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| The classic cornerbox illustration by Bob Layton (what memeories!) |
Starting in the late 70's no one artist has been as synonymous with a character as Bob Layton has been with Iron Man.Working closely with writer David Michelinie, Bob was jointly responsible for some of the greatest Iron Man stories (Demon in a Bottle, Armor Wars,Doomquest the Kathy Dare Shooting and so many more) perhaps his greatest contribution to the character was creating a uniform look for the character. No matter if he pencilled and inked himself, or inked over John Romita JR, Mark Bright or Jackson Guice's pencils, Bob made sure Iron Man looked great. He really kept a uniform look to the character and book no matter who was drawing it. Bob emphasised the shiny metallic element to the Iron Man armor, something which escaped almost all other artists since 1963. lets face it, when the armor is drawn without these effects it looks very bland and uninspired. Bob made sure the eyelets and mouthpiece details were well defined in all drawings.
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| Must have used turtle wax.. |
He was also responsible for designing the Silver armor of the mid '80s as Jim Shooter requested a more 'samurai warrior' look. This armor first featured in the classic Iron Man #200 where Stark took back his company from Obadiah Stane (Ironmonger). A real classic issue too, and one the greatest Iron Man stories ever. Here is a great example of that shiny armor effect that Bob did so well. His Iron Man looked amazing.
Bob returned to work on a mini series with David Michelinie in 2000 called Bad Blood and in 2008 with Michelinie again with Legacy of Doom, which starred, funnily enough Doctor Doom. Here's one of my favorite Michelinie/Layton issues, #244 where the then crippled Stark redesigns his armor to enable him to walk again. I love the split cover design, a real Layton hallmark. The love the man had for the Iron Man character shines through all his work. Respect...
Starting in the late 70's no one artist has been as synonymous with a character as Bob Layton has been with Iron Man.Working closely with writer David Michelinie, Bob was jointly responsible for some of the greatest Iron Man stories (Demon in a Bottle, Armor Wars,Doomquest the Kathy Dare Shooting and so many more) perhaps his greatest contribution to the character was creating a uniform look for the character. No matter if he pencilled and inked himself, or inked over John Romita JR, Mark Bright or Jackson Guice's pencils, Bob made sure Iron Man looked great. He really kept a uniform look to the character and book no matter who was drawing it. Bob emphasised the shiny metallic element to the Iron Man armor, something which escaped almost all other artists since 1963. lets face it, when the armor is drawn without these effects it looks very bland and uninspired. Bob made sure the eyelets and mouthpiece details were well defined in all drawings.
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