All e-mails sent to Bob may be published on this Letters Page unless withholding is specifically requested.

Hi Bob,

A couple of questions for you:

(1) A lot of great inkers (Wally Wood and Dick Giordano, to name two) have used assistants to help them out.  Have you ever used assistant inkers to assist you?  Ever been an assistant inker yourself?

(2) One of the most distinctive aspects of your artwork is your ability to draw metal surfaces that are shiny to the extreme.  Did you develop that 'wet' metal look yourself or was it taught to you by another artist? 

Brian Sagar

Brian,

That seems almost like a loaded question, since most of my apprenticeship was with those same two, legendary artists—Wood and Giordano.

I've personally trained dozens of artists over the years—especially at Valiant, where teaching was part of my duties there. Not all were inkers, but every one displayed enormous potential. Some of them are names that you're probably familiar with, including Paul Ryan, Sean Chen, Bernard Chang, Don Hudson, Kathryn Bolinger, Phyllis Novin, Tom Ryder and Brett Breeding.

The “wet metal look” came from Dick Giordano’s rules of thumb approach to inking.  He always stressed that geometric shapes ( a car or an airplane, for example) should be rendered mechanically (using pens and templates) and living shapes should be inked with a brush to give the lines an organic appearance.

So when I began my stint on Iron Man, I decided to treat the armor with the same rules, templating the non-moving parts of the design. The style developed from that discipline. It's as simple as that!

Hey Bob,
I just saw this at a site and I figured you would be able to clear it up real quick. A fellow wrote;

"By the way, in the circa-118 storyline, when Jarvis presents Tony with his resignation from butlering the Avengers, that's actually Dave Cockrum's resignation from his Marvel staff job, which some Bullpen scamp stated into the art, pissing off both Michelinie and Shooter, albeit for different reasons."
Is this for real, or is it bogus?

Also, was the villain in X-Factor #5 originally meant to be The Owl before you left the book as the writer? Sorry to be a bother, but is this one true? I'd especially like to know because apparently Wikipedia is reporting it as fact and I think it would be nice to see if they were accurate.
Thanks, Bob,

Brian Cronin

Brian,
Both are absolutely true stories. 

That particular issue, where the authentic letter was used, was Iron Man #127--although I can't remember who the culprit was.
But, it did cause a big stink in the offices at the time.  It was a totally boneheaded move.

And, as far as X-Factor goes, I had intended for the Owl's mutation to take a decidedly-bad turn, making him almost-totally inhuman. 

But, as the tale goes, I left the title before I could implement that subplot. Using the elements from the original story I had plotted, Louise Simonson replaced my villain with her guy (which, in hindsight, was a very smart move.).

Mr. Layton,

Please accept my support for your review of this comic (Iron Man: The Inevitable #1). 

I do amateur comics work myself as a hobby.  I learned a lot about the methods of storytelling from Bob McLeod and Gene Colan.  Of today's staffing, I call Drew Geraci a good friend and Paul Ryan an email pal.  My point is that I know something about this, albeit not anywhere near as much as you.

What I didn't like about Iron Man: The Inevitable #1 was its total lack of storytelling.  I'm sure there's a story there but it wasn't told from the pictures.  A lot of people call this kind of work "edgy" but I just call it "crap".  It's very important to realize the following: great Photoshop skills does not equal good drawing.  These drawings are all vertical.  The pacing is that which lends itself to TV, not comics.  There is no attention to blacks at all.  Nothing leaps off the page.  Everything just lies there flat.  I'm not sure who hired Mr. Irving but whoever did really didn't want to sell this book very hard.  Very poor.  I give it one-half stars out of five.

I wouldn't let all those negative letters you've been receiving on this subject bother you.  You're still in my top 5 of all time.  I still have a lot of your Future Comics work and my Future Comics t-shirt.  I hoped that you would have the pull to break the hegemony of Diamond.  I was hoping you would just break even and grab a toehold in the market.  I guess it wasn't meant to be.  I was also disappointed by CrossGen folding.  In the current marketplace, I guess it's just hard for me to get excited over the next repackaging of Superman, et.al. 

Anyway, I wish you continued success and good health.

A Fan

Michael Greczek 

Michael,

I genuinely appreciate your kind words of support. This is going to be my last word on the subject of Iron Man: The Inevitable #1 (I'm actually very tired of spending this much time debating this one, mediocre comic):

The majority of fans, many of whom asked me not to publish their e-mail, totally concurred with your assessment.

Unfortunately, we live in very Orwellian times, my friend.  'Bad' means 'good'--'war' means 'peace'-- and 'incompetence' means 'leadership'.  In the case of Iron Man: The Inevitable-- 'inept storytelling' translates into 'hot new comic'.

With the independent publishers being squelched by the Diamond, there are very few places left for 'out of the box' creative endeavors. You have my sincere thanks for supporting the efforts of Future Comics in the past and all like-minded publishers in the future.

Good health to you, as well.

