Who's The Man?
Who is Duke Denim? That is a question many people have asked over the years. He is many things and one thing all at the same time. He’s hard-nosed yet compassionate. His eyes are intense yet they see things clearly. His hands are like rocks yet they comfort. For him, sometimes law and justice are two different things. His mind swirls in the past yet he can see to the future. One thing for sure. While he lives in Big City…he is Big City!
As a cop on the Big City Police Department, he rolled with the best of the Blue Boys…knocking heads and slapping cuffs. Squealing tires and gripping billyclubs. Laughing at his partner’s jokes and catching an earful from the chief. The days of cruising the streets of Big City ended the day his partner’s life was snuffed out.
A cloud of mystery continues to surround the reasoning why Duke left the BCPD. Police brass and patrol car driving beat walkers want to know but never will…perhaps the greatest mystery of all. Now, in a small room down the alley on the left, in the back of the Chester Building, Duke Denim takes on the crime of Big City in his own way, as a private detective. Along with his faithful assistant La’Cora Pedigree, Duke Denim and Associates takes on the cases not for the eyes of BCPD.
When the day is done, Duke can be found under the affectionate gaze of the waitress Angel at the Chokemdown Diner. With a hot cup of this and a cold plate of that, Duke wonders if he’s wasting his time but like the towering skyscrapers of Big City, he knows there is something worth reaching for…and he believes he’ll get it someday…two fists at a time. That's who he is!
Illustration by Dawud Anyabwile
Coloring by Brian McGee