july05.letterspage

Bonjour Mr. Layton,
First of all, let me congratulate you on the recent additions to your web site. Every piece of art you add is a pure gem. It's extraordinary to get a regular dose of Layton art every month again, just like in the good old days.
I don't know if you remember me, I used to be Dave Huber's assistant over at Advanced Iron. I am a big fan of your work. I must have written a zillion letters to Marvel requesting they bring you and Mr. Michelinie back on the title.
I have a bit of an unusual request. Would you happen to have in your possession a black and white version of the cover to Iron Man #222? It has always been one of my favorites (it's actually the first issue of IM I bought in English, the rest I had read as French translations here in Québec). I would just love to see what this marvelous cover looked like before the color was added to it. If you could add this to the gallery of your site or send me a scan via e-mail, I would be immensely thankful.
If I had more green, I'd ask you to recreate it for me as a commission, but with repairs to the house and a baby on the way, my wife would just kill me... I'm still hoping that one day, I catch her off-guard in a moment of weakness ;-)
Thanks again and I hope you have a great summer.
An old fan,
Pat Couture

Québec, Canada

Pat,

Wonderful to hear from you.

Sorry, but I don't have the original to Iron Man #222.

Here is a link to the art dealer who currently has the original for sale: (click here)

I apologize that I couldn't be more helpful.

Thanks for all the years of support.

Good day Sir,

I just want to first mention how privileged I have been to have enjoyed your work over the years. Iron Man has long been the character I've most identified with, since I first discovered him almost 30 years ago. In particular, your first run on the series was, and remains, the definitive Iron Man in my mind. In terms of personal impact, you are among a small select group of Marvel and DC artists, including John Byrne and George Perez, who defined for me the limits of comic book art.

My question is this. I would very much like to inquire as to the possibility of obtaining color poster-quality copies of the original commissions illustrated on this site. The size would preferably be 24" x 36". I am most interested in getting the one of the image included as an attachment or any of the other variations on this theme.

Sincerely,

Frank Laciak

Montreal, Canada

Frank,

This particular drawing, of all the Iron Man illustrations I've done over the years, is probably the one that I'm most identified with.

Marvel did produce the "Hall Of Iron" as a poster in the mid-nineties (above) colored by my former art assistant at Valiant, Kat Bolinger.

As far as whether there are any of these little gems still available, your guess is a good as mine.

If anyone reading this has access to a copy, please let me know. I wouldn't mind having a couple for myself.

And, as you'll see in the next letter, people are still interested in this piece, even after all these years.

Greetings,

I hope you do not get tired of hearing about this piece, particularly from me, I was wondering if you could help me out.

I recently began to look through some of my newly re-collected comics and to my shock, I don't think I have the comic(s) that features the "Hall Of Iron" piece. I remember I had it with my old collection that met an untimely demise but I can not remember which book (or books) featured the piece.

Any information you could supply would be greatly appreciated, I am really hacked off that I don't have it in book form any longer.

By the way, are you familiar with the DK Press releases known as the "Ultimate Guide to..." ? They are hard-bound books that are centered around certain heroes and are pretty comprehensive. I have been eagerly awaiting one on Iron Man, but to no avail. What would you think if they approached you or maybe you approaching them to take on the project? I could think of no one better or more deserving.

Thanks for any help with this request.

Dustin McGinnis

Dustin,

That now-infamous Hall of Iron illustration originally appeared in Marvel Fanfare #45--the All-Pin-Up Issue.

I'm not familiar with DK Press, but if you want to point them in my direction, I won't mind.

Thanks for the response and support, Pal.

Hi Bob,
I just came across your website and decided that I had to drop you a quick note.
Guess it's been over 20 years since we last talked.

I’ve followed your work and career off-and-on since then and I really dig your website. I'm also glad to hear that you and David continue to work together on projects.
I remember fondly the old days in Indianapolis, the CPL Gang and the Charlton Bullseye (and remember the convention we put on in Indy?).

Man, time flies.
Please pass along my best wishes to David M. I'll continue to follow your work on your website.

