Thanks, Mr. Byrne...Not only is it a dream to have this piece, but to have the chance to obtain it from you personally.  I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy your work as a storyteller, and you continue to teach me things as a person trying to make a living as a creative professional.

Regarding Doc, I like second-stringers.  And I like asking for commissions from artists of characters for whom the artists might not ordinarily receive lots of requests.  I hadn't noticed many Doc Samsons among your posted commissions, and I associate the character very strongly with you, having admired your brief run on Incredible Hulk very much, so he seemed to me to be a fun choice.

I became a Doc fan the first time I saw him because of the sheer silliness of his original costume, and the defined limit of his abilities -- He supposedly has the strength of a "calm Hulk."  Which is great, if the Hulk is your prime opponent -- Greenskin's very likely to be mellow when he sees you approaching with the intent to knock his block off ("Hulk finish Joan Didion novel...Hulk ready to fight you now, thanks for waiting.").

But then you made Doc a professor at my alma mater, made him feel like a serious character to me with a real position to occupy in the Marvel Universe, and changed my whole perspective on him.  

Doc's been portrayed over the years since your run as a superhero psychologist, largely for comedic purposes.  I don't think that was ever what Doc was intended to be about.  My understanding of Leonard Samson was that he was a hands-on scientist researching why gamma rays affect the minds of individuals in different ways -- Why one person becomes the Hulk, another becomes the Abomination, another becomes the Leader, and so on.  The story potential of that line of research -- How to manipulate the dosage of gamma rays a patient receives to induce a specific effect -- is enormous, I think.  I always pictured Doc returning to Northwestern to continue his work with a devoted team of grad students, while maybe, at the same time, continuing his superheroic exploits, perhaps somewhat unwillingly (perhaps as payment for a government -- or Avengers -- grant to fund his research), as the leader of your Great Lakes Avengers.  He'd make a fantastic straight-man chief of the wonderful band of lunatics you created, I think.

The point is, I started really thinking about the character years ago, I'm still interested in him, and would love the chance to write him the way I see him someday.  Odds are slim that'll happen, but I owe all the fun I've had pondering Leonard Samson over the years to you, and if this commission of the character from you is the closest I ever get to him, then I'll consider myself a happy, lucky fanboy.

Best wishes,

Adam Beechen