NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • From the legendary actor and
best-selling author: a novel about the making of a star-studded multimillion-dollar superhero
action film...and the humble comic books that inspired it. Funny touching and wonderfully
thought-provoking while also capturing the changes in America and American culture since World
War II.Wild ambitious and exceptionally enjoyable. —Matt Haig best-selling author The
Midnight Library The Humans and Reasons to Stay AlivePart One of this story takes place in
1947. A troubled soldier returning from the war meets his talented five-year-old nephew
leaves an indelible impression and then disappears for twenty-three years.Cut to 1970: The
nephew now drawing underground comic books in Oakland California reconnects with his uncle
and remembering the comic book he saw when he was five draws a new version with his uncle as
a World War II fighting hero. Cut to the present day: A commercially successful director
discovers the 1970 comic book and decides to turn it into a contemporary superhero movie.Cue
the cast: We meet the film’s extremely difficult male star his wonderful leading lady the
eccentric writer director the producer the gofer production assistant and everyone else on
both sides of the camera.Bonus material: Interspersed throughout are three comic books that are
featured in the story—all created by Tom Hanks himself—including the comic book that becomes
the official tie-in to this novel’s major motion picture masterpiece.
