April 30, 2019

Adam Staffaroni ′07 can proudly draw a unicorn in 5 seconds flat. Leading up to this illustrious skill, he started his career in the licensing department at DC Comics, then helped launch the Kaboom! imprint at Boom! Studios. After a stint at Lion Forge (who is now publishing Jarad Greene’s ’17 Scullion), where he launched the Roar Comics imprint, he is now the co-founder & Chief Creative Officer of Einhorn’s Epic Productions, a multi-platform content studio.

Adam is co-creator and executive producer of Lethal Lit: A Tig Torres Mystery and The Curie Society. Lethal Lit is a scripted podcast series about Tig Torres, a teen detective investigating the infamous “Lit Killer” murders in her hometown, Hollow Falls. The Curie Society is an original graphic novel about a team of young, female scientists who join a secret organization originally founded by Marie Curie. It’s being published by MIT Press in 2020, written by Blue Delliquanti (author of O Human Star), with art by Jen Hickman (Moth & Whisper) and edited by Joan Hilty (Birds of Prey, Batman). Adam recently gave the following interview to Angela Boyle ′16.

Why did you start Einhorn’s Epic Productions?

My business partner (and spouse!) Heather Einhorn and I started EEP because we saw an opportunity to build an amazing company with story and character at the center of everything we do. One of the things CCS taught me was how to approach storytelling as a craft and a constant learning experience. Each project you work on is a chance to learn something new. Heather and I had both worked for various entertainment and media companies for years, getting to work hands-on with a lot of different ideas and distinct creators. But we were always watching and learning how people thought about storytelling, how they thought about connecting their audience with their ideas, and how they thought about their own creativity. Eventually, we had learned enough that it was time to apply that knowledge in an impactful way, so we decided to build our own studio, focused on those foundational elements of story and character. Our goal is to produce great work in any medium by utilizing the raw conceptual power of being able to think in comics.

How did the idea of Lethal Lit: A Tig Torres Mystery come about?

We had been fans of crime/mystery stories in general and saw how ahead of the curve the genre has been in portraying female characters in major roles and portraying them as leaders—tough, smart, brave, and ready for anything. But while there were kid and adult characters in the space, no one had established a great new YA character in a long time. And since we had really enjoyed following crime/mystery podcasts like Serial, it seemed like the perfect space to create something new. Heather had the original idea for the lead character, Tig, and we then connected with iHeart, who were excited by the idea of targeting a new scripted podcast at the YA audience. From there we developed the supporting cast and the world of Hollow Falls, and brought in two comics writers—Alex Segura and Monica Gallagher—whose work we knew and loved, to help bring the whole project together.

Why are you producing Lethal Lit as a podcast rather than a comic?

We had been really interested in podcasts as a storytelling medium that could exist in this space between an audiobook and a TV show. But while there were some really smart, engaging audio dramas out there, they were mostly very adult-targeted and very serious. So we saw an opportunity to make something that was still smart and dramatic, but also fun and self-aware.

Everything we make is inspired by larger-than-life characters that exist naturally in comics, and in migrating to other media, still retain this incredible power to connect and resonate with an audience. All of our concepts have that same comics-centered DNA, but we’re always on the lookout for new avenues to connect with different, diverse audiences.

How did the idea for The Curie Society comic about?

The Curie Society was always rooted in the importance of representation in media. Women are underrepresented in STEM-focused roles, and when they are represented, they get far fewer lines of dialog than their male counterparts. When a group of women is portrayed, often only one of them is allowed to be the “smart one.” So we started working on The Curie Society with the concept of a group of women where every character was exceedingly smart from square one. The idea was that, if we started there, we’d be able to paint a multi-faceted and much more realistic picture of what a scientist could look like, and create role models for young people who were being overlooked in the larger media landscape.

How are your plans to expand The Curie Society going? Since the TV rights have already been obtained, when can we expect to grace our screens with this story?

We’re currently working with Scooter Braun and the amazing team at SB Projects on developing the Curie Society for TV—so hopefully you’ll be seeing Curie Society on TV screens soon!

Beyond that, we’re always looking for ways to continue to reach more and more people. The core concept behind The Curie Society, and what it represents, will hopefully have the power to make thousands of young people feel confident and inspired to pursue STEM majors and STEM careers, so we want to be wherever there’s a reader, viewer, or listener who can benefit from that message. So whether it’s telling more stories in comics or other media, or supporting non-fiction historical or scientific content with the Curie Society brand – we feel anything is possible.

Can you tell me more about The Curie Society that MIT Press is making? What will scientists, educators, fans, and student be able to do on this site?

MIT Press is our publisher for the graphic novel! We’re working with them and another amazing organization, Massive Science, to turn The Curie Society into real-life organization inspiring young women to pursue STEM. We’re not ready to announce any details quite yet, but hopefully soon!