J. Michael Straczynski

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J. Michael Straczynski
J. Michael Straczynski.png
J. Michael Straczynski in 2008
Born Joseph Michael Straczynski
(1954-07-17) July 17, 1954 (age 64)
Paterson, New Jersey, United States
Occupation Writer, producer
Years active 1979–present
Spouse(s) Kathryn M. Drennan (1983–2008; divorced)

Joseph Michael Straczynski (/strəˈzɪnski/;[1] born July 17, 1954), known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski, is an American television and film screenwriter, producer and director, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Studio JMS, and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 (1993–1998) and its spinoff Crusade (1999), as well as the series Jeremiah (2002–2004), and Sense8 (2015–2018).[2]

Straczynski wrote the psychological drama film Changeling (2008) and was co-writer on the martial arts thriller Ninja Assassin (2009), horror film Underworld: Awakening (2012), and apocalyptic horror film World War Z (2013).

From 2001 to 2007, Straczynski wrote Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, followed by runs on Thor and Fantastic Four. He is also the author of the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and has written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen for DC Comics. Straczynski is the creator and writer of several original comic book series such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Ten Grand through Joe's Comics.

A prolific writer across a variety of media and former journalist, Straczynski is the author of the novels Blood Night (1988), Othersyde (1990), and Tribulations (2000), the short fiction collection Straczynski Unplugged (2004), and the nonfiction book The Complete Book of Scriptwriting (1982).

Straczynski is a long-time participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1984. He is credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet,[3][4] and allow their viewpoints to influence the look and feel of his show. (See Babylon 5' s use of the Internet.) Two prominent areas where he had a presence were GEnie and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated.[5]

Early life[edit]

Straczynski was born in Paterson, New Jersey, and is the son of Charles Straczynski, a manual laborer, and Evelyn Straczynski (née Pate).[6] He was raised in Newark, New Jersey; Kankakee, Illinois; Dallas, Texas; Chula Vista, California, where he graduated from high school; and San Diego, California.[7] Straczynski's family religion was Catholic, and he has Polish ancestry.[8] His grandparents lived in the area which today belongs to Belarus, and fled to America from the Russian Revolution; his father was born in the United States, and has lived in Poland, Germany and Russia.[8]

Straczynski is a graduate of San Diego State University (SDSU), having earned a BA with a double major in psychology and sociology (with minors in philosophy and literature). While at SDSU, he wrote for the student newspaper, The Daily Aztec at times penning so many articles that the paper was jokingly referred to as the "Daily Joe". Straczynski resides in the Los Angeles area.

Career[edit]

1970s–1980s[edit]

Early work[edit]

Straczynski began writing plays, having several produced at Southwestern College and San Diego State University before publishing his adaptation of "Snow White" with Performance Publishing.[9] Several other plays were produced around San Diego, including "The Apprenticeship" for the Marquis Public Theater. During the late 1970s, Straczynski also became the on-air entertainment reviewer for KSDO-FM and wrote several radio plays before being hired as a scriptwriter for the radio drama Alien Worlds.[10][11] He also produced his first television project in San Diego, "Marty Sprinkle" for KPBS-TV as well as worked on the XETV-TV project Disasterpiece Theatre.[12] He worked as a journalist for the Los Angeles Times as a special San Diego correspondent and also worked for San Diego Magazine and The San Diego Reader, and wrote for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, the Los Angeles Reader, TV-Cable Week, and People magazine.[11] Straczynski wrote The Complete Book of Scriptwriting for Writer's Digest. Published in 1982, the book is often used as a text in introductory screenwriting courses,[13][14] and is now in its third edition.

He and Kathryn M. Drennan, whom he met at San Diego State, moved to Los Angeles on April 1, 1981. They would marry in 1983, and separate in 2002.[11][15] He spent five years from 1987 to 1992 co-hosting the Hour 25 radio talk show on KPFK-FM Los Angeles with Larry DiTillio. During his tenure, he interviewed such luminaries as John Carpenter, Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison and other writers, producers, actors and directors. In 2000, Straczynski returned to radio drama with The City of Dreams for scifi.com. Straczynski is the author of three horror novels—Demon Night, Othersyde, and Tribulations—and nearly twenty short stories, many of which are collected in two compilations—Tales from the New Twilight Zone and Straczynski Unplugged.

