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British journalist and writer (born 1975) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kieron Michael Gillen (/ˈɡɪlən/; born 30 September 1975)[3] is a British comic book writer and former video game and music journalist. In comics, Gillen is known for his creator-owned series such as Once & Future (2019–2022), Die (2018–2021), Phonogram (2006–2016), and The Wicked + The Divine (2014–2019), the latter two co-created with artist Jamie McKelvie and published by Image. He is also known for numerous Marvel Comics projects, such as Journey into Mystery, Uncanny X-Men, and Young Avengers in the early 2010s and Star Wars comics in the mid-to-late 2010s including Darth Vader, Star Wars, and co-creation of the character Doctor Aphra who starred in her own ongoing spin-off comic series Star Wars: Doctor Aphra of which Gillen wrote the first 19 issues. He returned to the X-Men in the 2020s with multiple series during the Krakoan Age for the Destiny of X, Sins of Sinister and Fall of X storylines.
| Kieron Gillen | |
|---|---|
Gillen at the 2011 New York Comic Con | |
| Born | Kieron Michael Gillen[1] 30 September 1975 |
| Nationality | British |
| Area(s) | Writer |
Notable works | Phonogram Uncanny X-Men Young Avengers The Wicked + The Divine Star Wars: Doctor Aphra |
| Awards | Inkpot Award (2016)[2] |
| kierongillen | |
Gillen has won the British Fantasy Award twice for Die. He has been nominated for a Hugo Award seven times, once for The Wicked + The Divine, three times for Once & Future, and three times for Die. He also has been nominated five times for a GLAAD Media Award, winning once for Young Avengers.
As a reviewer, Gillen has written for publications such as Amiga Power (under the pseudonym "C-Monster"), PC Gamer UK, The Escapist, Wired, The Guardian, Edge, Game Developer, Develop, MCV/Develop, GamesMaster, Eurogamer and PC Format,[citation needed] as well as the PC gaming-oriented website Rock Paper Shotgun,[4] In 2000, Gillen became the first-ever video game journalist to receive an award from the Periodical Publishers Association, for New Specialist Consumer Journalist.[5] Gillen is a fan of the work of the video game developer Warren Spector, having written positive pieces on several Spector's games, most notably Deus Ex and Thief: Deadly Shadows, both produced by Ion Storm.
In addition to his work as a reviewer, Gillen has acted as a guest speaker at numerous video game industry conferences.[6][7] In video game journalism, he created the New Games Journalism manifesto.[8][9][10][11]
He co-founded the British video game journalism website Rock Paper Shotgun in July 2007.[12][13] In a September 2010 post at Rock Paper Shotgun, Gillen announced he was leaving full-time video game journalism to devote his time to comic book writing.[14]
Gillen's earliest work in comics was published in various British small-press anthologies and Warhammer Monthly. The Guardian highlighted that Gillen and the artist Jamie McKelvie "met in 2003 at a convention where Gillen was selling his first photocopied comics".[15] Between 2003 and 2007, Gillen collaborated with McKelvie on a comic strip for PlayStation Official Magazine – UK, entitled "Save Point", following up with the pop music-themed urban fantasy series Phonogram,[16][15][17] which was described by Gillen as his "first real comic".[18] Veteran comics writer Warren Ellis dubbed the series "one of the few truly essential comics of 2006."[19] The first issue, published by Image Comics, went on sale in August 2006, with the first series running for six issues. The sequel, a series of one-shots subtitled The Singles Club, launched in December 2008.[20]
On 14 April 2008, it was announced Gillen would collaborate with artist Greg Scott to expand on Warren Ellis' newuniversal series with "a story about killing the future" set in 1959.[21] That year, he authored Crown of Destruction, a Warhammer Fantasy comic.[22][23] Further Marvel assignments included a Dazzler short story and a Beta Ray Bill one-shot, which was followed by a three-issue mini-series.[24]
Gillen's workload at Marvel increased in late 2009. At HeroesCon, it was announced he would be writing a tie-in to the "Dark Reign" storyline, the mini-series Dark Avengers: Ares,[25] and, during the 2009 Chicago Comic Con, it was announced he would collaborate with Steven Sanders on S.W.O.R.D, an X-Men spin-off series.[26][27] Gillen took over Thor following a run by J. Michael Straczynski, writing issues #604[28] to 614.[29]
