In “Origins,” comics creators talk about their formative experiences with comics. This time, we were lucky enough to talk to Bob Layton–a writer, artist and editor with a very long and impressive history in the business, including several fondly-remembered runs on Iron Man, as well as a series of Hercules projects at Marvel.
What was the first comic book you ever read? What do you remember about it?
I learned to read from comics when I was only four years old, after my older sister became bored with reading the same comic to me about fifty times. Subsequently, I was skipped a grade when I entered the school system and wound up graduating from high school at barely 17 years old.
My first comic was a DC Showcase issue featuring the Challengers of the Unknown by Jack Kirby and Wally Wood. I have to say that it made such an impact on me that it set me on my career path. The story was about the Challs discovering Pandora’s Box.
Due to that classic comic’s influence, my personal tastes as a creator have tended to gravitate towards characters (like the Challengers, Batman and Iron Man) who possess no inherent super-powers.
Who were your favorite comics creators when you started getting into reading comics?
The late, great Dick Giordano would be my most prominent comics influence. I was a huge Sarge Steel fan during his Charlton era and loved all of those characters he created there. Dickie was my mentor for the last thirty something years–and that’s been a significant contribution to my general neurosis! Since I was a kid, Giordano admonished me to learn every single aspect of the business–because that knowledge would insure me continuing to get work when times are tough. I have to say that he was correct.
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For the majority of my career, I’ve been able to function as an editor, writer, penciller, or inker–depending on what’s available at the time–thanks to Dickie’s sage wisdom. I’m privileged that we stayed close friends over the decades, right up to his recent passing. He was father, mentor and friend to me and a creative giant to the comics industry. And my apprenticeship with Wally Wood was a dream come true, having grown up reading Challengers, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and his other great works. I was very blessed to have been tutored by two such industry giants.
And, without a doubt, I’d have to include one of my co-collaborators at Marvel and Valiant, Barry Windsor-Smith. Barry is one of the few, true geniuses of comic art that I’ve been privileged to be associated with during my career. I was a huge fan of his Conan the Barbarian series as a kid.
I’d have to say that I was also heavily influenced by Gil Kane and Jack Kirby, as well. As a writer, it would be Stan Lee, David Michelinie and Archie Goodwin.
Did you make comics in your pre-professional days? What were they like?
After high school, I met Roger Stern (who worked for a local radio station in Indianapolis), and we began publishing fanzines out of my little apartment. CPL (an overblown moniker which stands for Contemporary Pictorial Literature) was our main ‘zine. It was an extremely popular fan publication for its day, and eventually led us into a working alliance with Charlton Comics, with Sterno and I producing and publishing the now-legendary fanzine The Charlton Bullseye. The close association with Charlton (and production wizard, Bill Pearson) led to my meeting Wally Wood and becoming one of his apprentices. Once I went to work for Woody, doors started opening up for me all over the place.
What was your first published comics work? What’s your impression of it now?
As Wally Wood’s art assistant back in 1977, I would occasionally deliver pages for Woody when I made a trip into NYC from Connecticut. One day, I was in the Marvel offices, handing in Woody’s pages to the production dept. So I used the opportunity to show my samples around while I had my foot in the door. When I passed the Art Director’s office, I heard John Romita on the phone, frantically trying to find someone to ink a desperately late issue of Iron Man by George Tuska. Blissfully unaware of the consequences, I stuck my head in his doorway and said I could get the job done in the four or five days that was left on the schedule. It was an utter fabrication–but I really wanted to work for Marvel Comics! Johnny gave me the pages and said, “Show me what you can do, kiddo.”
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Panicking, I ran down Madison Ave. to Continuity Associates, where a lot of my fledgling contemporaries worked for Dick Giordano and Neal Adams. (The gang at that time comprised of Terry Austin, Bob Wiacek, Joe Rubinstein, Bob McLeod, Carl Potts and others.) Like the troupers that they all were, they pitched in on the inking and we finished the entire book in less than four days. It was awful but, at least, publishable.
However, once I turned the Tuska job in, I never heard back from Marvel. I was sure I had permanently destroyed any chance of ever getting work there again,
Then, about a month after the Tuska job, a package arrives on my doorstep. I open it to find a complete issue of pencils on The Champions. I presumed that it was sent to me in error, so I called the Marvel offices to see where they want me to forward the material. But my utter amazement, Romita tells me that I’m the new regular inker on the book.
Two decades later, I sought out George Tuska at a convention and apologized for the amateurish finishes on that first job. He was a very good sport about it. Got to love the old school professionals!
It looks like you’re working on a couple of Iron Man projects for next year–what can you tell us about those? Anything else in the works?
Marvel has recently released two hardback editions of my classic Hercules series in conjunction with my new four-issue mini-series, Hercules: Twilight of a God, which is currently on sale. My writing partner David Michelinie and I are currently generating two new Iron Man projects for Marvel for 2011– a one-shot What If..? entitled “What If Tony Stark Became Dr. Doom?” and a four-issue mini-series–Iron Man Forever–which will feature our original concept for “Armor Wars II.” David and I also co-created a new episode for the second season of the Iron Man Armored Adventures cartoon series for Nicktoons.
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And ‘Ill be publishing the late Dick Giordano’s last work, the graphic novel version of my web comic “Colony.” Dick was able to complete the pencils on the series’ exciting conclusion before he passed away earlier this year. There have been 105 pages of the saga published on my website (still available by clicking on the “Colony” link on my home page) and another 45 pages of pencils currently being written and inked by me. I’m also in the process of reviving my former publishing company, Future Comics, with my creative and business partners, David Michelinie and Skip Farrell, and moving into the digital publishing business for iPad applications.
Along with my comics work, David Michelinie and I are also busy in Hollywood developing properties including the upcoming motion picture “Shambler.” And I just completed my first solo movie screenplay for Olmos Productions, entitled “The Helix.”