Work in animation[edit]

Straczynski was a fan of the cartoon He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. He wrote a spec script in 1984 and sent it directly to Filmation.[16] They purchased his script, bought several others, and hired him on staff. During this time he became friends with Larry DiTillio, and when Filmation produced the He-Man spinoff She-Ra: Princess of Power, they both worked as story editors on the show.[17][18] However, Filmation refused to give them credit on-screen and Straczynski and DiTillio both left and found work with DIC on Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors.

Straczynski and DiTillio also worked to create an animated version of Elfquest but that project soon fell through when CBS attempted to retool the show to appeal to younger audiences.[19]

While working on Jayce, Straczynski was hired to come aboard the Len Janson and Chuck Menville project to adapt the movie Ghostbusters to an animated version called The Real Ghostbusters. When Janson and Menville learned that there was not only a 13-episode order but a 65-episode syndication order as well, they decided that the workload was too much and that they would only work on their own scripts.[20] DIC head Jean Chalopin asked Straczynski to take on the task of story editing the entire 78-episode block as well as writing his own scripts.[20] After the show's successful first season, consultants were brought in to make suggestions for the show, including changing Janine to a more maternal character, giving every character a particular "job" (Peter is the funny one, Egon is the smart one, and Winston, the only black character, was to be the driver), and to add kids into the show.[20] Straczynski left at this point and Janson and Menville took on the story editing job for the second network season. Straczynski then developed a show called Spiral Zone but left after only one script when his concept for the show was drastically altered and took his name off the series,[21] substituting the pseudonym "Fettes Grey" (derived from the names of the grave robbers in The Body Snatcher).

Straczynski also wrote for CBS Storybreak, writing an adaptation of Evelyn Sibley Lampman's The Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek.

Live action and network shows[edit]

After leaving animation, Straczynski freelanced for The Twilight Zone writing an episode entitled ("What Are Friends For"), and for Shelley Duvall's Nightmare Classics, adaptating The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which was nominated for a Writer's Guild Award.

Straczynski was then offered the position of story editor on the syndicated live-action science fiction series Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future. Straczynski constructed a season long arc with lasting character changes and wrote a third of the scripts himself. After one season, the toy company Mattel demanded more input into the show, causing Straczynski to quit. He recommended DiTillio to take over the job as story editor for a second season, but the toy company financing fell through and that season was never produced.[22]

Soon after, the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike began. Straczynski met Harlan Ellison during this time and would later become friends with him.[23][24]

After the strike ended, the producers of the new Twilight Zone needed to create more episodes to be able to sell the series into syndication with a complete 65-episode package. They hired Straczynski as executive story editor to fill in the remaining number of needed episodes. Straczynski wrote many of the scripts himself. In addition, one episode, "Crazy as a Soup Sandwich", was written by Ellison.

After leaving Twilight Zone, his agent of the time asked him to pitch for the show Jake and the Fatman.[25] Initially wary, Straczynski finally did and was hired on as story editor under Jeri Taylor and David Moessinger. When Taylor and Moessinger left the show, Straczynski left too as an act of solidarity.[26]

When Moessinger was hired as executive producer for Murder, She Wrote, he offered Straczynski a job as co-producer. Straczynski joined Murder for two seasons and wrote 7 produced episodes. Moessinger and Straczynski moved the protagonist, Jessica Fletcher, from the sleepy Maine town of Cabot Cove to New York City to revitalize the show. The move effectively brought the show back into the top ten from the mid-thirties where it had fallen. Straczynski made Jessica an instructor in writing and criminology, and he emphasized her role as a working writer, with all the deadlines and problems involved in that profession.

Straczynski also wrote one episode of Walker, Texas Ranger for Moessinger between the pilot episode for Babylon 5 and the start of its first season.[27]

Straczynski wrote an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the Showtime network, which was nominated for a Writer's Guild of America award,[28] and a Murder, She Wrote movie, Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For, which he produced.

