Hey Bob,
I received an urban legend question that I think you'd be particularly adept at answering. It was about the artwork on Secret Wars. Now I know that there were some extra artists who had to come in and help out with Secret Wars, but I thought it was just extra inkers - but a reader asked me if extra pencillers also came in to help out, with the names Mike Golden and Butch Guice specifically being mentioned. I know I've heard your name tossed around as a "helper" on the artwork of Secret Wars as well, so I figured you'd be a good guy to hear from on the topic.
So, were there extra pencillers on Secret Wars?
Thanks for the help, Bob!
Brian Cronin

Dear Brian,

Helper?! I penciled two friggin' issues of that myself, buddy! (Secret Wars #4 & #5) I also penciled and inked several covers on the series (Secret Wars #4, #5, #6, #7)!

As far as Michael Golden goes, I have no idea if he was involved. But I know for a fact that Butch Guice did several redraws throughout the series, cause I was there when it happened. If I can find the specific panels, I'll send you some scans.

Hello Bob,

As a fellow member of CAF, I came across your gallery while perusing other's collections.  I have to admit that I was surprised to find out that you did the penciling to many of the Iron Man comic books that I read as a kid.  I guess I never paid attention to the writing/penciling credits back then.  I'm glad to see your art style is still consistent.  I don't like too many current artists today because they take classic characters and draw them in their own style.  Others draw characters with no regards to proper anatomy (ex. McFarlane's rendering of the Hulk with a marble size head on a steroid induced body).  Anyway, keep up the awesome work!!

David Leong

Dear David,

I have an interesting philosophy when it comes to comic book work. That being that the characters and story should always take precedence over the people working on them. It's somewhat unfortunate that in today's atmosphere, the creators seem to be as important, if not more so, than the material they are hired to develop.

Hey, more power to them.  But as far as I am concerned, I will happily take a backseat to Tony Stark and his alter ego Iron Man. I never blew my horn much in those days, because I was just happy to be working  and doing something that I genuinely loved. The fact that those issues have stood the test of time is all the testament I'll ever need in my career.

As far as various artists' interpretations of anatomy is concerned...I think it's a matter of individual taste. As I was taught, the old axiom goes, "Style is created by what you do consistently wrong as an artist." So what you are saying, is that Todd McFarlane has a lot of "style". Personally, I've always enjoyed Todd's work, especially on Spider-Man, but part of that also comes from being a huge David Michelinie fan, I suppose.

Thanks for the kind words and taking the time to write.

Bob,

It was nice meeting you at the NY Comic Con.  (I'm the guy who requested the Dr. Tomorrow #12 script.)  I wish you could have stuck around for the VALIANT panel on Sunday.  Everybody there had good things to say about their time at VALIANT.

It's also good to see from your blog that Mike Leeke is still around.  I didn't recall that he was a penciller on FREEMIND.  He's always been one of my favorite artists.  I was wondering if you know what he's up to these days?

Mike Partyka

Unpublished Doctor     

Tomorrow #6 Cover Sketch

Dear Mike,

As a matter of fact, I was scheduled to attend the VALIANT panel at the NY Comic Con, but they moved it from Saturday to Sunday! Unfortunately, I had already booked my flight out for Sunday mid-morning, and therefore could not attend. However, I had a great time while I was there, hooking up with all the former VALIANT alum and reminiscing about old times. As far as Mike Leeke goes, to steal a scene from "Annie Hall", I just happen to have Mike Leeke, RIGHT HERE! Take it away Mike!

Hey Bob (& Mike),

Good to hear from you, I guess when  we caught up to each other at the N.Y. Con we were so busy talking about football that I never got around to telling you about what I was currently up to.

At any rate, I have been working with Paris Cullins and some other Philly artist and writers on a Magazine called Gritz N Gravy. The 1st issue will be coming out this sometime this year and I will be contributing and ongoing series called The CADRE.  Gritz N Gravy is gong to be Urban Fantasy magazine filled with comic book stories, short stories, interviews, articles, reviews, and commentaries. Check out our site for a look at what I've been up to.

www.gritzandgravymag.com

Mike Leeke

How about that Mr. Partyka? Do we run a full service website here or not? And special thanks to my buddy, the "Slow Leeke", for taking the time out to reply.

Hey Bob,

Just a few quick things...

The link below will show you the Iron Man busts that will be coming out from Bowen Designs. I'm sure to buy the Silver Centurion one and I'd love to have you autograph the base one day!

BOWEN DESIGNS

You can also see a Hercules one coming out.

I wasn't able to come see you at the New York Comic Con! I wanted to meet you in person and maybe buy a marker sketch!

Please let me know if you have time for a convention-style marker sketch!

Thanks Bob! I hope you are doing well and I'm looking forward to your site update!

Gary Sella

Dear Gary,

Thanks for sending me the links to those new Randy Bowen statues. I agree with you that the Silver Centurion is totally AWESOME! As I've discussed in previous updates, it's a real thrill for me to see my designs in three dimensions, especially when they are well-crafted. Oh, by the way, I'd like to thank Robert Yee at Art Asylum Inc. for sending me the complimentary copies of their two Iron Man statues: Demon in a Bottle, and the Classic Iron Man. Both are terrific and now have a hallowed place in my art studio!

We'll have to figure out a way to get your Silver Centurion statue to me. Just for the record, as long as you're willing to pay the return postage, I'll be happy to sign anyone's statue. Or you can simply wait until I announce my next convention and schlep it along. As far as the con sketch, consider it done, my friend!

Hello Bob,
Thank you for taking the time to look at my portfolio at NYC Comic Convention, Phyllis Novin introduced me to you: Even so, I know you probably meet with a lot of other artist there, so here's and link to particular work to remind you, though you can view more in the rest of my portfolio as well. I'd also like to take this time to share with you a background piece I just finished, as I know that was a missing piece in the portfolios I shared.
 

As I've mentioned before, right now I'm focusing on gaining more experience as I work on a few projects: which include a couple of comic ideas, environmental/character concepts, and further developing my own style in CG. Just recently I finally required Corel Painter, so I'll be working on getting familiar with that program as well. While I work on my own projects, I'm keeping myself open for commissions and freelance work: as I believe all experience is very important for both my career and artistic growth. So I'm definitely interested in doing some freelance work like you mentioned before.
Thank you again for your time and advice. I really appreciate our talk, and I'll be sure to send those comic pages you offered to look at for me.
Best,
Jainai Jeffries

Dear Jainai,

It's not often that I do portfolio reviews at a convention where I find someone with such obvious natural ability as yourself. Phyllis said I HAD to see your work before I left! I'm very glad she brought you over to the table, so I had an opportunity to spend some time with you. Anything I can do to encourage you to continue pursuing your craft, feel free to call on me. The main reason I decide to publish this letter is to give an opportunity for my readership to check out some of your amazing work and respond to it, as well.

It seems more and more these days, that women are taking a larger interest in the comic and fantasy art genre.  As I tell my current apprentice, the Fabulous Sorah Suhng, there's room for everybody and it's high time that more women brought their sensibilities to the game. Good luck and please keep in touch.