Dear Mr. Layton,

First, let me add my own thanks to the deservedly large chorus of voices praising you in this section of your website: your work was a seminal part of my comics reading as a teenager, and going back to look at it now as an adult, it remains wonderful. You and David Michelinie have a lovely gift for quiet flourishes-- what I mean is, you set out to tell a fun, straightforward tale of character and adventure, but you do it at such a high level that you still manage to sneak in and take the reader's breath away. And while I normally enjoy breathing, I still thank you for that gift.

I've only recently discovered your great site, and I've been slowly catching up on letters, blog posts, etc., so forgive me if you've answered this before, but I was just curious-- you mentioned in an interview that you thought Denny O'Neil was a good editor (you said something like "today's editors don't have the creativity of a Denny O'Neil"), and I was curious what your take on his Iron Man run in the early 80’s might be. For me, you and Michelinie will always be the best, and I was very pleased to see you return after O'Neil left, but looking back on O’Neil's arc, there's a lot of interesting stuff going on there. In the end, "his" Tony Stark is not "mine"-- I think you and Michelinie did a much better job of balancing Stark's strengths and weaknesses, while O'Neil perhaps errs too much on the side of the latter. Still, if you set aside those issues, and just think about it as an ambitious act of storytelling, much of it is remarkable, and for all its questionable choices, it seems to convey a passion and interest in the characters that today's IM lacks.

Any thoughts?

Thanks again,

Brian Doan

Dear Brian,

Although I haven't read every single issue that Denny did of Iron Man after the Michelinie/Layton initial run, I have to acknowledge that Denny O'Neil contributed a lot of positive things to the Iron Man mythology. For the record, Denny was not a person who enjoyed writing traditional superheroes. I think it's evident by the fact that his most acclaimed work was on characters that were more in-line with Batman or the Question, who had no superpowers. Also, at that time, I recall that Denny was not a big fan of the way David and I resolved the Tony Stark/alcohol storyline. Being a personal issue in his life (and mine), I recall that Denny felt that the subject matter needed to be handled in a more "real time" manner. And that's what he set about doing. I personally felt that going back to the alcohol storyline was somewhat redundant. But, during that period, he created a lot of terrific characters and kept the spirit of the book alive until Dave and I returned. All in all, I have nothing but total respect for O'Neil for the enormous body of work as a writer and an editor that he's contributed to the comic art form.

Hey Bob,

I just thought I'd let you know I celebrated my first year of being sober on May 3rd. I’m not sure I can convey just how significant a role you played at the beginning of my journey, but I'm going to try.

You didn't know me, yet you told me if I didn't pick up a drink things would get better and they have.

I have a life today that I am proud of. I went through some rough times early on, financially, emotionally and of course, spiritually. Yet, I could always look to the piece of Iron Man (Demon in a Bottle) art you had done for me and it gave me hope. That hope paid off.

Thanks again, Bob, for being a friend to somebody you didn’t even know. Thanks again for saying something kind when I needed to hear it and thanks again for being a part of making me into the person I have become.                                                

Name withheld by request   

Congratulations on the first year of your new life.  I know you can take what you’ve learned with this last 12 months and run with it thru the years to come. I’m proud of you, buddy.  Unfortunately, I can take no credit for the work you’ve done.  All I can do is be a friend and a brother to you in your sobriety.

Best wishes,

Bob,

Valiant Entertainment has their first official product in previews - a Harbinger Hardcover capturing issues #0 - 7. It also includes an additional story - the origin of Toyo Harada by Jim Shooter which should be interesting to say the least.

Here is a link to the Previews posting:

Since it appears that Jim is onboard, (at least for the short term), is there any information you can share regarding Valiant Entertainment and yourself? You are the first person I think of when X-O Manowar is mentioned so I am hoping that you will be working on the title in some way, shape or form if (hopefully when) it is brought back to life.