1990s[edit]

Babylon 5 and Crusade[edit]

In late 1991, Warner Bros. contracted with Straczynski and Doug Netter as partners to produce Babylon 5 as the flagship program for the new Prime Time Entertainment Network.[29]

Straczynski and Netter hired many of the people from Captain Power, as well as hiring Ellison as a consultant and DiTillio as a story editor. Babylon 5 won two Emmy Awards, back-to-back Hugo Awards, and dozens of other awards. Straczynski wrote 92 of the 110 episodes, as well as the pilot and five television movies. The show is a character-driven space opera and features an intentional emphasis on realism in its portrayal of space operations. It also pioneered extensive use of CGI for its special effects. Babylon 5 was produced and broadcast for 5 seasons completing Stracynski's planned story arc. Its sequel, Crusade, was produced for the TNT Network, however it ended with only 13 episodes. Production was halted before the first episode aired.

He wrote the outlines for nine of the canonical Babylon 5 novels, supervised the three produced B5 telefilm novelizations (In the Beginning, Thirdspace, and A Call to Arms), and is the author of four Babylon 5 short stories published in magazines, not yet reprinted (as of 2008).

In 2005, Straczynski began publishing his Babylon 5 scripts.[30] This process ended in June 2008, with the scripts no longer being available from the end of July of that year. His scripts for the television movies were published for a limited time in January 2009.[31]

Straczynski also wrote and produced the pilot Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers, a pilot for the SciFi Network, and wrote, directed and produced Babylon 5: The Lost Tales as a two-hour direct-to-DVD movie.

Joe's Comics[edit]

Straczynski has long been a comic fan, and began writing comics in the late 1980s. His work in comics includes the adaptations of Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, The Twilight Zone, Star Trek and Babylon 5. In 1999 he created Rising Stars for Top Cow/Image Comics. Eventually he worked mostly under his own imprint – Joe's Comics – for which he wrote the Midnight Nation miniseries, and the illustrated fantasy parable Delicate Creatures.

2000s[edit]

Marvel Comics[edit]

Marvel Comics then signed him to an exclusive contract, beginning with a run on The Amazing Spider-Man, from 2001–2007. He took over the series with issue #30 (cover dated June 2001).[32] Straczynski and artist John Romita Jr. crafted an acclaimed story for The Amazing Spider-Man #36 (Dec. 2001) in response to the September 11 attacks.[33] He wrote or co-wrote several major Spider-Man story arcs including "Spider-Man: The Other",[34] "Back in Black",[35] and "One More Day".[36] He later wrote several other Marvel titles including Supreme Power,[37] Strange,[38] Fantastic Four, Thor,[39] and mini-series featuring the Silver Surfer and a "What If" scenario, Bullet Points.

Jeremiah[edit]

Straczynski also ran Jeremiah, loosely based on the Belgian post-apocalyptic comic of the same name, from 2002-2004. Straczynski ran the series for two seasons but was frustrated with the conflicting directions that MGM and Showtime wanted from the show,[40] and even used the pseudonym "Fettes Grey" for the first time since Spiral Zone on one of the scripts. In the second season, Straczynski decided to leave the show if things did not improve,[41] and the show ended after 2 seasons.

Changeling[edit]

Straczynski wrote Changeling, a psychological drama film based partly on the "Wineville Chicken Coop" kidnapping and murder case in Los Angeles, California. Directed by Clint Eastwood, produced by Ron Howard, and starring Angelina Jolie, the film premiered in 2008, and subsequently received eight nominations for the BAFTA Award, including a nomination for Best Original Screenplay.[42] The first draft script was written in eleven days, after Straczynski figured out "how to tell" the story,[43] which ended up being the shooting draft, after Eastwood declined to make any changes.[44] It was optioned immediately by Howard, who at first intended to direct the film but later stepped down after scheduling conflicts.[43]

At first, Straczynski expressed disbelief at the story,[45] but spent a year researching the case, compiling over six thousands pages of documentation. Straczynski claimed that 95% of the script's content came from the historical record,[46] and went through the script with Universal's legal department, providing attribution for every scene so the film would be described as "a true story" rather than "based on" one. On how his journalistic background helped him write the film, Straczynski stated:

It was hugely important. Usually, when you're asked to tell a true story in film, there's already an article or something where the leg work's been done. In this case, there was nothing available. It was all primary research—City Hall archives, county courthouse archives, criminal records, hospital records. I just sifted through stuff, often spending a whole day paging through records just to find one reference.[47]

Feature screenwriter[edit]

Straczynski announced on February 23, 2007 that he had been hired to write the feature film adaptation of Max Brooks's New York Times-bestselling novel World War Z for Paramount Pictures and Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B, taking screen story credit on the finished film.[48]

In 2008, Straczynski wrote a draft of Ninja Assassin for Joel Silver, which he completed in just 53 hours.[49] The film was produced by the Wachowskis and released on November 25, 2009.

