Tom Scioli is an accomplished cartoonist who has followed his passion and it has resulted in taking him down two paths: comics that explore science fiction and adventure in the spirit of Jack Kirby; and comics that take an in-depth look, “from cradle to grave,” of a particular subject, like a Jack Kirby biography or a Stan Lee biography. In fact, Scioli’s last couple of big books are Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of The King of Comics, and I Am Stan: A Graphic Biography of The Legendary Stan Lee, both published by Ten Speed Graphic, an imprint of Ten Speed Press. This places Scioli is a fantastic position to keep pursuing his passions in comics as a career. It’s a great time to check in with him and I hope you enjoy the interview.
Jack Kirby, via Tom Scioli, tells his own story.
We really get down to business right out of the gate with a discussion on the heady days of pulp fiction in the 1940s and the emerging world of comics of that same era. We begin our lively conversation by focusing in on Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of The King of Comics. This is Tom’s unique guidebook of a graphic novel into the world of arguably the greatest comic book artist of all time. As a cartoonist myself with a similar interest in the origins of today’s pop culture and my own book on the subject, George’s Run, this opportunity to chat with Scioli is priceless. As I mentioned to Tom, I feel compelled to bring up my own work since that is really what led me to explore what he’s been up to. I can fully appreciate what he’s doing in the sense that I’ve been on, and continue to be on, my own search for a better understanding of the origins of pop culture.
Pulp Fiction and Comics.
Getting back to our discussion, I began by pointing out the importance of organizing data so that, bit by bit, a bigger picture emerges. So much can be said, referred to, implied, all within the space of one comics panel. Never underestimate the power of comics in that regard. I pointed to one such example in Tom’s book on Jack Kirby (see above). It’s a veritable portal into another time and place and it prompted Tom to talk about his interest in pulp fiction, especially the evolution of key figures who went from fandom to prominent roles in the industry, like Mort Weisinger and Julius Schwartz. These are names that ring a bell right away for me. They were super fans who went on to create the first ever literary agency specializing in Sci-Fi and Fantasy. They brought on board first-rate writers like Otto Binder, even H.P. Lovecraft and Ray Bradbury.
Zombies and Comics.
Another key panel refers to a comic book Kirby did back in the 1940s that featured zombies. I found that highly intriguing since I’d always thought of the zombie genre originating with Richard Matheson’s seminal 1954 novel, I Am Legend. That prompted Tom to talk about the uncanny quality to Kirby’s work, distinctly ahead of the curve, predating, in whole or in part, all sorts of later pop culture mainstays. Here’s where you need to do your research, take a break, and rethink it all. I took a pause and started to think about the unique zombie trail that Matheson must have been on, going back to his earlier short story pulp fiction. Maybe he didn’t create the zombie genre from whole cloth but, going back to his landmark novel (the results of endless short story experiments) he can certainly be credited with laying down the template for the zombie apocalypse genre. And that is the zombie genre as we know it today.
I have given you a taste of what you can expect from this interview which I consider pretty essential. We cover a lot of ground. We talk it out as much as one can during the course of one conversation. I hope to have Tom back in due time. For now, please go over and check out the video. Your Views, Likes and Comments are very important. Thank you.
