In his work across film, TV, and comics,J.
Michael Straczynskihas amassed many fans over the years.
But few knew the shocking truths of his life story.
Credit: Peter Konerko; HarperCollins
Read on below.Becoming Supermanisnow available for purchase.
Dad will be very upset.
You just start to insulate yourself in that possibility.
They can break the cycle of violence and abuse, and choose different lives.
I began the process of putting it all together.
I ended up having to interview people who I knew from years before and get their perspective on it.
It became a detective story into my own life.
I pieced together all the bits and pieces.
And if I didnt, let me know.
In terms of that detective-story writing element, I imagine it was quite a painful process for you.
Did you have second thoughts along the way?
Did you feel like this was something you couldnt put to paper?Yes and no.
It was painful, it was hard.
Guys, in particular were really good at putting bad stuff into boxes in our heads.
The number-one rule is the boxes cannot touch each other.
There were times when it just got really, really hard.
I didnt want to do a weepy book.
Theres the doing, and then theres the perception of it.
That really sustained you.
Nobody hit him first.
He always kept his promises.
He was a surrogate father to me in that respect.
But he also became a role model to aspire to.
[Laughs] Comic books are mythology.
Im not sure I would be here today if they werent there.
It does support the writing career because Superman has certain standards that he will not budge from.
He doesnt lie, he will not back away from what he believes is the correct thing to do.
With Superman, the idea of roaring becomes less improbable the more you model yourself on that character.
When I first put it together, it was quite a bit longer than it is now.
My agent said, Why dont you just do the first half as its own story?
My thought was, I could, but people would just want to kill themselves!
[Laughs] Its just so dark and depressing.
For me, the demarcation is coming to Los Angeles.
Its like Act 1 and Act 2 of a play.
Its cause and effect: First half of the book is cause, second half effect.
Thank you for that!
[Laughs] Didnt have that until this very moment.
I think it fits beautifully!
Or did they make me look good?
Those have to go.
A lot of the more fun or indulgent stories got knocked out.
Beyond that, the book is what it always was, its just leaner.
How did you want it to come off to the reader?As exactly that.
It is a very tough business to break into, but it is possible to break into it.
To [not] say that is ultimately false.
Any writer reading that would know its false.
It just doesnt work that way.
For me, as a budding writer, the biggest thing you need is accurate information.
These are the problems youre going to have.
How do you tell a story?
How do you complicate your story?
How do you sell your story?
That, for me, was a very important part of the whole process.
Did you feel that you were writing directly to those fans sometimes?
Were there insights you wanted to provide to people, specifically, whove loved those shows?Absolutely.
In a way its a love letter to fans of the genre and those shows.
I have comic book fans who dont know Ive done television.
I have television fans who dont know Ive done movies.
Movie fans who dont know I have comic books.
So like, you guys just get organized and get back to me.
[Laughs] I wanted to go through and bring those different groups together and speak to them.
The question is, Who are you writing your book for?
Its a love letter to fandom.
