Joseph Michael Straczynski (innate July 17, 1954) is an award-winning American writer/producer of television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is likewise the playwright, journalist and author of a easily-regarded tome in scriptwriting. He is best known when a developer, executive producer and head writer for the science fiction TV series Babylon 5 and Crusade. Straczynski wrote virtually all of the Babylon Quint episodes, notably an unbroken 59-episode start including a lot of the third & 4th seasons. He is too the noted participant inside Usenet and other early computer networks, touching fans across various on the net forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1985. He occurs as friend & collaborator by having speculative fiction author Harlan Ellison, a student & friend of Norman Corwin and an outspoken admirer of the work of Rod Serling.

Straczynski occurs as graduate of San Diego State University, having earned degrees within psychology and sociology (with minors around philosophy and literature). When at SDSU, he wrote successfully for a student newspaper, at days penning and then numbers of articles that a paper was jokingly known as the "Daily Joe." Straczynski presently lives in the Los Angeles area with his married woman, fellow writer Kathryn M. Drennan.

Straczynski's agent title is J. Michael Straczynski, although informally he goes by "Joe". Inside print, & particularly in Usenet, he is often referred to by his initials jms.

Early years
Straczynski hails from either Paterson, New Jersey.

Based on data from a jacket bio for the 1st edition of his scriptwriting text (look at Other work below), Straczynski had the play produced after he was Seventeen, the sitcom produced whilst he was Twenty-one, & sold his 1st moving-picture show script whenever he was Xxiv. Per age of Twenty-eight, he experienced credits that involved television & film scripts, radio scripts for Alien Worlds & a Mutual Broadcasting System, a 12 plays, & extra than 150 newspaper & magazine articles. He experienced likewise been teaching his craft for many years at various lectures & seminars around California & elsewhere.

He too spent a bit of instance co-hosting a Hour 25 radio talk show with Larry DiTillio.

Television

Straczynski began inside television inside 1983, working on various alive shows, & he quickly worked his way from either staff writer to executive producer, culminating within his best known television act: Babylon 5 (for which he won back-to-back Hugo Awards). He wrote the astonishing 91 away from Babylon Little phoebe's 110 episodes, besides when a pilot & 5 television movies. A character-caused space opera is also notable for its 5 season story arc, gritty realism, and its pioneering, extensive utilise of CGI for its special effects. Straczynski was likewise owner & executive producer of B5's aborted sequel series, Crusade, for which he wrote X of the Long dozen episodes.

Straczynski created Jeremiah, loosely based on a French post-apocalyptic comedian of the equivalent title. He wrote Nineteen of the 39 episodes.

The unfair names of Straczynski's more television credits: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - Staff Writer; specifically writing 8 episodes Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors - Staff Writer, specifically writing 11-14 episodes The New Twilight Zone - Story Editor; writer of 11 episodes The Real Ghostbusters - Story Editor; writer of 21 episodes & 1 Special Jake and the Fatman - Executive Story Editor; writer of 5 episodes Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future - Executive Story Editor; writer of 13 episodes Murder, She Wrote - Co-Producer; writer of 7 episodes

within addition, Straczynski was included in She-Ra: Princess of Power, and Spiral Zone, from which he flushed his title & utilized a anonym Fettes Grey (from either a list of the grave robbers in The Bodysnatcher). He besides wrote an episode of CBS Story Break (an adaptation of Evelyn Sibley Lampman's The Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek), too as an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger, where he was supervising producer at its inception.

Straczynski has as well worked in television picture. Outside of a Pentad Babylon 5 films, he wrote the award-winning adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, an attempted Captain Power spin-off pilot, Captain Power: The Beginning, and a Murder, She Wrote movie, Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For, which he also produced.

