“The history of book design can be split into two eras: before graphic designer Chip Kidd and after,” Time Out New York declared in 2005.

The VP and art director at Knopf has indeed made his mark since joining the storied imprint in 1986. He’s also written two published novels, and in August Abrams ComicArts will release his second graphic novel, The Avengers in the Veracity Trap!, illustrated by Michael Cho. Kidd, a three-time Eisner Award winner, spoke with PW over video chat about the book and his career before his appearance as a special guest at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.

How did this book come together?

A few years ago, Charlie Kochman, my great friend and editor at Abrams, agreed with Marvel Comics to do one original licensed graphic novel together a year. Then he called me and said, “Do you want to do one?” I wasn’t going to say no! For artists, Michael Cho immediately came to mind: I published his original graphic novel debut, Shoplifter, at Pantheon in 2014. I was a DC kid growing up, and while you couldn’t avoid the Marvel Universe in the ’70s, I realized I didn’t know nearly as much as I thought—but Michael did. I asked him, “If you could draw a 64-page Avengers story, would you like to?” He said, “It’s uncanny—I’ve been pitching an Avengers story to Marvel for years.”

Can you explain the story’s premise—and its title?

There are two realms: the one we’re in now, reality, and the Marvel realm, on the page—but the characters think that’s reality. Then Loki, god of mischief, figures out how to build a portal between realms. If he could be in our realm, creating stories on the page, he would get complete control over the Marvel universe. So the Avengers set out to stop him, but get through the portal to discover they’re fictional characters and their lives are scripted. It kinda saps them of their power, which was all a part of Loki’s plan—his veracity trap. The Looney Tunes short Duck Amuck was a big, big influence on me and this story.

Any other big fourth wall–breaking moments?

Being the narcissist that I am, I’m a character in the book, and so is Michael. It’s a hall of mirrors—the Avengers pop into Michael’s drawing studio while I’m there, and we can’t believe what we’re seeing. Then they take us through the portal to the Marvel world and we come out as 10-year-olds, because that’s who we really are inside.

How do you balance the day job with the creative moonlighting?

They sort of intermingle. I love bouncing back and forth from doing a cover of a prose book to working on a graphic novel. And on a personal note, I’m a single guy who doesn’t have a family—and I’m not making a joke when I say that! I have more leisure time than a lot of people I work with, and I can use that to make stuff.