At the beginning of the New Year, I received many e-mails that were filled with good wishes or sympathies for the recent loss of our dog, but none of them touched me as deeply as first two messages posted here this month.  I suppose the New Year tends to inspire a time of reflection and change.

That point is made more poignant by what you're about to read:

LETTER OF THE MONTH!

Dear Mr. Layton,
  I have been meaning contact you for a while now to tell you about how you saved my life nearly a decade ago, but I never got around to it. Will Eisner's recent passing made contacting go to the top of my "to do" list, since, if not now, when would I get around to it?
  Back in February of 1992, I opened my own comic book store. I had been a heavy drinker for years but I found that the stress of being self-employed did not help with my drinking. I, of course, did not notice an increase to my drinking at the time. I never drank during business hours but instead would go through a half gallon of Jim Beam every two weeks, after hours.
  Since I only drank at night while at home, I did not think I had a problem. My wife saw what was happening and confronted me with it.  She is a special education teacher whose specialty is behavior modification. After what may have been the most heated argument of our marriage, she suggested that if I did not have a drinking problem I should be able to go two days without a drink. Needless to say, she was right and I could not do it.

  To compound the matter, she was pregnant with our first child. My dad had been a drinker and I remember how unpleasant that had been as a kid.
  After much soul searching, I decided to quit. I made it through the first day. The second day was harder. The third day was the worst. It was a Tuesday. The store was slow and I was losing my mind. To pass the time I put a tape in the machine to listen to. The tape was from a guy who was trying to sell advertising space on a radio show he was pitching about comic books. On it, he had recorded various interviews he had conducted with professionals in the comic industry.
My store was located above a liquor store. I couldn't take it anymore. I decided to quit another day. I locked the front door of the store and hung the "Back in 10 minutes" sign on it. I went to the back door to go out to the liquor store when suddenly your voice came over the tape. You said something to the extent of, "forget talking about comics, lets talk about the damage alcoholism does.".  I stopped dead in my tracks. I could not move. Finally when the tape ended, I went back and rewound the tape and listened to it again.
I have not had a drink in nearly twelve years now. I sold my store and have been employed by a law firm for the last ten years. Now when I am tempted, I think about my wife and my two beautiful children. Here's the thing, whenever the conversation with friend comes up about how I quit drinking, I always go back to that moment when I was about to lose it and I heard your voice.
Thank you.
Best regards,
NAME WITHHELD ON REQUEST

Dear (NAME WITHHELD),
I was truly moved by your sincere letter and the circumstances that led to your current sobriety.
(Congratulations, by the way.) I'll be celebrating my 18th year of sobriety on February 7th.
Something Dick Giordano told me a decade or so ago came to mind as I read your letter:

One particular day, I was feeling fairly down about my job--thinking that what I was doing day-to-day really didn't make a difference in the larger sense of life.  Being a cartoonist isn't exactly up there with Jonas Salk, you know? But Dickie sat me down and said, "You never can anticipate when something you do will make a difference in someone's life. Obviously--someone did their job so well that it inspired you to devote your life to becoming a storyteller."

Those words struck me deeply--snapping me out of my doldrums and spurring me to work harder at being the best I could be at my craft.
Your story makes all that hard work worth the effort.
Thank you so much for sharing it with me and my fans. 

Bob,

I have a bit of apologizing to do.

Over the past year, I have been critical of you and the way that things were handled at Valiant.  Well-- here I am, re-reading the Valiant Universe and I got to a point at which I had stopped so many years ago.  Well, they are damned good books and keep me up late reading them as I just cannot put them down.  The writing and art is great and keeps you coming back for more after the end of every single issue.  You did great work back then and this comes years too late but "I appreciate the things you did for Valiant Comics."  Thank you.

Towards the end of their life span, many of the Valiant titles do 'go south' but now I understand why they went that way.... you were not in the loop.  I have a better understanding of how things were 'going down' now and.... I want to apologize for my criticism and harsh words.  I apologize for offending you in any way and please believe me when I say that I am a fan of yours, not only for your incredible inking but also for your storytelling.

I was part of that 'cyber-hooligan element' over on the Valiant Boards (Knightt_333)... and I just wanted to apologize for my actions, words and poorly- thought out ideas.  I now know better and am better informed.

Respectfully,

Chris Scott

(Please feel free to post this to your 'letters page' if you deem it worthy enough and please know that this is a sincere apology. I hope that I can clean the slate with you, so to speak.  I respect your work as an artist and EIC)

Chris,

It took a lot of courage to admit what you did in your e-mail. I totally respect that--and you.  Apology gladly accepted and with absolutely no hard feelings.