Hope some of your Hollywood projects happen.
Best regards,
Brian Bauer

Wasington,DC

Wow--here's the advantage of having your own website--having good people from your past show up in your e-mail unexpectedly!

Brian is an old friend from my hometown of Indianapolis who was around during the CPL/Gang fanzine days.

We were the first, genuinely-organized group of fans in the Indianapolis area and produced that town's first ever comics convention--Napcon-- back in the early '70's. Mr. Bauer was instrumental in helping us make that show a rousing success for all.

The last time I remember seeing Brian was back in the mid-1980's when I was on tour for Marvel promoting the release of X-Factor.

As I recall, he and I got totally shit-faced (this was back when I was still drinking) at an Indy college dive called the Bulldog Inn. The reason I recall this is that, around 3:00 a.m. that same night, Brian and I pulled a "Harold & Kumar" and raided a local White Castle. And-- the reason I remember that is because I've never gotten more sick in my life than after eating those lil' buggers while being hammered.

It was enough to make me swear off both alcohol and red meat.

Painful memory aside, it was very heart-warming to hear from you again, Brian. Please stay in touch and I'll send along your best wishes to Mr. Michelinie.

Bob,

A big THANK YOU to David Micheline for taking the time to write this series of articles on where Future Comics was heading! I cannot wait to read the remaining installments.

Is it possible that some of these properties might still show up on a Hollywood big screen some day?

Thanks,

Tim Thomas

Dear Tim,

You bet!

Although I'm not at liberty to divulge any of the particulars concerning the Future Comics properties in Hollywood, let's just say that there are major goings-on at the present concerning one of them.

I'm pleased that you're enjoying the guest spots by David Michelinie on the Future characters. This month, David 'spills the beans' on the plans for Metallix and Freemind is coming up in August--including the first part of the unpublished eighth issue of that series.

And, for those of you that never had the opportunity to read a Future Comic, the entire collection is now available at our new store link.

(CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE FUTURE COMICS STORE>>)

Hey Bob
I check your site every first of the month without fail! The one thing I would like to see added to your web site is a listing of all of the books you have worked on. Mike Zeck has a checklist on his site that is fairly impressive. One great perk of this is, if someone wants to get a cover recreation from you, and is looking for something specific, or a individual
character, this is a great reference.
I love the cover recreations you have been doing! I'm surprised no one has asked you to recreate the one you did for the Fantastic Four Index.

Another thought I had was regarding some of the character illustrations that you have been doing. You did some Marvel ones and you mentioned doing some DC ones. At some point I'd like to see you draw a few more characters you have not been associated with. Maybe some Image characters or other icons you have not had the opportunity to draw. Or perhaps more armored characters like Steel from DC, Machine Man or Deathlok.
I still kick around a few ideas for another full commission from you, but I don't have anything figured out yet. Similar to what I said above, I have a idea for a commission with all "metal" characters like Iron Man, Galactus, Dr. Doom, Machine Man, etc.
Thanks again,
Gary Sella

Gary,

I don't know if anyone has ever done a comprehensive checklist of my work in comics. If anyone ever does, your talking about a huge undertaking. I did forward your suggestion to my resident 'Laytonographer', Mike Kalibabky. Perhaps Mike can come up with something along those lines. It's a great idea, Gary.

I don't recall the Fantastic Four Index you referred to in your letter. Do you have a scan of it that you can forward to me?

The suggestion of doing more characters that I haven't been associated with in the past is totally dependent on the whims of those who commission drawings from me. As much as I'd love that challenge of approaching new characters, most collectors are looking for the stuff I'm known for.

Always good to hear from you, Gary.

Dear Bob,

I've been a big fan for years...not so much of any one book (although a few stand out), but of artists and their stuff.

Like most people who collected in the 70's, I was drawn into the X-men and that style of art. I have tried (in vain) to collect even a single page from one of the books. One other Byrne book caught my attention from that era--Hulk Annual #7. I just found and purchased page 8 (the one with them at the pool just before the attack)...WOW!

I love Terry Austin's inks but you matched him, and then some, in this book.