Hoping X-O is next with you on the creative team :)

Chris Gould

Chris,

If you read this month's editorial, you'll know by now there's NOTHING I can say regarding my contributions to the new Valiant publishers. However, I'm looking forward to seeing what they did with the Harbinger TPB. I think it's fair to say that we need to wait and see what kind of sales they get back on it before we jump the gun and start writing letters to them on what we want to see next. I've had several talks with them and they seem to be taking a conservative and sensible approach to reintroducing the material. To be honest with you Chris, the name X-O Manowar has come up in conversations a few times, in association with me. But outside of that, nothing's been officially discussed.

I have told them that if they ever decide to revive that character, I would be more than willing to contribute in "some" fashion on a project or two.

Hi Bob!
I've spoken to you many times via e-mail in the past, but to refresh your memory, my name is Chris Frye and I write the Ferro Files column for Advanced Iron (www.advancediron.org).
I am currently soliciting comments from present and former Iron Man creators about the up-coming Iron Man Movie. If you’ve missed some of the sneak peeks from the media and on-set reports, I’d encourage you to check out

If you could take a moment and comment upon the movie, your feelings and maybe a recollection from your time on the title, I would appreciate it.
As a fan, let me just say “thanks” for your contributions to the Iron Man mythos because in some ways, you’re who made this movie possible.
Chris Frye
aka-The Iron Jedi

Chris,

I need to sincerely apologize to you for overlooking your e-mail.  It simply got lost in the shuffle (and to be honest, May has been one of the craziest months of my life). I had every intention of responding to you before your deadline, but things came up that didn't allow me the luxury of contributing a few words of comment.

To answer your initial question, it's difficult for me to form any opinions about the movie considering that I haven't seen it yet! A couple of random photos is about all the input I've had concerning the upcoming feature film. Just between you and me, the two photos of the armors I've seen look incredible. I'm hoping, as I do with every comic-to-film project, that Favreau and crew take great care with the development of the script, which is always the determining factor in my mind. Without a good script, all the glitzy armors and special effects in the world won't mean a bloody thing (i.e. The Hulk).

As far as my feelings concerning my time on the title of Iron Man, not only was it one of the most rewarding efforts in my career, it was highly formative as well. During that time I learned so much about drawing, scripting, editing, all the things that served me well later in my career. And, I'm fortunate enough to have an incredibly loyal, stalwart following that has stayed with me ever since those days. I suppose that's one of the reasons why I'm back at Marvel working on two, new Iron Man special projects. I've realized that it serves me little to gravitate away from the base that I owe so much to.

Bob,

It's always nice to hear from you and look through your website.

Your stuff is as pro as ever, and I love the commissioned pieces you do. I think my favorite is still the Hercules one, from THOR #356.

If there was a way to acquire the licenses to the great Valiant characters you did, I'm sure you'd have done it. And we'd still be reading the stories of XO, Harbinger, etc.

And if you hadn't, I would have tried. I still miss those Monday Night Football parties, and the camaraderie that we had at that place for a while.

I was reading the COLONY web comic you're doing with Dick and Ian. I think it's very good... which, honestly, is no surprise!

If you'd ever like to publish it as a comic, I would love to work with you.

Take care,

Darren Sanchez

After Hours Press

For those of you who don't know, Darren was my production manager at Valiant during the latter stage of my tenure there. Darren has since moved on to work as production manager at Wizard Entertainment as well as self-publishing in his spare time. We had a blast together in those Valiant days and I've certainly wished, on more than one occasion, that there was some way we could get the whole gang together again for another Football party. I suppose you've switched over to rooting for the Tennessee Titans since the Houston Oilers are no more, eh Darren? If so, I expect them to have a pretty good season with the acquisition  last year of Vince Young. He really started coming into his own in the later half of the 2006 season.

Thank you for your kind words about COLONY, Darren. If there was ever was a labor of love, this web-comic stands as a prime example of that. COLONY is a project that I've been developing for the last ten years and it's very gratifying to see these characters coming to life on paper. We're now reaching a major crossroad in the storyline, where everything starts changing. I hope that you find the second half of Book Two, as entertaining as the first. Trust me when I say, nothing will prepare you where I'm going to take you and the other readers.

