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For the Kentucky Supreme Court justice, see Kelly Thompson (judge). For the character from the British soap opera Coronation Street, see Kelly Thomson.

Kelly Thompson is an American writer of novels and comic books. She is best known for the Jem and the Holograms comic with co-creator and artist Sophie Campbell, a modern re-imagining of the 1980s cartoon of the same name; the Eisner-nominated Marvel comic Hawkeye with artist Leonardo Romero, which stars Kate Bishop; and Captain Marvel featuring Carol Danvers with artist Carmen Carnero and colorist Tamra Bonvillain. Her other works include the novel The Girl Who Would Be King and comic series A-Force, West Coast Avengers, Jessica Jones and Mr and Mrs X. She is also the co-creator of the character Jeff the Land Shark with Daniele Di Nicuolo.

Quick Facts Alma mater, Occupations ...
Kelly Thompson
Alma materSavannah College of Art and Design
Occupations
  • Author
  • comic book writer
  • comics critic
Years active2009–present
Notable workHawkeye
Jessica Jones
Captain Marvel
Rogue & Gambit
X-Men
It's Jeff!
Website1979semifinalist.com
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Early life

Thompson stated she had "been writing in some way shape or form for about as long as [she] can remember."[1] Thompson graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a degree in Sequential Art.[2][3]

Comics career

What is life but laughing and crying? It's what we got [...] I want to lighten things up with jokes because I want to make you laugh and then I want to break your heart and then I want to make you laugh again.

Kelly Thompson, 2016 interview with Vox[4]

CBR

Thompson got her start in the comics industry as staff writer for the website CBR, where she worked from 2009 to 2015 writing reviews and She Has No Head!, a column centered around women in comics.[2]

IDW Publishing

In 2014, IDW Publishing announced Thompson would write their new Jem and the Holograms comic with artist Sophie Campbell, a modern re-imagining of the cartoon.[5] Thompson wrote the comic for two years, with the first issue released in March 2015 and concluding with issue #26 on June 14, 2017.[6][7]

Marvel Comics

During the 2015 "Secret Wars" storyline, Thompson co-wrote her first Marvel comic, a four issue tie-in series titled Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps with Kelly Sue DeConnick.[8] She also wrote the solo series of Kate Bishop, the second Hawkeye. It followed Bishop, who opened her own detective company on the west coast of the United States.[9] For her work on Hawkeye, Thompson was nominated for an Eisner for best continuing series in 2018.[10] The series was cancelled by Marvel after 16 issues in 2018.[11]

In January 2018, Marvel Comics announced it had signed Thompson to an exclusive contract.[12] That same month, the first issue of Thompson's Rogue & Gambit was released, which had been announced ahead of New York Comic Con 2017.[13] It followed Rogue and Gambit, who reignite their relationship while investigating the disappearance of mutants at a vacation resort.[14] Following the success of Rogue & Gambit, Thompson wrote the series Mr. and Mrs. X about Rogue and Gambit as a married couple following their surprise wedding in X-Men Gold #30.[15][16]

Starting July 2018, Thompson took over Jessica Jones from Brian Michael Bendis.[17] Jessica Jones was the first line of 'digital original'-only titles, which were primarily focused on Marvel characters who have their own television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They were 40-page sized issues released every month over the course of three months, and were later released as physical trade paperbacks.[18][19]

In October 2018, Marvel announced announced she also would write the new ongoing Captain Marvel series featuring Carol Danvers with artist Carmen Carnero and colorist Tamra Bonvillain.[20] The first issue was released on January 9, 2019 and sold more than a hundred thousand copies, Thompson's first comic to reach this milestone.[21][22]

Starting in March 2019, Thompson also wrote a five-issue Sabrina the Teenage Witch miniseries for Archie Comics,[23] which concluded in September of that same year.[24] The miniseries was met with critical acclaim and it won 2019's IGN People's Choice award.[25][26] Thompson was also co-writer of the X-Men storyline "X-Men: Disassembled".[27]

In 2019, Thompson wrote the story "Unusual Suspects" for the first issue of the all-female Marvel Fearless anthology, alongside Captain Marvel artist Carnero and colorist Bonvillain.[28][29] Part of a mini-series created entirely by women, Thompson's contribution focused on Jessica Jones.[30]

Thompson was one of the writers on a Spider-Man story called Amazing Spider-Man: Full Circle #1. The comic followed Peter Parker, who goes on a globe-hopping adventure.[31] It was released on October 23, 2019.[32]

She created the character of Jeff the Landshark in West Coast Avengers and wrote a Marvel Unlimited-exclusive solo title, It's Jeff!, starting 2021.[33]

DC Comics

In 2023, Thompson announced she would be writing a new Birds of Prey series for DC Comics.[34]

Other Work

In 2016, Thompson and Brenden Fletcher wrote a spin-off six-issue Power Rangers mini-series titled Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink for Boom! Studios.The mini-series was focused on the Pink Ranger.[35]

In 2018, Thompson wrote a five-issue Nancy Drew comic, which followed the titular character as a 17-year-old who has to return to the home she'd left behind and solve a mystery that involves childhood friends and someone who's out to end Nancy's crime-fighting career permanently with her death. It was published by Dynamite.[36]

