Interviews

John Ira Thomas Talks Zoo Force

By Leroy Douresseaux
April 9, 2007 - 14:43

The cover of the upcoming Zoo Force 3

In less than five years John Ira Thomas has become perhaps the most prolific writer of graphic novels on the indie comics scene, publishing his books and others through a company he co-owns, Candle Light Press.  He has taken superhero comics and given them both a surreal and philosophical spin, not to mention mixing the superhero genre with other genres and sub-genres including police procedurals, urban crime drama, and science fiction.

His works can be and have been compared to Alan Moore and Brian Michael Bendis, and readers might notice Thomas' A Tale of Shade and Angels resemblance to Bendis' Powers and Moore's Top 10.  His frequent collaborators are Carter Allen (a writer/artist who is also a prolific graphic novelist) and Jeremy Smith.  Smith, who also draws Shades & Angels, is the artist of the graphic novel series, Zoo Force.  Thomas spoke about the upcoming Zoo Force: BBQ in the Comic Book Bin Q&A:

CBB:  Would mind describing Zoo Force for the uninitiated?

THOMAS:  Zoo Force is two books in one: there's the half about the worst superteam in Freedom City, Texas, and there's the half about the next worst.  There's Zoo Force, which is Pythagoras (a talking chicken who claims to be the journeying soul of an ancient philosopher), Snowball (a polar bear who learned how to read and understand English), Ding (a human with a six foot tongue and a crash helmet), and Prairie Dawg (a half human, half prairie dog who can dig tunnels at a full run).

Then there's Not Zoo Force: Pillowfight (he can absorb amazing amounts of abuse as long as he doesn't move), Mystic Fork (his fork shaped tumor can resonate your fears), the Vet (he can control the minds of small animals), and Captain Cat (a hyper intelligent feline who built a suit of armor out of pet supplies and talks by means of a cat to English translator he made). The books are about their lives. We use a lot of different styles to tell different stories.

CBB:  Zoo Force: Dear Eniko (Vol. 1) indulged in comedy - slapstick, parody, satire, etc.  The opening chapter of Zoo Force: Bean and Nothingness (Vol. 2) seemed, at least to me, to be more introspective and philosophical, at times, even being a domestic drama, but it made Zoo Force fit in with other CLP titles?  Was that deliberate, or did I just read something incorrectly?

THOMAS:  I have a hard time not thinking about inner lives. That's just me. The opening chapter of Bean and Nothingness is a replication of many a warm day in Lubbock, Texas, where I went to school. Once we'd done all the schoolwork you could stand, we'd head out to one of the many excellent mom and pop eateries out there and bring home more food than we could possibly eat. Then we'd open the windows, eat, and snooze with the warm Texas breeze blowing through. This was the undergraduate days, when I studied Philosophy; so we were all always looking for ways to relax and not think about anything. Inevitably, we'd wake from our naps with all sorts of crazy ideas.

Zoo Force 3, Pg. 9

The first book, Dear Eniko, was all about introducing all these characters in a fun way, and also about placing them in context. So there's a looser feel to it, since it's all-new to the reader. Bean and Nothingness just came to me the way those weird old Philosophy theories used to. I remember pitching the idea to some friends who'd read the original Zoo Force story "Enforcers" and they just stared at me. Jer (Zoo Force artist Jeremy Smith) got it immediately. Zoo Force is one of those concepts where you can do any kind of story at all, and I think Bean and Nothingness proves that. Other teams think they're the worst in town but there are all kinds of adventures to have.

The domestic element is stronger in BBQ, the new book. I hadn't thought about it being more like the other CLP books, though. When I set up a story premise, I march it every step of the way; so it's perhaps inevitable that the interpersonal stuff is so dominant. I just can't help but wonder how these two weird and complicated room-mate situations play out day by day.

CBB:  So what should we expect for the new Zoo Force?

