first comic book, an issue of

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...

's ''

New Gods The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in ''New Gods'' ...

''.Cowan, Denys (December 2018). "How I broken into comics with...Denys Cowan", ''DC Nation'' #5, Page 2, DC Comics (

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, who ...

). Cowan attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City. One day in the school lunchroom, the 14-year-old Cowan met someone who worked for artist and

Deathlok Deathlok (also referred to as Deathlok the Demolisher) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in '' Astonishing Tales'' #25 (Aug. 1974), created by Rich Buckler. At least three sub ...

creator

Rich Buckler Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated comm ...

. This led Cowan to pay a visit one day after school to Buckler's studio, where Buckler hired Cowan as his assistant. For a year, Cowan performed a number of tasks, including running errands, cleaning the studio, looking up references, for which Buckler paid him in the music albums that he had played in his studio, which increased Cowan's appreciation for music.

Career

Cowan's first published comics work was a three-page story in ''

Weird War Tales ''Weird War Tales'' was a war comic book title with supernatural overtones published by DC Comics. It was published from September–October 1971 to June 1983. Publication history The original title ran for 12 years and 124 issues. It was ...

'' #93 (Nov. 1980) for

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

. He was one of the contributors to the ''

DC Challenge ''DC Challenge'' was a 12-issue comic book limited series produced by DC Comics from November 1985 to October 1986, as a round robin experiment in narrative. The series' tagline was "Can You Solve It Before We Do?" Publication history The ''DC C ...

'' limited series in 1986. Cowan gained prominence as the primary artist on '' The Question'', a comic book series written by

Dennis O'Neil Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...

and published by DC beginning in February 1987. His other comics credits include the

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

story arc "Blind Justice" in ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...

'' #598–600 (March–May 1989) with writer Sam Hamm, which introduced the character Henri Ducard. Cowan was the penciller on the latter half of the 1990 ''

'' miniseries, published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...

, which was written by

Dwayne McDuffie Dwayne Glenn McDuffie (February 20, 1962February 21, 2011) was an American writer of comic books and television, known for producing and writing the animated series '' Static Shock'', '' Damage Control'', ''Justice League Unlimited'' and '' Ben ...

and Gregory Wright as well as on the subsequent regular title of the same name. Cowan and writer

collaborated on a

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

comic book in 1991. Cowan co-founded

in 1993 with McDuffie, Michael Davis, and Derek Dingle, and later worked as a producer on the animated series ''

Static Shock ''Static Shock'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero List of animated television series, animated television series based on the Milestone Media/DC Comics superhero Static (DC Comics), Static. It premiered on September 23, 2000, on the W ...

'', based on the Milestone character. As Senior Vice President of Animation at

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

, Cowan was responsible for the creation, development and production of animated programming for the entire network. This included the development and production of the premiere season of the prime time animated series ''

The Boondocks Boondocks are remote, usually brushy areas. Boondocks may also refer to: * The Boondocks (band), an Estonian rock band * ''The Boondocks'' (comic strip), a comic strip by Aaron McGruder ** ''The Boondocks'' (2005 TV series), the television ser ...

''. Serving as Senior Vice President of Motown Animation and Filmworks, he created and developed a number of shows with Fox, ABC,

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

, and

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

. Cowan drew the cover art of the GZA/Genius of the

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close aff ...

's platinum-selling hip-hop album ''

Liquid Swords ''Liquid Swords'' is the second solo studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member GZA, released on November 7, 1995, by Geffen Records. Recording sessions for the album began midway through 1995 at producer RZA's basement studio in ...

''.

Awards

Cowan and inker Rick Magyar were nominated for an

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are List of Eisner Award winners, prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Acad ...

as "Best Art Team" in both 1988 and 1989 for their work on ''The Question''. Cowan received an

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual conv ...

at the

San Diego Comic-Con International San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is c ...

in 2013.

Bibliography

Regular penciller

*''

Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' is a comic book and magazine series starring Spider-Man and published by Marvel Comics. Following the success of Spider-Man's original series, '' The Amazing Spider-Man'', Marvel felt the character could suppo ...

'' #49–51 (Marvel Comics, December 1980–February 1981) - (

White Tiger The white tiger or bleached tiger is a leucistic pigmentation variant of the Mainland tiger. It is reported in the wild from time to time in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, in the Sunderbans region and ...

backup) *''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

'' #357–358 (DC Comics, March–April 1981) - (Superman 2020 backup) *''

The Flash The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...

