How It Started

Michileen knew he wanted to become a professional writer as early as the fifth grade when he first read J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. His earliest ambitions focused on becoming the next Tolkien, but early trips to the fantasy sections of bookstores revealed plenty of authors were already working on that. 

He landed his first paid writing gig in the mid-90s working part-time for the campus section of the St. Petersburg Times. In the early aughts, Michileen reignited his childhood passion for comic books and began writing online reviews and blogs about them. He began with personal blogs, eventually contributing to sites like Popdose and PopMatters. 

In early 2018, two years after Michileen found an office job with New York State, he was recruited to write about comic book-related media part-time for Looper, and also began freelancing for Digital Trends. The following summer, he left his office job and began freelance writing full-time.

Michileen initially contacted GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT in the summer of 2021 in the hopes of securing more freelance work, but he was soon recruited as a part-time staff writer. His role at the site quickly expanded to Team Editor, and now Deputy Editor.

How It’s Going

Michileen Martin spends his weekdays editing GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT‘s great team of writers, training upcoming editors, writing articles, and arguing pop culture with his fellow Deputy Editors. 

When he’s not working, Michileen still loves reading and writing fiction, obsessing over comics, and giving a stink eye to anyone who suggests any fictional character could defeat the Incredible Hulk. He nurses a small nation of nerd obsessions like Star Trek and Tolkien Dwarves while doing his best to work a steady stream of non-franchise literature into his reading diet.

He lives in upstate New York with his girlfriend of four years and their two cats: each named after fantasy Dwarves: Gimli (Lord of the Rings) and Bupu (Dragonlance).