We’re so excited to host author Michael Fry on Sunday, May 6th at 2 PM to discuss his new book, How to Be a Supervillain: Born to Be Good. This is the follow-up to his hilarious middle grade novel, How to Be a Supervillain. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a newcomer, this series is sure to charm your pants off! Mark your calendars and check out our Q&A with Michael below!
BP: First things first– if you had superpowers, where would you fall on the spectrum? Hero? Villain? Anti-hero?
MF: Lazy-Hero. My superpower would be procrastination. Or extreme anxiety. My powers of anxiety are impressive.
BP: When you are writing a book like How to Be a Supervillain, where does the concept begin? With the writing or the illustrations? Which do you find easiest to build your story?
MF: I start by writing and leaving space and notes for the illustrations. The concept grew out of my youth reading comic books and asking questions like, “How does he go to the bathroom in that suit?”
BP: If you could draw or write one famous comic book character into the How to Be a Supervillain world, who would it be? Why?
MF: Deadpool. But don’t tell the kids that. In the kid friendly space, maybe Super Chicken or Underdog. Or the Tick. The Tick is funny.
BP: Having an adult job that lets you continue to live in a kid world forever is kind of the dream, but if you had to have that first job you said you wanted as a kid (i.e. astronaut, police officer, farmer, etc.) what would you be doing now?
MF: Doctor. Anesthesiologist. I would have liked my patients silent and asleep.
BP: It’s Saturday morning and you’re a kid again– what cartoons are you watching? What cereal are you munching on while you watch TV?
MF: Eating Super Sugar Crisps and watching Road Runner or Johnny Quest. Or the Banana Splits. “One Banana, Two Banana, Three Banana, Four…”
BP: Working on Over the Hedge, you had a lot of content to create within a very short time. How did you maintain that schedule? And do you feel that process helps you in creating books?
MF: I didn’t really do much on the Hedge movie. My job was to stay out of the way and I did my job very well. With the comic strip, it’s a day in-day out sort of thing. Good discipline for writing short, snappy jokes and dialogue.
BP: If you had to create one of those inspirational posters for kids, what would your quote be?
MF: Be an artist! Pants optional!
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