You've given me (and yourself) a great start to the New Year with your honesty, Chris.

Thank you.

Hello Bob!

 First of all, I'd like to wish you and your family a very happy new year! I hope you had a great time over the holidays, and hope that 2005 will be a great year for you! I tried to send this about ten days ago, but my email kept returning it back to me. Anyhow, this is the first chance I've had to resend it, as I've just come back from Holiday... so here's hoping this time. ;o)

 Anyways, I've checked out your latest update at the site, and was thrilled to see my letter in the letters section! Thanks for the kind words regarding my comics illustration... I'd be more than happy to send you some of my work! I've included some of the Iron Man artwork that I've recently finished for Panini Comics Spectacular Spider-man Adventures title (featuring originated UK material, aimed at the slightly younger reader). Again, it's a dream come true to be working on this title.... and even more so because they let me draw the classic versions of the characters! :o) (I've just finished a team-up with Doc Strange, and am soon to be working on another dream project..... Spidey and the Fantastic Four!!!) Anyway, I've included various pieces.... some which are my original pencils, and some which are finished, with inks by Simon Ecob and colours by Jason Cardy. I hope you like the pages.... again, your work has been a huge influence on my style... which I think you'll be able to tell on my rendition of ol' Shellhead!! This issue is out in Feb..... so I'll send you a copy over when it comes out! :o)

  Anyway, thanks again for replying to my email, again, I was thrilled to see my email on your site! And thanks for the interest in my work as well, plus for the opportunity to share it with you all!

Best wishes,

Simon Williams

Dear Simon,

As promised last month, I'm posting the pages that you were kind enough to forward to me.  Lets see what the Iron Man fans here in the colonies have to say about your work.

Good luck and  please keep us updated on how things are progressing with your career.

Hello Bob!
I just wanted to say thanks for posting the unpublished "Iron Man, The End" synopsis.  I think that was a wonderful way to share with the fans this
final story from the creative team so many IM fans still yearn for.  Truly a Christmas gift for IM fans everywhere, especially after all the hints and
teases about this story's existence on the Advanced Iron website.  The inclusion of Bethany Cabe as Stark's wife, his coming to grips with his
inability to fight off time and a noble ending that crystallizes who and what Stark is about - truly a shame the Editors-That-Be decided it wasn’t
sensationalistic enough.  Is it really that much of a dead weight for a story to have a happy ending once in awhile?  Do all stories have to take
the grim and gritty reality aspects to an extreme?  I kinda wish we still had some of those optimistic storylines where you just sat back and had fun
with it - like the "recent" JLA/Avengers mini.  If you have to deny the heroic qualities of a character and remove all semblances of the hero to
market a product as being more "sophisticated" and "adult", then why write a book about people in spandex trading blows and jargon in the first place?
On a different note – I’ve read how the comic market seems to be on an upswing the last few years - hence all the products certain companies are
throwing out there.  Do you think this is just a bubble, or is there a possibility for greater exposure/interest in comics?  Isn’t Marvel going to
start advertising in other venues?
Again, thanks for sharing Bob! That story (despite just being a draft) finished off my IM mythos for me in exactly the way I would have wanted it.
Hugo V. Negron

Hugo,

Thanks for chiming in with your thoughts on "The End".

In answer to your question on the market upswing: I'm always dubious of the industry numbers, since all the companies tend to fudge them to please stockholders or corporate bosses. Don't be fooled by the increase in titles being produced currently.  When a publishing company needs to make their projected numbers for a fiscal year, they tend to put out more product if sales are down in order to achieve that goal.  If releasing a new #1 book is assured of selling X amount of copies, you're going to see more obscure titles like "Hercules' Dad: ZEUS" on the stands to meet those projections.

Dear Bob,

 I just read your Iron Man: The End submission. I have to say it was different. I like the fact that you didn't listen to editors about adding a "wow" factor. Marvel's suggestions about it failing and having loss of life would be a really bad way to end the book, Tony should see his dream come to life; though maybe he should of had a son or daughter to take over the Iron Man duty. I liked it.

I've been an Iron Man fan since 1998, and in 1999 created Viper049's Iron Man Page to promote my favorite hero. (That and I had to much free time heh-heh!) I've managed to nearly complete a volume 1, through 3 (starting 4 ugh.) in those years, and I have to say you and Dave's run is definitely one of the best and favorites I've read through out all the issues. It is to bad about the Marvel heads not cooperating to much with you and Dave, I hope that will change soon.

