As we have recently shared, our first commercial title, The Super Hero Squad Flips Out! was released a few days ago.

Apparently, one of our friends from college ordered a copy for his son.

“How wonderful,” we thought. We write a book for children. Our friend’s child reads the book. One might assume this story would end well.

Not so, friends. Not so.

First, let me set the scene. Our book contains a series of mini-stories about the Super Hero Squad and the evil Villains of Villainville, who always show up to cause trouble.

In one scenario, the dastardly Dr. Doom has sent an army of gigantic mechanized baddies (the Sentinels) to disrupt the peace and harmony of Super Hero City.

Furthermore, they have captured Wasp (a Super Hero, in case you didn’t know) so that they can steal her super cape. But then, just in the nick of time, Wonder Man (another Super Hero, in case you didn’t know) shows up. Wonder Man is a celebrity Super Hero, so much so that the Sentinels are so thoroughly star struck that they stop to ask for his autograph. This gives Invisible Woman and Spider man enough time to show up and defeat the Sentinels (using cleverness and humor).

Here is the text, if you care to know the details.

Now that you know a little bit more about the daily trials of the Super Hero Squad and the particularly complex love/hate relationship between Wonder Man and the Sentinels, here is the letter we received from our friend David.

Dear Matt and Robbi,

I am writing on behalf of Oliver Bennett Nickerson, age 5, from South Bend, IN. We read your super hero flip book tonight and about half an hour later (well into bed time), Oliver was crying inconsolably. After some haphazard guesses as to the cause of the tears (e.g., new school, old school, I yelled at him, etc.), I suggested “Dr. Doom.” Oliver then said, “No, not Dr. Doom. His workers.” He then explained through a torrent of tears that he was afraid that the Sentinels never received Wonder Man’s autograph. I suggested that since the picture depicted Wonder Man with a pen writing his name, the Sentinels probably received an autograph. Maybe not every Sentinel, but some of them, and perhaps they could share. He thought this was unlikely, but accepted that it might be true. Oliver then worried that since they were rusted from tears that they might not be able to read the autographs (or move). I suggested that if you catch rust early enough, good owners can scrape off the rust and oil the metal to make it like new again. “Did Dr. Doom catch the rust in time?” asked Oliver. I suggested that he probably would since he had just sent them out that morning to take over the city and he seemed like a micro-manager. Oliver was unconvinced and between sobs repeated, “But you don’t know, Daddy. You’re just making it up. You don’t know what happened to them.” The idea that I could write to the authors of the book and confirm the life outcomes of the Sentinels managed to calm him down.

So please tell us what happened to the Sentinels. Please tell us that they obtained a sufficiently large number of Wonder Man autographs to not be disappointing and that Dr. Doom tended to their rust in time for them to live out full automaton existences. It is very important to a little boy in South Bend, IN to find out what became of the Sentinels.

Sincerely,

David Nickerson
aka Oliver Bennett Nickerson’s daddy

PS Oliver made me promise to never read the book again. He doesn’t want me to throw the book out. Just give it to someone else. So you haven’t inspired Oliver to burn books.

PPS Alexandra is threatening to send Alden stomp boots if you don’t reply. I think she is serious. She pointed out that since our kids are older, we know all the annoying toys to send your children.

And here is my response to Oliver:

Hello Oliver,

This is Matthew Swanson, the author of the book The Super Hero Squad Flips Out!

Your dad told us that you were worried about the Sentinels, and specifically whether or not they were able to get Wonder Man’s autograph. I am happy to assure you that the Sentinels did get Wonder Man’s autograph. Every single one of them did. After Wasp escaped, the Sentinels felt so bad about kidnapping her that they all apologized, at which point Spider Man, Wonder Man, and even Wasp helped scrape all the rust off of their bodies using steel wool. Then they gave the Sentinels a new paint job, which made them really happy. The Sentinels were so happy to be repainted and so glad to be hanging out with their hero Wonder Man that they decided not to be Villains any more. They called Dr. Doom to let him know that they were not going to be part of any more evil plans. This made Dr. Doom pretty upset, of course, but there was nothing he could do about it. The Sentinels and Wonder Man decided to live together in a large apartment building. Every morning, they had breakfast together. Every day at noon, they had lunch together. Every afternoon, they got Wonder Man’s autograph again. They never got tired of getting his autograph. And he was always willing to give it to them. They were all such good friends.

So there you go, Oliver. I hope this helps clear up the confusion. I am sorry that the book left that part out. Thank you for letting us know that we were being unclear.

We really appreciate readers like you.

All best,

Matthew