How to Be a Supervillain
-
-
4.0 • 6 Ratings
-
-
- $7.99
Publisher Description
In this rollicking middle-grade adventure and national bestseller, Michael Fry's witty text and hysterical artwork combines superhero action with classic fish-out-of-water humor.
Victor Spoil comes from a long line of famous supervillains and he's fully expected to join their ranks one day. But to his family's utter disappointment, Victor doesn't have a single bad-guy bone in his body. He won't run with scissors, he always finishes his peas, and he can't stand to be messy. Hopeless!
As a last-ditch effort before they give up and let him be a—gasp!—civilian, Victor's exasperated parents send him to apprentice under a disgraced supervillain called The Smear. This matchup starts off as a complete disaster, but Victor and The Smear eventually find that they have a lot to learn from each other. When the stakes get high as Victor is forced to choose between his mentor and his family morals (or lack thereof) ... what will the world's nicest bad guy do?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cartoonist and author Fry (the Odd Squad series) explores what happens when supervillain parents end up with a good kid in this offbeat story, which is bolstered by plenty of loopy b&w comics sequences. Twelve-year-old Victor wants to please his parents, Rupert and Olivia Spoil, but it's hard when he's a neatnik who doesn't have an evil bone in his body. Enter the Smear, one of the many nutty heroes and antiheroes populating the story. Not even the most sinister of villains, Dr. Deplorable, is remotely menacing Fry draws heroes and evildoers alike as egg-headed, out-of-shape has-beens with such names as Professor Tuba and the Pollinator. The Smear, whose superpower is staining people, has been hired by Victor's parents to tutor Victor in the art of supervillainy in a world in which superhero battles are all staged, "just like pro wrestling." Kids who like their humor absurdist may be entertained, but with low-as-can-be stakes and what's essentially a cast of losers, it may not impress diehard superhero fans. Ages 8 14.
