Becoming Superman: My Journey From Poverty to Hollywood

J. Michael Straczynski

Jul 2019 · HarperCollins

About this ebook

“[The] successful writer for TV, movies, and comics makes his debut as a memoirist with a stunning chronicle of survival”—introduction by Neil Gaiman (Kirkus).

Joseph Michael Straczynski is the legendary writer behind Babylon 5, Sense8, Clint Eastwood’s Changeling and Marvel’s Thor, among many other beloved movies, TV shows and comics. In Becoming Superman, he 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.

Joe found refuge in comic books and his own dreams—imaginary worlds where superheroes used their amazing powers 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. But even as he found success, Joe could not escape a shocking family secret involving mass murder that he uncovered over the course of decades. Becoming Superman is the startling true story of a little boy who became the hero of his own life.

Ratings and reviews

As a longtime fan of JMS's work, this was a very interesting read. to have come through so much struggle and turmoil and abuse and come out a successful and genuinely decent man is amazing. I have met him, however briefly, several times and can personally attest to the fact. If you're a fan of his work, writing, or just an amazing personal story, definitely give this a read. Thank you Joe.

Read this as a JMS fan. But I do think he lived such an interesting life that there is a lot to love about this book and his story and he knows how to tell it, even if you aren't a fan already. If you want to be inspired by someone who came from nothing (though at times with his family, having literal nothing might have been better at times), to be a master writer across decades and mediums, you will find it here.

Intense...engrossing...mere words fail how deeply dark his life events were.

About the author

Neil Gaiman is the celebrated author of books, graphic novels, short stories, films, and television for readers of all ages. Some of his most notable titles include the highly lauded #1 New York Times bestseller Norse Mythology; the groundbreaking and award-winning Sandman comic series; The Graveyard Book (the first book ever to win both the Newbery and Carnegie Medals); American Gods, winner of many awards and recently adapted into the Emmy-nominated Starz TV series (the second season slated to air in 2019); The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which was the UK’s National Book Award 2013 Book of the Year. Good Omens, which he wrote with Terry Pratchett a very long time ago (but not quite as long ago as Don’t Panic) and for which Gaiman wrote the screenplay, will air on Amazon and the BBC in 2019. Author photo by Beowulf Sheehan