June 28, 2023 — Not all heroes wear red capes, fight crime or possess psychic abilities like they do in blockbuster movies. Sometimes, they wear white coats, create story art and house larger-than-life comic book collections.

One evening at his Richmond, Virginia, home in 1963, 4-year-old Steven Tinsley received something from his father’s business trip that would change his life forever: his first comic book.

“Those comic books back then were magical,” said Tinsley, M.D., who attended medical school at Virginia Commonwealth University before completing his internal medicine residency and pulmonary and critical care fellowship at the UF College of Medicine in 1991. “My brothers and I were hooked. We would pool our money from our allowances so we could each afford to buy about two or three comic books.”

After working as a pulmonologist for nearly 30 years in the Tampa area, Tinsley is now applying his love of medicine and comic books to reimagine superhero storytelling by publishing a science fiction novel with his younger brother, Kevin, a former digital printing expert for Marvel Comics.

“The comic book industry has been our hobby,” Tinsley said. “There were certain things we just did together, and one of them just so happened to be the start of our science fiction story in the early 2000s.”

When it came time to imagine his future, Tinsley took inspiration from his father — who had a doctorate in chemical engineering ­­— and began studying biochemistry. While many people told him it would be challenging for him to succeed in the medical field, he used their words as fuel to become the hero of his own story, determined to heal others through medicine. During the five years he spent at the UF College of Medicine, Tinsley learned countless lessons and made myriad memories that he still reflects on today.

“If there was something going on with one of your patients, you had people there to help you out,” Tinsley said. “The camaraderie we had was just unbelievable and something I look back on fondly.”

As an internal medicine and pulmonary physician, Tinsley spent most of his medical career at Largo Medical Center in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, where he served as head of the critical care program. In this role, Tinsley taught residents and fellows all while transforming the medium-sized hospital into a cutting-edge one that began to deliver liver, kidney and heart transplants to patients. He began donating annually to UF in support of scholarships for medical students to give back to the college that helped him get his start.

“I feel honored to be able to assist someone in making their dreams come true,” Tinsley said. “You’re also helping hundreds of thousands of other people if that person successfully becomes a doctor.”

Following his retirement from medicine in 2022, Tinsley was afforded more time to reflect on his passion for comic books with his brother. Like doctors, who use the power of medicine to represent hope and strength, the dynamic duo started brainstorming the ways they could depict how regular people, instead of comic heroes, could use similar powers. After years of working on projects for personal pleasure, the brothers are looking forward to producing work for the public. After months of writing and drawing, they plan to publish their novel next year.

Tinsley’s own comic book collection spans nearly 200,000 items, with features ranging from 1943 C.C. Beck to 1954 EC Comics. For him, reading stories and drawing comic art have often served as a fearless escape.

“It releases a lot of stress when you can come home, grab your comic book and go into a completely different world that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with what your life has been like,” Tinsley said. “And when certain aspects of life can be so dramatic, I can use some of these parts of everyday life and turn them into a story.”

When reflecting on his decadeslong career in medicine and his love of science fiction and comic books, Tinsley found that the biggest piece of advice he could share with future medical students is to make sure they go into their chosen field for the right reasons and to be altruistic, much like the superheroes featured in his comic collection. Just as the comic industry is adapting to evolving press methods, updated desktop publishing and electronic media, medicine, too, is advancing at a rapid pace.

“Keep reevaluating the science and keep changing,” Tinsley said. “Never stop learning.”