Collateral Damage: A Background Character's Memoir
Surviving Superhero Battles One Panel at a Time

About this book:

Ever wondered who files the insurance claims after a superhero smashes through your office window? Meet Arthur Pendelton: temp worker, professional background character, and the only guy in Apex City who reads the fine print on the "Act of God (or Alien)" clause. While caped icons trade quips and cosmic beams overhead, Arthur navigates vaporized coffee machines, rent hikes in hazard zones, HR policies on mind control, and the nightmare of explaining to a claims adjuster why a leased Xerox machine is now embedded in the sidewalk—all before lunch.

*Collateral Damage* is a razor-sharp urban fantasy that finally asks the questions the blockbusters ignore: Who sweeps up the pulverized glass? Why does the breakroom keep getting relocated to the basement bunker? And how do you budget for dry cleaning when the guy in the cube next to you gets vaporized by a freeze ray on Tuesday? With the bureaucratic wit of *The Office* and the world-weary charm of a noir protagonist who's seen too many alien invasions, Arthur's memoir turns superhero collateral into comedy gold.

From parking permits vs. alien invasions to the secret lair next door, each chapter delivers a fresh catastrophe and a perfectly mundane survival strategy. If you've ever sympathized with the bystanders fleeing screaming in the background—or wondered how a city functions when "Wednesday's infiltration" is just a calendar item—this is your new essential read. Clock in. Duck. Cover. Re-key the data. And whatever you do, don't touch the second coffee pot.