This is a bibliography of the American screenwriter Joseph Michael Straczynski who has written comics, plays, novels and non-fiction books for several different publishers.
Plays Snow White: an assembly length children's play dramatized by J. Michael Straczynski. c. 1979.
Non-fiction The Complete Book of Scriptwriting from Writer's Digest Books (265 pages, 1982, ; Second edition, 432 pages, 1996, ; Revised edition, 448 pages, 2002, ) Gardners Books has also released The Complete Book of Scriptwriting: Third edition (432 pages, 1997, ) Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood from Harper Voyager (hc, 480 pages, 2019, ; sc, 2020, ) Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer: The Artistry, Joy, and Career of Storytelling from BenBella Books (230 pages, 2021, )
Selected articles, short stories, introductions, and prefaces According to Straczynski, during the early years of his career he was publishing "roughly five hundred articles, columns, and reviews in six years".
"A Last Testament for Nick and the Trooper." In Shadows 6, edited by Charles L. Grant (1983). ISBN 0385182597. "TV's Weirdest Censors: Looking for Satan in Kids' Cartoons." Penthouse. June 1991. "Say Hello, Mr. Quigley." Pulphouse. Sept/Oct 1992. Foreword. Ellison Wonderland. 2015 Edition. "A Brief Introduction to The Last Dangerous Visions." In The Last Dangerous Visions (2024). "Ellison Exegesis." In The Last Dangerous Visions (2024). Preface. Harlan Ellison's Greatest Hits. (2024).
Television scripts Straczynski wrote extensively for television animation and live-action series including He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra: Princess of Power, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, The Real Ghostbusters, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, Twilight Zone, Walker, Texas Ranger, Jake and the Fatman, Murder, She Wrote, Babylon 5, Crusade, Jeremiah, and Sense8.
In his autobiography Becoming Superman, he notes that within three years of selling his first episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe he had written "sixty-six produced scripts, along with dozens of outlines and premises for outside writers, [and] story-edited over 150 freelance scripts".
Straczynski later stated that prior to writing five episodes for "Jake and the Fatman" he had written "eighty-one scripts, averaging eleven to twenty scripts per season".
During the production of Babylon 5, Straczynski served as the primary writer of the series, writing 92 of the show's 110 hour-long episodes as well as five television movies.
Babylon 5 Novels Several later official Babylon 5 novels were written by other authors but were based on story outlines provided by J. Michael Straczynski.
The Psi Corps Trilogy written by J. Gregory Keyes Dark Genesis - The Birth of the Psi Corps (1998, ) Deadly Relations - Bester Ascendant (1999, ) Final Reckoning - The Fate of Bester (1999, ) Legions of Fire written by Peter David. The Long Night of Centauri Prime (1999, ) Armies of Light and Dark (2000, ) Out of the Darkness (2000, ) The Passing of the Techno-Mages written by Jeanne Cavelos. Casting Shadows (2001, ) Summoning Light (2001, ) Invoking Darkness (2001, ) Novelizations Babylon 5: In the Beginning written by Peter David (1998, ) Babylon 5: Thirdspace written by Peter David (1998, ) Babylon 5: A Call to Arms written by Robert Sheckley (1999, )
Babylon 5 Short Stories Straczynski penned a number of short stories expanding on several key story-points from the television series, along with a number of other established authors. "The Shadow of His Thoughts," by J. Michael Straczynski (Summer, 1999, Amazing Stories Magazine) "Genius Loci," by J. Michael Straczynski (Winter, 2000, Amazing Stories Magazine) "Space, Time, and the Incurable Romantic" by J. Michael Straczynski (Summer, 2000, Amazing Stories Magazine); download "Hidden Agendas," by J. Michael Straczynski (May 2000, The Official Babylon 5 Magazine) "True Seeker," by Fiona Avery (July 2000, The Official Babylon 5 Magazine) "The Nautilus Coil," by J. Gregory Keyes (August 2000, The Official Babylon 5 Magazine)
Babylon 5 Books B5Books.com was a website that published script books, encyclopedias, and other reference works related to the television series Babylon 5.
