Rumor has it that Adam Rex’s Frankenstein Takes the Cake is now shipping. I suppose I should have waited to get a copy before posting, you know, maybe I could have actually reviewed it, but I’ve been looking forward to this too long not to say: Hurray! This is the follow up to his Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, a collection of poems and paintings about the classic movie monsters facing everyday issues — such as, “The Phantom of the Opera: Can’t Get ‘It’s a Small World After All’ Out of His Head.” Adam is that rare bird whose visual language is as witty and charming as his writing. The more time you give yourself to linger on a page, the more you’ll get out of it. (And If you are currently thinking, not many six year olds are reading Tor.com, let me assure you, my 40+ year old brother sat down and read Sandwich from cover to cover, laughing the whole time.)
I asked Adam about the pains and pleasures of returning to a project that had been so successful the first time.
“When Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich was finally out the door I started bugging Harcourt to let me follow it up with a second book right away. There were monsters and scenarios I hadn’t gotten the chance to explore yet. Then they gave me the green light, and I suddenly noticed the corner into which I’d painted myself–I had written much of Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich lazily, over the course of a couple years, before finally pursuing a book deal. Now I had to write a sequel, with another twenty or so poems, and write it all in less than six months.
”I hope I’m not being immodest when I say that I think Frankenstein Takes the Cake may nonetheless be funnier than the original. Once again Fear and Comedy work their good cop/bad cop motivational magic.”
For more of Adam’s work, check out his Tor gallery and his website.