Novels and short stories
Straczynski is the creator of 3 horror novels - Demon Night, Othersyde, & Trial - & about twenty short stories, numerous of which are then collected around both compilations, Tales from either a Up to date Twilight Zone & Straczynski Unplugged. He wrote a outlines for nine of the canonical Babylon Phoebe novels, & is the creator of 4 Babylon 5 short stories published within magazines & (when of 2005) not however reprinted.

Comic books
Straczynski has yearn been a laughable aficionado, & wrote two or three comedian in the period of the 1980s, namely an issue of Teen Titans Spotlight, The Twilight Zone, and Star Trek. Using a exception of the Babylon 5 comics, television work took on top virtually all of his writing duties throughout a Eighties & 1990s, until 1999 when he started writing Rising Stars for Top Cow / .

Presently, Straczynski developed a good reputation in the comedian industry, & Marvel Comics signed him to an exclusive contract with the extremely regarded (& high merchandising) begin on The Amazing Spider-Man,'' Marvel's flagship title, including a somewhat controversial ASM #36 in which Spiderman deals using a Sep 11 attack on the World Trade Center & ASM #509-514 in which Peter Parker/Spiderman has to treat by owning a memory and preceding actions of his dead Girlfriend Gwen Stacy. More successful titles for Wonder followed.

Straczynski's function for Wonder includes: A Amazing Spider-Human - from either Vol. Deuce, Issue 30 Supreme Power - acclaimed 2003 reboot of the old Squadron Supreme Unknown: Beginnings & Endings - miniseries detailing Doctor Strange's origins Fantastic Four - from Issue 527 Dream Police - under the Icon Comics imprint The Book of Lost Souls - ongoing series, starting in September 2005, Icon Comics imprint Bullet Points - miniseries, 2006 Silver Surfer - miniseries, 2006

Graphic novels and collections
;Supreme Power Trade Paperbacks Volume Single: Email (#1-6) Volume Ii: Powers & Princedom (#7-12) Volume Terzetto: High Command (#13-18)

;The Amazing Spider-Man Trade Paperbacks Volume Unity: Coming Personal (#30-35) Volume Two: Revelations (#36-39) Volume Iii: Until A Stars Turn Cold (#40-45) Volume Quaternity: A Life & Death of Spiders (#46-50) Volume V: Unintended Results (#51-56) Volume Six: Happy Birthday (#57-58, #500-502) Volume Septenary: A Book of Ezekiel (#503-508) Volume Eight: Sins Retiring (#509-514)

;Rising Stars Trade Paperbacks Volume Zero: Visitations (#0, ½, Preview) Volume Ace: Innate inside Fire (#1-8) Volume Ii: Power (#9-16) Volume Leash: Fire & Ash (#17-Two dozen)

;Midnight Nation Graphic novel Entire 12-issue series collected within of these volume

;Delicate Creatures Graphic novel have-alone graphic novel

;Strange: Beginnings and Endings Graphic novel Entire 6-issue miniseries

Other work
Straczynski wrote A Complete Book of Scriptwriting (ISBN 1852868821), typically utilized as a text inside introductory screenwriting courses, & today around its third edition. In the book Straczynski cites Mignon McLaughlin: "Anyone can write. The trouble with writers is that they can't do anything else." Throughout a book it becomes clear that he perceives himself when one of these poitiers writers.

Trivia
JMS is the author of the word spoo.

A asteroid 8379 Straczynski, discovered inside 1992 at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, was named within honor of Straczynski.

Straczynski appears around the cameo role as a technician in the final episode of Babylon 5, which he besides directed.

In 2004 Straczynski was approached by Paramount Studios to become the producer of the Star Trek: Enterprise series. He declined, believing that he would non exist as allowed to choose a indicate in the counsel he felt it should last. He did write the coarse of action for the newly Star Trek series, & there are lasting rumour that he can exist as asked to respond with a second Trek series later.

Straczynski is typically credited when existence a foremost TV producer to directly engage with its fans on Usenet & have their comment impact the look and sense of the indicate (in that pack, Babylon Quintet).