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 Alive Part 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."

名優トム・ハンクスが描くのは、映画という巨大な魔法の裏側で脈打つ「人間の血潮」です。戦後の記憶から七〇年代の漫画文化、そして現代の撮影現場へと至る歴史の連なりを通し、物語が世代を超えて受け継がれる尊さを浮き彫りにします。細部に宿る職人たちへの敬意と、創作という営みへの無垢な愛が、読者の魂を熱く揺さぶります。 映像化作品では劇中のスペクタクルが鮮明に具現化されていますが、原作はテキストならではの緻密な心理描写で表現者の孤独と情熱を克明に伝えています。文字が紡ぐ制作の苦悶と、映像が放つ完成の輝きが重なり合うことで、一つの傑作が生まれるまでの奇跡的な旅路が、より多層的な感動を伴って完結するのです。