Straczynski is credited as "story writer" along with Mark Protosevich for the 2011 film, Thor.[50] He also makes a cameo appearance in the film,[51] his first appearance in a movie and his second appearance as an actor (the first being "Sleeping in Light", the final episode of Babylon 5).[52] In March 2017, Legendary Entertainment announced that Straczynski, amongst other writers, had joined their writers room to help develop the MonsterVerse.[53]

DC Comics[edit]

When his exclusive contract with Marvel ended, he was announced as the writer for a run on The Brave and the Bold for DC Comics.[54] He collaborated with artist Shane Davis on an out-of-continuity original graphic novel starring Superman titled Superman: Earth One.[55][56] The story features a young Superman and focus on his decision about the role he wants to assume in life.[57] On March 8, 2010 it was announced he would be taking over writing duties for the monthly Superman title[58] with a story arc entitled "Grounded", and the Wonder Woman title, beginning with issues 701 and 601 respectively.[59][60] Less than a year later he was asked by DC to step away from both titles in order to concentrate on the second volume of Superman: Earth One and handed them over to Chris Roberson and Phil Hester to finish his Superman and Wonder Woman stories respectively. In 2012, Straczynski wrote Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan drawn by Adam Hughes and Before Watchmen: Nite Owl drawn by Andy Kubert and Joe Kubert.[61][62] A second volume of Superman: Earth One was released later that same year.[63]

At the San Diego Comic-Con in 2015, DC Comics announced The Flash: Earth One, a new graphic novel of its Earth One line to be written by Straczynski, set to be published in 2016.[64][65][66]

2010s[edit]

Joe's Comics revival[edit]

The Joe's Comics line was revived at Image Comics in 2013 with the launch of Ten Grand drawn by Ben Templesmith[67] and Sidekick drawn by Tom Mandrake.[68]

Dynamite Entertainment announced in July 2013 a new 12 issue The Twilight Zone comic book series penned by Straczynski.[69] The series ran for its projected 12 issues, from December 2013 to February 2015, with art by Guiu Vilanova. Straczynski was announced as the writer of Terminator Salvation: The Final Battle, a 12 issue comic book series from Dark Horse Comics, along with artist Pete Woods.[70]

Sense8[edit]

Sense8, a new science fiction television series created by Straczynski and the Wachowskis was ordered straight-to-series by Netflix in March 2013.[71] Sense8's first season debuted in June 2015 on Netflix, from Studio JMS and Georgeville Television. Straczynski executive produced and co-wrote all 12 episodes of the first season with fellow creators, executive producers, and directors Lilly and Lana Wachowski.[72] In August 2015, Netflix renewed Sense8 for a second season.[73]

Unrealized projects[edit]

In 2004, Straczynski was approached by Paramount Studios to become a producer of the Star Trek: Enterprise series. He declined, believing that he would not be allowed to take the show in the direction he felt it should go.[74] He did write a treatment for a new Star Trek series with colleague Bryce Zabel.[75]

After both Babylon 5 and Jeremiah ended, Straczynski transitioned to working as a feature film screenwriter. In 2006, he was hired to write a feature film based on the story of King David for Universal by producers Erwin Stoff and Akiva Goldsman.[76] In June 2007, it was announced that Straczynski had written a feature screenplay for the Silver Surfer movie for Fox, the production of which would depend on the success of the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.[77] Additionally, he has written a script for Tom Hanks' Playtone Productions and Universal Pictures called They Marched into Sunlight based upon the Pulitzer nominated novel of the same name and an outline by Paul Greengrass, for Greengrass to direct, should it get a greenlight.[78]

