Interview with Jack Ferraiolo (2011 SBBT, Day 1)

I discovered Jack Ferraiolo's first novel by chance. It was one of those pass-a-book-by-an-author-who-I’ve-never-heard-of-but-I-can't-help-but-stop moments, and I was right to stop. I loved The Big Splash, the author's 2008 debut. When I found out Ferraiolo had a new book coming out this year I was very excited. I wanted to know more about the author but asking a lot of questions could be weird unless its an interview.

Hi, Ferraiolo and welcome. Please tell us a little about yourself and Sidekicks?

I grew up in Southern Connecticut (which gives mea bit of a split personality, since Connecticut is New England as interpreted by New York). I now live in Massachusetts with my wife and two kids, where I write and develop animated tv shows. I co-created the PBS show WordGirl, and won an Emmy for being the head writer for the first season

As for Sidekicks…well, that’s kind of my love letter comic books. I LOVED Batman as a kid. Loved him. I had the plastic Batman Halloween costume (with utility belt!!!),and I wore that sucker out. It was a little embarrassing when I started to outgrow the size requirements (I looked like a miniature, over-the-hill, maybe-you-should-hit-the-gym-a-little-more version of Batman), but I didn’t care. I was Batman!!

As for Robin… well…as he got a little older in the seventies (DC even sent him to college), the little, green bikini briefs no longer seemed appropriate. Even as a ten-year-old, I always wondered if he felt a little—oh I don’t know – exposed…running around the city, trying to catch thieves and murderers in nothing more than a pair of green jockey shorts.

Which leads us to Sidekicks…

It's the story of Scott Hutchinson, a.k.a. Bright Boy, sidekick to New York City’s own superhero, the dark and mysterious Phantom Justice. Bright Boy has one major problem at the moment: He’s been Bright Boy since he was eight years old. He’s now thirteen, and still forced to wear the same costume – little, red cape and bright yellow tights (with bright orange accents). These tights leave very little to the imagination. When Bright Boy saves a very attractive woman from falling off the side of a building, he loses a very embarrassing battle to puberty…

How do you think working in animated television influenced your writing books for young readers?

It influenced me in a huge way…in a sense that if I hadn’t been writing for tv, and I hadn’t actually finished writing something (and seen it actually get made), I might never have even started a book. The thing is, I never really wanted to be a writer growing up. I was a reluctant reader/writer who couldn’t sit in a chair long enough to finish reading or writing something (unless it was a comic book…or The Great Brain series….loved those…)

I never consider writing for kids any different than writing for adults; my voice and sensibility remain the same. I always try to amuse myself first(as I feel like my sensibility hasn’t changed all that much from when I was a kid…I just have less hair…)

Pre teen boy, yellow tights, close contact to an attractive women. Bright Boy's embarrassing moment caught on tape was inevitable yet I didn't see it coming since there aren't a lot of YA novels that broach the subject of preteen male hormonal excitement.

Why do you think that is?

It’s an odd, little gray area…if not handled correctly, it can become like a scene from one of those bad 80’s movies (like “Losin’ It!”). There’s a belief, I think, that it’s somehow “sexualizes” a moment, and if handled improperly, it can be verrrry inappropriate (especially when you consider the ages of the characters). But speaking as a “survivor” of such incidents, “preteen male hormonal excitement” is as normal as breathing. It’s going to happen (usually at the worst possible time), and there’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop it.

Sex isn’t really the point…it’s that feeling of a lack of control over your own body. It’s mortifying. The only thing on your mind at that moment is, “How do I stop this?!?” even though you know there’s absolutely nothing you can do. That’s the truth of the situation. But again, if handled improperly it can become doofy and slapstick… or worse, suggestive in all the wrong ways.

There are some very funny scenes in Sidekicks from the hero/ villian scripted banter, to Phantom Justice taking himself too seriously. I laughed out loud a lot.

There's a fine line between funny and just a bit over the top.When writing for laughs how do you know when to say enough?

Well, everyone has a different line. It’s all about personal taste, and how that gets translated through tone and voice. I have a certain comic sensibility… I tend to err on the side of subtlety (some people call it “dry”… Others may call it “not funny”). I’d rather a joke not go far enough than go too far and wear out its welcome. I know what I find funny, and what I roll my eyes at, and I learned from watching a lot of movies. Early Mel Brooks, Airplane!, Police Squad/NakedGun… It also helps having a few people you trust give your stuff a read-through…

Sidekicks has a lot of boy appeal, it's funny and action filled. And you easily slip in a love interest and a little romance like a ninja without wanting to make your core audience say eww.

How did you make that work?

I’m not sure Sidekicks isn’t going to make the audience say eww… Look, they can deny it all they want, but most boys are romantics at heart. Look at comic books, movies,books geared towards boys…Guys want to be the hero…but not only that, they want that awesome girl from school to SEE them be a hero. Even better, they’d like to save that awesome girl from certain doom, and then have that awesome girl pine for them. If that isn’t one of the top-ten boy fantasies, then Spider-man wouldn’t have made a kajillion dollars…

One thing I loved, the It girl had some slick moves of her own and didn't have to be saved.



I love cover. It was interesting to read Chad W. Beckerman, talk about the process of developing the cover for Sidekicks.

Are you kept in the cover loop?

I am. Chad Beckerman (the art director at Amulet) is awesome at keeping me involved in the process. But ultimately, it’s his vision, hard work (and the work of the talented artists he picks…Greg Horn for The Big Splash paperback cover; Joshua Middleton for the Sidekick cover) that produces the results…

Do you plan on writing a sequel to Big Splash?

Editing my first draft right now! It’s called The Quick Fix and it’s coming out in the fall of 2012

What are some of your favorite comic books?

Oh man…I’ll try to keep it brief … Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, of course.Batman: Year One. The New Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, Daredevil: Born Again,Some of the new JLA stuff, Joss Whedon had a great, limited run on X-men. Grant Morrison’s Batman run has been great. The Walking Dead series. I loved James O’Barr’s The Crow series. Marvels by Alex Ross. Anything by Brian K.Vaughan (no surprise there…) Love the classic Avengers stuff, and LOVE the whole Marvel “What if…” series (old and new). I can pretty much pick up any comic, starring any character,and get sucked in…I’m a sucker that way…

Jack thanks so much for your time and another great novel. I will be on the look out for The Quick Fix in 2012.

Be sure to check out the other SBBT Day 1 interviews

Tara Altebrando @ Chasing Ray
Shirley Vernick @ Bildungsroman
Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen @ Writing & Ruminating

Big Splash - Jack D. Ferraiolo

Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo

This novel first came out in 2008. I thought the story was great. I simply couldn't sell customers on it no matter how hard I tired. I think Ferraiolo was ahead of the curve with this mystery noir type novel for middle schoolers. Or maybe it was the cover. I like the hardcover edition. Though what's important is what the customers like and I couldn't get them to bite on the HC cover. It was finally released this month in paperback. My original review.

I had a lot of fun reading this novel. Ferraiolo does a wonderful job . Its Dick Tracy meets Half Moon Investigations Eoin Colfer meets Codename KND.

Matt Stevens is a detective and in the seventh grade at Franklin Middle School. Matt's school is a war zone, the hallways are patrolled by Hall Monitors. Vinny Biggs is the big man on top. He controls the sugar supply, forgeries- report cards doctors notes, etc and gambling. Kids are packing water guns just waiting to put another kid in the Outs. A kid is put in the Outs when they are sprayed below the belt.

"The Outs- This club had a highly undesirable method of initiating new members humiliation. Vinny was marking the kids that he wanted taken out of the school social system, and the pee stain was the perfect symbol for this. Most kids knew the pee wasn't real, but it didn't matter. Kids laughed at the victims anyway."

Big Splash opens at the beginning of a new school year one of the most feared shooters Nikki Fingers has retired from Vinny's organization.

"Nikki Fingers was a dream girl the kind who caused nightmares. She was twelve but could have easily passed for fourteen. One glimpse of her bright red hair and luminous green eyes made you freeze like a package of fish sticks, and that was all the time she needed to shoot so much water on the front of your pants it looked like your bladder exploded."

Vinny hires Matt to get a hula figurine back from Nikki for him, and in the process Nikki is put in the Outs.

"I heard a quick two pump behind me. Before I could turn around, two giant bursts of water caught Nicole square on the front of her pants, right below the waist. The surprise and the force of the water jolted her backward , causing her head to slam into the locker doors. She slid to the ground butt first, legs splayed, eyes glazed over in shock."

Matt Stevens is on the case. Nikki Fingers put many kids in the Outs so there are alot of suspects. Big Splash was a joy to read. Matt Stevens is a likeable and smart detective- like any good detective he has his own mystery to solve. Ferraiolo has created a very believable world where the kids are front and center while the adults merely make appearances. Big Splash is a fun mystery noir. There are some great twist and turns at the end. Big Splash is a great book for mystery fans or fans of fun and silly books set at school.

Reading Rants review
The NERDS series by Michael Buckley is very popular at the store I work at. It's hard to find similar recommendations but Big Splash is perfect. Its also great for older fans of the Wimpy Kid series.

I like the paperback cover of Big Splash but more importantly the customers like it. So far everyone has been very receptive to it. The other day a boy came in with his father, looking for the new Big Nate novel, which isn't out yet. Since he was reading Big Nate, I assumed he already read the Wimpy Kid series. So I recommended three other titles,

Dark Life by Kat Falls - I know this is nothing like Big Nate but the customer also liked

Blue Comet by Rosemary Wells and yes I know this doesn't have much in common with Dark Life either. But Falls debut still felt like a good suggestion.

Much closer to Big Nate I also suggested NERDS and Big Splash. One thing I enjoy doing is standing back and watching a customer decide what book to go with. The boy went with Big Splash. I think the new cover made all the difference. The Jeff Kinney blurb on the front probably didn't hurt.

An excerpt of Big Splash