The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski Volume 1 (2005) The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski Volume 2 (2005) The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski Volume 3 (2006) The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski Volume 4 (2006) The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski Volume 5 (2006) The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski Volume 6 (2006) The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski Volume 7 (2006) The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski Volume 8 (2006) The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski Volume 9 (2006) The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski Volume 10 (2007) The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski Volume 11 (2007) The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski Volume 12 (2007) The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski Volume 13 (2008) The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski Volume 14 (2008) The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski Volume 15 (2008) Babylon 5 Scripts: Other Voices Volume 1 (2008) Babylon 5 Scripts: Other Voices Volume 2 (2008) Babylon 5 Scripts: Other Voices Volume 3 (2008) Across Time & Space: The Chronologies of B5 (2008, 2012) The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski TV Movies (2009) But In Purple... I'm Stunning (2008, ) Babylon 5: Artifacts From Beyond The Rim (2010, ) Crusade: What The Hell Happened? Volume 1 (2010, ) Crusade: What The Hell Happened? Volume 2 (2010, ) Crusade: What The Hell Happened? Volume 3 (2010, ) Crusade: Behind The Scenes (2010, ) Crusade: Other Voices Volume 1 (2011, ) Crusade: Other Voices Volume 2 (2011, ) The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski Volume 2.5 (2013) Encounters with J. Michael Straczynski: Archived by the Great Machine of Epsilon 3 (2014, ) Highlights from Echoes of All Our Conversations (2014, ) Highlights from Babylon 5: The Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski (2014, ) Babylon 5 Encyclopedia: The Final & Complete Edition (2018) Echoes Of All Our Conversations The Actors - Part 1 (2023, ) Echoes Of All Our Conversations The Actors - Part 2 (2023, ) Echoes Of All Our Conversations The Actors - Part 3 (2023, ) Echoes Of All Our Conversations The Actors - Bonus Book (2023, ) Commentaries on Babylon 5: Introductions, Rude Comments & Balderdash Part 1 of 2 (2025) Commentaries on Babylon 5: Introductions, Rude Comments & Balderdash Part 2 of 2 (2025)
Comics Early work at DC and Joe's Comics Early in his career, Straczynski penned a few single-issue stories for series based on established franchises: DC Comics: Teen Titans Spotlight #13: "Cyborg" (with Chuck Patton, 1987) Star Trek vol. 3 #16: "Worldsinger" (with Gordon Purcell, 1991) The Twilight Zone vol. 2 #2: "Blind Alley" (with Todd Foxx, NOW, 1991) During the original series run of Babylon 5, Straczynski contributed opening issues to two tie-in series (also published by DC Comics): Babylon 5 #1: "In Darkness Find Me" (with Michael Netzer, 1995) collected in Babylon 5: The Price of Peace (tpb, 128 pages, 1998, ) Babylon 5: In Valen's Name #1 (of 3) (with Mike Collins, 1998) collected in Babylon 5: In Valen's Name (tpb, 80 pages, Titan, 1998, ) Between 1999 and 2006, Straczynski created, wrote and supervised original series under his own imprint Joe's Comics (published by Top Cow): Rising Stars (with Keu Cha, Christian Zanier, Ken Lashley, Stuart Immonen (#14) and Brent Anderson, 1999–2005) collected as: Born in Fire (collects #1–8, tpb, 192 pages, 2001, ) Power (collects #9–16, tpb, 192 pages, 2002, ) Fire and Ash (collects #17–24, tpb, 208 pages, 2006, ) Voices of the Dead and Bright (collects Rising Stars: Bright #1–3 and Rising Stars: Voices of the Dead #1–6, tpb, 226 pages, 2006, ) Visitations and Untouchable (collects #0, ½, Prelude one-shot and Rising Stars: Untouchable #1–5, tpb, 208 pages, 2007, ) Rising Stars: The Complete Slipcased Edition (collects #0–24, ½ and the Prelude one-shot, hc, 624 pages, 2005, ) Rising Stars Compendium (collects #0–24, ½, Prelude one-shot and the three spin-off series, hc, 1,008 pages, 2009, ; tpb, 2009, ) Midnight Nation #1–12, ½ (with Gary Frank, 2000–2002) collected as Midnight Nation (tpb, 288 pages, 2003, ; hc, 304 pages, 2009, ) Delicate Creatures (prose novel with illustrations by Michael Zulli, 56 pages, 2001, )
