Book Birthday Blog with Jim Benton

 

 Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog! 

Where we celebrate new books by Michigan's children's book authors and illustrators

Congratulations to Jim Benton on the release of his new book, Franny K. Stein, Recipe for Disaster!  

 

Happy Halloween! This year, to celebrate, we feature an especially frightful tale, featuring mad scientist Franny K. Stein! Read on to see how this hair-raising story came to life... 

 

Congratulations on the release of Franny K. Stein, Recipe for Disaster! This is the 9th book in the Franny K. Stein series, following the mad scientist as she sets out to create the Most Delicious Muffin On Earth, and deals with the consequences of a muffin-obsessed student body. Did you set out to write Franny K. Stein as a series of books, or was its evolution into a longer series more of a surprise?
 
I didn’t really think that far ahead. I pitched book one to a few different publishers, and was just really excited when we did a deal with Simon and Schuster. When they said they wanted to start with four titles I was just knocked out.
 
Franny K. Stein is delightfully wild and a little dark, as are her adventures! How do you draw the line for younger audiences when writing darker humor? Is it ever something you think about when writing?
 
I just go by instinct. The readers seem to understand that Franny’s heart is in the right place, and she always fixes things when she messes up. Franny and her lab look pretty sinister, but they know that she’s all about curiosity and discovery and outrageousness.
 
Your website describes some of the materials you use to draw for books like the Franny K. Stein series. Have you always liked a combination of pen and watercolor for your illustrations? Have you experimented with other mediums?
 
I use all kinds of stuff. The more recent Frannys are still drawn with good ol’ ink on paper, but I do the tinting on a computer.

Franny K. Stein is just one of your many characters! (Readers can browse some of our previous interviews with you here to read about more of your books.) Do you find you have lots of character or story ideas floating around at once? How do you record those ideas and decide what to move forward with?
 
SO MANY! I will not live long enough to execute all the ideas I have for stories. They are pinned up on bulletin boards and stacked in boxes all over my studio. Generally, I just work on whatever suites me at that moment.
 
On another note, It’s Me: Catwad was recently featured as NBC 5’s Book of the week. Congratulations! Did you ever anticipate your books having such a wide reach?
 
I don’t really think about it. Dear Dumb Diary, for example, has almost ten million books in print, is in over ten languages, and I made a TV musical based on it. But in the beginning, it was just four pages I thought were funny. I think if I thought any further than that, it might not come out right.
 
What’s your advice for building a following as an author, both online and off?
 
I think this is always the same, isn’t it? 1. Finish writing the book. 2. Finish re-writing the parts that are terrible. 3. Show it to publishers. Each one of those steps can be difficult, but each step must be taken.
 
What projects do you have coming up? I hear there’s another Catwad book soon to come…
 
Coming up soon or very recently released—COMET THE UNSTOPPABLE REINDEER, FRANNY K STEIN RECIPE FOR DISASTER, CLYDE, ATTACK OF THE STUFF, CATWAD FOUR ME?, JOP AND BLIP, and FANN CLUB.

 

A little bit about the book:

 

Franny K. Stein isn’t a good baker. But when she sees that the fundraisers for the art and music departments at her school aren’t making enough money, she decides to take matters into her own hands.

Using her genius mind and kitchen, which is really just another type of laboratory, she sets out to create The Most Delicious Muffin On Earth!

Sales, of course, go through the roof. But bad things can happen when people become exposed to the best thing they’ve ever tasted. They can become...overenthusiastic.

 

A little bit about the author: 

Jim Benton is the award-winning creator of more than thirty books, including the New York Times best-selling series Dear Dumb Diary, the series Franny K. Stein, the series Catwad as well as the international licensing hit, It’s Happy Bunny. His books have sold more than fifteen million copies worldwide, been translated into more than fifteen languages (and Braille), and have garnered numerous honors (like LIMA awards, Addy awards, Eisner nominations, Reuben divisional awards, an Eleanor Cameron award, and a NAPPA award to name a few). Benton is a member of the Writers Guild of America, the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators, the National Cartoonists Society and The Society of Illustrators. He has also contributed to The Licensing Book, Writer's Digest Magazine, Reader's Digest Magazine, Kidscreen Magazine, Dark Horse Presents, MAD Magazine, and The New Yorker. Learn more about him at www.jimbenton.com.

Book Birthday Blog with Jim Benton

Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog! 

