Matt Myklusch Books in Order

Matt Myklusch writes middle-grade adventure stories built from the things that grabbed him as a kid: comic books, superheroes, pirates, robots, secret worlds, and a good cliffhanger. His books and graphic novels are aimed at young readers, but he openly makes room for grown-up readers who still like a trip through a hidden doorway.

He wanted to be a comic-book penciller when he was young. Drawing never left him. He filled sketchbooks with superheroes and other characters, and that habit of making up worlds became the starting point for a writing life that blends words, pictures, and big visual ideas.

The road took a few turns before publishing. Myklusch worked at MTV Networks for nearly a decade, including work on celebrity interviews, Spring Break events, and the launch of mtvU. While holding that day job, he spent nights and weekends writing the story that would become his first novel.

That book arrived in 2010 as The Accidental Hero, the opening of the Jack Blank trilogy. It introduces an orphan who discovers the Imagine Nation, a place where the fantastic things of Earth have their origins. The series lets Myklusch play with classic comic-book stakes while keeping Jack's questions about belonging, friendship, and responsibility at the center.

He later shifted from capes and robots to sea adventures with The Lost Prince and Strangers in Atlantis, the Seaborne books. Dean Seaborne is a young spy caught up with pirates, lost royalty, and dangerous destinations beneath and beyond the waves. In the Order of the Majestic trilogy, beginning with Order of the Majestic, Myklusch sends Joey Kopecky into a conflict over the world's dwindling magic, with an old theater and Harry Houdini's legacy in the mix.

He likes putting ordinary kids near very unusual problems.

That thread continues in The Blood of Kings, a graphic novel set in the wider Imagine Nation. The book follows Skerren, a young swordsman facing threats to his home, his king, and his own place in the world. Across these series, Myklusch returns to brave but uncertain young people, found families, hidden histories, and the hard work of deciding what kind of hero to be.

His work has also grown closer to the comic format he loved from the start. He writes and draws, and has described imagination as something that needs an outlet, whether it becomes a story, picture, or song. The point is not to wait until an idea feels perfect. Make it real, then keep working.

Myklusch lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons. He also hosts The Other Side of the Story Podcast, talking with fellow authors about creative work and getting published.

There are still superheroes in the sketchbook, just with more company now.