The conclusion of this story thread is as gripping as anything else in the book. Interwoven throughout Becoming Superman is the story of Straczynski sorting truth from fiction in his family’s past, including a monster secret involving Nazis. His mother was institutionalized more than once. Straczynski’s father was a booze-fueled drunk who was prone to beating young Joe. It’s harrowing and occasionally quite violent stuff. Think he might be overstating anything? Poke around a bit online for other reviews of the book from those who knew Joe in his youth if anything, apparently, Joe understated the brutality of his upbringing. The world’s message to Straczynski was simple- give up now-even as his deeply troubled family bounced around the country. The number of stops, weigh stations, tests, knockdowns (literal and figurative) are too many to count. Even the opportunity to learn how to type-in high school-fit with the plan of becoming a writer. I hadn’t previously paid much attention to the names on book covers, but by god somebody sat down and wrote that story.”Īnd thus begins a long, long journey of learning.

I turned over the book to reveal the writer’s name. The church had tried to convince me that there was only truth and falsehood and nothing in between, but the nuns and priests were wrong the story in front of me was false, but in the reading of it my heart accepted it as true. “I was stunned to realize it was possible to make up things that had never happened but which felt as if they’d happened. Swiping change from his father’s dresser, Straczynski bought the cheap books and discovered “something magical” about the reading process. The writing bug started when he had access to the Scholastic TAB series supplied through the Catholic Church. The subtitle of Becoming Superman is My Journey From Poverty to Hollywood With Stops Along the Way at Murder, Madness, Mayhem, Movie Stars, Cults, Slums, Sociopaths, and War Crimes.Īnd that subtitle just begins to cover the many stops and interwoven threads of Straczynski’s inspiring story.

“The Changeling.” “World War Z.” “Sense8.” “The Amazing Spider Man” for Marvel Comics.

It’s the story of a guy who went from utter poverty in New Jersey-and from a positively horrendous, abusive family upbringing-to a guy who wrote the pioneering sci-fi series Babylon 5, movies directed by Clint Eastwood, comic books, plays, graphic novels, novels, short fiction … and who also produced and directed television shows for the small screen and major motion pictures for the big one. If you wrote once upon a time and decided to stop writing for one reason or another, yes, you’ve got the idea-read Becoming Superman. If you plan to write, read Becoming Superman.

Becoming superman j michael straczynski