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Matthieu-David:
Which artists influenced you the most ? And what
are your influences in general ?
Bob
Layton:
Dick Giordano would be mymost
prominent comics influence. Dickie has been mentoring me
for the last thirty years. That's a significant
contribution to my general neurosis.(Laugh)
Wally Wood was the other major contributor to my
craft. As a
writer, it would be David Michelinie and Archie Goodwin.
Arthur C. Clarke, Julia
Child, Stanley Kubrick and Rod Serling are my biggest
general influences.
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M-D:
Is there an
artist, writer, inker...
you would you love to work with ?
B.L.:
Sure,
there are quite a few that I haven’t worked with
yet. Probably too many to mention here.
Most
notably, I’d love to do a project with Alan
Davis.
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M-D: On which comic book would you like to work or is there a specific
character that you would like to work on (
can even be a dream project )?
B.L.:No. I generally prefer to create my own characters. However my one dream
project in mainstream comics would be my own
concept for DC’s Adam Strange.
I’ve always seen that character as my DC
version of Hercules.
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M-D: If you hadn’t worked in comics, what would you have done for a
living ?
B.L.: A Chef
without a doubt. I
love to cook and take great pride in creating artistic
cuisine.
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M-D:
Could you describe your typical day ?
B.L.:
I get up at 7:00 a.m. every morning. The Future
Entertainment offices are located in my home, so I
generally work in my sweats. (very cozy) Matt and Barbara
(my staff) usually arrive at 9:00-9:30 Monday thru Friday.
Then, we get to work dealing with the usual
administrative business of the day. After lunch, our associates in Hollywood are starting their
day, so we spend a lot of the afternoon on the phone and
answering their e-mail inquiries. After 5 p.m. is when I
start writing or working on my art for the day (at
least until the missus gets home.) I usually hit the
sheets by 2 a.m.
Then we start the whole process all over again.
And yes…I’m aware that I don’t sleep enough.
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M-D:
If you were a comic book character, who would you be ?
and why ?
B.L.:
Perry White—because I could smoke cigars all day
and no one can yell at me.
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M-D:
What’s your favourite movie ?
B.L.:
Apocalypse
Now.
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M-D: More generally what do you think about the
translation from comics to films ? ( which do you think
succeeded in terms of visual ideas and story telling )
B.L.:I’m
currently negotiating with Hollywood to bring one of my
characters to the big screen, so I’m getting a lesson in
how the process works. Comics are created for a small
niche’ audience while films have to appeal to a much
broader base. In
a lot of cases, I think Hollywood does a better job of
creating a viable franchise with more universal appeal than
we do. One of the interesting points to why there are so
many comics-to film projects being produced is that most of
the young executives currently working in Hollywood are
former comic fans. They’re going back to material that
they loved as young people and bringing it to life in their
chosen medium. In almost every meeting I’ve gone to, they
were already familiar with my work in comics. It’s very
flattering, actually.
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M-D: What’s your favourite song ?
B.L.:
“Fight
the Power” by the Isley Brothers.
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M-D:
do you listen to music when you draw ?
B.L.:
No, actually I listen to XM radio—mostly XM150 XL
–the Comedy Channel.
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M-D: What’s your favourite book ?
B.L.:
“Replay” by Ken Grimwood.
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M-D:
Did you have some hard times in your career ? which ones
and how did you deal with those ?
B.L.:
Breaking in was tough. This was back in the 70’s when
you usually had to wait for someone to die to inherit a
series. J
Giordano always admonished me to learn every aspect of the
business—that would insure me continuing to get work
when times are tough. I have to say that he was correct.
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. Fortunately, thanks to
Dickie’s sage wisdom, I’ve been able to keep busy
while so many of my peers are unemployed.
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M-D: What is your best achievement so far ?
B.L.:
If you ask others, they’d probably say Iron Man.
I’m grateful that my time on Iron Man helped to open new
doors for me. However, I personally believe that my
achievements at Valiant and Future are the things that best
define my career to date. Creating business entities and
intellectual properties is NOT an easy proposition.
However, I’ve succeeded in creating almost as many
characters as Stan Lee did—and the Future properties are
just now getting off the ground.
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M-D: What's your
favourite type of scripts ? very detailled or not ?
B.L.: I HATE working from full scripts—I find them way
too confining. And let’s face it—a lot of comic
writers are about as visual as Stevie Wonder. I
prefer to work “Marvel Style”—drawing the story from
a moderately-detailed plot synopsis.
M-D: What material
do you use for your art ? what type of pencils do you
use ?
B.L.:
Do
you mean what tools ? I ink primarilywitha Hunt #107 crow
quill point. ( Actually, I use two points : one filed down
to create a more blunt line and a fine point.
M-D:
how
do you look back at your past work ? do you critizise your work a
lot ?
B.L.:
Fondly. I
appreciate every single opportunity that I’ve been
blessed with. It
hasn’t been easy but it’s been very rewarding.
I’d do it all over again gladly.
But, keep in mind I’m far from done yet.
I’m simply pursuing other avenues of
storytelling by moving my attention to Hollywood.
You’ll be seeing a variety of Future properties on the
Big Screen in the next few years.
That’s a guarantee.
I’ve always been critical of
my own work. Dickie
always told me that: “On
the day you do the perfect page
that’s the day
you’re probably finished as an artist.”
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M-D: What’s the weirdest drawing a fan asked you ?
B.L.:Having
to draw Three X-Men chicks in a locker room-- naked.
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M-D: Have you ever been to Paris and if so what surprised
you the most when you arrived in Paris ?
B.L.:
I’ve been dying to visit your country for as long as
I can remember. I’ve
been everywhere in Europe except France. I’ve kind of been
saving a trip to Paris for something special. Who knows—perhaps
my fans there will invite me over sometime. I’ll be there
in a heartbeat. (hint-hint)
M-D:
noted :) I'll see what I can do ;)
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M-D:
And since my website is mainly focused on Dr Doom and that
you drew him: How would you describe the character ?
B.L.:
Doom is a noble character—but he’s also a sociopath.
He operates by his own moral code—which is very
different from the codes that govern you or me. However,
he’s true to his unique values—to the point of being
inflexible.
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M-D
: Who do you think wrote Dr Doom the best ?
B.L.:
Stan Lee obviously.
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M-D:
What is the trickiest thing to draw about him ?
B.L.:
That friggin’ grid inside the mouth of his
mask.
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M-D
: To draw Dr Doom, did you get influenced by other
artist’s visions of the character or not ?
B.L.:
Of course—Jack Kirby influences anyone who draw the Doctor.
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Thanks a lot
Bob and see you in
Paris !
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Check Bob Layton's website
at : http://www.boblayton.com
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