Thanks

Edward Endres

Ed,

That Hulk Annual was another project, like the Hall of Iron drawing, that I've been identified with over the years. I believe that was due to it being the "breakout" career assignment for both John Byrne and me. Up to that point, neither of us had caught the attention of the fans. But, after that--hooboy!

And-- the rest, as they say, is history.

Mike's Monthly Missive

This month's questions from Mike Kalibabky involve a couple of topics that have relevance to other pages of this site, as we're featuring David Michelinie's editorial on Metallix. And next month, we'll be premiering the unpublished Freemind #8 and part 3 of David's take on the future of Future with his editorial on Freemind, as well .

Read on--

1.Were there any real-life people you had in mind while creating the character of Mac Flint? On an unrelated note, while I read FREEMIND, I often felt that this title was more Iron-Man-esque than METALLIX, although neither book was meant whatsoever to parrot, mimic, or copy IRON MAN. At times, FREEMIND gave me the same buzz I used to get while reading your adventures of ol¹ Shellhead.

BOB REPLIES:

The obvious real-life comparison to Mac would be Stephen Hawking--who is someone that I admire and figured heavily into the development of the MacKinsey Flint character.

As far as Freemind having the same feel as our work on Iron Man, that probably was due to the billionaire industrialist slant on the series. However, the comparisons probably end there.

2. Any reason why the Freemind android body¹s creation and Mac Flint¹s interfacing with it were largely shoved to the background in FREEMIND? In my opinion, taking the time to develop Mac¹s quest to walk again -- to be normal -- would have been fascinating reading, especially with your fondness for researching technology issues and concepts, and then, integrating them into a story. Take Spintronics, for example. The notion of it was presented... but then, not developed or explained -- and Spintronics was the whole linchpin behind the Freemind concept.

BOB REPLIES:

The development of the Freemind android technology, as fascinating as that could be, was not the main thrust of the series. David and I are always far more concerned with character, with the technology being the catalyst for opening a whole new world to a man trapped in a crippled shell of a body. Not to say that we hadn't worked out all of the back story of how the android developed. We simply felt it was more important to get into the inner conflicts of Mac character in that unique situation than to dwell on the details of how he got there.

3. During the tryouts for a new METALLIX member after Gil was ‘killed”’--that is, tryouts in stories that unfortunately we readers never got to see-- a female hopeful was one of the candidates. I remember seeing in PREVIEWS a cover image of the METALLIX issue in which she was to appear. I forgot to save the ad, but I do remember seeing the female character clad in the Metallix armor, which had morphed into an “Egyptian” configuration, with the helmet having a ‘cobra’ extending from it. Was the Metallix armor to undergo further and more ‘personal’ morphs by the person wearing it (user) in the future?

BOB REPLIES:

The trick concerning the armor was that it adapted uniquely to each, individual wearer--bolstering the user's natural abilities and attributes. That being said, if someone, whose personality was malevolent, donned the Metallix armor--well, that might not be a good thing.

As far as the cover you mentioned, here's a little-before-seen scan of that unpublished issue by my talented buddy--Ron Lim.

4. Did you ever give thought to the Metallix armor¹s Metal X nanites becoming sentient little critters?

BOB REPLIES:

No.

5. You¹ve publicly stated that you enjoyed the Busiek/Chen run on IRON MAN. What did you specifically like? I was a fan of Chen¹s art on RAI AND THE FUTURE FORCE and Busiek¹s ASTRO CITY.

Until next month--

Mike Kalibabky

BOB REPLIES:

First off, let me state for the record that Sean Chen is one of the nicest and most talented fellows that I've ever had the pleasure to work with. I'm very honored that I had a hand in his beginnings in the comics industry and he's gone on to make me very proud. So, you can imagine my delight when Sean took on the character I was known for--Iron Man. And--I think he did a bang-up job.

Kurt and I have worked well together on several occasions, both at Marvel and DC.

Although I vigorously disagreed with his revamped, P.C. version of Tony Stark, I respected that he gave 110% in trying to make it work. Sometimes--it was even fun.