As Bob Dylan once sang, “The times-- they are a changin’.”
For me, those lyrics couldn’t be more true.

ITEM: I've finally made the transition from the laid-back life of South Florida to the hectic pace of Southern California. As many of you may already know, my work on various projects in Hollywood made it imperative for me to relocate to Los Angeles, so I could devote more time and effort to getting these deals done.  The monthly commutes back-and-forth to LA last year was taking a heavy toll on me, both financially and physically.

As you can see for yourself, if you check out this month’s news column, the lid is finally off the Freemind motion picture project and, after five years of frustration and false starts, we finally have a powerhouse creative A-List team in place with screenwriter Dante W. Harper and legendary X-Files director David Nutter. This will be only the first of the Michelinie/Layton properties that will eventually make its way to the screen.

David Michelinie and I have been extremely busy developing a variety of new properties that we believe will find a home out here.  Thanks to the tireless efforts of our producing partners, David Uslan of COG-1 Entertainment and Marc Rosen at Rosen/Obst Productions, the years of frustration are finally beginning to bear fruit.

Obviously, my work in the comics industry has been somewhat curtailed as a result of my involvement here in Hollywood,  and because of that, I have altered this website to reflect that change of direction in my career.
It’s not that I don’t love working in comics.  The last few years of being back at Marvel, and making new friends there, has been a total blast for me. But after three decades of work, in every capacity the comic business has to offer, the challenges of storytelling in a new venue, like film and television, is far too alluring to pass up.

I recently made the decision to streamline the site to make it easier to maintain and more news oriented. Since I will no longer be taking on commissions, the regular monthly art galleries will have to become a thing of the past. As much as I enjoyed creating many of the regular features for you, like the ‘Iron Man Concept of the Month’, time will no longer allow me sustain such efforts. However, I will keep those past galleries and features available in the website’s archives.
The plan going forward is to preview any of my new comic-related art in the news section of this site in the future, like this month’s first look at the upcoming Hercules mini-series from Marvel.

ITEM: I’ll be getting to the remaining commissions on my list as soon as I get my numerous commercial assignments a bit more under control.  I ask all of those waiting on that list to be patient just a little bit longer. I was able to get several of the 10 commissions left on my list done this month.  I estimate that it’ll be take another 6 weeks to get everyone fulfilled.  I appreciate the patience that all of you have shown and will do my best for get them to you as soon as possible. In the meantime, I ask my fans to please refrain from sending me any more requests for commissions.  My schedule simply won’t permit it at the present time.

ITEM: David Uslan and I recently had a conference call with Matt Maiellaro, one of the producers behind Aqua Teen Hunger Force about bringing one of my concepts to television. I’m a big fan of the show and had to ask him if the character, Carl, was based on an actual person.  Matt explained that Carl was an amalgam of a lot of guys they knew-- mixed with a universal stereotype of guys from New Jersey.

ITEM: I recently completed the box art designs for a new line of Marvel action figures for Hasbro.  As soon as I get a green light from Hasbro to display the box art, I’ll preview it here on this site.

ITEM: Following the success of last years Iron Man card set, I’ve agreed to take on another job from the good folks at Rittenhouse Archives.  They are working on a product for summer release celebrating the 70th anniversary of Marvel. Since this set will cover the 70 years of Marvel, the number of various characters will be huge, to say the least. I will be contributing 100 full-color chase cards for the set.

ITEM: I have entered into discussions with several publishers to compile my web comic series Colony into a trade paperback—completing the saga in a print venue. With my current schedule, I really don’t have the time to do the monthly installments. I have Endeavor talent agency representing me and the property here in Hollywood and they have received inquiries from several major producers out here.

The plan is to compile the 150 page project into book form, in order to make my producers’ job easier. (apparently, no one out here will sit down at their computer and read the bloody thing).
Colony has been running on my website for the last two years and currently receives over a half-million individual hits per episode.
Needless to say, it has a built-in audience.
As the project stands, 110 pages of the 140 have been completed.  Once I find the right publisher, I plan to complete the story in one fell swoop and make the saga available to my readers in trade paperback form.
More on that soon.