Huntington Beach author brings ‘Frankenbots’ to life

Huntington Beach resident Michael Ferrone wasn’t sure what to expect when he self-published his first children’s book about a year ago.

Ferrone, a reality television show editor, had an idea to write and illustrate a series with humans, quirky robotic characters with one large eye and a moral to the story. He introduced “Frankenbots: Stu Saves the World” to the world in April 2020.

The book tells the story of Frankenbots, created by a scientist named Sue. Because they are all unique and look different, the Frankenbots are kicked off the planet by the evil Shadowbots, who all look the same.

“The Frankenbots have to go through all sorts of tribulations and obstacles to overcome,” Ferrone said. “They bicker between each other, but they have to find a way to work together always and solve the problem.”

The debut book wasn’t a one-off. Ferrone was motivated to take the next steps.

The second book in the series, “Frankenbots: Sunken City of Scraps,” came out on March 21. Ferrone said he has already written the upcoming third and fourth books in the series, which is designed for children ages 3 to 9.

He’s also working with David Bittorf, a design professor at Platt College of San Diego, on developing three-dimensional models of the Frankenbots for a future cartoon short that Ferrone can hopefully develop into a series.

Bittorf said that Ferrone is a self-starter who has been fun to work with over the last few months.

“I think he’s really thinking about it as being a really big name out there, kind of how ‘The Simpsons’ are or ‘Family Guy,’” Bittorf said. “I think he’s really trying to get these characters to be mainstream. A lot of people contact me for client work or different things, and they say things like that. But I think Michael has more drive than anyone I’ve ever seen, and he actually follows through with what he’s going to say. I believe him. I know that sounds kind of crazy, but I think that this is going to really turn into something big.”

Ferrone, who said he came up with the name Frankenbots because his dog’s name is Frankie and he always was fascinated with Frankenstein, believes in his books and his ideas. He has enrolled at Orange Coast College to take classes in social media and 3D animation.

He said the script for the cartoon was written by Zachary Posner and Daniel Furlong, who co-wrote the “King Leer” episode of, yes, “The Simpsons.” The episode first aired in 2018.

“Frankenbots: Sunken City of Scraps,” by Huntington Beach author Michael Ferrone.

(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)

“It’s been fun,” Ferrone said. “I’ve been into writing my whole life and illustrating comics my whole life. Then I got into editing television shows, so I was able to use my storytelling skills very strongly. When a show stopped, I just started writing and drawing cartoons. The stories came from there.”

Ferrone has no kids of his own yet, but his wife of three years, Erika Sanguinetti-Ferrone, has also played a large role that goes far beyond just moral support. She’s an accountant, so she handles the financial side of the books as well as many of the publishing aspects.

“The biggest thing for me was seeing his face light up and seeing how enthusiastic he was about it,” she said. “It was hard to say no [to helping him]. It’s one of those things that has been really life-changing for him, so I was on board from the beginning.

“I think it brought us even closer together, too,” she continued. “Our conversations changed. They were more interesting, just trying to figure out what the next step would be in the whole series or the whole project. That’s been the greatest thing about it.”

Michael Ferrone said the writing energizes him. If he gets writer’s block, he will either watch something funny on television or listen to music that ranges from electronic dance music to classic rock to heavy metal.

“It helps to take time to laugh during your day,” he said.

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