In June 2008, Daily Variety named Straczynski one of the top Ten Screenwriters to Watch. They announced Straczynski was writing Lensman for Ron Howard (to whom he had sold a screenplay entitled The Flickering Light), that he was selling another spec, Proving Ground, to Tom Cruise and United Artists.[49] In October 2008, it was announced that Straczynski was engaged to pen a remake of the science fiction classic Forbidden Planet.[79] In the fall of 2009, it was reported that Straczynski was writing a movie titled Shattered Union for Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney. The screenplay, based on the video game of that name, concerns itself with a present-day American civil war.[80][81]

In October 2012, Valiant Entertainment announced a live-action feature film adaptation on its comic book series Shadowman, written and executive produced by Straczynski.[82] The Flickering Light, Straczynski's directorial debut, was announced in February 2013, with the WWII drama set to be written and produced by Straczynski through his Studio JMS.[83] Straczynski and Studio JMS optioned Harlan Ellison's short story "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman", who granted the option only after reading a finished screenplay written by Straczynski.[84]

On San Diego Comic-Con 2014, it was announced that Straczynski and Graphic India would team up with Chernin Entertainment to produce a feature film adaptation of his upcoming graphic novel Titans, to be written and produced by Straczynski, through Studio JMS.[85]

Straczynski was also hired to adapt Red Mars for Spike TV, based on the Kim Stanley Robinson novels, with Vince Gerardis as producer.[86] In December 2015, Spike TV gave a 10-episode straight-to-series order to Red Mars, set to premiere in January 2017, with Straczynski serving as writer, executive producer, and showrunner through Studio JMS , and production set to begin in Summer 2016.[87][88] On March 25, 2016 Deadline reported that Straczynski had left his position as showrunner with Peter Noah replacing him but he too left due to creative differences with Spike. Spike has put the series on hold for further development.[89]

Studio JMS[edit]

In July 2012, J. Michael Straczynski announced the launch of Studio JMS to produce TV series, movies, comics and, down the road, games and web series.[90] On March 27, 2013 Netflix announced they would produce the show Sense8 with Studio JMS and the Wachowskis, which aired on June 5, 2015, and earned a season 2 announcement by August 10, 2015.[72]

Selected accolades[edit]

Year Award Category Title of work Result Ref.
1988 Bram Stoker Award Best First Novel Demon Night Nominated [91]
1994 Inkpot Award N/A N/A Won [92]
1996 Hugo Award Best Dramatic Presentation Babylon 5 episode: "The Coming of Shadows" Won [93]
1997 Hugo Award Best Dramatic Presentation Babylon 5 episode: "Severed Dreams" Won [94]
1999 Bradbury Award Outstanding Dramatic Presentation Babylon 5 Won [95]
2002 Eisner Award Best Serialized Story The Amazing Spider-Man: "Coming Home" Won [96]
2005 Eagle Award Favourite Comics Writer N/A Won [97]
2008 Christopher Award Feature Films Changeling Won [98]
2009 BAFTA Award Best Original Screenplay Changeling Nominated [42]
2009 Saturn Award Best Writing Changeling Nominated [99]
2013 International Icon Award N/A N/A Won [100]
2016 GLAAD Media Award Outstanding Drama Series Sense8 Won [101]
2016 Saturn Award Best New Media Television Series Sense8 Nominated [102]

An asteroid, discovered in 1992 at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, was honorarily named 8379 Straczynski.[103]

Bibliography[edit]

Novels[edit]

  • Demon Night (1988)
  • Othersyde (1990)
  • Tribulations (2000)

Non-fiction[edit]

  • The Complete Book of Scriptwriting (1982)

Collections[edit]

  • Tales from the New Twilight Zone (1989)
  • Straczynski Unplugged (2004)

Plays[edit]

  • Snow White: an assembly length children's play dramatized by J. Michael Straczynski. c. 1979.[104][105]

Comics[edit]

DC Comics[edit]

Joe's Comics[edit]

As a Top Cow imprint[edit]
As an Image Comics imprint[edit]

Marvel Comics and its various imprints[edit]