On the Football scene, I'm not entirely sure who your favorite team is, but I don't want to see the Eagles take the Super Bowl :P And I enjoyed and agreed with your previous post about the Monday night game.

One last thing I am sorry to hear about your dog, the picture was cute, and I hope you find a new buddy soon.

Thanks for taking the time to read letters and responding to your fans, it is hard to find creators so involved with the community like you are.

John Miller

Dear John,

Thanks for your comments concerning our "The End" story.

I feel it is important to stand up to editorial tyranny once in a while. Marvel was simply dead wrong in the case of "Iron Man: The End" and I couldn't, in all good conscience, compromise on that particular story. Maybe next time, Marvel will keep their word when they make a deal with us, eh?

My favorite teams (The Colts and the Jets) got knocked out of the payoffs early, so I have little emotional investment in the AFC contender.  David Michelinie's near-rabid enthusiasm for the Philadelphia Eagles has been somewhat contagious this season and they are my pick to go all the way in Super Bowl 39. Sorry, John.

Thank you, as well, for the sympathies on the loss of our pet.  As you've probably read on the news page, we've since added a much-needed new member to our family.

Good day Mr. Layton,

 I just popped by from the Alvaro boards to say hello and thank you for the great comic experiences you have provided me throughout the years. I have not been able to enjoy Iron Man since you left the book. Loved your Hercules miniseries as Herc has been one of my favorite characters for years and those stories were awesome. I was happy to see Jim Starlin use the Rigellian (spl?) recorder in his recent, too short, stint on Thanos. I was reading an issue of Bloodshot co-staring X-O Manowar the other night and, although Sal Velluto' s art was great, the character wasn't even close to the fantastic X-O you created.

Would love to hear of any upcoming projects you have in the works so if you have a newsletter, can you please add me to the list? Thanks for your time, and very sorry to hear about the loss of your family member.

Best regards,

Chris Ellis

Richmond, Canada

Hey Chris,

I'm always happy to hear from a Hercules fan.  We really don't cover enough of my Herc work on this site.  That's something I'll have to work on for future updates.

X-O Manowar was one of those characters who was just quirky enough to give some writers trouble portraying him properly. While you're here, check out the X-O film treatment posted on the news page.

I really don't see the need for a newsletter, since I update this site on a monthly basis. And (unfortunately), a lot of what I'm working on is totally confidential at the moment.  Once I'm allowed to discuss those projects, I'll be sure to let everyone in on them.  Okay?

(EXCERPT FROM THE ALVARO IRON MAN MESSAGE BOARDS)

  Am I the only one that doesn't want to see Dave and Bob back on the book (IRON MAN)? All due respect, their two runs are amazing. I think they will always be remembered as the greatest Iron Man runs ever but the last time they were on the book was like 15-20 years ago, wasn't it? Did any else read any of the Future Comics? No offense intended but the material did not age well. Future Comics were supposed to be on the cutting edge but instead I felt like I was reading vintage 80s comics. If I wanted to read vintage 80s comics I'd take out my 80s comics and read them. A lot of people seem to forget that JRJR cut his teeth on Iron Man too. The difference between JRJR and Dave + Bob is that JRJR's style has adapted over the years. I pick up everything he draws be it Amazing Spider-Man, Wolverine or (coming soon) Black Panther. I dropped all the Future Comics after a few issues...
If I had to pick a writer to come back on the book it would be John Jackson Miller. He's stuff had the feel of the true Iron Man without being campy and his attention to continuity was definitely a plus...
Lastly, I can say with some degree of confidence that I have probably read more of Warren Ellis' stuff than anyone else on this board. I work in a comic shop and have been devouring anything he has written ever since it was RUMORED that Warren Ellis would be taking over the book. When approaching a new author I like to be informed about their writing style. It seems that
some people are disappointed whenever someone new comes on the book that isn't Dave and Bob but I like to have an idea what I'm getting myself into. That's why I picked up Dioramas when Mark Ricketts was announced as the new writer and going into those issues I had an idea of what to expect. That being said, here's a short list off Warren Ellis works I have read, off the
top of my head: Stormwatch, Authority, Planetary, Thor, Global Frequency, Transmetropolitan (all 13 volumes), Ocean, Angel Stomp Future, Frank Ironwine, Simon Specter, Quit City, Mek, Reload, Red, Orbiter, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Ultimate Nightmare...I can't think of anymore off the top of my head but I'm sure there are others...My point is that I've read a ton of Warren Ellis' stuff and I think that I know what to expect. People accuse Ellis of "jumping on the decompression bandwagon" but he's actually one of the pioneers of bringing decompression, a viable storytelling tool, from Japan to America. I love what he's doing with Iron Man. I'm in it for the long haul (all six issues, LOL !)