And when the time comes for me to publish the series, I'll certainly keep you in mind. There's no one else I'd rather work with than you, Darren, ol' pal.

Best Wishes,

Bob,

Excellent work [on the Blizzard Iron Man Concept of the Month] as always. But, not be a dick or anything, but wouldn't it seem like he'd get his metallic rear end impaled if he fell or slipped?

John-Paul Gorgoroso

DAMN YOU, JOHN-PAUL! You just spoiled my July Iron Man Concept of the Month - ICICLE ASS! 

Hey Bob!

I thought you might like to see this little news clip about the Iron Man movie.

Robert Downey Jr really looks like Tony Stark here:

Here is another of an early Iron Man suit:

Enjoy!

Gary J. Sella

Dear Gary,

As I stated in an earlier letter, I think they're doing a great job in capturing the spirit of the series visually. Of course, being pragmatic by nature, I'm  going to reserve my enthusiasm until I find out more about what they're doing with the overall storyline and characterization. And, before everyone starts saying here comes more Bob Layton sour grapes, let me be the first to tell you, I am back working at Marvel with David Michelinie ONLY because they're making this movie. So nobody wants this movie to succeed more than me. Because of this film, I get a chance to return to working with David and on the character that my career has been most associated with.  So-- let's keep our fingers crossed that these guys 'knock it out of the park' next May.

Thanks for sharing the pics.

Hey Bob,

I have a question.  What kind of materials do you use to make your inks so smooth and precise? 

Thanks,

Derek Muthart

Dear Derek,

Thanks for the compliment about the quality of my work. In truth, there are no real tricks that I have in terms of making my pages clean and the lines slick. Like most comic book artists, I use the standard supplies and tools that are available. Generally, I ink with Hunt #107 crow quill point and fill in the blacks with Higgins Black Magic Ink. Now, there are a couple of tricks to keeping things consistent and creating the quality of the line that I want. In the case of the #107 point, I file down the end slightly in order to get a blunter line. That type of point is generally used in cartography and doesn't offer a great deal of flexibility. I find that if I can wear the point down and apply a little more pressure, I can simulate a brush stroke without having to constantly change tools. As far as India Ink goes, the trick is to leave your new bottle open for a while when you first get it, allowing time for the air to dry it out a little bit and cause it to slightly thicken. Ultimately, you'll get a deeper, richer black as a result.

I hope that answers your question!

Dear Bob,

I recently had a chance to read your "Some Shit Winds-Up Selling Like Hotcakes" interview. That was some cool insight into the industry. It's the sort of stuff you always expect is hiding behind the glare but that no one discusses.
When I originally emailed you about the commissions, I also asked about the original artwork to the "Carbon Knight" concept that was rejected for IM: The End. Is there any chance that the art is available?

And, would you happen to have contact info for John Romita JR or his agent? I haven't been able to find out if JRJR does commissions, as well. X-Men #176 was one of the first comics I ever bought and I'd love to get a recreation of the cover.
Finally, I was to ask something that is probably a little forward but I figured I might as well through it out there. Do you ever do any sketch work for charity? I've created a fundraiser for a Kent State University (Ohio) college scholarship fund and I'm riding a stage of the Tour de France this summer to raise money for the scholarship. You can find more info here:

I'm not sure if this is something that would interest you or even how it might work, but I thought I'd put it out there.

Ryan Leasher

Ryan,

To answer your last question first, I have indeed donated a lot of art over the years for worthy causes. You only need to check out the letters pages of my archives to see that I have devoted both my time and web-space to several charitable events.  So, let me know what I can do to help and I'll be more than happy to pitch in.

I don't have contact information on JRJR, and generally, unless I have their permission, I wouldn't be divulging that anyway. You might try his art agent or writing him a letter directly through Marvel Comics.

If you're still interested in the March Iron Man Concept of the Month art-- it is available. Just drop me an email and we'll work out the details!

By the way, what interview was the "Some Shit Winds up Selling Like Hotcakes" that you're referring to? Nothing rings a bell. Certainly not with that title!