BOB'S LETTER OF THE MONTH:

Hey Bob,
Happy 2008!  Upon seeing your request for more letters (and... *ahem*... your letter of the month competition), I was inspired to drop a line.
I find that in comics, like history, some of the most fun conversations come from discussing the counterfactual. What if things had happened differently?
So my question to you (and David Michelinie, if he doesn't mind sharing his thoughts) is: what if you were on the creative team for Iron Man when the 9/11 attacks happened?  In the months that followed, how would you have handled a post-9/11 Iron Man and Tony Stark?  To what degree (if at all) do you think the attack -- and more generally, terrorism -- would have played into your ongoing plot lines?
Part of the reason why I'm fond of the comic book counterfactual as it applies to creative teams is because, while an intern at Marvel in '99, my friends and I came across a mid-90's "New Warriors" revamp proposal from Warren Ellis.  Being Warren Ellis, it was radically different from the New Warriors we'd seen up until that point (and since) and I always wondered how the market would have reacted to his vision.
Let me close by again saying how much I have enjoyed your work over the years, and how glad I am to have recently come across your blog.  Many thanks for all those great Iron Man memories when I was a kid and here's to a great 2008.
 

Best,
Stephen McDonald

Dear Stephen,

What you asked is a really good question. So much so, that your missive has become February's Letter of the Month!

Simply stated, whenever David Michelinie or I write a story in continuity, we strive to couch the adventure in as much realism as possible--without becoming preachy or pretentious. I'm sure that if we had been doing Iron Man during the period of 9/11, the pervasive social ramifications would have cropped up somewhere along the line. It would have been impossible NOT to make minimal reference to an event as life-altering as the attack on the World Trade Center was.

But to emphasize my point, I think it's equally important to NOT focus too much on real events in the course of creating escapist entertainment. A lot of us enjoy comics because we like to get away from the horrors of the real world and allow our minds to revel the world of fantasy and adventure.

Not that I'm opposed to smacking people in the face with an real-world issue or two. Obviously, we did that with "Demon In A Bottle," but that was not intended to preach about the evils of alcoholism as it was to explore the character of Tony Stark.

By the way, send me a mailing address and this month's art to the Iron man Concept will be winging it's way to you! Well done.

Hello sir!  

Thanks for the sneak peek at the Iron Man/Doc Doom miniseries! Just a quick question: when is this scheduled to come out?

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and I look forward to seeing your work in 2008!

David C. McSwain, Jr.

Dear David,

Funny you should mention the schedule for Iron Man "Legacy of Doom." Up until last week, the plan was to publish all four issues during the weeks of April. However, Marvel has since changed the schedule and now it's going to be a monthly mini-series from April to July. Outside of that, nothing else has changed!

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the first issue when the book is released.

Hey Bob, 

I wanted to let you know you were voted, hands-down, the best Iron Man artist on the CGC boards.  I’d have to concur. 

Tim Lo

Tim,

Good to hear from you, my friend!  We haven't exchanged words since you had the unenviable job of shuttling me around at Toronto Con in '06.

I'm honored that I was voted the best Iron Man artist by the folks on the CGC boards. Please extend my thanks to all of them and tell them to run out and purchase multiple copies of Iron Man "Legacy of Doom" when it's released in April! (SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT!!!!)

Hey Bob,
I'm going through the old photo shoe box the other day and found a shit load of photos from the Valiant days. I used to carry an old Pentax K1000 around with me on Knob Row and take snaps. I thought it would be something you might be able to use for your website. Anyway, if not, no worries. Hope things are well with you.

Colorist Stu Suchit	Bob Teach Wednesday Art Class after hours	Evil Jon Hartz
Scott Friedlander, Jon Hartz, and Bob Hall	Production Designer Scott Friedlander

Best,
Charles Lister

Former Valiant Production Assistant

Dear Charles,

I love the fact that guys from the old Valiant days have been sending me their photos. I appreciate you taking the time and I will continue to post them as they turn up. It warms my heart to know that we still all feel bonded by the time we spent together at Valiant and sharing that with my readers is one of my favorite things about having my website.

Keep them coming, my friend. 

Bob,
Here are some pics I thought you might like. I figured you might want to use them on your website or, at the very least, just look at them and laugh.
I hope these bring back some memories for you.

