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Rahul Kamath interviews the maker of Elementary Classical Analysis [Sciortino] carries with him all the sensibilities of R. Buckminster Fuller without all the baggage. Sinbads dad A prodigy with words, Tomasso Sciortino displays messianic insight and a knowledge that few have demonstrated in the post-Mighty Mouse world. Newstime Time will show that [Sciortino] is easily the most brilliant logician since Howie Mandel. Emu Week Elementary Classical Analysis proves that cartoonists dont have to stoop to the level of Ayn Rand to make a coherent point. Dr. Dre Tomasso Sciortino comics like Mike Johnson basses. U.S. World and News Cartoonist and UCB student Tommaso Sciortino, maker of the dark, intensely political comic strip Elementary Classical Analysis has been hailed by many as an artistic genius and visionary. The strip has been featured numerous times on NPRs All Things Considered and has influenced movers and shakers ranging from Norman Mailer to L. Ron Hubbard to rock icons Radiohead, who thanked him in the liner notes to Kid A. Even cable heavyweight C-SPAN is jumping on the Sciortino bandwagon, having commissioned a 20 episode live-action series that will fill an enviable Friday night primetime slot for their highly anticipated fall season. The strip, which admittedly might take some work at understanding, hinges on the exploits of a mathematics textbook. Despite the fact that much of the dialogue involves communication with toys, coffee pots, compasses, and other objects that just happen to be lying around, Sciortino exhibits a remarkable talent for honing in on key political, economic, and intellectual themes that permeate our world, and presenting them in fresh, funny perspectives. Historian Byron Lampson of MIT, who counts himself among Sciortinos many notable fans, has dubbed him a 21st century Thomas Nast whose scathing wit could very well change the moral and social fabric of American life. Of course, that depends on whether the comic takes off in the way Sciortinos agent envisions: This is going to be bigger than the Beatles, he boasted as we were drinking in his office. Bigger than Jesus. I was lucky enough to catch up with Sciortino late one spring afternoon as he was dining in Kims Super Burrito in Berkeley. Casually dressed in a polo shirt and jeans, with a greasy pork burrito oozing into his palm, no one would have ever suspected that this was the guy that the intellectual world had their eyes on. S: First of all, thanks for doing the interview. TS: [bites into burrito] S: Last month your website passed the 2 million mark in terms of hits. Are you surprised by the fact that you are worshipped by millions of fans and renowned thinkers across the world? Radiohead, Mailer... TS: [munches, swallows, and wipes mouth on sleeve] Well, I guess Im a little surprised by it all... I mean, it was just a little hobby of mine. Mostly drawing in class and stuff. I still dont know how everyone found out about it, but I guess it took off when they showed a couple strips on National Public Radio last year. S: I would say that your comic fills a niche that has been left empty since the early days of Doonsbury. Certainly few comic strips since have been as sharp and visceral as Elementary Classical Analysis, but it is also true that many never take on the hard-hitting matters you wrestle with. Do you think that your popularity has to do with the fact that you address issues that other cartoonists are afraid to touch? TS: Mmmm [picks pork from between teeth] Yeah. S: On reading Elementary Classical Analysis, it seems that youve been inspired by the works of comic book artists like Rick Griffin, Frank Miller, and particularly Antonio Prohias... What comics really influenced your unique style growing up? TS: [getting excited] I loved Marmaduke! It revolutionized the comic world. It turned the comic book, um... [makes circles with his hand] situation... on its head. It was like, before, you couldnt have a dog as the protagonist of a strip. I mean, look at Gasoline Alley or Snuffy SmithI meanyou only had people as the main characters. But Marmaduke completely changed the rules. Then we had, uh, Heathcliff, um, Garfield, you know. S: The social commentary in your comic is at once brilliant and accessible. For example, in one strip, a close-up of the textbook reveals a price of $86.95, hinting at the recent surge in the cost of academic and educational literature. What is your goal in addressing issues such as this in your strip? TS: That was the price of the book. S: So you weren't attempting to force a public reaction towards the economic tactics of the publishing houses? TS: Oh. [pause] I never thought about it that way. I just got the price from my copy of the book. S: Really? I figured you just made up the textbook and its authors. So its a real math book? TS: It was a book for a class... Math 104, I think... I got it from Jason. [I am in such awe of Sciortino's naivete that I don't even think of asking who Jason is.] S: I have heard that youve been drawing since you were a little kid. Do you remember when you did your first strip? TS: [long pause] Well... It must have been about last semester, I guess. I think I remember making one about my math book and, um, photocopying it and, like, passing it out after class. S: Being well versed in calculus, I gotta say, the metaphors that you paint with math are brilliant. TS: [clearly agitated] NO! NO! Its not about MATH! Dont you?! Its about... you know when you leave the cream cheese in the fridge and you go to bed, and youre just lying there in your bed looking at the ceiling and youre wondering what [the cream cheese] might be doing! I mean, you cant look at it because if you open the door it might stop doing whatever it was doing when the door was closed! You know? S: So its about the personal lives of inanimate objects. TS: NnnYyyNo! Don't you get it? You're like some kind of crazy man. You're standing here all normal, but you're talking crazy. S: Maybe I could ask you about your relationship with... TS: [Calling out to cashier] I'm sorry, I didn't order any crazy man! There must be some kind of mix up, I ordered the pork burrito which already arrived. So if one of you guys... I don't know, maybe Mr. Super Kim could get out here and, like, get rid of this Mr. Crazy Man. That'd make me mucho happy. S: Tom-- uh, Mr. Sciortino-- I just have a couple more questions. Some of your fans and critics have accused you of selling out the original vision of the strip by introducing the Unfathomable Darkness of a Lonley [sic] Empty Existence. How would you explain the purpose of that character to your readers? TS: It represents...uh...Its supposed to be like the ominous storm cloud that, you know, threatens to rain on your psychological parade at any given moment. [pause] Dammit, it was just some pretentious crap I made up, okay? S: I seeso its basically what Winston Churchill referred to as the black dog. TS: No, its not a dog. Its darkness. S: Is the character literally darkness or is that just a metaphor? TS: Why do you keep asking me crazy questions? S: Its just that in a medium such as a comic strip its difficult for a reader to understand what is symbolic and what is literal. TS: [almost screaming] Its a black blob! What do you want to know about it? S: [pause] Much of the comic seems to be based on mundane aspects of human interaction, particularly awkward or uninteresting conversations. Why do you find this to be a good source for your material? TS: Reality-based humor... [he sighs, looks out into distance as if contemplating, but his eyes soon glaze over and he seems unsure of his location in the universe.] S: Well, in one strip of ECA, you have the textbook talking to the Unfathomable Darkness. In the first frame the textbook says hi. Then, in the next frame, the Darkness says hello, and in the last frame, the textbook says hi again but nothing else happens. What were you going for in that particular strip? TS: Minimalism and stuff.