Where we celebrate new books by Michigan's children's book authors and illustrators

Congratulations to Jim Benton on the release of his new book, Attack of the Stuff, The Life and Times of Bill Waddler!

It’s a pleasure to have you back on the blog, and congratulations on the release of Attack of the Stuff! What inspired this story about Bill the duck and his ability to hear the complaints of everyday appliances? 

Thanks very much. I guess it began with a simple cartoon that I posted on Reddit and GoComics and Imgur that had a character that was being picked on by all of the people and things around him. I felt that the funniest part was when the objects picked on him. I started writing a story about a guy who is kind of bullied by stuff. 

Bill Waddler's evolution from the early comic...

...to his appearance as the main character in the final graphic novel!

Graphic novels are known for being quite labor-intensive, both in the writing and the many, many illustrations! What was the process of creating Attack of the Stuff like? What was your favorite and least favorite part?

The only part I don’t like is when I’m done. I hate when projects come to an end. I love everything else.

Do you have advice for anyone looking to write and/or illustrate their own graphic novel?

Dive in. Take note of the proportions of the book you want to make, and sketch with those sizes in mind. It makes the finals easier. There is no good reason to hesitate. Just jump in. You can always erase, rewrite, redraw later. But in order to do that, you have to start. Be reckless and brash. Go. Stop reading what the dumb cartoonist has to say and go start your book. NOW.

Attack of the Stuff is described as “an 8 year old’s fever dream”, and many reviews have made note of how imaginative your narrative is. How did you keep the story cohesive and engaging while using a more surreal premise and fast pace? Do you have any tips for other writers looking to use surreal or absurd humor?

You know how in Looney Toons cartoons, the character doesn’t fall until he looks down and realizes that he’s not standing on anything? My tip is NEVER LOOK DOWN. I really can’t explain how I get where I’m going except I just scribble and scribble and scribble and then I’m done. And sometimes the results are just awful, and sometimes people like them. Then I get another stack of paper and start over.

A few quotes from Kirkus Reviews on Attack of the Stuff

You’ve mentioned liking PG Wodehouse’s writing in your last interview on the blog. Do you have any other favorite writers or artists?

I can honestly say that I have never seen a person’s art in which I did not see flashes of brilliance. This makes me a huge dopey fan of SO many artists and writers that it’s really quite impossible to list.

Is there something you hope your readers take away from Attack of the Stuff?

Well, I know what I see in Bill Waddler. I see a nice guy who is heroic in spite of it all, and even though listening can drag us down, it’s through listening that we prevail. Also, I’d like to believe that they might find it funny.

Can you tell us a little about what’s coming up in the next few months for you?

Sure! I have a new FRANNY K. STEIN book coming out called RECIPE FOR DISASTER, and another CATWAD book. My book CLYDE is now in Spanish, and just went into its second printing, and for Christmas, I have a picture book called COMET, THE UNSTOPPABLE REINDEER. Also, look for an announcement coming soon about me and DC.

A Little Bit About the Book:

Jim's newest title, Attack of the Stuff, The Life and Times of Bill Waddler (112 pages) is a full-color middle grade graphic novel from Papercutz. Bill is a duck who dreams of being smothered by farting snakes. He also has a special gift. He is able to hear appliances complain. Imagine what toilets would complain about. Bill doesn’t need to imagine. While working as a cash-only hay seller (that doesn’t accept credit cards), Bill doesn’t know that he, and a very confused orange juice sales clerk, are about to save the world. If you could hear this book complain, it would be saying “where have you been all my life?”

A Little Bit About the Author:

Jim Benton is the award-winning creator of more than thirty books, including the New York Times best-selling series Dear Dumb Diary, the series Franny K. Stein, the series Catwad as well as the international licensing hit, It’s Happy Bunny. His books have sold more than fifteen million copies worldwide, been translated into more than fifteen languages (and Braille), and have garnered numerous honors (like LIMA awards, Addy awards, Eisner nominations, Reuben divisional awards, an Eleanor Cameron award, and a NAPPA award to name a few). Benton is a member of the Writers Guild of America, the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators, the National Cartoonists Society and The Society of Illustrators. He has also contributed to The Licensing Book, Writer's Digest Magazine, Reader's Digest Magazine, Kidscreen Magazine, Dark Horse Presents, MAD Magazine, and The New Yorker. Learn more about him at www.jimbenton.com.