Valiant softball team	Production Manager Darren Sanchez
Bloodshot artist & Valiant editor Uncle Don Perlin	Darren burning the midnight oil
Co-Founder and President Steve Massarsky	Valiant Production crew
V.P. of Marketing Jon Hartz	The Sanchez Family
Doctor Bernard Chang goes wild!	The Doctor...not so wild!

Darren Sanchez

Former Valiant Production Manager

Dear Darren,

What is this? A conspiracy to turn me into a sentimental softie? Between you and Charles Lister, I'm really starting to get homesick for the good ol' days at Valiant! Good thing I have my new X-O Manowar project to ease the pain!  (Check out my news link for a preview!)

Seriously, I love taking these walks down 'memory lane'. Thanks so much for taking the time to send these to me and sharing them with my readers.

Your friend,

Mr. Layton,

First off, thank you so much for taking your precious time this past weekend to review my work and sharing your wonderful insight. I hope your travel back from Dallas was safe and comfortable. 

I can't stress enough how dead-on your comments were of how so many of us aspiring comic artist are drawing in a "vacuum," void of that necessary input from seasoned professionals such as yourself. I appreciate the fact that your criticism was a refreshing change from a common response I received from other professionals. Although I may have garnered some tidbits of info of how-to's over the years , a few minutes of your criticism has granted me an epiphany into what I often hate about my own stuff. Thank you. Thank you.

Before this comic con, I was actually on the verge of giving up any hopes in drawing comics. I just felt that I had hit the ceiling of my abilities and somehow it still was not good enough for professional work. So, as you can see, your act of generosity has reinvigorated my desire to draw once again and approach it with realigned perspective. 

If you don't mind, I would still like to take up on your gracious offer and send you some new things as I draw them. I also ink and color some of my own work and would appreciate receiving your criticism on those when you feel like making a grown man cry.

Finally, I appreciate your willingness to give us the chance to dine with you at Korea House. It was one of the most memorable evenings of my life. And a chance for my wife to re-evaluate her pre-conceived notion of comicdom and it's people.

My friends, Shawn (Commissioned you for Iron Man), Brad and Frank (Half Hour Wasted Podcast) also agreed that it was the highlight of their comic book related experience... a dinner with a Legend. That's what you are, sir... and our lives are now richer for having met you.

A table load of Korean side dishes	Shawn, Jun Bob, Bob, Sorah, Frank and (below) Brad.

Jun Kim (Jun "Bob" Kim)

Jun Bob,

First off, although you can't see me blushing, believe that I'm as red as a beet. You're being way too kind in your praise of my critique of your work. I feel that it is my privledge to work with budding talents such as yourself (and my own assistant, the Fabulous Sorah Suhng) and the fact that you're both Korean is a plus in my book since, as you know by now, I am a total pig for the cuisine!

Honestly, I was very impressed with your portfolio and felt that all you needed was a little push to get you to the next level. I am encouraged that you took my small tidbits of advice to heart and are pressing forward with your goals of becoming a comics illustrator. I'm seldom wrong when it comes to evaluating talent and I believe you have what it takes to make it as a professional. Don't give up, Jun.

I had a great time at dinner with you and the boys. And meeting your wife, Krista, was one of the highlights of my trip to Dallas! She's quite the fabulous diva, isn't she? She was incredibly charming and I'm glad we both made an impression on each other.

I'd tell you to give my best to Frank and the other guys, but as you can see in the next letter, they are already on the case! 

Please keep in touch, and I look forward to seeing how your work progresses in the months to come!

Hi Bob,
Great meeting you at the Dallas Comic Con, I hope the interview drives a lot of traffic to your website. Your interview starts at 23:39 and the direct link is below.

I've also included a short description of our show if you want to include it on your site.

A Half Hour Wasted is a weekly podcast about comics, movies, television and more. It is hosted by Brad Milyo and Frank A. Rincon.

Great having dinner with you and your assistant Sorah, a true highlight in my life, keep creating!

Sincerely,

Frank A. Rincon

co-host of HHW

www.halfhourwasted.com

Frank,

As I told Jun Bob, my dinner with you folks was the highlight of my trip to Dallas. As you can see above, the plug for your site has been unashamedly inserted into this letter column!

