Tagged: superheroes
My Interview with Matt Myklusch
Matt Myklusch is the author of the Jack Blank series, where the main character, Jack Blank, is introduced to a secret world called the Imagine Nation that’s full of superheroes—and super villains. Here is the interview I conducted with him via email in which we discuss future projects, the road to being published for him and how the future isn’t written—literally.
1. I know you probably get this a lot, but where did the inspiration for the Jack Blank trilogy come from?
It all comes from a love of comic books, really. I wanted to showcase the comic book world that fired my imagination as a kid, and maybe introduce it to people who have never seen it before. If you didn’t grow up reading comic books, you might not be familiar with a world full of heroes, villains, aliens, robots, ninjas, and more. That’s what it’s like in the comics… it’s normal to see heroes fighting villains in the middle of the street on a random Tuesday. It’s commonplace to see a man flying through the air and shooting lasers out of his eyes. The city is full of guys like that, you see them everywhere you look. I wanted to show that world. A world where the impossible happens every day. I decided the best way to introduce it to the reader was through the eyes of a child going there for the first time. That became Jack, and everything else kind of grew out of him.
The End of Infinity by Matt Myklusch
(Cover picture courtesy of Barnes and Noble.)
All his life, people have told Jack Blank what his future holds. He hasn’t always liked what they’ve had to say, but at times he’s wondered if they were right.
As the Imagine Nation’s final battle with the Rüstov draws near, Jack and his friends will each need their unique powers and abilities to help win the war. But are they prepared to use those powers against the most terrifying and dangerous enemy of all—the one inside Jack?
The time has come for Jack to choose his path and discover for himself whether he will become the hero that the Imagine Nation—and the world—needs him to be, or the cause of its total destruction.
Matt Myklusch brings the action-packed Jack Blank adventure trilogy to a heart-pounding, surprising, and wholly satisfying conclusion.
[Full disclosure: Matt Myklusch sent me a copy of The End of Infinity to review as I saw fit after he saw I loved The Accidental Hero. There was an understanding between us that sending me the next two books in his trilogy would not guarantee him a good review.]
Whoa.
I haven’t been speechless like this since I finished Mira Grant’s Blackout. And for those of you who know how much I loved the Newsflesh trilogy, you know that’s really saying something. Here’s why I’m lost for words:
There were so many times in the story that Matt Myklusch painted himself into such a tight corner I seriously had my doubts about his ability to pull things off. Obviously, he plotted out his trilogy very carefully or he would never have been able to pull off such unexpected twists. He did something that few authors have done to me: he made me very skeptical there could ever be a happy ending. Truly, he spares his characters no pain and The End of Infinity is a much better book for it.
Jack is an amazing character. He goes through so much in his short life and it’s amazing that he is still a functional human being. Is he three dimensional? Absolutely! Jack is a character everyone (even girls) can relate to, yet he’s very flawed as he tries to do everything himself. But when you look at what happened to him in the last two books, it’s not at all surprising he has trust issues, especially when he learns who his father is. Hint: it’s not who you think.
Very few series endings are satisfying for me, but Matt Myklusch managed to wrap things up nicely while still leaving potential for a sequel or even a spin-off series. This is probably one of the only series that I actually wouldn’t mind the author continuing. In fact, I’m all for it! The world of the Imagine Nation still has so much potential, especially for prequels.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Secret War by Matt Myklusch
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Jack Blank is living the dream as a celebrity superhero-in-training in the Imagine Nation. Unfortunately, Jack’s dream has a nightmare lurking under the surface—a shocking connection to the enemy super-soldier Revile, and a deadly Rüstov plot he can’t tell anyone about…not even his closest friends.
When the heroes of the Imagine Nation discover that an attack by Rüstov sleeper agents is imminent, Jack is forced to trust his friends in a race against the clock to fight back mass hysteria, find the enemy spies, and thwart the Rüstov plans in time to prevent a devastating invasion.
Full disclosure: After reading my review of The Accidental Hero and seeing that I loved the first book, Matt Myklusch sent me The Secret War, the second book, to review as I saw fit.
With that cleared up, let me say that The Secret War was fascinating. Jack has grown more as a character over the year after the events of The Accidental Hero and it’s not all for the better. He finds it hard to trust people, even his friends, with his horrible secret about the Rüstov and Revile. This, in many authors’ hands, would make him completely unlikeable, but Matt Myklusch managed to pull things off by showing the reader just how much pressure Jack is under.
One of the best things about The Secret War is that we learn so much more about the Imagine Nation. Matt Myklusch takes readers on a journey outside the city itself, which was the only place we saw in the first book. This journey outside of Jack’s comfort zone was definitely interesting because it shows just how much effort was put into world-building.
With an unpredictable plot, incredible world-building and sympathetic, three dimensional characters, there’s really nothing more you can ask for in a YA novel. Well, there is one thing: it’s aimed at boys. Yes, the oft-neglected male demographic in YA can finally have a great new series to read! And the best part? Girls can enjoy this book too.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Accidental Hero by Matt Myklusch
(Cover picture courtesy of Munro’s Books.)
All Jack Blank knows is his bleak, dreary life at St. Barnaby’s Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost, an orphanage that sinks more and more into the swampland of New Jersey with each passing year. His aptitude tests project him as spending a long, unhappy career as a toilet brush cleaner. His only chance at escape comes through the comic books donated years ago to the orphanage that he secretly reads in the dark corners of the library.
Everything changes one icy gray morning when Jack receives two visitors that alter his life forever. The first is a deadly robot straight out of one of his comic books that tries its best to blow him up. The second is an emissary from a secret country called the Imagine Nation, an astonishing place where all the fantastic and unbelievable things in our world originate – including Jack. Jack soon discovers that he has an amazing ability–one that could make him the savior of the Imagine Nation and the world beyond, or the biggest threat they’ve ever faced.
I had my doubts about this book when my friend lent it to me. The way she described it…well it made me less than enthusiastic, I have to admit. Yet I decided to give The Accidental Hero (first published under the title Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation) a chance. After all, I had been skeptical when the same friend lent me Cinder and it turned out to be amazing.
Matt Myklusch’s novel pokes tongue-in-cheek fun at old superhero tropes while at the same time putting a new spin on them so that young boys (and girls too!) will love it. I’ve only read one comic book in my entire life, but as with most people, I’m familiar with superheroes. I’m a closet fan of the new Batman movies, used to watch the Spiderman cartoons and actually didn’t mind Thor. The Accidental Hero focuses on the adventures of an orphan, Jack Blank, who accidentally discovers his superpowers and is taken away to the Imagine Nation, a constantly moving island of superheroes. Yet from the moment he arrives, things start to go wrong.
I considered Jack a cardboard cutout for the first third of the book, but then I realized the author was poking a bit of fun at old superhero clichés while slowly building a three dimensional character with a great character arc. Jack is a character readers of all ages will love, especially boys, who seem to be woefully neglected in the YA genre.
With a fast-paced plot and amazing world-building, this is the kind of new spin on old clichés I love. Personally, I’m glad I read it and look forward to reading about Jack’s future adventures.
I give this book 5/5 stars.