In 2021, Thompson launched a deal with Substack to create exclusive comics, such as Black Cloak, with artwork done by her Jem collaborator Meredith McClaren, and The Cull, with art done by Mattia de Lulis.[37] In 2022, it was announced that Black Cloak would receive a print release via Image Comics in January 2023.[38] In May 2023, it was announced that The Cull would also a print release via Image, with the first issue set to release August that same year.[39]

Awards

For her work on Hawkeye, Thompson was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series in 2018.[10][40] A year later, she was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best writer for her work on Nancy Drew (Dynamite); Hawkeye, Jessica Jones, Mr. & Mrs. X, Rogue & Gambit, Uncanny X-Men and West Coast Avengers (Marvel).[41] In 2021, she won an Eisner Award for Best New Series for her work on Black Widow.[42] Her series It's Jeff! was nominated for Best Digital Comic at the 2022 Eisner Awards.[43][44]

At the 2024 Eisner Awards, she received the most nominations with being up for five awards, including Best Limited Series, Best New Series, Best Continuing Series, Best Humor Publication and Best Writer.[45] She, with artists Gurihiru, won Best Humor Publication for It's Jeff: The Jeff-Verse #1.[46]

Activism

In June 2019, Thompson joined the Shots Fired project to raise money to combat gun violence. The comic was published by Comicker Press, and was scheduled to be released later that year after a successful Kickstarter funding campaign. The proceeds from the book's sale went to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and the Community Justice Reform Coalition.[47]

Works in other media

In 2012, she launched a Kickstarter campaign for her first novel, The Girl Who Would Be King. The crowdfunded campaign reached $26,478, 330% of its original goal, and was released in September of that same year. The story involves two girls with extraordinary powers, one who uses them for good, one for bad, who are about to meet for the first time.[48][49][50] In 2014, the novel was optioned for a movie adaptation by Logan Pictures. Thompson told io9, "We had a lot of interest in the book. I think we had at least half a dozen legitimate companies inquiring about the rights. We also had some more intimate interest from writers and smaller producers, a couple film agents also came calling."[49][51]

Bibliography

Books

  • The Girl Who Would Be King 368 pages, 2012, ISBN 978-0-9882-6973-6
  • Storykiller 286 pages, 2014, ISBN 978-0-9916-4925-9

Comics

IDW Publishing

  • Jem and the Holograms #1-26 (March 2015-June 2017)
    • Volume 1: Showtime (tpb, 152 pages, 2015, ISBN 1-63140-395-8) collects:
    • Volume 2: Viral (tpb, 152 pages, 2016, ISBN 1-63140-579-9) collects:
      • "Viral" (with Emma Vieceli, in #7-9, 2015)
      • "Rio Pacheco Boy Reporter" (with Corin Howell, in #10, 2015)
      • Jem and the Holograms Outrageous Annual 2015 (with among other artist, 2015)
      • Jem and the Holograms Holiday Special (with Amy Mebberson, 2015)
    • Volume 3: Dark Jem (tpb, 136 pages, 2016, ISBN 1-63140-683-3) collects:
      • "Dark Jem" (with Sophie Campbell, in #11-16, 2016)
    • Volume 4: Enter The Stingers (tpb, 152 pages, 2017, ISBN 1-63140-837-2) collects:
      • "Ch-ch-changes" (with Jen Bartel, in #17-18, 2016)
      • "Enter the Stingers" (with Meredith McClaren, in #19-23, 2016-2017)
    • Volume 5: Truly Outrageous (tpb, 124 pages, 2017, ISBN 1-6314-0914-X) collects:
      • "Truly Outrageous" (with Gisele Lagace, in #24-26, 2007)
      • Jem and the Holograms Outrageous Annual 2017 (with various artists, 2017)
  • Ghostbusters: Deviations, one-shot (with Nelson Daniel, March 2016) collected in Deviations: In a World... Where Everything Changed (tpb, 136 pages, 2016, ISBN 1-63140-675-2)
  • Constance & Nano: Engineering Adventure #1, one-shot (with by Nicoletta Baldari, October 2016)
  • Jem: The Misfits #1-5 (with Jenn St-Onge, December 2016-June 2017)

Image Comics

  • The Cull #1-5 (August 2023-January 2024)

Dark Horse Comics

  • Creepy #20, "Verto" (with Ramon Bachs, April 2015)
  • Heart in a Box (seven-issue limited series with Meredith McClaren, May–July 2015, tpb, 160 pages, 2015, ISBN 1-61655-694-3)

Marvel Comics

DC Comics

  • Harley Quinn: Black, White, and Redder #2 ("Origin Stories for Dummies", with Annie Wu, 2023)
  • Birds of Prey #1-present (September 2023-present)
    • Volume 1: Megadeath (#1-6, illustrated by Leonardo Romero and Arist Deyn, tpb, 160 pages, 2024, ISBN 1-7795-2558-3)
  • Absolute Wonder Woman #1-present (illustrated by Hayden Sherman, October 2024-present)

Dynamite Comics

  • Nancy Drew #1-5 (with Jenn St-Onge, June – October 2018) collected in Nancy Drew: The Palace Of Wisdom (tpb, 128 pages, 2019, ISBN 1-5241-0849-9)

Boom! Studios

Archie Comics

References

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