George R.R. Martin has become a household name ever since his best-selling books were adapted into HBO’s most popular television series of all time
Game of Thrones. It has been shown in over 170 countries and has been illegally downloaded more than any other program on Earth. It boasts one of the most diverse and obsessive fans, yet there are many who still don’t know much about the creator of their favorite show.
For this list, we’re looking at some fascinating fun facts about the beloved Novelist and Screenwriter George R. R. Martin. We’ll cover some of his passions, his place of origin, his lifelong convictions, and struggles that helped shape and mold him into one of the most acclaimed writers in modern literature.
Here are 12 Facts You Might Not Know About George R. R. Martin.
12. He’s a Comic Book Fanatic
Unknown to many, George R.R. Martin is an avid comic book fan. He grew up with a particular fondness for Marvel stories such as the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. He currently has a large collection of comic books today and is a heavy reader to this day.
Speaking with John Hodgman on a public radio broadcast Bullseye, Martin describes his fascination with comic books and its influences on him as a young writer:
“The Marvel comics that I was writing letters to were really revolutionary for the time. Stan Lee was doing some amazing work...
…The Marvel characters were constantly changing. Important things were happening. The lineup of the Avengers was constantly changing. People would quit and they would have fights and all of that, as opposed to DC, where everybody got along and it was all very nice, and of course all the heroes liked each other. None of this was happening. So really, Stan Lee introduced the whole concept of characterization [chuckles] to comic books, and conflict, and maybe even a touch of gray in some of the characters. And boy, looking back at it now, I can see that it probably was a bigger influence on my own work than I would have dreamed.”
This Catholic Prep Schooler from Marist High wrote numerous impassioned letters to “Stan’s Soapbox” as many fans did at that time. He heartily shared his thoughts on his favorite and least characters and stories. Even as a high schooler, his eloquence with the written word is apparent.
One character and his initial arc stood out to him and that was Wonder-Man. It wasn’t the fact that the Wonder-Man character was from Paterson New Jersey, it was that Wonder-Man was the most tragic of super-heroes at the time. Wonder-Man’s first appearance happened to also be his last (at least until they revived him some time later). Martin says of Wonder-Man.
“I liked the character — it was a tragic, doomed character. I guess I’ve responded to tragic, doomed characters ever since I was a high-school kid.”
11. His Insular Life in Bayonne Fueled his Creativity
One would think that the author of one of the most richly dense and expansive worlds in modern literature had traveled the globe as a youth, but actually, he had a pretty modest upbringing in the projects of 35 East First Street in Bayonne, New Jersey. As the son of a longshoreman, Martin spent his youth watching big ships sail across the Brady’s Dock and Kill Van Kull waterway dreaming of far off worlds and of someday being an astronaut. He made the most of his time selling stories of his to other children in the neighborhood. That all was stopped by the parents of the children because they were having nightmares. He became an insatiable reader since his world consisted mainly of school and his home. He yearned to travel and reading helped his overactive imagination explore worlds far from his own.
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