Burton
An intimate portrait of Tim Burton's creative journey from lonely outsider to visionary filmmaker who turned monsters, misfits, and death itself into art.
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Chapters
14 total- 01Chapter One - The Kid Behind the Curtain
- 02Chapter Two - Art School Freakshow
- 03Chapter Three - Exiled from the Kingdom
- 04Chapter Four - Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice
- 05Chapter Five - The Dark Knight’s Architect
- 06Chapter Six - Scissorhands and Soft Spots
- 07Chapter Seven - The Holiday Heist
- 08Chapter Eight - Wonka’s Mirror
- 09Chapter Nine - Love in the Graveyard
- 10Chapter Ten - Music and Monsters
- 11Chapter Eleven - Sweeney Todd and the Blood on Broadway
- 12Chapter Twelve - The Studio Strikes Back
- 13Chapter Thirteen - The Peculiar Children
- 14Chapter Fourteen - Still Drawing
Edition notes and short pages
Burton
Burton
The Boy Who Drew Monsters
by James Johnson
Dedication
To the outsiders, the daydreamers, and the lonely sketchers with nowhere to put their monsters.
This one's for you.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
TO THE ONES who didn’t tell me to stop.
To the ones who knew the difference between creepy and true.
To CJ, for calling the cover tough.
To the dark, the graveyards, the bats, and the scissors.
And to the boy I was, still hunched over the page.
You made it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JJ IS A cultural historian, multimedia storyteller, and author of over 250 published books. Known for his unflinching approach and visual storytelling, he explores the minds behind the myths. The creators who shaped our imaginations.
This is his tribute to one of them.
COPYRIGHT
© 2025 JAMES JOHNSON. All rights reserved.
This is an independently written and published non-fiction biography about the life and career of filmmaker Tim Burton. It is not authorized, approved, licensed, or endorsed by Tim Burton, his representatives, or any affiliated entities.
All trademarks, film titles, character names, and likenesses referenced within are the property of their respective owners and are used here under fair use for the purposes of commentary, education, criticism, and analysis.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without the prior written permission of the author.