Marvel and DC legend Thomas Tenney made a name for himself with his drawings of Iron Man, but now the comic book legend has fallen on hard times.
Tenney is now facing homelessness as he is set to be vacated out of Jacksonville home August 30. First Coast News sat down with Tenney Friday, who told us what the future could hold and the setbacks he has been dealing with the last seven years.
The dream began for Tenney when he was fifteen and former President Ronald Reagan happened to be traveling through Tenney’s town in Ohio.
“My art teacher said, ‘you gotta draw him.’ I got to meet him. I got to draw him, and he looked at it said ‘That’s one of my better pieces,'” Tenney said.
Tenney says the former president later wrote him a letter telling him to follow his dreams, inspiring him to enter a career that made him an icon in the Marvel and DC Comics Universe and becoming the go-to artist for Iron Man.
“Iron Man has always been like, attached to me ever since. So, I love the character.” said Tenney.
Little did he know, his life would take a turn in 2017 when he was diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. He says he couldn’t afford the treatments and his girlfriend’s mother died that same year.
“When that happened, everything got dumped onto our lap. We had no idea. It was that immediate,” Tenney said.
Tenney says his financial situation has gotten so bad, that he will lose his home at the end of the month. He says he tried drawing again to make extra money, but had no luck.
“I see other guys in this business my age or a little younger, I can’t get any work. I don’t know why, I’m doing everything I can, I am drawing well. It’s the same old formula,” Tenney said.
A week out from losing his home, Teeny says his legacy does not change the reality of what he is facing.
“They tell me ‘I still read your books, I go back and read them.’ But in the back of your head you hear that echo of ‘Am I letting them down? Have I let them down? And then I get some who say, ‘I understand man, because I am going through the same thing.’ I go through a lot too.”
Tenney says at this point he’s relying on family and friends for help. A GoFundMe page has been created to help Tenney at this link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-artist-tom-tenney-and-family