Book Birthday Blog with Jim Benton

Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog! 

Where we celebrate new books by Michigan's children's book authors and illustrators

Congratulations to Jim Benton on the release of his new book, Catwad, Me, Three!

Congratulations on the release of Catwad, Me, Three! What inspired the Catwad series, and its newest addition? 

Thanks! He began years ago, and I designed him as a licensed property, similar to how I created It’s Happy Bunny. Scholastic had some interest in him, but it wasn’t until I came up with Blurmp, his friend and polar opposite, that it suddenly made sense to me as a narrative I wanted to do.

This is your first time on the Book Birthday blog! Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started writing and illustrating? 

I’ll try to make this quick---Like all artists, I’ve always drawn, but my first job as a full time pro was in a t-shirt shop. I was also freelancing for newspapers and magazines and greeting cards, and eventually learned about licensing. That led to bigger projects like the Misters and It’s Happy Bunny. I also was a joke writer on Whose line Is It Anyway, and I created and produced a tv series for Fox Kids. After my daughter was born, I decided to write books for her, and that led to me selling Franny K. Stein and Dear Dumb Diary, which I co-developed and produced into a made for TV movie musical. 

What inspires your sense of humor? Do you have any favorite comedians, writers, or artists that have influenced you?

I think I’m inspired by the absurdity of existence, so there’s never any shortage of inspiration. One of my favorite writers is PG Wodehouse, but I really like to read a pretty wide variety—both treasures and trash.

What does your process for writing a book look like? Do you generally come up with the words or the visuals first?

I almost always think up the narrative thread first…long book or short comic, I like to have an idea where I start and where I stop. Then the words, then the visuals, but on occasion it’s the reverse.

One of Catwad's pages from draft to finish

In addition to your books, you’ve had a lot of success with licensing characters. Your property, It’s Happy Bunny, has generated more than ¾ of a billion dollars at retail! Can you tell us a little bit about your experience with licensing and how that came about?

That came about as an extension of my experience with screen printed apparel, which is a core product category in licensing. The character began as a little sketch that was pinned up in my studio (which is littered with little sketches). Over time, the sketch continued to make me laugh, so I developed it and started showing it at the Licensing Expo (a big convention). It took about 3 years for anybody to take a chance on it, and Hot Topic was the first to really give it a go. It sold well on shirts, so stickers, buttons, and lunch boxes followed. Eventually more and more items were licensed, and more and more retailers got on board. I did a few books and a couple were ALA top picks for reluctant teen readers. I’m rolling it out again for it’s anniversary, which, like everything else in the world, needs to be postponed while science races to keep us all healthy again.

What advice would you give to an aspiring author/illustrator?

Don’t be afraid of bad ideas. Bad ideas have a way of evolving into good ideas in unpredictable ways. 

What’s next for you, do you have any new ideas in the works? How can readers learn more about you and your work?

More CATWADS, A graphic novel called ATTACK OF THE STUFF, a christmas picture book called COMET THE UNSTOPPABLE REINDEER, and a graphic novel called CLYDE. You can see more at JimBenton.com.

A little bit about the book:
From tricycles, to rock-paper-scissors, to the three little pigs, the best things come in trios...Catwad included! Everyone's favorite big blue grump and his best friend, Blurmp, are here with more comics stories full of cat-tastic surprises. See Catwad try yoga! GASP as terribly hilarious things befall their unlucky friend Pigmichael! Meet Blurmp's grandmother! It's a laugh-out-loud collection that even the crankiest kitten would love.

A little bit about the author:
Jim Benton is the award-winning creator of more than thirty books, including the New York Times best-selling series Dear Dumb Diary, the series Franny K. Stein, the series Catwad as well as the international licensing hit, It’s Happy Bunny. His books have sold more than fifteen million copies worldwide, been translated into more than fifteen languages (and Braille), and have garnered numerous honors (like LIMA awards, Addy awards, Eisner nominations, Reuben divisional awards, an Eleanor Cameron award, and a NAPPA award to name a few). Benton is a member of the Writers Guild of America, the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators, the National Cartoonists Society and The Society of Illustrators. He has also contributed to The Licensing Book, Writer's Digest Magazine, Reader's Digest Magazine, Kidscreen Magazine, Dark Horse Presents, MAD Magazine, and The New Yorker. Learn more about him at www.jimbenton.com.