Skip to content
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • PodBean
  • Subscribe To My Pal Sammy Newsletter
  • ABOUT
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms

My Summer Lair

Think NPR's Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: My Summer Lair with host Sammy Younan: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.

  • Home
  • Podcast
    • My Summer Lair
    • Space Station Oddity
  • Set The VCR
  • New Book Alert
  • True Sammy Stories
  • Toggle search form
Tom Scioli (Jack Kirby) My Summer Lair 164

164 | Tom Scioli (Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics)

Posted on August 11, 2020March 7, 2023 By Sammy Younan No Comments on 164 | Tom Scioli (Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics)

My Summer Lair Chapter #164: Does Jack Kirby’s Real Life Reveal A Grand Design?

Welcome comic book writer and artist Tom Scioli. Based in Pittsburgh two of his recent projects recognize and explore the fantastic imagination of Jack King Kirby. 

The first project is Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics which is an outstanding Jack Kirby biography slash graphic novel that in some ways mirrors Captain America’s origins: Scrappy kid born in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, draws well (people often forget Steve Rogers was a commercial artist for a time: yes I know he’s not a real person), gets drafted, fights in World War II and comes home victorious. Only when he returns to comic books Jack Kirby was successful though not victorious. 

It’s difficult to calibrate an authentic Jack Kirby opinion: he mined his rich imagination and gifted us so many stunning visuals and enduring characters. The rich soil of the Marvel Universe from which we’d decades later would happily harvest as the MCU. But he was also work for hire which was standard at the time even though what Simon and Kirby and especially Lee and Kirby were doing was not standard.  

Which bring us to the second Tom Scioli project related to Jack Kirby: Fantastic Four: Grand Design.  As Tom astutely writes in the first issue: “The history of the Fantastic Four is the history of the Marvel Universe.” Indeed!

Like Ed Piskor’s stunning X-Men: Grand Design that preceded it…Fantastic Four: Grand Design is a seamless blending of decades of Fantastic Four continuity into one long astonishing story. That yes tells the history of the Marvel Universe. Fantastic Four introduced us to Black Panther, Inhumans and so many other characters including a giant world eater and his silver assistant with a surfboard. 

So like the Challengers of the Unknown another Jack Kirby creation let’s cannonball into these excellent projects with comic book writer and artist and supa dupa nerd Tom Scioli.

Tom Scioli @ W • T • F

Host & Photography Sammy Younan

Recorded: Thursday December 10, 2020 at 1:30 pm

Stress free pop culture tastefully harvested for your divine delight. Once a week a carefully curated edition of My Pal Sammy goes directly to your inbox. Sign up for my newsletter so we can have some fun…like Hang Time with the King of Comics!

My Summer Lair, Podcast Tags:Fantastic Four, Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics, Marvel Comics, MCU, New Book Alert, Science-Fiction, Tom Scioli

Post navigation

Previous Post: My Pal Sammy (Season 2) | The Umbrella Academy Mariachi Band
Next Post: 165 | Robert McCallum (The Power of Grayskull)

More Related Articles

183 | Mark Fraser-Davidson (Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N.) My Summer Lair
Dead Dicks & Majic (Blood In The Snow Film Festival) 135 | Dead Dicks & Majic (Blood In The Snow Film Festival) My Summer Lair
235 | Kristian R. Hill (God Said Give ‘Em Drum Machines) My Summer Lair
230 | Dani Doucette (Run With Me) My Summer Lair
Timothy Bella (Barkley: A Biography) My Summer Lair 244 | Timothy Bella (Barkley: A Biography) My Summer Lair
047 | Cornel West (The Radical King) My Summer Lair