I appreciate the interview and the video (thank goodness you didn't actually catch me in the act of eating, it was the first decent meal I had since I landed in Texas and I was wolfing kimchi like a swine!).

Good luck with the website and keep in touch! Thanks again for a wonderful night out with the boys.

Best wishes,

Hey Bob,
You introduced the mutant Artie during your X-Factor run. A reader recently asked me if it was intentional that Artie's name, combined with his best pal, Leech, form a similar name to Cary Grant's real name - Archie Leach.
It sounds like a coincidence to me, but I figured I'd get the straight scoop from you!
 

Thanks for your time,
Brian Cronin

Dear Brian,

Sounds like a coincidence?

It is.

Sorry.

Bob,
What are your memories of publishing CPL and the people who assisted in that project?

I still have a couple <of issues>.

Doc Lehman

Dear Doc,

You can't imagine how surprised I was to hear from you after all these years! The last correspondence I got from you was in 1974 when you wrote a letter to Rog-2000's letter column in CPL #8!

Since you were there, more or less, I'm sure you knew that we were all incredibly enthusiastic about comics in general and about launching our careers as cartoonists individually.

Publishing fanzines in the early 70's was an exciting time for me. This was before the internet and before the ability for fans to congregate online or at conventions. CPL was my first experience with meeting other people who were interested in comics and comic art. So, as you can imagine, my memories of that time are fond, indeed.

I am still amazed, to this day, that there are so many people who remember that small digest fanzine. I think we can attribute that to the number of contributors who went on to have notable careers in the comic book industry. Not just myself, but fan folks like John Byrne, Roger Stern, Don Maitz, Bob Hall, Michael Uslan, Tony Isabella, Roger Slifer, Steven Grant and Duffy Vohland all went on to work in the comic industry in one capacity or another.  Add to that, the number of contributors to CPL who were already-established professionals like Gil Kane, Alex Toth, Paul Gulacy, Mike Vosburg, Dan Adkins, P. Craig Russell and Joe Sinnott and I think you have a formula for a milestone in fan-publishing.

So--yes, I look back to those days quite fondly. Not only did we carve a nifty little niche into the infancy of comic fandom, but we also created a few memorable characters like the lovable letter hack Rog-2000 (who went on to his own series at Charlton Comics).

And just to show you that I remember you from your letter writing days, I'm attaching a scan of the actual page from CPL #8.

CPL #8 Cover

CPL #8 Letters Page

Thanks ,

Dear Bob,

My name is Korry Smith and I run All-Star Comics, a small shop in a small town of about 18, 000. I spoke with you at the Dallas Comic Con about possibly doing a sketch or something to help raise funds for the American Cancer Society, but unfortunately you were about to leave.  Here's more detail about what we're doing:

Our shop is across the street from an elementary school (Hillcrest Elementary School, Nederland, Texas), and when the teachers there heard that the theme for this year's American Cancer Society's Relay for Life was Super Heroes Save Lives they came to us to ask if there was anything we could do to help them raise money. We decided to hold an auction in March with 100% of the proceeds going to the ACS. Every convention we attend, we're asking artists for donations of original art, sketches, and prints.. it all helps!
So far, we have collected from Arthur Suydam, Marc Silvestri, Humberto Ramos, Tim Bradstreet, Brian Denham, Phil Hester, Michael Lark, Adam Kubert, John Cboins, Joe Benitez, Josh Howard, and have even more coming in. If you would like to check them out, you can do so on both MySpace & Comic Art Fans as they're scanned.
So here's the important part of this email. Would you like to make a donation to help raise money for The American Cancer Society? I have in hand & I am more than happy to send you an ACS In-Kind Gift Form for you to declare your donation on your taxes.
If you're interested in helping out, please contact me in whichever way is most convenient for you:
Thank you for taking time to read this message.

Korry Smith
Manager, All-Star Comics

www.myspace.com/allstarcomics

Dear Korry,

As I've stated many times on this website, I am always willing to donate my time and efforts to a worthy cause. As comic creators, we are privileged with many opportunities. I think that we owe it to the readership to give back from time-to-time.

So, count me in. I'll be more than happy to donate a page of art to your cause and I urge my fellow professionals to do the same.

Also, if you're an art collector, feel free to contact Korry at his myspace address and donate a piece of art to the cause.

Good luck with your effort.