George’s Run

A Writer’s Journey through the Twilight Zone

HENRY CHAMBERLAIN

“George Clayton Johnson was one of the most brilliant and important writers of the twentieth century, creating classic episodes of The Twilight Zone and Star Trek, as well as coauthoring Logan’s Run and Ocean’s Eleven George’s Run spectacularly and charmingly invites you on the amazing journey of his life and legacy, from 1929 through the fifties and sixties to 2015 and beyond. It’s a trip down Memory Lane via time machine and rocket ship—and it will definitely blow your mind!”

—Marc Scott Zicree, author of The Twilight Zone Companion

“George Clayton Johnson’s limitless imagination fueled the foundations of sci-fi that made me the genre geek I am today. Filtered through Henry Chamberlain’s whimsical art, George’s Run is an intimate look at a personable writer’s journey and inspirations behind his iconic tales.”

—David Weiner, director of In Search of Darkness and editor in chief of Famous Monsters of Filmland

“In this surprising and inventive graphic biography, Henry Chamberlain looks deeply into the life and writing of George Clayton Johnson. What he finds is a truly American story that blends fact and fiction to describe the life of an underappreciated voice in 1960s Hollywood.”

—Bart Beaty, author of Twelve-Cent Archie and Comics Versus Art

George Clayton Johnson was an up-and-coming short story writer who broke into Hollywood in a big way when he cowrote the screenplay for Ocean’s Eleven. More legendary works followed, including Logan’s Run and classic scripts for shows like The Twilight Zone and Star Trek. In the meantime, he forged friendships with some of the era’s most visionary science fiction writers, including Ray Bradbury, Theodore Sturgeon, Richard Matheson, and Rod Serling.

Later in life, Johnson befriended comics journalist and artist Henry Chamberlain, and the two had long chats about his amazing life and career. Now Chamberlain pays tribute to his late friend in the graphic biography George’s Run, which brings Johnson’s creative milieu to life in vividly illustrated color panels. The result feels less like reading a conventional biography and more like sitting in on an intimate conversation between friends as they recollect key moments in pop culture history, as well as the colorful band of writers known as the “Rat Pack of Science Fiction.”

HENRY CHAMBERLAIN is a writer and artist whose work includes comics, illustration, and graphic recording. He maintains the pop culture website Comics Grinder, through which he first met George. He lives in Seattle.

224 pp 197 images 6.125 x 9.25

978-1-9788-3420-0 paper $24.95T

978-1-9788-3421-7 cloth $49.95SU

May 2023

Graphic Biography • Popular Culture

“Telling the story of postwar popular culture through the eyes of a pivotal writer, George’s Run offers fresh insights into pop culture history from a deeply personal perspective. Capturing the voice of a writer who helped shape our collective imagination, Chamberlain’s graphic novel highlights how a generation of creatives aspired to reshape our collective vision. This story calls attention to the creative community that shaped American culture. Whether you are a fan of television or intrigued by the creative communities that define a pivotal moment in U.S. entertainment history, this story of a writer’s journey will engage and inform.”

—Julian C. Chambliss, professor of English, Michigan State University

Table of Contents

Preface: A Touch of Strange

A Historical Portal by Paul Buhle

Author’s Note

George’s Run

A Remembrance by Craig Frank

The Final Interview

270 pp 16 color and 34 b/w images

6.125 x 9.25

978-1-9788-2865-0 paper $29.95AT

978-1-9788-2866-7 cloth $120.00SU

March 2023

Comics Studies

• Literary Studies

“The authors want comics to “be treated with the seriousness of so-called proper literature.” In this spirit, their book introduces readers to comics makers who should be celebrated for their significant contributions to expanding the horizons of the pleasures of reading.”

—Shiamin Kwa, author of Perfect Copies: Reproduction and the Contemporary Comic

“As a fellow true believer in comics as a high voltage energy conductor, I recommend Geczy and McBurnie’s book, one which highlights and categorizes some of the vibrant new methods and genres of cartooning-art power with a well-researched and passionate curation of contemporary gems as examples. May the kaleidoscopic galaxy of comics continue to unfurl! “

—Lale Westvind, cartoonist