Dennis Calero, who grew up in Miami, now works for Marvel. (Luigi Novi / Wikipedia)

At least, not at the time when noir was first making an impact — during the 1930s and ’40s.

But somewhere along the way, hero comics caught up — becoming more grey themselves. And so, someone whose art is as strongly influenced by noir as Dennis Calero‘s seems to make it all fit nicely.

Calero’s art was a major reason why X Men Noir was well-received by fans. The Miami-born artist, who is taking part in this weekend’s Florida SuperCon, said his art stems directly from the film classics and pulp novels that make up noir.

“To me, films like The Third Man and Citizen Kane are very influential,” Calero said. “And not just the art, but the pacing as well. I made sure I was watching one of those great movies every time I worked, and I let it affect me.”

Teaser for 'X Men Noir #1' (Art by Dennis Calero)

In X Men Noir, which was written by Fred Van Lente, the mutant superheroes are re-spun as vigilantes disinterested in taking prisoners and pursued by police.

The combination of recognizable heroes and dark streets struck a chord with fans, quite a few of whom visited with Calero at his booth at SuperCon.

Calero said he was thrilled with the huge response the local comic-book/scifi/anime conference received in his home area.

“It’s great to get down here and see something like this,” he said. “There wasn’t anything like this when I was growing up. It’s a really gratifying thing to see.”

And these fans, and fans all over who loved X Men Noir, will be thrilled with something else Calero’s working on — though he can’t really say what exactly that is yet.

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• Marvel Noir (phdincomicbooks.com)
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