'We Call Him JMS': Comics Fans
On the Man Behind 'Changeling'

Hero worship: Former Spider-Man writer J. Michael Straczynski is busy talking up his film Changeling this week, but that won't stop our comics guys from talking up his funnybook-world fame. Tony Rivetti Jr./Universal Pictures

 

by Trey Graham

Today on Morning Edition, NPR's Elizabeth Blair talks about the true story behind the new film Changeling with screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski -- who'll be better known to many Monkey See readers as the creator of TV's Babylon 5 and a longtime writer for Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man.

Wait, did somebody mention a superhero? Cue Monkey See's funnybook blogger Glen Weldon. Glen came down to the mothership earlier this week for an in-studio chat.

Joining him: fellow Marvel geek Jim Lesher, who works on NPR's Operations Desk. (The Ops crew keeps us plugged into the rest of the world, keeps us from fighting over studio time, handles logistics for remote broadcasts, and much more.)

And you know how it is when you put a couple of, ahem, enthusiasts in front of a microphone. Elizabeth asked two, maybe three questions, and the guys were off to the races.

Among the topics: 9/11 in the Marvel universe, Babylon 5 and what it taught TV about the Internet, and the Spider-Man storyline that drove Straczynski out of his skull. Plus: Comics-specific audio extras -- stuff you won't hear in the Morning Edition story -- taken from Blair's interview with Straczynski.

The result? Click the play button above, and hear for yourself.

2:00 AM ET | 10-24-2008 | permalink

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