While I was at my artist’s table at the New York Comic Con, I got into a very interesting discussion with a fellow named David Vonner, who turned out to be the Senior Designer for Boys D&D at Hasbro Toys. David recently worked on developing the Iron Man movie toy tie-ins. He and I had a good time discussing, among other things, my work for Mattel on the Secret Wars toy line and other merchandising projects I did throughout my career.

During the conversation, Mr. Vonner disclosed a small secret about himself: A while ago, he worked at Marvel (for ToyBiz), mostly on the Marvel Legend Action Figures. And, if you've ever seen the War-Machine figure, David confessed that they used his likeness on the figure’s head! Too cool!

Most of all, I was impressed with David’s business acumen and the fact that for all of his success, he was very respectful and complimentary to Mr. Michelinie and my legacy concerning the Armored Avenger.

Shortly after returning home from the show, I received an air conditioner-sized box at my local post office. All of the postal workers (who know me fairly well by now) were extremely curious about the content of the box with the large ‘Hasbro’ label on it. So much so that they pressured me to open it right there at the clerk’s counter.

Inside the carton was something really amazing -- it's a rare, not-available-to-the-public, Press-Kit that Hasbro sent out to retailers -- jam-packed with their latest products. Not only that, but Mr. Vonner was kind enough to send a similar package to my pal David Michelinie (just in time for his birthday!).

Needless to say, I’m very grateful for his kindness. It’s a terrific batch of quality products and hopefully, David Vonner and I will get the opportunity to work together on a toy project sometime in the near future.