In late 2010, Gillen launched another X-Men spin-off Generation Hope that picked up plot threads from the end of the "Second Coming" storyline.[30][31][32][33][34] Gillen wrote the title for twelve issues before passing it to James Asmus.[35] After co-scripting a few issues of Uncanny X-Men with outgoing writer Matt Fraction, Gillen took over the series with issue #534.1.[36] His time on the title saw the book through the 2011 "Fear Itself" storyline, a renumbering to #1 in the wake of the "Schism" storyline, and a tie-in with the "Avengers vs. X-Men" storyline. After finishing his run with issue #20, Gillen penned a five-issue epilogue miniseries AvX: Consequences that dealt with the aftermath of that event.[37]
In 2011, Gillen returned to Marvel's Asgard with a run on Journey into Mystery (the original name of the Thor series, continuing its original numbering), starting with issue #622 and finishing with #645 in October 2012. As part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch, Gillen wrote two books: Iron Man (again taking over from Fraction) with art by his frequent Uncanny X-Men collaborator Greg Land, and Young Avengers with Jamie McKelvie.[37][38]
Between 2014 and 2019, Gillen and McKelvie collaborated on The Wicked + The Divine.[39] This Image series won "Best Comic" at the 2014 British Comic Awards[40] and received multiple award nominations such as the 2015 Eisner Award for "Best New Series",[41] the 2018 Eisner Award for "Best Continuing Series"[42] and the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story.[43] In 2015, the duo also returned to Phonogram after a long hiatus with the third and final volume titled The Immaterial Girl.[44][45][15] ComicsAlliance highlighted that there was a three year delay between the volume announcement and its release "as everyone involved had rightly become superstars, but it was more than worth the wait".[45] Gillen's other creator-owned work included Three (2013), a mini-series about the helots of Sparta,[46][47][48] and The Ludocrats, initially announced in 2015 as a collaboration between writers Gillen and Jim Rossignol and artist David Lafuente.[49] The series was eventually published in 2020 with art by Jeff Stokely.[50]
From 2015 to 2016, Gillen wrote the 25-issue Star Wars: Darth Vader series for Marvel.[51][52][53] This series introduced the character Doctor Aphra; Gillen had originally planned to have Vader kill Aphra during the story, but realized a way that she could escape and still keep the integrity of both characters.[54] Between 2016 and 2018, he wrote Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #1–#13,[55][56] and then cowrote #14–#19 with Simon Spurrier.[57][58] Gillen also took over writing the Star Wars ongoing series in November 2017 with issue #38; his final issue was #67 in June 2019.[52][59]
Gillen and Stephanie Hans began discussing a collaboration on a creator-owned ongoing comic following their collaboration on Journey Into Mystery. While they started with a different idea, they eventually settled on an idea which would become Die.[60] It premiered in December 2018 and was published by Image Comics.[61][62][63] In September 2021, the series ended its run with twenty issues total.[64] Die won the 2021 British Fantasy Award for "Best Comic / Graphic Novel"[65] and it was a finalist for the Hugo Award in "Best Graphic Story or Comic" three times.[66][67][68] In 2018, Gillen announced that he was preparing a role-playing game based on Die.[62][69] Gillen developed the game and the comic concurrently; ideas he developed for one would then crossover into the other.[70][71] The hardcover edition of the DIE: The Roleplaying Game was released by British publisher Rowan, Rook and Decard in June 2023[72] following a successful Kickstarter campaign in May 2022 where the game was fully funded within 24 hours.[70][73][74]
