Mike Maihack, creator of Cleopatra in Space, sits down with Byron to talk about his new project The Moonlit Spiral from Candlewick Press, a Goonies-styled middle grade fantasy graphic novel focused on a treasure hunt in a world with no elves, no dwarves, and a whole lot of glowing snails. It's delightful.
There's something electric about picking up a book that feels like it was written just for you. That's how strongly I connected with this one, so I was thrilled to get Mike on the show. We talk about how a clear night of stargazing in the driveway sparked the story, how geocaching with his family shaped the treasure hunt aspects of the book, and the plethora (yes, I know what a plethora is El Guapo) of Easter eggs hiding in the names. We also get into the education of his Spider-Man: Mighty Marvel Team-Up books, why he drew the whole book without panel borders, what those colored word balloons are really for, the creatures that got cut, and why he keeps choosing joy in a genre that is currently leaning hard into trauma.
If your feed is as doom-heavy as mine, this one's an antidote. No cherry but a snail on top. FIND MIKE MAIHACK Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/mikemaihack/home Get Social: https://linktr.ee/mikemaihack
GET THE BOOK The Moonlit Spiral: https://www.candlewick.com/9781536224481/the-moonlit-spiral/ Ask your local comic shop or favorite bookstore to get you a copy (Except Barnes and Noble cause they also sell AI slop)
FROM THE PUBLISHER
From the creator of the Cleopatra in Space series comes a wildly imaginative, enormously thrilling and deeply felt story of treasure-hunting friends
Best friends Rion and Zyla live in the fantastic world of Helix, where treasure hunting was once a way of life. Nowadays, though, it seems like people are more concerned with researching the past than looking for real treasure in the present. Life has gotten pretty dull, which is how Rion likes it. He lost his parents to adventure, so playing video games and hanging around his guardian Henry’s dusty, failing bookstore are all he wants to do. Then Rion discovers hidden pages in a cryptic journal left by his parents. They give clues to the biggest treasure of them all—the last prize of the famed treasure hunter Orion Flynn! It’s clear what Rion’s parents would have wanted him to do, plus Henry needs the money to stay in business. Fearless Zyla insists they have to act fast—the treasure can only be found during the once-a-decade Silver Moon, which will shine for the next six days. Accompanied by a magical fox girl, the friends make their way through twisting caves, colorful forests, and mountainous spires, encountering a host of fascinating creatures along their way to a discovery so great, it will unlock the past, present, and future.
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