Q&A with Steve Behling

 

Illustration by Mike Thomas

 

Steve Behling is the author of the new middle grade novel The Monstrous Adventures of Mummy Man and Waffles. His other books include the Agent Stitch series.  

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Monstrous Adventures of Mummy Man and Waffles?

 

A: As a kid, my two big obsessions were superheroes and monsters. I was wild about Batman and Superman, and when I found out about Spider-Man and the whole bunch of Marvel super heroes? I was hooked for life. 

 

And as for monsters, it was the classic Universal Monsters like Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolf Man, the Mummy, Creature From the Black Lagoon, etc. that fired up my imagination.

 

I was very lucky in that my parents really supported my passions, and encouraged me to read comics and books about all the behind-the-scenes of monster movies and the people who made them — actors like Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney (senior and junior!).

 

For the last 10 years or so, I had this idea bubbling in my brain about combining the two, and making a mummy superhero. So Mummy Man and Waffles is very much a result of my two of my main childhood interests colliding.

Q: How did you create your character Waffles, and how would you describe his relationship with his grandfather?

 

A: Waffles was based a lot on me, and how I felt as a kid. We share the same love of monster movies, and like Waffles, I kind of felt a bit alone in my interests. It was hard to find peers that were equally into and excited by the same things.

 

It got easier as time went on and I got older, but there were moments as a kid where I felt like I was the only one who knew, liked, or cared about any of the “old” monster movies.

 

So the idea of Waffles making a new friend like Tonya, who shares his interests and is equally obsessed, or having a grandfather that actually played a part in making monster movies, really resonated with me.

 

Q: What do you think Robb Mommaerts’ illustrations add to the story?

 

A: Robb did an absolutely amazing job of bringing the characters to life. His illustrations effortlessly walk the line between fun, silly, and creepy.

 

So much of the enjoyment for me as the author was seeing how Robb would interpret all the different characters. And in every instance, what he came up with was a million times better than anything I could conjure. What did his illustrations add to the story? Everything!

 

Q: The writer Kiel Phegley said of the book, “A story that creeps up on you and then wraps itself around your brain, Mummy Man & Waffles is the perfect blend of spooky and silly for young scary movie fans.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I think it’s a great description, and I’m very flattered (thanks, Kiel)! With Mummy Man and Waffles, I set out to write a book that would be pure fun for kids to read. And I hope that kids really enjoy it. Someone asked me recently to describe the book, and I said, “If Mummy Man and Waffles was a meal, it would be dessert.”

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: A whole lot of things! I’ve got a bunch of projects coming out this year, including new installments in the Jurassic World: Chaos Theory junior novel series from Random House and new Spidey and His Amazing Friends books from Marvel Press.

 

And I’m very excited to be working with John Patrick Green on his InvestiGators graphic novel series — I’m collaborating with him, Chris Fenoglio, and Wes Dzioba on InvestiGators: Case Files, which comes out in September from First Second.

 

Plus, I have a top-secret project that I’m cooking up with my awesome agent, Kathy Green — there’ll be an announcement about that in the future.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Yeah! Robb and I are back with Book 2 in the Mummy Man and Waffles series! It comes out Aug. 5 of this year from HarperCollins (huge thanks to the team there, especially our excellent editor, Alexandra West Merkel)!

 

It’s called The Dire Deeds of Doctor Gargo, and introduces an important new monster hero to the Mummy Man mythos! Plus, Frank the turtle falls in love. 

 

It’s packed full of incredible illustrations by Robb, who really outdid himself. There’s action! Humor! Monsters! And a werewolf from Hoboken, New Jersey! What more could anyone want?

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb