Becoming Superman

June 24, 2019
Straczynski, a prolific comics, television, and film writer, delivers a frank memoir that’s equally harrowing and triumphant. Raised by a depressed, battered mother and violently abusive, alcoholic father, Straczynski found in comic books, first, refuge from his dysfunctional family, and then inspiration to pursue a writing career. He particularly admired Superman (whose adventures he would eventually write), finding in the character an ethical core that “meant everything to a young kid trapped in a family that operated without any sort of moral compass.” Though Straczynski’s anger (at his father, most notably) comes across as still raw, he balances it with heartfelt appreciations of colleagues such as Harlan Ellison, who, “despite his reputation for crankiness,” was “one of the most gracious souls I have ever known.” He also offers tantalizing looks at behind-the-scenes creative battles. While Straczynski could do nothing about an executive mandate that his animated show She-Ra, Princess of Power’s title character be not warlike but “maternal, nurturing, and nonthreatening to male authority figures,” on the later SF series Babylon 5, he achieved his ambition of telling, over the series’ entire course, a “single overarching story with a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end”—a television first. Fans of this and other achievements in Straczynski’s career will find much to enjoy here.

June 1, 2019

Straczynski (Babylon 5; Changeling) tells all in this half-shocking, half-juicy memoir of growing up in a dysfunctional, abusive household and his path to becoming a television, movie, and comic book writer. Straczynski was raised in poverty in a family that saw more than its share of trauma: domestic violence, alcoholism, incest, murder, and even war crimes. The clan moved frequently to chase jobs and escape debt collectors, resulting in numerous school changes for Straczynski and his sisters. Despite the continuous upheaval, Straczynski earned two bachelor's degrees and began his writing career in the late 1970s. His work has resulted in hundreds of hours of television and five movies, plus more than 15 years' worth of releasing comics with publishers such as Top Cow, Image, DC, and Marvel. Straczynski holds court in this book, spinning one tale after another about his family, other writers, and the movie, television, and publishing industries. VERDICT Recommended for readers of true crime and intense family drama, behind-the-scenes stories of Hollywood and the world of publishing, sf/fantasy fandom, and, especially, Straczynski's work.--Monica Howell, Northwestern Health Sciences Univ. Lib., Bloomington, MN

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2019
A hugely successful writer for TV, movies, and comics makes his debut as a memoirist with a stunning chronicle of survival. Straczynski grew up in a destructive family, subjected to "the worst kinds of physical, psychological, and emotional torture" by an alcoholic, violently abusive father, a lifelong admirer of Nazis; a depressed mother, repeatedly institutionalized, who once dropped her young son from a roof; and a grandmother who tried to sexually abuse him. The family was rootless, moving 21 times in 19 years, often fleeing in the middle of the night and "roaring cross-country in an alcohol-fueled haze of drunken violence" to take up residence somewhere else. In one unheated apartment, ill with pneumonia, the author slept in front of an open oven door all night for warmth. He suffered corporal punishment at a Catholic school run by angry nuns and was victimized by bullies elsewhere. Comics, and especially Superman, provided Straczynski with escape and hope. Morally upright, patient, gentle, and powerful, the valiant hero became his model. A bright spot in his dismal childhood occurred in his senior year of high school, when two teachers saw his potential and invested "time, effort, and belief" in him, praising his writing and encouraging him. The author recounts his rocky start as a writer, sending short stories to magazines and collecting rejection slips; getting a gig as a humor columnist for a college newspaper; taking creative writing classes; and submitting reviews, feature articles, screenplays for sitcom pilots, and scripts. He wrote tirelessly and obsessively, not eating or sleeping, until finally some of his efforts bore fruit. Successes, which seemed like miracles, often were followed with spectacular failures. Although he encourages young writers to work hard and follow their passion, the viciously competitive and capricious entertainment industry, as he portrays it, is not for the faint-hearted. Besides recalling professional challenges, Straczynski admits personal struggles resulting from emotional wounds: "social awkwardness" and "compulsive self-reliance" that made him unable to form lasting relationships. Candid, often sordid, and definitely a page-turner.

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Starred review from June 1, 2019
The creator of iconic sf series Babylon 5 and Sense8 bares his soul in this raw, utterly compelling memoir. Born in 1954 to the sadistic son of Russian immigrants and his kidnapped bride, Straczynski grew up in an abusive and controlling household. His only escape was comic books, which fueled his imagination and his desire to write, a calling his cruel father took every opportunity to stifle and stymie. So Straczynski got creative, resorting to everything from "borrowing" books from a local drug store to faking a graduate degree in psychology to get out from under his father's thumb. Once he finally freed himself, Straczynski pursued a career in journalism which, when it floundered, resulted in a move to Los Angeles and the beginning of his television writing career, launched with a He-Man freelance script. Straczynski was eventually able to make the difficult leap from animated to live-action writing, and he pushed his passion project, the space opera Babylon 5, forward despite nearly insurmountable opposition. "If my life stands for anything, it's to offer proof. . . that it's possible to fight and win," Straczynski asserts, and proves, in this at times shocking, at times difficult to read, and ultimately inspiring account of his determination and triumph against all odds.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)