'' #297–299 (DC Comics, May–July 1981) - (

Firestorm A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...

backup) *''The Flash'' #301–302 (DC Comics, September–October 1981) - (Firestorm backup) *'' Power Man and Iron Fist'' #80–84, #86–90, #92–93 (Marvel Comics, April–August 1982, October 1982–February 1983, October 1982–February 1983) *''The

Vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

'' #24–26 (DC Comics, December 1985–February 1986) - (backup) *'' Teen Titans Spotlight'' #1–2 (DC Comics, August–September 1986) - ( Starfire story) *'' The Question'' #1–19, #21–36 (DC Comics, February 1987–August 1988, November 1988–April 1990) *''The Question Annual'' #1–2 (DC Comics, 1987–1988) *''Doctor Zero'' #1–4 (Marvel Comics/Epic, April–October 1988) *''

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been ...

'' vol. 2 #1–4 (Marvel Comics, July–October 1988) - (limited series) *''

'' #598–600 (DC Comics, March–May 1989) *''The Question Quarterly'' #1–5 (DC Comics, Autumn 1990–Spring 1992) *''

'' #3–4 (Marvel Comics, September–October 1990) - (limited series) *''

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in '' More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His real name is Oliver Jonas Quee ...

'' #39, #41–43 (DC Comics, November 1990, December 1990–February 1991) *''Nightcat'' #1 (Marvel Comics, April 1991) - (one-shot) *''Green Arrow'' #46–48 (DC Comics, May–June 1991) *'' Prince: Alter Ego'' (DC Comics/Piranha Music,1991) - (one-shot) *''Deathlok'' vol. 2 #1–7, #9–13, #15 (Marvel Comics, July 1991–January 1992, March–July 1992, September 1992) *''Deathlok Annual'' #1 (Marvel Comics, 1992) - (pencils and inks) *'' Moon Knight: Divided We Fall'' (Marvel Comics, 1992) - (one-shot) *'' Lobo: Blazing Chain of Love'' #1 (DC Comics, September 1992) *'' Hardware'' #1–7, #11, #13, #16–18 (DC Comics/Milestone, April 1993–September 1993, January 1994, March 1994, June–August 1994) *''

Xombi Xombi is a superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Xombi'' #0 (January 1994) and was created by John Rozum and Denys Cowan. Fictional character biography Xombi was a Korean-American scientist named David Kim from West Orange, ...

'' #0 (DC Comics/Milestone, January 1994) *''Frank'' #1–2, #4 (Harvey Comics, March–May 1994, July 1994) - (mini-series) *''Long Hot Summer'' #1–3 (DC Comics/Milestone,July–September 1995) - (mini-series) *'' Batman: The Ultimate Evil'' #1–2 (DC Comics, December 1995) *'' Total Justice'' #1–3 (DC Comics, October–November 1996) - (mini-series) *''

Steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...

'' #34–52 (DC Comics, January 1997–July 1998) *"Waking Nightmare!" '' All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant'' #1 (DC Comics, September 1998) - (

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA, or Justice Society (JS)) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Boo ...

story) *'' Fight for Tomorrow'' #1–6 (DC Comics/Vertigo, November 2002–April 2003) *''Black Panther/Captain America: Flags of Our Fathers'' #1-4 (Marvel Comics, Jun-Sep 2010) *''Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child'' #1–7 (DC Comics/Vertigo, May 2012–November 2012) *''

Convergence Convergence may refer to: Arts and media Literature *''Convergence'' (book series), edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen *Convergence (comics), "Convergence" (comics), two separate story lines published by DC Comics: **A four-part crossover storyline that ...

Batman and Robin'' #1–2 (DC Comics, June 2015–July 2015) *''Convergence Detective Comics'' #1–2 (DC Comics, June 2015–July 2015) *''The Black Racer and

Shilo Norman Shilo Norman is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Comics universe. He is the third person to use the name Mister Miracle. Created by Jack Kirby, he first appeared in ''Mister Miracle'' #15 (August 1973). Fictional character biography B ...

Special'' #1 (DC Comics, October 2017) *''

Black Lightning Black Lightning (Jefferson Pierce) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Tony Isabella and artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' #1 (April 1977), during ...

/ Hong Kong Phooey'' #1 (DC Comics, July 2018)

Fill-in penciller

*"Ultimate Weapon." ''

'' #93 (DC Comics, November 1980) *"Diplomatic Immunity." '' Mystery in Space'' #115 (DC Comics, January 1981) *"Batman's Rogues Gallery." '' The Best of DC'' #14 (DC Comics, July 1981) *"The Idol of Millions." ''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror, fantasy, and mystery Comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets''. It is also the name of the titular setting of the series. First se ...

'' #297 (DC Comics, October 1981) *"Bushido." '' Unknown Soldier'' #256 (DC Comics, October 1981) *"The Worship of False Idols." ''

Moon Knight Moon Knight is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in '' Werewolf by Night'' #32 (August 1975). The son of a r ...