Other publishers[edit]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Credit Notes
2008 Changeling Written by
2009 Ninja Assassin Screenplay With Matthew Sand
2011 Thor Story With Ashley Edward Miller & Zack Stentz and Don Payne and Mark Protosevich
2012 Underworld: Awakening Screenplay With Len Wiseman & John Hlavin and Allison Burnett
2013 World War Z Screen Story With Matthew Michael Carnahan and Drew Goddard & Damon Lindelof, based on the novel by Max Brooks

Television[edit]

Year Title Credited as Notes
Writer Director Producer Executive producer
1984–1985 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Yes Staff writer (9 episodes)
1985 She-Ra: Princess of Power Yes Co-creator,[110][111] Writer (9 episodes), story editor
1985 Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors Yes Staff writer (13 episodes)
1986–1989 The Twilight Zone Yes Writer (12 episodes), story editor
1986–1990 The Real Ghostbusters Yes Writer (21 episodes), story editor
1987 CBS Storybreak Yes Writer (1 episode)
1987 Spiral Zone Yes Writer (1 episode)
1987–1988 Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future Yes Writer (14 episodes), executive story consultant
1989 Nightmare Classics Yes Writer (1 episode)
1990 Jake and the Fatman Yes Writer (5 episodes), executive story consultant
1991–1993 Murder, She Wrote Yes Yes Writer (7 episodes), co-producer, producer
1993 Walker, Texas Ranger Yes Yes Writer (1 episode), supervising producer
1993–1998 Babylon 5 Yes Yes Yes Creator; writer (92 episodes), director (1 episode)
1999 Crusade Yes Yes Creator; writer (10 episodes)
2002–2004 Jeremiah Yes Yes Creator; writer (22 episodes)
2015–2018 Sense8 Yes Yes Co-creator; writer (12 episodes)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Straczynski, J. Michael (1994-06-23). "Pronunciation? Help!". Google Groups, originally published on rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5. Retrieved 2011-12-11. 
  2. ^ "Netflix has cancelled Sense8". The Independent. 2017-06-02. Retrieved 2017-06-07. 
  3. ^ Straczynski, J. Michael (2000-09-25). "What's "ga" stand for in a chat?". Google Groups, originally published on rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated. Retrieved 2011-12-11. 
  4. ^ Straczynski, J. Michael (2007-05-22). "Straczynski on Being Online". YouTube. Retrieved 2007-06-24. 
  5. ^ "George Bush vs. Spider-Man". 10zenmonkeys.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-06. Retrieved 2008-12-15. 
  6. ^ "J. Michael Straczynski Biography (1954–)". Filmreference.com. 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. 
  7. ^ Straczynski, J. Michael (1995-01-24). "Re: ATTN JMS: Why Accelerate t". JMSNews, originally published on rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated. Retrieved 2007-02-18. 
  8. ^ a b Straczynski, J. Michael (1994-05-25). "Kiwi: I was referring to killing... (GENIE)". JMSNews. Retrieved 2016-04-17. 
  9. ^ Straczynski, J. Michael (1979). Snow White. Performance Publishing/Baker's Plays. p. 49. ISBN 0-87440-590-4. 
  10. ^ "Alien Worlds Radio Show Index". Old-time.com. 2007-07-25. Archived from the original on August 8, 2004. 
  11. ^ a b c Plume, Kenneth (September 5, 2000). "Interview with J. Michael Straczynski (Part 1 of 4)". IGN. Archived from the original on 2014-04-13. Retrieved November 13, 2010. 
  12. ^ May, Hal, ed. (1983). Contemporary Authors Volume 109. Gale Research Company. ISBN 9780810319097. 
  13. ^ "HUP037 Scriptwriting". Course Syllabus. London Metropolitan University. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2007-09-13. 
  14. ^ Hart, Liz (2007). "CW3029 – Writing for Radio". Course Syllabus. University of Central Lancashire. Archived from the original on 2008-01-21. Retrieved 2007-09-13. 
  15. ^ Twitter/Facebook post
  16. ^ "Interview with J. Michael Straczynski". ign.com. 2000-09-05. Archived from the original on 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
  17. ^ J. Michael Straczynski. "Masters of the Universe". Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
  18. ^ Filmation/J. Michael Straczynski. "She-Ra Breakdowns". Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
  19. ^ "Interview with Wendy and Richard Pini". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
  20. ^ a b c The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection DVD interview with J. Michael Straczynski.
  21. ^ Straczynski, J. Michael. "new jms tv series". Retrieved 2011-12-11. 
