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MICHAEL IAN BLACK:

An Informal Guide For Those Who Discover MIB Through His Children's Books

by Debbie Ridpath Ohi (who illustrates some of his picture books)

At An Unlikely Story during our I'M SAD book tour

(Last updated June 30, 2018)

I've had a growing number of people tell me they're discovering Michael Ian Black through children's picture books and that they didn't know about his other work. Also having a surprising number of people tell me, "I didn't know he was so funny!" after they saw him talking about our book, I'M SAD, on Late Night With Seth Meyers:

I can't seem to find one place online that lists some of Michael's projects from this perspective (e.g. one that doesn't start from his tv/comedy roots but rather from his children's books), so am creating THIS unofficial Michael Ian Black page mainly so I can point kidlit people somewhere when I talk about Michael, in case they'd like to find out more about his other projects. You can also visit his website at Michaelianblack.org (that includes info about his comedy tour dates). He posts frequently on Twitter at @michaelianblack (content/language may not be suitable for all audiences) and less frequently on Instagram.

Here are the children's picture books that Michael wrote and that I illustrated:

Here are some of his other children's picture books:

Here are some of his books for grown-ups. I especially love YOU'RE NOT DOING IT RIGHT: Tales Of Marriage, Sex, Death, and Other Humiliations. If you like audiobooks, Audible.com has a good audiobook version narrated by Michael himself.

PODCASTS:

To those who listen to podcasts: Michael has SO MANY, ranging from very silly to more serious and insightful. No matter what mood you're in, there's a Michael Ian Black podcast for YOU. :-) To those with kids at home: be warned that some of these contain language and topics that may not be appropriate for young listeners.

My personal favorite is HOW TO BE AMAZING with Michael Ian Black, in which he conducts in-depth interviews with writres, entertainers, artists, innovative thinkers and politicians. Interviewees have included Elizabeth Gilbert, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Felicia Day, Ira Glass, Judd Apatow, Katy Perry, Pamela Paul and others.

On our recent I'M SAD book tour, I had several teachers and librarians tell me (and Michael) how much they were enjoying this particular podcast. 

And I've just started listening to OBSCURE with Michael Ian Black, in which he reads Thomas Hardy's Jude The Obscure out loud and comments as he goes. Be warned that there is a LOT of strong language not meant for young listeners. I've read all of Hardy's novels but it's been a while since I read this novel, and get a kick out of some of Michael's side comments and revelations (like his confession in Episode 3 that he's afraid of earthworms - "there's just something so grotesque about a tube of living meat...")

TV, MOVIES AND LIVE COMEDY

Here is Michael's IMDB page. Be warned that most of Michael's comedy is NOT appropriate for younger audiences.

My personal favorites include STELLA, The State and Wet Hot American Summer (including the recent Netflix prequel). I love STELLA just because of the sweet goofiness of the characters and absurd situations. Guest stars included Bradley Cooper, Janeane Garafalo, Ken Marino, Sam Rockwell, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks and Julie Bowen.

I have friends who are more familiar with his character on a tv series called Ed, and I've been trying to track down a copy; if anyone knows where I can buy this series on DVD, please let me know! Here's an article on Vulture.com that I found about the series. Here is a short clip I found online:

I'm excited about the upcoming MISFITS & MONSTERS, which mashes up different genres. Michael is a guest star in Season 1, and you can see him halfway through this trailer (he plays the Devil):

Michael also has many fans of his live comedy shows, and you can check his tour dates on his website.

I adore Michael and his work, had a TON of fun touring with him promoting I'M SAD in June 2018, and look forward to working with him again!