A Hugo Award Nominee!Featuring an introduction by Neil Gaiman!“J. Michael Straczynski is, without question, one of the greatest science fiction minds of our time.” — Max Brooks (World War Z)For four decades, J. Michael Straczynski has been one of the most successful writers in Hollywood, one of the few to forge multiple careers in movies, television and comics. Yet there’s one story he’s … to forge multiple careers in movies, television and comics. Yet there’s one story he’s never told before: his own.
In this dazzling memoir, the acclaimed writer behind Babylon 5, Sense8, Clint Eastwood’s Changeling and Marvel’s Thor reveals how the power of creativity and imagination enabled him to overcome the horrors of his youth and a dysfunctional family haunted by madness, murder and a terrible secret.
Joe’s early life nearly defies belief. Raised by damaged adults—a con-man grandfather and a manipulative grandmother, a violent, drunken father and a mother who was repeatedly institutionalized—Joe grew up in abject poverty, living in slums and projects when not on the road, crisscrossing the country in his father’s desperate attempts to escape the consequences of his past.
To survive his abusive environment Joe found refuge in his beloved comics and his dreams, immersing himself in imaginary worlds populated by superheroes whose amazing powers allowed them to overcome any adversity. The deeper he read, the more he came to realize that he, too, had a superpower: the ability to tell stories and make everything come out the way he wanted it. But even as he found success, he could not escape a dark and shocking secret that hung over his family’s past, a violent truth that he uncovered over the course of decades involving mass murder.
Straczynski’s personal history has always been shrouded in mystery. Becoming Superman lays bare the facts of his life: a story of creation and darkness, hope and success, a larger-than-life villain and a little boy who became the hero of his own life. It is also a compelling behind-the-scenes look at some of the most successful TV series and movies recognized around the world.
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Gripping. An amazing testament to the range of human durability and determination, overcoming our impossibly dark side with something even more unlikely and miraculous – hope.
In this book, author J. Michael Stracyznski (JMS to his fans) tells the story of his family and his life. Starting with his grandparents, he gives us some background before telling us about his childhood under an abusive father and a distant mother. In between moving every few months to stay ahead of creditors, JMS discovered ways to escape via TV shows, comic books, and science fiction. As he discovered the power of words, he vowed to become a writer. That desire eventually lead him to a career in comic books and in Hollywood on such things as He-Man; She-Ra; The Real Ghostbusters; Babylon 5; Murder, She Wrote; Sense8; and the movies Changeling, Thor, and World War Z.
I picked up this book because I am an obsessive Babylon 5 fan. Those picking it up for lots of Hollywood behind the scenes stories will be disappoint, although we do get some in the second half. Instead, it is more a story of his family, their secrets, and how they impacted his life. At times, it is a hard read. JMS’s life for his first 20 plus years was not easy or fun. But, ultimately, this is a story of triumph as he works to overcome his baggage. It is a powerful story that proves where you start doesn’t have to be where you finish if you are willing to take responsibility for yourself, your actions, and your choices, something we need more of in our society today. I think this book will change my view of Babylon 5 the next time I watch it, something I need to do soon as I think knowing the man behind the story will make some things mean more and be even more powerful. This is not light reading, but it is powerful reading and worth the time spent in the book.
A fascinating journey through careers in three different professions — comic books, TV, and movies — from an accomplished master of each. Rare to have such detail and such access. A major literary autobiography!
Joe Straczynski is the creator of Babylon 5. I mean, you may know him from many other things. You may know him as the pen behind Sense8 on Netflix. You might know him from The Changeling, the Angelina Jolie movie directed by Clint Eastwood. Or Jeremiah. Or Spider-Man comics. Or… well, you get the idea. He’s been involved in writing for TV and movies for far longer than many writers manage to stay in the ring.
This is his autobiography – and while you might think it’s a happy trip through the successes he’s had over the years, it’s far from that. Indeed, it’s far more intimate and personal than that.
This is the story of the young boy Joseph, and his abusive father, who tormented his whole family. It is a story that tells of Nazi sympathising. Of murder. Of a boy trying to grow up sane with a family life that was far from stable, moving from town to town and skipping out whenever people showed up to collect money.
Sure, it tells how he went through the early cycle of writing stories that turned out to be not so great, then writing more, and more, and banging his head against the door of rejection. There’s the glimmers of encouragement, such as when the stranger who read his work at a school event and said there was promise in there turned out to be Rod Serling. But this is a story of a boy who fought to be a man free of his father, of a man who fought to get his stories accepted, and a TV writer who fought against the restraints imposed by executives all too often – to the point of his agent’s exasperation.
He describes one moment in his youth – in which he gets the shit kicked out of him by a bunch of kids only to stand up and taunt them so they came back and did it again as, in retrospect, being the perfect preparation for becoming a TV writer.
There’s a great deal of insight in here to the projects he worked on – from the Real Ghostbusters cartoon, to Murder She Wrote. As a Babylon 5 fan, I particularly hung on the material to do with the show – even the saddest notes with the death of some of the cast members over the year. I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by Peter Jurasik from the show, and the poignancy of those moments came across in two voices mourning old friends, the writer and the narrator.
More than anything, though, this book tells the story of Mr Straczynski’s relationship with his father. So determined was he not to be like his father, his life in some ways seem to have been defined by purposely choosing to be the thing his father was not, the shape of his life being dictated by non-conformity to the monster he grew up with.
It’s a brutal story to tell. There are no end of truly shocking moments. And yet, despite what he had to endure, he ultimately defined himself, who he would be, and rose to the success his father said he wouldn’t reach. Is it inspirational? I’m not sure that’s the word. That’s like those moments when you see what people have gone through and pat them on the head and call them an inspiration. That’s not quite right. No, but it is admirable. With a stubborn streak a mile wide, he managed to achieve things that had never been done before. And he did it with a sharp wit and a ready pen.
This book has been nominated for a Hugo Award. It certainly deserves it.
This memoir by the creator of Babylon 5, Sense8, and countless works of TV, film and comics, is an absorbing, heart-breaking read. It’s a miracle that Joe not only survived the abuse of his horrific father, but thrived to become such a prolific writer. If you’re looking for some great non-fiction to get through this awful time period, I can’t recommend this high enough. Cheers!
J. Michael Straczynski is, without question, one of the greatest science fiction minds of our time.