THOMAS:  Well, BBQ (at least the first half) is Ding's show. Pythagoras makes a shocking discovery at the local book/record/tape store and it puts Ding's future with Zoo Force in jeopardy. He has to confront his own past, even as young as he is. Despite this gloomy premise, it's still pretty funny. The second half is the inevitable confrontation between two members of Not Zoo Force. It has wiener dogs and a well-deserved tasering in it. It also has the coolest comics car chase going. Car chases are hard to do in comics.

A detail from page 9

CBB:  While the main narrative of Zoo Force is modern, you include fotocomix and even a fun section of games, puzzles, and pages to color, which are a nod to the comic books' past.  Is there a particular reason for it?

THOMAS:  We love those things. Remember Marvel's Fun and Games comic? It didn't last long, but it was the coolest. Dr Strange needs you to help him through that maze! The Hulk can't tell which Leader is different! Cap's got a riddle for you, soldier! It was like hanging out with your heroes. So the puzzles and coloring are a nod to the past, but it's also Jer and me putting in an element of comics that used to give us pleasure as well. We have adults and kids reading Zoo Force, and they all seem to like those elements equally.
That's why one of the puzzles is always Satanically hard, too. Can't let the adults think they're all that smart.

The photocomics really started with Jeremy. We had the Captain Cat confessional from Bean and Nothingness all set to go as a drawn element, then he just up and asked "Why don't we take pictures of Noodles?" There's a much more ambitious photocomic in BBQ; we just did it again because we thought of something to do with it, plus it was F-U-N.

CBB:  How much input does artist Jeremy Smith have in the story, or in the direction of this series?

THOMAS:  Lots. I write the basic stories, but you have to know how the current series has evolved. The original "Enforcers" story I wrote and laid out (in terms of it all being on TV). Jer still had all the latitude on what went on the TV's. We cooked up the layout of Snowball's letter in Dear Eniko together, so certain elements were re-written to that end. But when we realized how much fun it was to let Captain Cat have a voice, I started writing new material to that end. The Zoo Force stories were conceived and in most cases written some time ago. The Captain Cat stuff is all written now. The fourth Zoo Force will break with that, but I still have a couple completed Zoo Force scripts lying around.

Zoo Force 3, Pg. 60

Jeremy and I only proceed when we're both happy with what we want to say and how we go about it. It was because of those original scripts that he wanted to draw the series.

CBB:  Does Zoo Force tie-in with any of your other books - such as Shades & Angels?

THOMAS:  It all ties in one way or another. Jeremy likes to kid me about Lost In The Wash needing a Freedom City, Texas connection. Freedom City, Texas is my mental playground. The same time that all this nice fun Zoo Force stuff is going on, in the center of town, all that dark weird Shades and Angels and even Man Is Vox stuff is unspooling. Ding appears in a panel of Man Is Vox: Barracudae (in the convenience store), and Pythagoras will in fact appear in Shades and Angels down the road. And don't forget that lady with the beehive hairdo--she's everywhere!

CBB:  What else is coming from you in the near future?

THOMAS:  Well, we'll wrap up The Fairer Sex: A Tale of Shades and Angels by 2008. Jer and I will also be working with one of my old Greek professors on an illustrated edition of one of the earliest if not the earliest sci-fi novels. Will Grant and I will have another issue of Lost In The Wash in a few months. Carter's going to have another sci-fi stand-alone book, Atlanta, coming before Summer. Con season's coming up, so we'll also be busy popping up at various cons.

You can get more info at candlelightpress.com.  CLP's books are available anywhere books are sold including such online retailers as Amazon.com and at bricks and mortar shops like Barnes and Noble.  Comic book shops can order CLP titles through Cold Cut Distributors.  You can also buy directly from CLP at their store: http://www.candlelightpress.com/store/.

A Bin review of Zoo Force: Dear Eniko: http://www.comicbookbin.com/zooforce.html and Zoo Force: Bean and Nothingness: http://www.comicbookbin.com/zooforcebean000.html.

 

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12