I won't try to convince anyone else to like it because it's NOT D and B but it makes me happy...and that's all that matters cause it's my $2.99.
Frank

Frank,
Although I appreciate the kind words concerning David and my two runs on Iron Man, I believe your assessment of our efforts with Future Comics is somewhat inaccurate. You state: "Future Comics were supposed to be on the cutting edge but instead I felt like I was reading vintage 80s comics."
Well--that was sort of the point.  We were making a deliberate effort to return to a simpler form of storytelling, in order to attract those whose have dropped out from reading comics and/or a mass market audience. Now, in retrospect, that may have been a wrong decision. However, no one ever stated that we were supposed to be "cutting-edge". In fact--I would have named the company "Retro Comics" but I don't think we would have been taken seriously if I had. Because the experiment wasn't successful, it shouldn't be cause for anyone to dismiss the creative skills of either of us. God knows, I paid a heavy price for the Future miscalculation.
If David and I were to take another shot at Iron Man, I guarantee you that we'd do something that would knock your socks off.  With that being said, I also guarantee you that we'll never get another shot at it--so your fears of our possibly mucking-up Iron Man are groundless.
It's never going to happen.
I'm not even sure that I'd want to do it. I've really lost all interest in working in the current comics industry. With that being said, I sincerely thank everyone here for their continued loyalty to the legacy that David and I created for Iron Man.
If I understand the argument, the majority on this message board seem to be upset about the direction of the title over the last few years and would like to see someone on the series who'll get it out on time and give us a rockin' good ride.
I'm totally on your side in this, Frank.

Bob,

Sorry pal about the Jets and Colts.  What happened?? Jets had 2...count them 2 chances to move on, and couldn't manage it.   But Steelers at 15-1 had to win.  They couldn't pull that season and then, lose to the Jets. Sorry, Man!

 And the Colts...for any other QB those numbers Peyton had were decent.  But, not for Peyton.   I mean 28 of 42 for 260 yards. Not bad, the only INT he had was 4 seconds left when he chucked it and it really didn't matter.    Of course, this year, he had help falling apart. 4 dropped passes? That would have made him 32 for 42 I think. Turnovers hurt. Wow...what an ending to a great year for both teams.

Best,

Larry Clay

Larry,

As the AFC Championship game proved, the Jets gave away the game to the Steelers.  Once they stop beating themselves (like getting rid of the awful kicking of Doug Brian), they'll make a place for themselves at the "Big Show".  As it turned out, Chad Pennington had been playing the second half of the season with a serious rotator cuff injury and he was still better than a lot of quarterbacks on the NFL.  Don't worry about The JETS--they'll be back.

But as far as Indy goes--I give up.  I guess I'll have to wait until Tom Brady retires before I can get excited about the Colts' chances of making a Super Bowl appearance.

Hi Mr. Layton,
I'm a big fan of both of your runs on Iron Man.  I recently ran across your website and just read your item about your Iron Man:  The End pitch, and I just had to mention that I couldn't agree with you more on the character of Tony Stark.  Seems like you "got" Iron Man more than any creator before or since.

The real reason for my email today is wondering if I can impose on you to ask you about two Future Comics titles.  I very much enjoyed them and was a reader of them from the very beginning.  I was wondering if Freemind #8 was ever published?  I thought that #7 was the last issue that was put out, but I had read about some kind of special edition of #8 that had come out/was coming out.  Also, did the Deathmask trade paperback ever come out?

I appreciate your time in reading this.
Thank you,
Bill Madigan

Bill,

There was an eighth issue of Freemind, but it only saw the light of day as a color ashcan.  

Also, there was no Deathmask trade, other than a few prototypes.  Future went under before we could get it out, although we did have issues 4 and 5 completed.

Should I post some of those stories on my site? Let me know if you'd like that.

Bob,
Too bad about your New York Jets vs. the Steelers in the playoffs. But, it wasn’t as if they didn’t have their chances -- two missed field goals and a fumble recovery that netted zip. For a moment there, I was wildly thinking Jets-Colts in the Super Bowl, a la SB III. Not to be, however.
A few questions and comments...
1. After recently discovering and enjoying a Black Knight story in SOLO AVENGERS #4 (1988), “Knight’s Errant,” wherein you inked Paul Ryan’s pencils, I’m wondering if you ever considered producing a Black Knight miniseries, since your fondness for knights and armored folk is legendary.
2. Speaking of Paul Ryan, you mentioned that he was once your assistant. Also, in the afterward of HERCULES: FULL CIRCLE (1988), you gave kudos to your then-assistant Donald Hudson. What exactly does an artist’s assistant do, and in addition to assisting you, what other comics work did Hudson produce?
3. Did you at all follow Paul Ryan’s run with writer John Byrne on IRON MAN (1991-1992)?
4. Who created the Batmobile seen in BATMAN: HOLLYWOOD KNIGHTS (2001), you or Dick Giordano?
5. Back when you helped produce MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER (beginning in 1991) for Valiant -- which even today is comic book ambrosia -- the 21-issue run created by Russ Manning for Gold Key (1963-1968) was obviously required reading. Your inks on the robots made those mechanical marvels leap off the page! I notice also that Kathryn Bolinger was your co-inker on the classic early issues. Did she primarily work on backgrounds?
6. Whose idea was it to reprint the “Captain Joner and the Aliens” stories, which were a Russ Manning backup feature to the original Gold Key MAGNUS series, as a two-part mini for Valiant in 1995?
7. Who created the Magnus battle armor first depicted by you on the cover of MAGNUS #25 (1993)?
8. Would you and David Michelinie ever consider taking a stab at producing METALLIX or another new armored character through the Image imprint?
9. Did you know that two of your armor designs made it into the 1996 Marvel Vision card set? In fact, the poses on the card backs were swiped from actual Iron Man artwork you did. The Deep Space Armor card art was taken from IRON MAN ANNUAL #10 (1989), while the Hydro Armor pose came directly from IRON MAN #218 (1987). Please see scans.
10. Now let’s see... Marvel has been hiring novelists and screenwriters and who know what else to produce its comics. So I’m thinking that if Joe Q. ever decides to give MUSICIANS a nod, you and David are in. (Come to think of it, didn’t Joe Q. and his band used to perform at Valiant staff get-togethers?)
Thanks, Bob!
Mike Kalibabky


Ah, Mike

What letters page of mine would be complete with the usual myriad of questions from the prolific Mr. Kalibabky?  I'll do my best not to disappoint you:

1. No.  I inked that story as a personal favor to my pal and former pupil, Paul Ryan. As you know, I rarely work on a job unless I have a hand in helping to create the storyline.  Since I had nothing to do with the actual scripting, I had little emotional investment in that particular job, although it came out looking pretty good, if I say so myself.  But most of the credit for the good looking art has to go to Mr. Ryan.

2. Usually, an art assistant handles inking the background art. This allows them invaluable experience in seeing their handiwork in print and learning the fine art of scaling their lines for reproduction. Also, I can them give them pointers as they progress, based on what they turn in on each page--with the goal of passing on what I know to them.  I've probably trained dozens of assistants over the years. Some of them are names that you're probably familiar with, including Paul Ryan, Don Hudson, Phyllis Novin, Tom Ryder and Brett Breeding.

3.Nope.  But, that doesn't mean I don't love his work. I simply hate looking at other people doing my Iron Man.

4 Dickie.

5. Oops--! Better add Kat's name to that list in question #2!

6. Everyone at Valiant supported the concept of reprinting the Russ Manning Magnus stories from Gold Key.  A lot of that had to do with seeing that the proceeds went to Russ' widow--who was left with considerable financial problems after his passing. We tried to do some good with our success, whenever we had the opportunity, Mike.

7.I don't recall, in all honestly.  I know it wasn't me.

8. Yes. Under the proper conditions, of course.

9. Actually, Mike--tons of stuff I designed for Iron Man continues to be used.  That's one of the reasons that I left Marvel and worked towards creating my own companies like Valiant and Future.  I got sick of making everyone else money with my labors.

10. Absolutely. Q performed at my 40th birthday party with his band, "Joe's Alibi". His tribute to me was a cover of "Don't Bring me Down" by the Beatles, sung with the replacement lyrics of "Bob's Growing Old--". (And this was BEFORE he hated me. Sheesh!)

If you wish to write Bob, please send all correspondence to: 

P.O.BOX 2776,VALRICO, FL 33595 or e-mail him at bob@boblayton.com