Broken Frontier

THE MIGHTY TEN

1. Who are you and what is your book?

My name is Scott Ziolko and I'm 25 years old. I live in Columba, MO with my currently pregnant wife and two cats, Toby and Mr. Fiddlesticks. Last year I completed four regular issues of a series called Test-Tube and the subsequent Christmas Special. Last March I released a one-shot called Ninjas. I'm currently working on a book called Fiddlesticks, which I hope to have done before the end of the summer (and the birth of my firstborn, which I'm sure will keep me away from my comic book work for a while!)

2. What's your book about? Can you compare it to any other books out right now?

I'd like to think I'm the type of person who doesn't so much try to write within a certain genre as much as I simply try to write stories. I hope my last two books are a reflection of this; Test-Tube is about two best friends who start their week off drinking in a bar and end it in a fight for the fate of the world, and Ninjas is a mostly silent tale about three ninjas who have to retrieve a stolen item for their master. I'd hate to compare my books to anything else out there because I know my perception of my work is probably completely different to what everyone thinks of it. It's mostly light hearted fare at the moment, guaranteed to get at least a chuckle out of the reader. I do have future plans for more "serious" subject matter (well, serious for me); Fiddlesticks, for example, deals with some heavier subjects than Test-Tube and Ninjas, such as love and loss. But for the most part I'd like to think of my work as light and fun. At least I hope so. For now, at least, until I reach my dark and depressing mode and start writing books about, I don't know, werewolves and stuff.

3. Who are some of your major influences?

When I was young I learned how to draw tracing Jack Kirby comics and eventually moved up to John Buscema's How To Draw The Marvel Way. Eventually I moved away from the "traditional", realistic artistic style and moved towards a more fluid, cartoony style. This was influenced by creators like Mike Allred, Sergio Argones, Jill Thompson and Evan Dorkin. Another influence, Jim Mahfood's DIY guide on mini comics in an issue of Wizard's Edge really helped me get on track. Will Eisner's books on Sequential Art, I think, are essential for anyone who wants to understand the dynamics and pacing of storytelling. Recently I was blown away by a package of mini comics I purchased from Scott Morse; it really opened my eyes to the limitless potential of what a mini comic could reach.

To be honest, though, I'm really not interested in being the "next anybody" as much as being the "first Ziolko". Hopefully I'm moving in that direction.

4. What inspires you?

Listening to good music, spending time with my wife, talking to my friends and family and just being alive in general. The thought of me being able to finally creatively contribute in any small way to something that I feel passionate about...to be able to say "hey! Here I am! I've got a story to tell too!" I feel it really drives me. Not a lot of people can say they did an entire four issue mini-series in four months all by themselves. Not a lot of people can say they're published and promoted not only locally but on the Internet. Not a lot of people can say they've sold out in their local comic book shop more than once. But I can. And I can't think of anything that could motivate me more than that.

Actually, I can. Being able to tell the future Baby Ziolko that Daddy works on comic books is going to be pretty cool, too.

5. Would you ever like your book to be mainstream, or are you pleased with where it is?

If by mainstream you mean "more readers", then I would love to have my characters go mainstream. I think they're primed and ready for mainstream love and affection. I don't think I'd want to go into any other form of media, such as cartoons or movies, but if I got the opportunity to distribute Test-Tube or Ninjas on a larger scale that wouldn't put me in danger of debt? I would love to share my stories with more people.

But I want to do it on my terms. I don't want to feel forced into doing any stories I don't want to do or take my characters to any places that they don't belong. I want to be able to say that I have some sort of integrity as a creator. If that means I'll never make a living at comic books, so be it. I didn't start Test-Tube as a way to make money (thank goodness, too!). I started it because I want to tell stories, and I want to tell them in a comic book format.

6. Do you aspire to make it into the mainstream? For instance, if you were offered a job at Marvel or DC would you take it?