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • #SetTheVCR: May 12-18, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    Do you have Heart Eyes for fresh TV Recommendations without all the Overcompensating puns? The puns are here to stay that’s what makes it #SetTheVCR.
  • #SetTheVCR: May 05-11, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    Even with your Poker Face I can tell you’re seeking TV Recommendations for your Safe House. No worries with this week’s #SetTheVCR I got it in The Black Bag.
  • #SetTheVCR: April 28 – May 04, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    April showers bring May TV listings: these TV recommendations cover all Four Seasons. It’s #SetTheVCR where I put the On in Conan.
  • #SetTheVCR: April 21-27, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    TV Recommendations can be Havoc; You need help. Well Babygirl: I got you; it's your TV Companion: #SetTheVCR.
  • #SetTheVCR: April 14-20, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    I hope you're a light Nightsleeper because the NBA Playoffs start this week. Will a new champion be Minted? Only way to know is to #SetTheVCR.
  • #SetTheVCR: April 07-13, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    For this week's TV Recommendations we stare into The Abyss and a Black Mirror stares back. Welcome to #SetTheVCR which is about as comfortable and as cool as Morningside.
  • #SetTheVCR: March 31 – April 06, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    Secrets and Serial Killers pepper this week’s TV Recommendations. A combo like that can only mean it’s #SetTheVCR.
  • #SetTheVCR: March 24-30, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    You'll wanna Bogart these fantastic TV Recommendations: they go from Holland to MobLand. Of course it's not a Complete Unknown, why yes it's #SetTheVCR.
  • #SetTheVCR: March 17-23, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    These TV Recommendations will make you don a Happy Face: from magic of David Blaine to the Madness of March. It's #SetTheVCR here for all of Your Tomorrow TV needs.
  • #SetTheVCR: March 10-16, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    From an Electric State to a Beach party these TV Recommendations will make you a Better Man. It maybe Cold outside but #SetTheVCR is warm and just what you are Kraven.
  • #CouchWorthy: 2025 Key Midseason & Premiere Dates – April 2025March 28, 2025
    #SetTheVCR is your weekly TV Guide by Sammy Younan to help you plan a fantastic TV schedule from must-watch TV shows to fun discoveries.
  • #CouchWorthy: 2025 Key Midseason & Premiere Dates – March 2025February 28, 2025
    #SetTheVCR is your weekly TV Guide by Sammy Younan to help you plan a fantastic TV schedule from must-watch TV shows to fun discoveries.
  • Morning Tea: The Rocky III-Peat…February 9, 2025
    What's popping in popular culture? My Summer Lair host Sammy Younan steeps some seriously serious tea which prompts reflections.
  • #CouchWorthy: 2025 Key Midseason & Premiere Dates – February 2025January 31, 2025
    #SetTheVCR is your weekly TV Guide by Sammy Younan to help you plan a fantastic TV schedule from must-watch TV shows to fun discoveries.
  • #CouchWorthy: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-ManJanuary 28, 2025
    Following Peter Parker on his way to becoming a hero. Or is is "Peter Parker?" The stand alone vs continuity debate.
  • #CouchWorthy: The Countdown to NBA Saturday Primetime on ABCJanuary 22, 2025
    NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC– the marquee, national NBA game of the week kicks off on January 25 with a classic Tripleheader.

  • Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1: Gotham Nocturne: Overture
    Under-Review: Detective Comics: Gotham Nocturne: Overture
    by Sammy Younan
    My Summer Lair host Sammy Younan reviews Batman - Detective Comics: Gotham Nocturne: OvertureL Volume 1,
  • New Book Alert: California Bear
    by Sammy Younan
    New Book Alert is just that: A useful Yo for a fresh book. from your pal Sammy. What Are You Reading?
  • New Book Alert: The Music Was Just Getting Good
    by Sammy Younan
    New Book Alert is just that: A useful Yo for a fresh book. from your pal Sammy. What Are You Reading?
  • New Book Alert: The Ascent
    by Sammy Younan
    New Book Alert is just that: A useful Yo for a fresh book. from your pal Sammy. What Are You Reading?
  • New Book Alert: Fantastic Four by Ryan North Volume 2
    by Sammy Younan
    New Book Alert is just that: A useful Yo for a fresh book. from your pal Sammy. What Are You Reading?

Copyright © 2025 My Summer Lair.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme