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SDCC '15: Spotlight On Bob Layton

Published Tue, 14 Jul 2015 13:00:20 -0500

By Joshua Stone

I was very excited to attend the Spotlight on Bob Layton panel, and I am glad to say it did not disappoint. Layton took the stage along with his friend since college Michael Uslan, and put together an informative and humorous panel. The two met at Indiana University, where Layton and Roger Stern, who Layton lovingly called Sterno throughout the panel, created Contemporary Pictorial Literature (CPL). Uslan was quickly a regular contributor to the fanzine. Layton stated that John Byrne's, Dan Slott's favorite creator, first work in comics was for CPL. As time went on real professionals started contributing to CPL. Joe Sinnott even did a centerfold of Thing as a parody of Playgirl magazine's centerfold of Burt Reynolds.

Layton would send 25 copies of CPL each month to Marvel and DC in order to promote the book as well as himself. Charlton Comics got a hold of the fanzine and as a result asked Layton to do a fanzine for them, the Charlton Bullseye. Eventually, Layton moved back east to be an apprentice for Wally Wood, and while he was trying to find a place of his own he crashed with Walt Simonson for a time. Layton was Wood's apprentice for nine months and then went on to be an apprentice for Dick Giordano. As an apprentice you would do the background work on the page so the artists could work on the figures and images that would be featured in the art.

Eventually Layton was able to get a job at Marvel Comics working on a comic book that was expected to be cancelled very soon, Iron Man. Because of this Layton, along with writer David Michelinie, were given near free rein to try what they wanted. Layton said Marvel let them kill a bunch of characters off so they could make the Iron Man comic book about what they wanted, and that was Tony Stark.

After 15 years under contract to Marvel, Layton left to be co-creator of Valiant Comics. Layton said he was proud that Valiant and those characters were still around and doing well today.

During the Q&A I was able to thank Layton, because the first time I ever walked into a comic book store it was his cover of Thor 356 that I picked up and bought, and I have not looked back since.

Afterwards Layton was nice enough to take a picture with me and thanked me for sharing my story with him.