1. How did you get started in the comic industry?

I actually went to college to study comics, I graduated from The Savannah College of Art & Design with a degree in Sequential Art. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything, but it’s absolutely not necessary to have that experience in order to break in to comics. How I ACTUALLY broke in was by starting to write reviews and op-eds about/for comics for a few popular comic websites and blogs – and that, paired with me working on my own stuff – so I’d have work to show when the door cracked open – was how I (eventually) got here.

2. What is your daily routine on the job, if you have one?

It really varies unfortunately. I sort of work all day every day, which is a terrible and not sustainable way to do this in my opinion. I try to create structure and follow that, but I’ve come to accept that it’s something I’ll be searching for and/or trying to conquer my whole life. It’s nice to work from home and have the flexibility to set my own hours for the most part, but it’s also requires a lot of responsibility and discipline, which is not my greatest strength.

3. The comic industry is widely known for being male-centric and at times, misogynistic which you covered in your She Has No Head! Column and often weave into your storylines. What are some of the main problems with sexism in the industry? Has the portrayal of women gotten better?

There’s no doubt it’s gotten better. Representation across the board is better, but especially the amount of female led books and how those female characters are portrayed. It can often feel like for every step forward we take two back, but there were MANY months where I struggled to come up with something to cover for my column about women in comics, and if I had today’s books to choose from I just don’t even think that would be an issue, which says a lot. 

And beyond just the quantity – which is important because it allows a lot of different KINDS of books with women leading them, instead of just one archetype – the portrayals are for the most part much better. I mean, I’d be shocked if we ever see Carol Danvers in a swimsuit type costume as anything other than a joke again. She’s a grown ass woman, a colonel in the military, an air force pilot, and a superhero – she’s not just going to fly around the world with her butt hanging out. And I think people get that now in a way that just didn’t make sense even a few years back. I’m not saying everyone LIKES it, but I think for most people it at least makes sense…and is in fact pretty hard to argue against. 

4. One of your big projects was Jem and the Holograms for IDW. How did you approach revamping such an iconic piece of the 80s for today’s readers while still connecting with the original fans? What did you want to explore most?

I wanted to tell a story about these powerful, talented, interesting women and also to update the story to offer even more representation. Jem was pretty ahead of its time on representation back in the 80s and I think we all felt it would be embarrassing if we couldn’t push it forward appropriately. So we leaned into the LGBT+ representation that was already hinted at and made it canon as well as introducing more of those themes and characters. We also brought, largely thanks to Sophie Campbell, some much needed body diversity and we expanding the racial diversity a little bit too. This was my first major project in comics and I’ve always felt very lucky about that, and also very proud of the stories we told. 

5. Though Jem is done for now, I still think there was a lot you could have continued with especially with the introduction of Raya and the Stingers. Were there any arcs or characters that you planned out before it ended?

Yeah, I really loved that book. I would have loved to keep doing it. I had a really cool idea for what should come after the Jem: Infinite Crossover, but the series wasn’t selling as well as we hoped after the crossover so we decided to let it end. That was a huge bummer because we both didn’t get to do more, and it weakened the end of the planned crossover a bit. That said, never in any of our wildest dreams did we think we would get 26 regular issues, 2 annuals, 2 one-shot specials, a spin-off limited series, and a mini-crossover event! I thought we’d be lucky to get more than one trade! So it was an incredible success and experience.

6. You also worked on the new Sabrina for Archie comics. Sabrina has already had a few iterations from the tv show with Melissa Joan Hart, to anime, and manga, how did you put your own mark on the character’s story?

The trickiest thing when we got brought onto Sabrina was that The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (which is VERY good) had a really big and passionate audience, and it sort of loomed above us. But Archie wanted us to do something separate from Chilling – so we had to take a hard left away from that. And that’s okay, because that’s a bit more my wheelhouse anyway – but I understand how much a lot of the fans just really wanted Chilling back – as a reader I did too! However, we ended up with a really incredible audience that loved what we were doing too – a more YA take on Sabrina, slightly lighter with Veronica Fish’s gorgeous art, the Fishes glorious but spooky colors, a Salem that talked (yay!), a simple love triangle, and a combination of high school and witchy problems. It was a joy. I loved every minute. I wish we had done more – but Covid really hurt our second volume.

7. Which brings me to one of the big brands you work for. Marvel combines a bit of both magic and science, though you focus more on the street level heroes like Hawkeye, Rogue and Gambit. Let’s start with one of your most popular runs-Hawkeye. You’ve said you originally pitched it as Hawkeye Investigations, how did the story change or shifted focus as it went through the process?

Well, I wouldn’t call Rogue and Gambit street level heroes (definitely not Rogue!) but sure! The Hawkeye Investigations pitch changed a lot – but the core of what it was – Kate Bishop Hawkeye on the West Coast trying to start a P.I. business, while also being a superhero, was there from the first pitch – and never left. It actually only became HAWKEYE instead of HAWKEYE INVESTIGATIONS because Clint didn’t have a solo book at the time and there wasn’t a plan for it in the near future, so they wanted to give Kate a shot at the solo title. I was thrilled…but I also knew we had to prove ourselves. I think we did. Mostly.