Exclusive contract with Marvel Comics Between 2001 and 2008, Straczynski was under an exclusive contract with Marvel (which nonetheless allowed him to continue writing for Joe's Comics until the launch of Icon): The Amazing Spider-Man (with John Romita, Jr., Mike Deodato, Jr., Mark Brooks (#515–518) and Ron Garney, 2001–2007) collected as: Issues #55–56 of the second volume and #503–505 are co-written by Straczynski and Fiona Avery. Ultimate Collection: The Amazing Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski Volume 1 (collects vol. 2 #30–45, tpb, 392 pages, 2009, ) Ultimate Collection: The Amazing Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski Volume 2 (collects vol. 2 #46–58 and vol. 1 #500–502, tpb, 416 pages, 2009, ) Ultimate Collection: The Amazing Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski Volume 3 (collects vol. 1 #503–518, tpb, 408 pages, 2010, ) Ultimate Collection: The Amazing Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski Volume 4 (collects vol. 1 #519–528, tpb, 480 pages, 2010, ) Includes Marvel Knights Spider-Man #21 (written by Straczynski, art by Pat Lee, 2006) as part of "The Other" inter-title crossover. Includes Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3 (written by Straczynski, art by Mike Wieringo, 2006) as part of "The Other" inter-title crossover. Ultimate Collection: The Amazing Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski Volume 5 (collects vol. 1 #529–545, tpb, 536 pages, 2010, ) Includes Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24 (written by Straczynski, art by Joe Quesada, 2007) as part of the "One More Day" inter-title crossover. Includes The Sensational Spider-Man vol. 2 #41 (written by Straczynski, art by Joe Quesada, 2007) as part of the "One More Day" inter-title crossover. The Amazing Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski Omnibus Volume 1 (collects vol. 2 #30–58 and vol. 1 #500–514, hc, 1,120 pages, 2019, ) The Amazing Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski Omnibus Volume 2 (collects vol. 1 #515–545 and the crossover issues, hc, 1,136 pages, 2020, ) Squadron Supreme: Supreme Power (with Gary Frank, Marvel MAX, 2003–2005) collected as: Contact (collects #1–6, tpb, 144 pages, 2004, ; hc, 2009, ) Powers and Principalities (collects #7–12, tpb, 144 pages, 2005, ; hc, 2009, ) High Command (collects #13–18, tpb, 144 pages, 2006, ; hc, 2009, ) Supreme Power: Hyperion #1–5 (with Dan Jurgens, Marvel MAX, 2005–2006) collected as Supreme Power: Hyperion (tpb, 120 pages, 2006, ; hc, 2009, ) Squadron Supreme vol. 2 #1–7 (with Gary Frank, Marvel Knights, 2006) Issues #1–5 are collected as Squadron Supreme: The Pre-War Years (hc, 168 pages, 2006, ; tpb, 2009, ) Ultimate Power #4–6 (co-written by Straczynski, Jeph Loeb and Brian Michael Bendis, art by Greg Land, 2007) collected in Ultimate Power (hc, 232 pages, 2008, ; tpb, 2008, ) Strange #1–6 (co-written by Straczynski and Samm Barnes, art by Brandon Peterson, Marvel Knights, 2004–2005) collected as Strange: Beginnings and Endings (tpb, 144 pages, 2005, ) Fantastic Four (with Mike McKone, 2005–2007) collected as: Fantastic Four by J. Michael Straczynski Volume 1 (collects #527–532, hc, 144 pages, 2006, ; tpb, 2006, ) The Life Fantastic (includes #533–535, tpb, 152 pages, 2006, ) The Road to Civil War (includes #536–537, tpb, 160 pages, 2007, ) Civil War: Fantastic Four (includes #538–541, tpb, 176 pages, 2007, ) Dream Police (with Mike Deodato, Jr., one-shot, Icon, 2005)