Becoming Superman is the autobiography of J. Michael Straczynski, probably best known for creating the sci-fi show Babylon 5 in the
1990’s, but whose career is much more varied. From animated series
(He-Man, She-Ra, The Real Ghostbusters), live action TV (Captain Power, Murder She
Wrote, Jeremiah and Sense8), films (Thor, Changeling) and comics (Spiderman,
Superman), there isn’t much that he hasn’t done – and that’s
not including the “Guide to Scriptwriting” which is a go to book of its kind ever since it was published in 1982.
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| Buy this book. Seriously, but it now! |
When this book was announced earlier in the year, I mentioned it to my good lady
and she kindly offered to buy me it for my birthday. Having read it
over a couple of days, I can honestly say this book made me laugh,
cry, cheer and despair – and that’s just the cats!
Straczynski’s life
is related with humour and a degree of honesty rarely found in most
biographies. Indeed, there is little varnish here at all. Beginning
with how his family made its way to the United States, and then
detailing the lives of his parents, it certainly feels as if nothing
has been left out. Once the set up has been completed, Mr Straczynski
takes centre stage for the rest of the book.
It is not an easy
read and more than once, I asked myself how exactly Straczynski ever
ended up being a functioning adult. Despite the knock backs and travails, he succeeded not only at that but also brilliantly in
his aim of being a writer. Along the way, you’ll find out how
screwed up families can be, the pitfalls of trying to make a career
out of writing and the sheer unfairness of the entertainment
industry. You also, however, meet some of the colleagues and friends
that have helped and nourished Mr Straczynski, and how deep
the human spirit can be when you find yourself in a precarious
situation. Individuals (and characters) include the late Harlan
Ellison, Michael O’Hare, Jeff Conaway and Andreas Katsulas.
What Straczynski
does do very well is reinforce the point that if you believe in
something enough and you keep trying, there is much you can achieve.
This book is evidence of that and throughout the harrowing struggles
of Straczynski’s life, he never gave up. Whether it be personal
issues, fighting his corner at work or hangovers from his family,
his self-belief and self-awareness have carried him forward. This is
a very worthy read and highly recommended.
Fiction next and
“Show me a Hero” by Patrick Alexander is something a lot more
cynical. Set in the then future 1980’s, (being published in the
late 1970’s), it posits a Britain ruled by a far left dictatorship
where personal freedoms have been crushed and a weakened resistance
group are trying to bring own the government. The main character, Tom
Ashman, is a high level operator with the resistance, planning a gold
bullion raid to fund its ongoing operations. The primary antagonist
is Colonel Julian Cunningham, chief of the Secret Police.
Alexander’s
writing is terse and no-nonsense. There is little frippery and, whilst
most of the characterisations suffer because of this, the two foes
are defined well enough to hook you into the story. With some very
on-the-mark jibes about British politics (few of which have dated at
all - make of that what you will),
“Show me a Hero” is an engaging tale well told. Tonally, it feels
very much like those typical ‘70’s TV shows The Sweeney and The
Professionals. Dated, but on the mark. There are a couple of issues
though: due to the lack of smaller character development, motivations
for some actions are muddled, and there is a fascination with
military kit and weaponry that borders on a fetish – though not to
the point of the terrible Jerry Ahern written series of
post-apocalyptic novels under the Survivalist banner. It is the
ending, though, that gives “Show me a Hero” its biggest punch and
elevates this book above similar pulpy tomes. Truly, it ends with a
wonderfully British cynicism that remains timeless.
Speaking of pulpy books, this brings me neatly to the first seven
Clive Cussler-penned Dirk Pitt novels. Seven??? Well, a recent
holiday to the US meant a fair bit of flying and loitering around
airports so I dusted off my aged Kindle and downloaded these titles
to see if, what I recall were decent stories when first read in the
late 1980’s, were worthy of that recollection. As L.P. Hartley (was he J.R.’s brother???) wrote, “The past is a
foreign country; they do things differently there.” and boy, is
that apt here.
First off, the positive points. The seven novels: Pacific Vortex,
Mayday!, Iceberg, Raise the Titanic!, Vixen 03, Night Probe!, Deep
Six, demonstrate Cussler’s improved writing (note – Pacific
Vortex was the sixth novel published but the first continuity-wise.
It was a first attempt at a novel by Cussler and published purely as
a “curio”). As each book was released, it shows Cussler becoming
more adept with intricate plots and action set pieces. The familiar
template of historical prologue followed by “present day” action
is well established by Deep Six, as is the expansion of the Pitt
universe. Characters change (smoking being the prime example here –
veritable chimneys at the start, with only a couple of cigar smokers
by book five) and a definitive timeline is in set up, placing the
action of these novels in the then-future late 1980’s. As
fantastical action thrillers, these are easy reads and decent enough
time fillers.
The negatives? Sigh…
The simple stuff first: Cussler’s characterisations. Essentially,
villains are two dimensional and are there to be beaten. There is
never any doubt that the good guys will win. Also, Cussler’s
depiction of women is, at least in these novels, dire and tone deaf.
Even by the time we get to Deep Six, published in 1984, he still
can’t write from a woman’s point of view without coming across as
more than a little sexist. Some might say old-school gentlemanly, but
a lot of female characters are there to be ogled, perused and
rescued. Even supposedly strong women are no match for Pitt’s
sexual magnetism. As for the other male characters, well, when one
(in Iceberg) remarks of a woman “She’s too young for menopause,
she must be on her period”, you know he was writing to an audience.
Mayday!, however, is the one that takes the prize for the most
awkward handling of a woman: Pitt’s actions, if undertaken
today, would land him in court. After finding a beautiful woman
still grieving her husband’s death eight years prior, he gives her
a hard slap about the face and then they promptly have at it on a
beach!
Then there is the representation of gay
characters. Reading Iceberg again left a nasty taste in my mouth as
Pitt masquerades as a gay man to fool the villain of the piece. The
portrayal is offensive, all over the top camp and clothing. The
language used to describer Pitt’s behaviour (“a goddammed homo
act” and “he thinks I am a faggot”) are just plain nasty –
though I suppose period accurate if we’re going to go there. The
introduction of St. Julien Perlmutter in Deep Six starts to even out
the balance but even then, upon receiving a welcoming hug, Pitt’s response is asking if Perlmutter wants a kick in the crotch. I know, as I noted
before, the past is a different place but attitudes really have
changed since then.
The presentation of technology in the earlier tales is very 1970’s, with computer banks and seemingly omnipotent computer decision making – very Dr Who! Cussler is, though, on more certain footing when it comes to cars and diving.
I
would like to say I’ll continue the Pitt series until the end of
the solely Clive Cussler penned stories, and maybe the first he
co-wrote with his son, Dirk – the humorously titled
“Black Wind” - purile of me, I know! For me, I find when a
co-author is added, books tend to lose that certain spark that made
them decent. Then again, by that point in his career, Cussler had
become so formulaic. It might not make much of a difference.
You may think I have judged these a tad harshly considering when they
were published, but then again, it is useful to see where the author
began and where they ended up. As you can still buy newly published
(co-authored) Pitt novels today, I think it is worthwhile re-reading
these and calling out where they have dated extremely poorly. Not
high literature by any means, they are still worth a go if you like
light-hearted thrillers. Just bear in mind that political and social
attitudes have changed significantly since their first publication.