Between August 2019 and October 2022, Gillen wrote the 30-issue creator-owned series Once & Future with artist Dan Mora.[75][76][77] This series was a finalist for the Hugo Award in "Best Graphic Story or Comic" three times.[67][68][78] In June 2020, Marvel announced that Gillen would write the limited series Warhammer 40,000: Marneus Calgar, the first series in a line of Warhammer comics published by the company.[79] In 2021, Gillen and McKelvie reunited with Batman: Black and White #5 for DC Comics. GamesRadar+ highlighted that they "have worked together on-and-off for the past 17 years" and that the Batman short story was their "first major project together since the conclusion of The Wicked + The Divine in 2019".[16] Gillen commented that he started to do more "work for hire again" due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic – "I didn't possibly think my brain could do creator-owned work, with everything that entailed. [...] So, I was certainly open to more work for hire (amongst other projects) and I've been enjoying it".[80]
Also in 2021, Gillen began writing the Eternals ongoing series, illustrated by Esad Ribić.[81] This culminated in the 2022 crossover event A.X.E.: Judgment Day which focused on conflict between the Avengers, the X-Men and the Eternals.[82] In March 2022, as part of the Destiny of X relaunch following A.X.E.: Judgment Day, Gilleon began writing the Immortal X-Men series with artist Lucas Werneck which focused on the Quiet Council of Krakoa;[83][84] this series built plot points for the 2023 event Sins of Sinister.[85][86] The final part of Krakoan Age of the X-Men, the Fall of X, began in 2023 following Sins of Sinister. Gillen is writer on multiple series in this era such as the ongoing Immortal X-Men conclusion, the limited series Rise of the Powers of X (January 2024) with artist R.B. Silva and the limited series X-Men: Forever (March 2024) with artist Luca Maresca.[87][88][89]
At Emerald City Comic Con 2024, Gillen announced a new Image series titled The Power Fantasy with artist Caspar Wijngaard and letterer Clayton Cowles; it is scheduled to release in August 2024. It will be set from 1945 to1999 and focuses on six super powered people that must never come into conflict.[90][91] On the creative origins, Gillen stated that "The Power Fantasy emerged in a similar way to The Wicked + The Divine. I was doing a book at Marvel, and became aware of exactly the sort of things I could do with the reins taken off. As The Wicked + the Divine was to Young Avengers, this is to Immortal X-Men".[90][92]
Gillen was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Arts by Staffordshire University in 2019 for his work both as a journalist and a comic book writer.[93]
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Periodical Publishers Association | New Specialist Consumer Journalist | — | Won | [9][94] |
| 2010 | Eagle Award | Favourite Newcomer Writer | — | Nominated | [95] |
| 2014 | GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Comic Book | Young Avengers | Won | [96] |
| British Comic Awards | Best Comic | The Wicked + The Divine | Won | [40] | |
| 2015 | Eisner Award | Best New Series | Nominated | [41] | |
| 2016 | Inkpot Award | — | — | Won | [2] |
| GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Comic Book | The Wicked + The Divine | Nominated | [97] | |
| 2018 | Eisner Award | Best Continuing Series | Nominated | [42] | |
| 2019 | GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Comic Book | Star Wars: Doctor Aphra | Nominated | [98] |
| 2020 | GLAAD Media Awards | The Wicked + The Divine | Nominated | [99] | |
| British Fantasy Award | Best Comic / Graphic Novel | Die | Won | [100] | |
| Hugo Award | Best Graphic Story or Comic | The Wicked + The Divine, Volume 9: "Okay" | Nominated | [66] | |
| Hugo Award | Best Graphic Story or Comic | Die, Volume 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker | Nominated | [66] | |
| 2021 | British Fantasy Award | Best Comic / Graphic Novel | Die, Volume 2: Split the Party | Won | [101] |
| Hugo Award | Best Graphic Story or Comic | Die, Volume 2: Split the Party | Nominated | [67] | |
| Hugo Award | Best Graphic Story or Comic | Once & Future, Volume 1: The King is Undead | Nominated | [67] | |
| 2022 | British Fantasy Award | Best Comic / Graphic Novel | Die, Volume 4: Bleed | Nominated | [102] |
| Hugo Award | Best Graphic Story or Comic | Nominated | [68] | ||
| Hugo Award | Best Graphic Story or Comic | Once & Future, Volume 3: The Parliament of Magpies | Nominated | [68] | |
| 2023 | GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Comic Book | Immortal X-Men | Nominated | [103] |
| ENNIE Awards | Best Production Values | DIE: The Roleplaying Game Special Edition | Nominated | [104] | |
| Hugo Award | Best Graphic Story or Comic | Once & Future, Volume 4: Monarchies in the UK | Nominated | [78] |
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