Mr. Layton,

I just found your website the other day doing an Iron Man search. I have to say, I forgot how much I missed you on Iron Man. Your style was always perfectly suited for Iron Man. To me, it’s like George Perez drawing The Avengers or John Byrne drawing the Fantastic Four—a perfect combination. Do you have any contact with Marvel anymore? I would love to see you on Iron Man again, even if only for a mini-series. I know I’m not alone on that.

I also wanted to say that I really like your website. It is very well done.

Take care and have a good day.

Todd Fitzgerald

Dear Todd,

Thanks for the kudos on the website.  I try my best every month to keep my fans informed and entertained.  I'm hoping that you and the other regulars enjoy my new series "COLONY" when it premieres here in June.

As far as having contact with Marvel, I have recently exchanged a few e-mails with Joe Quesada, but most of those were dealing with a personal matter between us.  I'm pleased to say that Joe and I have been able to put aside our personal differences and we've been quite cordial with each other.  However, our creative philosophies are still light years apart and the likelihood of my working for Marvel anytime in the immediate future is remote, to say the least.

Best wishes and keep coming back each month, Todd.

Hello Bob,
We have another question for you: Do U.S. comic draftsmen have an agent?
We recently read of this and the talk was in the article of this that comic strip draftsman needing an agent in the USA. How much are the fees in the USA?

Thank you for the help.
All the best,

Ahlen Klaus & Wolfgang

Dear Ahlen Klaus & Wolfgang,

I've never used an agent.  Since most comic rates are on a standard per-page scale for the large companies, the use of an agent is generally not necessary.  There are a few, but the majority of them disappeared after the speculator boom died out. As with nature, sharks usually look for new feeding grounds when the food supply runs out. :)

Dear Mr. Layton,
I have been an Iron Man fan since I was a little boy back in the early 80's.  You have done the best job as the artist for Iron Man.  You and David Micheline have done a great job.  If they ever do an Iron Man movie, I hope and pray that they would consult the both of you.  You guys defined Iron Man/Tony Stark and breathed life into that comic book.  I don't collect Iron Man anymore.  Sadly, there are too many suit changes and no continuity to the stories in the present-day Iron Man comic books.

Sincerely,  

Thomas "Iron Man" Yee

Dear Thomas,

High praise indeed.

Unfortunately, the word is that the Iron Man movie project has returned to development limbo recently and that Marvel Entertainment intends to produce the film themselves.  That being the case, I suspect that neither David or I will be consulted on anything to do with the project.  If they genuinely appreciated our past contributions, we'd probably still be working there.  Obviously, nothing we've done has stuck with them, since they seem hell-bent on almost-annual revamps of the character.

1. John Taddeo¹s ZOOM SUIT #1 will debut officially on April 29. You¹ve contributed seven cover illustrations for the series, if I¹m not mistaken. I¹ve had the opportunity to view the ZOOM SUIT video, based upon issue #1, in addition to reading the first issue itself -- I bought a copy of the Team Zoom Suit Edition at my comic shop several weeks ago -- and immediately realized that both work in tandem to tell the story better than individually. Initial orders of the book have topped the 20,000--copy mark at this point.

Five of your cover images have been reproduced for the ZOOM SUIT metallic trading card set.
Questions: Will you continue to provide cover images for ZOOM SUIT? Did Mr. Taddeo ever mention the possibility of your writing or penciling an issue? Is 20,000 copies of a new comic considered a lot these days? What are your guesses as to the longevity of ZOOM SUIT? (Note: There have been two other recent teens-in-armor series -- TECH JACKET (2002), which ran six issues, and the four-issue ARMOR X (2005). Both series were published by Image.)

1. Mike--first off, we should all applaud Mr. Taddeo for the incredible marketing effort he has put into Zoom Suit. To sell that many copies of an independent comic in the current marketplace is a phenomenon--to say the least. If I had hired John as my marketing guy at Future Comics, I'd probably still be in business today.

As far as my doing other Zoom Suit material: I consider John a friend and I'll be more than happy to contribute more of my time and effort to his projects.  John and I discussed several possibilities while we were together at Megacon.  Who knows what the future will bring, eh?  As far as the longevity of the series--that's entirely up to John.  Zoom Suit's strictly a labor of love for him. Mr. Taddeo is a very successful businessman, in a totally unrelated field, and genuinely wants to have fun with the property. But, if the launch of this project tells us anything about John's ability to make things happen--well, the sky is the limit on Zoom Suit.

2. Do you collect or accumulate any of the action figures, posters, etc. that have been produced based upon your work? Examples: The Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars collection action figures you designed, and the current Ghost Heroclix figurines.

2. To quote my former Valiant partner, Steve Massarsky: "I'm a seller--not a buyer."

Mrs. Layton is actually the action figure hound in our house. Her office is loaded with Bowen Iron Man sculptures, Iron Man action figures and the like.  She's always on the lookout for any toy that I had something to do with it's creation.  And to compound matters, my old pal, Paul Levitz continually sends us anything DC produces that has our character, The Huntress, in it.  He's always been a sweetheart of a guy and never fails to keep us in mind when new Huntress merchandise comes out. Her office is loaded with the stuff.

