Broken Frontier

Adam Beechen has played quite extensively in the DC (and now, WildStorm) Universe, but some readers may not know that his first love was creator-owned work. Together with artist Manny Bello, he created the original graphic novel Hench for independent publisher AIT/PlanetLar.

Hench is the story of a typical supervillain henchman, the type of faceless flunky we’ve seen getting mowed down by the thousands in superhero comics. But Beechen put a face (and a name) to one of these faceless flunkies, and the result was a graphic novel that won acclaim across the industry and beyond, as it now has been picked up for development into a major motion picture. Beechen has even begun work on a sequel. Broken Frontier spoke with Beechen about what’s coming up for the Hench franchise.

BROKEN FRONTIER: So, I understand you're working on a sequel to Hench. When did you start work on it, and how far along are you?

ADAM BEECHEN: I had the idea right before San Diego this summer. I honestly never expected to, or wanted to, return to the character, but when all the film stuff happened (the book has been optioned by Warner Brothers), I had a chance to revisit the story for the first time in a while, and the idea of a sequel popped into my head full-blown, much like Hench did. It’s just a matter of putting it down on paper. I’m about thirty pages into the script, and artist Manny Bello is already laying out pages. We’re going to have it out for next summer’s Comic-Con.

BF: The main character of the original was Mike Fulton, an ex-jock who became a standard henchman for supervillains as a way to make ends meet. Does the sequel focus on him as well? What ground do you hope to be able to cover in the sequel that you didn't in the original?

AB: The first book will have come out six years ago by the time the sequel comes out, so we’re picking up Mike’s story six years later. Whereas the first book focused on how henchmen fall into the life and the kinds of careers they have, the sequel centers on what becomes of henchmen after their days serving as supervillain cannon-fodder are over. Specifically, can you really leave the life completely and go back to being an ordinary guy? The title of the book is, Hench: No One Gets Out Alive, so that might give you some insight into what the book will be like. It’s going to have moments of comedy, like the first, and in-jokes for longtime comics fans, like the first, but if anything, it’s going to be darker than the first...and the first book was pretty dark.

BF: Your henchmen aren't really evil, right? How do they justify working for people who clearly are?

AB: Some are evil, some aren’t. They have different reasons for getting into the life. For Mike, it was a matter of not being qualified to do anything else, and not finding anything as stimulating or satisfying as what he felt when he was an athlete. Plus, he had a family to feed, plain and simple. In the first book, he did his best to keep to a code, picking and choosing the most harmless villains to work for when he could, but there were times he couldn’t justify working for some really bad black hats and had to do it anyway, then live with the guilt. The bottom line for Mike was, if this helps my family, I need to do it.

BF: What's it like working with your artist on this, Manny Bello?

AB: This is our third book together, counting Dugout, which came out from AiT in 2008. I love working with Manny. What’s amazing about him is that he’s completely re-invented his style for every book he’s done, yet they’re all recognizably Manny. He’s improved so much, and come so far...Any chance I have to work with him, I leap at it. There was never a question of anyone else drawing this book.

BF: How did you wind up working with Larry Young at AIT/PlanetLar?

AB: Larry and I go back to the early 1990s when we were both fans. We became pen pals after "meeting" on the letters page of Cerebus. Larry always had a notion to start his own publishing company, and I always wanted to write comics — even though I was pursuing television — and when Larry got his company up and running, he said to me, "Any idea you want to turn into a graphic novel, you have a home here." So I took him up on it. As a creator, it’s a great place to be. Larry and Mimi Rosenheim, his wife, really know the business, and really know how to market a book and bring it attention.

BF: You have a background in animation, and it strikes me that the Cartoon Network series The Venture Bros. occasionally delves into some of the same territory, with its depiction of the Monarch's henchmen. Are you a fan of that show, and do you draw any inspiration from it?

AB: This may shock you: I’ve never seen the show. I’ve heard we cover some of the same ground, but it’s strictly coincidence. I’m not surprised to hear it, though, as it’s pretty fertile ground for stories, particularly comedic ones. Many people have told me the program is awesome, so I really have to make an effort to see it sometime soon.

BF: There's now a Hench movie in development, that will be written by and starring Danny McBride, of HBO's Eastbound and Down. His co-writer on that show, Shawn Harwell, will also be working on the script. Have you seen Eastbound and Down, and are you pleased with the casting and writing choices?

AB: I love Eastbound, and I was a fan of Danny’s and Shawn’s long before that, with their film, The Foot Fist Way. Danny also kicked much tail in Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express, as everyone knows. Eastbound has a lot of the same kind of tone I’d hope for with a Hench film project, so I couldn’t be more excited that they want to be involved on the writing side, and that Danny wants to tackle the role of Mike.

BF: What was the process of getting Hench picked up for development? Was there any difficulty for you in relinquishing control of your "baby"?

AB: Kickstart Entertainment, specifically Jason Netter, Ken Levin and Samantha Olsson, had been vigorously shopping the property since it hit the stands. For a while, there was an A-list screenwriter attached to the property and pitching it around, and he did a great job, but the timing wasn’t right, and we couldn’t find it a home. Then I was attached to write the screenplay, and we managed to get a top director interested, but the studio we pitched to had reservations about a first time feature writer like me handling the script chores, so it drifted away again. Finally, Danny got a hold of it and really liked it, and he came to Kickstart with producer Neal (I am Legend, The Fast and the Furious) Moritz and they took it out to the studios. Lots of people want to be in business with Danny McBride these days, and rightfully so, there was a lot of interest, and ultimately, with Kickstart’s help, the project wound up at Warner Brothers.

Letting go, so far, hasn’t been a problem for me. I trust Danny’s and Shawn’s sensibilities, first of all. Secondly, I wrote the story my way once, and Manny and I did the entire book our way once. That incarnation of the story will always be there. I’ve come to think of what Danny’s and Shawn’s interpretation will be as almost a completely different entity. If it’s close to what Manny and I did, great, but I’m just as excited to see the spin they put on it.

BF: I've heard rumors that Danny wants some DC characters to appear in the film. Do you think that would work? The book seemed to do some things with its characters that I'd be surprised if DC would allow.

AB: I’ve heard those rumors, too, but as far as I know, they’re unsubstantiated. Setting the film in the DC mainstream would be fun, but the book doesn’t paint superheroes in particular in a very good light, so I’m not sure DC would want to put their babies in such a negative place.

BF: Will Ferrell is a good friend of Danny's. If he were to appear in this film, which character would you most want to see him play?

AB: Oh, gosh, the character of Hellbent, a daffy occultist who may or may not actually have supernatural powers, seems made for Will. Hellbent’s carved a pentagram in his forehead, and does everything according to "dark masters" only he can communicate with, yet he also pays health benefits and bail money for his henchmen. As menaces to society go, he’s a pretty sweet guy.

BF: What else are you working on these days?

AB: I’m writing my second episode of the new Scooby Doo animated series, which has been a lot of fun, and will have a very special, and very random, guest star. Killapalooza, the creator-owned miniseries I wrote with Trevor Hairsine handling the art, continues to come out monthly from WildStorm. I’m doing some spot work on another WildStorm title to help lead in to our run on WildCATS, and I also just started work on a new miniseries for DC that I can’t talk about yet, but I think the star of the book will be a surprise to some people.

Hench is published by AIT/PlanetLar priced $12.95 and available from Amazon.