8. Speaking of Hawkeye, she made several appearances in your Black Widow run where you explored Natasha’s past and her vulnerabilities. One of the most interesting things was that you got to create Natasha’s rogue gallery. How did you come up with them and how they could contribute to her arc?

Well, I didn’t create that rogue’s gallery. I just stood on the shoulders of comics giants and highlighted all of Widow’s past enemies and picked a few that made sense to band together to try to take her out. But I did want to set out to give Natasha a challenge that even if she “won” she would not be able to just walk away from. Something that would really permanently change her. It’s probably the Marvel book I’m the most proud of, so I think we did a pretty good job.

9. Since you’re currently working on Captain Marvel, are there any
exciting events you can hint at?

We’re currently in a slightly weird arc that I love – where half of the story is Carol trapped in a sort of simulation as a magical tribunal tries to judge her and then we have the new hero Binary trying to fill in for Carol in her absence. And we have this very different art for each half – Alvaro Lopez doing a gorgeous more “European Comics” style for Carol’s side of the story and Juan Frigeri doing beautiful slick superhero comics style for the other half. It’s a very non-traditional superhero story that I’m very glad Marvel let me try. And coming up we have a much more traditional big story arc starting in Captain Marvel #43 that has a lot of exciting guest stars and that I think fans are going to really dig – it brings up a lot of old stuff for Carol and we have some new things to say about that stuff. Strap in!

10. Besides the big names you’ve worked with, you’ve also created and crowdfunded your novel, The Girl Who Would be King, you explored the effects of god-like powers from girls who are navigating their powers in a classic coming-of-age tale full of twists. Where did the inspiration for your detailed mythology first come from: Was it all planned out or did it build as you wrote?

My novel The Girl Who Would Be King, like many novels, went through a lot of variations before it settled into itself. But the Celtic mythology at the core was there from the beginning. Everything else was born from that, you know? I’d talk more about it, but the specifics of the mythology are couched in the book as a reveal, so I don’t want to spoil it for folks. I also kickstarted a second novel called Storykiller. The inspiration for the actual idea came from the fact that there were very few female superhero stories at the time (sorta shocking to imagine that now) – and there were almost NONE in novels. So I wanted to tell a more comic book type story in a novel format. It’s a first novel, so when I look at it now all I can see are the seams I’m afraid, but people really got fanatical about that book. It was fun.

11. How is the crowdfunding process on your novel different from working on industry works?

Completely different. While crowdfunding is truly amazing and I’m grateful for those experiences, you have to wear so many hats in that scenario. But mostly I just want to write – so adding all those responsibilities, while rewarding in their own ways, leaves you less pure writing time. That’s happening to me a bit with Substack right now. I love the comics we’re creating, but it’s a lot of responsibility. It can get overwhelming.

12. Your newest works are two creator-owned books on Substack called Black Cloak and The Cull – is doing that work different than the work you do for Marvel?

Yes and no. There are definitely less restriction in doing something creator-owned and I love that. But, even with an editor on board, you also have fewer eyes on your work and so it becomes even more important I think to get it right and to keep your eyes on everything. Lotta responsibility, a lot more than a big two book in some ways. Also, while both Black Cloak and The Cull will eventually be in print via Image Comics, I DO think about how they will present in digital format too. So that’s something I don’t have to think about too much with my Marvel Comics (except on our digital comic It’s Jeff of course). But it’s still all just making comics. The broad beats are all the same.

13. Are there any other characters that you wish to work on in the future?

Of course! Well, there are TONS of DC characters since I haven’t done any of that yet. And even a few at Marvel I’d like to get my hands on – or get them MORE on — Magik is a favorite of mine (I could put quite a few X-Men on this list actually), and I’d love to write more Elsa Bloodstone…I had hoped to do some Nextwave type stuff, but it looks like that dream is dead. Ah, such is life!

14. On a lighter note, what books or comics are currently on your TBR pile?

Unfortunately most of the books on my to read pile are research, which is fine, it just means there’s less time for other stuff. But I’m very much enjoying the return of Saga as well as The Nice House On The Lake, Something Is Killing The Children, What’s The Furthest Place From Here, Human Target, She-Hulk, Wonder Woman: Historia, Public Domain, Newburn, Dark Knights of Steel, Batman, There’s Something Wrong With Patrick Todd, new Silver Coin stories… so much great stuff!

15. Do you have any advice for aspiring comic authors/artists?

Work hard and be ready, so that when the door opens a crack, you’re ready to jam your foot in it and wedge it ALL the way open with your shoulder. ;D

You can find more of Kelly Thompson’s work on her website: https://www.1979semifinalist.com/ and media handles.