'' #17 (Marvel Comics, March 1982) - (Marc Spector backup) *''Flash Force 2000'' (DC Comics, November 1984) - (

insert Insert may refer to: *Insert (advertising) *Insert (composites) *Insert (effects processing) *Insert (filmmaking) *Insert key on a computer keyboard, used to switch between insert mode and overtype mode *Insert (molecular biology) *Insert (SQL) *Fi ...

in various comic books)List of DC Comics containing th
''Flash Force 2000''
insert at the Grand Comics Database *'' Marvel Age'' #20 (Marvel Comics, November 1984) *"Final Transactions, Part 3: Threats and Promises.''

Sabre A sabre (French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as t ...

'' #12 (Eclipse Comics, January 1985) - (Crimson Dawn backup) *'' Vigilante Annual'' #1 (DC Comics, 1985) *''The Vigilante'' #19 (DC Comics, July 1985) *'' Heroes Against Hunger'' #1 (DC Comics, January 1986) - (two pages) *'' DC Comics Presents'' #90 (DC Comics, February 1986) *''The Vigilante'' #27 (DC Comics, March 1986) *''

'Mazing Man Mazing Man is the title character of a comic book series created by Bob Rozakis and Stephen DeStefano and published by DC Comics. The series ran for twelve issues in 1986, with additional special issues in 1987, 1988, and 1990. Additionally, a 'M ...

'' #5 (DC Comics, May 1986) - (three pages) *'' Batman Annual'' #10 (DC Comics, 1986) *''

'' #12 (DC Comics, October 1986) - (four pages) *'' V'' #17–18 (DC Comics, June–July 1986) *''The Vigilante'' #36 (DC Comics, December 1986) *''Batman'' #403 (DC Comics, January 1987) *'' Electric Warrior'' #9 (DC Comics, January 1987) - (backup) *''Marvel Age Annual'' #4 (Marvel Comics, January 1988) *''

Sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaza ...

'' #5 (First Comics, July 1988) *''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The cha ...

'' #241 (Marvel Comics, April 1989) *'' The Shadow Strikes'' #3 (DC Comics, November 1989) *''

Clive Barker's Hellraiser ''Hellraiser'' is an English/American horror media franchise that consists of eleven films, as well as various comic books, and additional merchandise and media. Based on the novella by English author Clive Barker titled ''The Hellbound Heart'', ...

'' #9 (Marvel Comics/Epic,1991) *''Clive Barker's Hellraiser'' #12 (Marvel Comics/Epic,1992) - (pencils, inks, and colors) *"The Big Applesauce." ''

Marvel Fanfare ''Marvel Fanfare'' was an anthology comic book series published by American company Marvel Comics. It was a showcase title featuring a variety of characters from the Marvel universe. Volume one ''Marvel Fanfare'' featured characters and settings ...

'' #60 (Marvel Comics, January 1992) - (

story) *''

Static Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica United States * Static, Kentucky and Tennessee *Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming **Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics *Static el ...

'' #14 (DC Comics/Milestone,August 1994) *'' Hardware'' #25 (DC Comics/Milestone, March 1995) *''Hardware'' #32 (DC Comics/Milestone,October 1995) *''

Blood Syndicate The Blood Syndicate is a fictional multicultural vigilante gang of superhumans created by Milestone Comics and published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''Blood Syndicate'' #1 (April 1993), and was created by Dwayne McDuffie, Ivan Vele ...

'' #32 (DC Comics/Milestone, November 1995) *''Hardware'' #36 (DC Comics/Milestone, February 1996) *'' Superman: The Man of Steel'' #54 (DC Comics, March 1996) *''

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a musc ...

'' vol. 2 #123–124 (Marvel Comics, April–May 1998) *"Outsiders." ''

The Rampaging Hulk ''The Rampaging Hulk'' is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The first volume was a black and white magazine published by Curtis Magazines (an imprint of Marvel) from 1977–1978. With issue #10, it changed its format to color and its ...

'' vol. 2 #1 (Marvel Comics, August 1998) *''

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...

'' vol. 3 #143 (Marvel Comics, September 1998) *''Silver Surfer'' vol. 3 #146 (Marvel Comics, November 1998)

References

External links

*
Denys Cowan
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
Denys Cowan
in a

Dewar's Dewar's () is a brand of blended Scotch whisky owned by Bacardi, which claims the brand's "White Label" to be the top-selling blended Scotch in the US. Dewar's is also the world's most awarded blended Scotch whisky with more than 1,000 medals e ...

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Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and profession ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, Denys 1961 births 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists African-American comics creators Album-cover and concert-poster artists American comics artists American comics creators Artists from New York City DC Comics people High School of Art and Design alumni Inkpot Award winners Living people Marvel Comics people Role-playing game artists Television producers from New York City