That's not really a priority for me right now. While I would be flattered to be offered work by a large publisher such as DC or Marvel, I really doubt I would have anything to offer either of those two at the moment. When and if the opportunity to work for either of the "Big Two" arises, I would want to happen because they came looking for me, and I would only do so if I had a story worth telling with one of them. If Marvel was to offer me Spider-man right now (a ridiculous notion, but imagine with me here, and while you're at it imagine me with a smaller nose), I'd turn them down, simply because I don't have a Spider-man story to tell at the moment. I don't want to end up working on a book and simply go through the motions and do something that was less that 100% of my creative energy. For the time being, I'm happy working on my mini-comics, and I think I have a lot of exciting stories lined up that will fit a mini-comic format, maybe even an independent comic book format.

7. Do you aspire to stay in comics? Or do you just want to tell a few stories and be done with the medium?

I'm in for the long run. I love comic books. I think it's an amazing medium. I love the fact that I have complete and total control of what the reader sees or hears. You don't have that sort of control in any other media. Story-wise, there's no budget. No "do" or "don't". There is simply "will" or "will not". You're only limited by your imagination and your determination to get your work done.

I may be doing only mini-comics for the rest of my life, but it makes me happy, and isn't that all that matters in the end?

8. Do you have any other projects lined up?

I'm currently working on Fiddlesticks, a story about a world famous violinist who loses his ability to play an instrument and falls in love within the span of a month. I hope to have that out by the middle of the summer; depending on how long it ends up being. After that I plan on doing a sequel to Ninjas that I really, REALLY want to call "House of N" but will probably settle for "Ninjas In Love" instead. Then I want to do another Test-Tube one-shot, and after that I am wanting to adapt one of Shakespeare's lesser known plays into a comic book format, but don't know if I'm legally able to do so or not. Mainly I want to be able to do a violent story full of mutilation and mayhem, but not have to get a stiff telling-to by my mom, who wasn't too happy with the cursing vegetables that appeared at the end of a 24 Hour comic I did last year. This way I can say "Hey, Mom! That's how Shakespeare wrote it!" It'll definitely be some PG-13 type stuff.

9. What books are you into right now?

My taste in books are always changing, it seems. In the past year I've read a lot of good stuff from a variety of creators. There's 1000 Steps To World Domination by Rob Osborne, Hero Happy Hour by Dan Taylor and Chris Fason, Crackurz by James Patrick and DJ Coffman, Tales of the Odd by Ron "AAlgar" Watts, Ciderview Project by Michael Goodman, Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley, Pigtale, Amazing Joy Buzzards, the Seven Soldiers stuff DC putting out, Runaways, Heaven LLC, Insult To Injury by Ben Rosen...I mean, it's simply amazing the variety of books that are coming out now. I'm looking forward to reading Josh Fialkov's Elk's Run, Hero Camp and Josh Cotter's Skyscrapers of the Midwest, which I just purchased this weekend. Then there are the trades I re-read a lot: Kabuki, Creature Tech by Doug TenNapel, Fortune and Glory, Sandman, Preacher, Astro City, From Hell, Good-Bye Chunky Rice, Channel Zero, Scary Godmother. Whenever creators like Scott Morse, Paul Pope, Dave Cooper, Evan Dorkin, Sergio Aragones, and Mike Allred...

Man, looking at that list, it's a wonder I have any money!

10. Where can folks go to see more of your work and purchase your comics?

I have a website at www.testtubecomics.com. There's a variety of things to see there, including some early samples of my Test-Tube stuff, as well as some work I did in my High School art classes. There is also an ordering section with instructions on how to order my books. I also have a blog linked on the front page, where you can find updates on my work as well as some bonus stuff you can't find in the main website area. I have unused work intended for the Test-Tube Christmas Special there, as well as a preview of Ninjas and the 24 Hour comic I did last year called "White Stripes A-Go-Go" which is about the White Stripes fighting giant robots. You can read that entire book on my blog at: http://testtubecomics.com/blog/2004/10/24-hours-of-non-stop-comic-booking-and.html If you go there, be sure to tell me what you think!  Folks seem to like it! :)

- J.P. Dorigo