I've never been much of a collector of anything, to be perfectly honest.

3. Have you kept many of your original art pages, or do you primarily sell them? Are there any particular pages or covers you¹ve hung onto that you¹d never, ever part with?

3. This is going to be hard for some of your readers to believe, but I've kept virtually nothing of my own work.

I always find things wrong with my drawing and never form attachments to them, as a result.  I suppose that's the perfectionist in me. Besides, when you make a living from selling your art, you learn quickly to avoid emotional ties to certain pieces.  I think that the one thing that keeps me going is the constant drive to improve my craft. Dick Giordano told me me that, "If I ever do the perfect page--I'll probably quit being an artist forever."

For most of my career, the only page I hung onto was the cover to Iron Man #128--strictly for sentimental reasons.  Unfortunately, financial pressures forced me to part with it several years ago.

4. What is your typical workday like? Do you keep regular hours? Are you an early bird? Do you work late? Where is your office? What do you listen to while working, music, news?

4. Good question, Mike!  As I joke with Jill, "I'm the busiest unemployed man that you'll ever meet!"

I usually start my day around 6:45 a.m., being awakened by my lovely wife Jill (with large cup of coffee in hand) and our two slobbering dogs (Bosco and "The Pig" ) violently pouncing onto my bladder. (An 85 pound dog crashing into your guts WILL definitely wake you up, my friend!)

After Jill departs on her daily commute to downtown Tampa, I settle back in my home studio to answer the morning's e-mails, package up commissions that have to ship out that day, and do other basic website business.  Most days, I keep CNN on in my studio (or ESPN during Football season), mostly as background noise to dampen the sound of Bosco's snoring on the floor next to my drawing board. 

When I'm working on the website, I avail myself of Jill's huge I-Tunes library of music.

 I usually hit the drawing board by 9:30 and keep my nose to the grindstone until noon. That's about the time that Bosco ( a black Lab) and 'The Pig' (Old English Sheepdog) inform me that they want to fertilize our lawn.

After that mess, the three of us pile into my convertible and take the 10 mile trip to the website's post office box. Then, it's back to the studio, where I keep myself chained to the drawing board until around 5:30 p.m.   I generally make dinner during the week and Jill takes the honors on the weekends.  Since the two of us are fairly proficient at cooking, it makes more sense for me to do it during the week, since I work from home.

Jill is an early riser, so she's usually "lights out" way before me.  I'm still one of the original night-owls, Mike.  I normally go back to work after she nods off for the night, squeezing in a couple more hours of drawing time.

I usually call it quits around 1:30 a.m.

And then--it begins anew!

5. While sifting through some junk in one of my desk drawers, I was reunited with a set of prepaid phone cards from the 1990’s, based upon “The Unseen Works of Jack Kirby.” Each of the three cards in the set sport an unseen comic concept never realized by ol¹ Jack. I’ve sent along an image of “Deceptor,” which, in a way, reminds me of Deathmask.

The cards somehow reminded me that Jack Kirby was the first Iron Man artist to show Tony Stark¹s eyes through the armor¹s faceplate, which added so much more expression and drama to the character -- something you helped make famous, in addition to showing Stark’s mouth/teeth through the faceplate¹s mouth port. Come to think of it, you also used poetic license to ‘bend’ the eye slits and mouth port to demonstrate further Iron Man ‘facial’ expressions.
Now for the question, which really has nothing to do with any of the above. You inked the cover image for MACHINE MAN #9 -- penciled by Jack Kirby. What was it like to embellish a Kirby illustration?

Mike Kalibabky

5. Like anyone who has ever illustrated a comic book in our era, Kirby was a huge influence on me. The very first comic I remember is an issue of Challengers of the Unknown by Jack Kirby and Wally Wood. I always felt that Woody was the definitive inker of Kirby's pencils. The amazing thing that I discovered, once I began my apprenticeship with Woody, was that he ran a kneaded eraser over Kirby's pencils before embellishing--leaving only the pencil impressions on the page. Jack used a really messy #2 pencil and pressed very hard on the page when drawing. Wally was a big fan of Jack's storytelling-- but not so crazy about his actual drafting skills--so he erased most of it and worked off the residual pencil impression. Imagine my shock.

Later on, when I had an opportunity to ink Kirby myself, I wound-up using the same technique, once I realized that the pencil was laid down so heavy-handed on the paper.

Of all the inkers that Jack Kirby has had over the years, I was most impressed with the work Barry Windsor-Smith did over him.

Just this month, I completed an Avengers commission over Jack Kirby (see above) and tried inking it with the same techniques that I learned from Barry while working with him at Valiant .

IF YOU WISH TO CONTRIBUTE A LETTER OF COMMENT TO THIS PAGE, PLEASE SEND YOUR  E-MAILS TO: BOB.LAYTON@BOBLAYTON.COM