  22. ^ Straczynski, J. Michael (1994-11-09). "B5 – Capt Power". Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
  23. ^ Straczynski, J. Michael (1995-03-23). "How'd You Meet Harlan". Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
  24. ^ Straczynski, J. Michael (1998-06-20). "The Harlan Award". Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
  25. ^ Straczynski, J. Michael (1996). The (Even More!) Complete Book of Scriptwriting. Writer's Digest. 
  26. ^ Straczynski, J. Michael (1995-07-13). "Looking for Captain Power". Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
  27. ^ Straczynski, J. Michael (1996-03-05). "click... *click*... CLIC". JMSNews, originally published on AOL. Archived from the original on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  28. ^ "Awards for "Nightmare Classics" (1989)". IMDB: The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 27 August 2012. 
  29. ^ Straczynski, J. Michael (1991-11-20). "Official Announcement". Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
  30. ^ Straczynski, J. Michael (2005-05-21). "Babylon 5 Scripts Site Nearly Ready, And More!". JMSNews. Retrieved 2006-12-24. 
  31. ^ The Babylon 5 Scripts Team (2008-12-23). "Babylon 5 Music Videos Just Released". Babylon 5 Scripts. Retrieved 2008-12-27. [permanent dead link]
  32. ^ Manning, Matthew K.; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "2000s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 305. ISBN 978-0756641238. TV creator J. Michael Straczynski and comics legend John Romita, Jr. not only exposed Spider-Man to a horde of mystical foes, they also introduced the idea that [Peter] Parker's origin may not be as accidental as he had thought. 
  33. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2012). "2000s". Spider-Man Chronicle Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 978-0756692360. The most powerful Spider-Man comic of the year was Straczynski and Romita, Jr.'s response to the horrific events of 9–11...Spider-Man's 9-11 story was a highly charged, beautifully produced tribute to the heroes and victims of the attack. 
  34. ^ Manning "2000s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 327
  35. ^ Cowsill "2000s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 304: "The five-part story, written by J. Michael Straczynski and drawn by Ron Garney saw a vengeful Spider-Man tearing his way through the New York underworld."
  36. ^ Cowsill "2000s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 307: "Writer J. Michael Straczynski was joined by artist Joe Quesada...for a four-part tale that proved to be one of the most controversial Spidey stories of all time."
  37. ^ Manning "2000s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 316: "Writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Gary Frank took a surprisingly dark reassessment of the Squadron Supreme."
  38. ^ Manning "2000s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 323: "Scribes J. Michael Straczynski and Samm Barnes, with artist Brandon Peterson, retold Dr. Strange's mystical origin for a new generation of fans in this six-issue limited series.
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  110. ^ J. Michael Straczynski [@straczynski] (July 16, 2018). ""The original He-Man bible was written in large measure by Larry DiTillio; Larry and I later co-wrote the bible for the She-Ra series. Filmation, being Filmation, never wanted any credits on those docs so I don't know if they survive with or without the credits."" (Tweet) – via Twitter. 
  111. ^ J. Michael Straczynski [@straczynski] (July 16, 2018). ""Larry and I created the character and her world (after Filmation/Mattel named her She-Ra)..."" (Tweet) – via Twitter. 

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

Preceded by
Howard Mackie 		The Amazing Spider-Man writer
2001–2007 		Succeeded by
Bob Gale
Marc Guggenheim
Dan Slott
Zeb Wells
Preceded by
Karl Kesel 		Fantastic Four writer
2005–2007 		Succeeded by
Dwayne McDuffie
Preceded by
Michael Avon Oeming
(with Daniel Berman) 		Thor writer
2007-2009 		Succeeded by
Kieron Gillen
Preceded by
James Robinson 		Superman writer
2010 		Succeeded by
Chris Roberson
Preceded by
Gail Simone 		Wonder Woman writer
2010 (with Phil Hester) 		Succeeded by
Brian Azzarello
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=J._Michael_Straczynski&oldid=852655797"