Women In Comics Month: Interview with Kelly Thompson

In honor of Women in Comics this March, PREVIEWSworld talks with writer Kelly Thompson!

PREVIEWSworld: Tell us a little bit about yourself! What are you currently working on?

Kelly Thompson: I’m very lucky to be writing the new Jem and the Holograms comic from IDW, with art by Glory artist and Wet Moon creator Ross Campbell. It debuts in March 2015 and we’re all very excited! I’m also a novelist, so independent of comics I’m working on my next book (Storykiller 2: All Of Them Are True) due out in the summer of 2015 if all goes well. 

PREVIEWSworld: How long have you been working with sequential art? What titles, companies, and creators have you worked with over your time in comics?

Kelly Thompson: Well, I actually graduated from the Savannah College of Art & Design with a degree in Sequential Art many many moons ago, so I’ve been studying comics and working in them in some capacity for a long time. I’ve been writing about comics professionally since about 2009 (She Has No Head! on Comics Should Be Good, reviews for CBR, reviews for Publisher’s Weekly, as well as creating a review podcast – 3 Chicks Review Comics, hosted on CBR) however, I haven’t been writing published comics long. My first published work was a short story with artist Stephanie Hans in Womanthology, which was a Kickstarter project that eventually partnered with IDW. Jem and The Holograms #1 from IDW will actually be my only my second publishing credit in comics, which is highly unusual, but I’ve been working for over a year with Dark Horse and artist/co-creator Meredith McClaren on a graphic novel called Heart In A Box that will be out this summer. I also have a short story in Creepy #20 from Dark Horse this April. I have a few other things in development that I hope to talk about soon, but nothing I can announce yet!

PREVIEWSworld: Did you have a mentor or hero in the industry that inspired you to pursue a career in comics?

Kelly Thompson: Greg Rucka is a writer that I think of immediately when I think of a writer I’d like to be like in comics. His work is always strong and has been influencing me for 15+ years now – he’s done everything from creator-owned work to big time corporate properties and always managed to somehow make it look easy and read beautifully. He’s also just been a hell of an inspiration as a person with integrity and standards who really seems to know himself in the industry and be free of a lot of the drama. More recently (in the last 5+ years) it’s impossible for me to deny that my biggest influence has been Kelly Sue DeConnick whose hilarious and bold work in superhero comics and creator-owned comics alike have impressed me and made me so happy as both fan and writer. Additionally, DeConnick has I think really understood the importance of her position as a major female creator in comics and has impressively embraced that responsibility and even blossomed under it. She’s an incredible inspiration to so many women, not only as a great comics writer but as someone that pushes the cause of diversity in comics forward in a very real way. Her Bitch Planet is kind of the perfect storm of those two things – fantastic comics and an actual powerful movement that’s very much needed and that resonates with so many trying to break in or to continue climbing and succeeding in this industry. She feels like an amazing beautiful giant walking among us!

PREVIEWSworld: In your opinion, how has the comic book industry evolved in terms of gender?

Kelly Thompson: Well, I’ve been writing about women in comics (that’s the general theme of She Has No Head!) for a long time and though it seems to be a series of two steps forward, one step back, I think in the last two years or so we’ve seen a real push toward diversity, especially where women are concerned—creators, characters, and fans. Digital publishing and online fandom has really opened up the “boys’ club” atmosphere that comics sometimes suffers from and we’re seeing large numbers of female fans reading, buying, and engaging, proving that it’s a viable emerging/growing market. And that growth has helped comic publishers push more female characters and more diversity in creators, which all leads to more diverse, and in my opinion better, stories all around. I think the insane groundswell of talented women in comics—in both mainstream and less mainstream venues—has made it hard to deny a sea change was coming. Women have of course been an important force in comics since their inception and we shouldn’t gloss over what they’ve done and how they’ve helped pave the way, but the Internet has made it a bit easier for women to find a platform I think, and the result is that more and more of them are coming to the attention of readers (and editors/publishers) in a variety of ways be it web comics, monthlies, OGNs, digital comics, mini-comics, and more. And the success of books like Ms. Marvel and even the very new Bitch Planet, which are both almost as much MOVEMENT as a comic book, are the kind of moments in the history of a medium that really move the needle. We still have our setbacks, and a long way to go, but I’m really excited about the direction I see us heading. Five years ago we were heading in a totally different and rather awful direction, so the direction we’re heading now is a big win.

PREVIEWSworld: What stereotypes do you see surrounding women in comics? How could people of all genders go about breaking those stereotypes?

Kelly Thompson: I’m sure plenty of stereotypes exist, but I’m seeing such variety from female creators and a really impressive mix of complex and well-defined female characters these days that it’s hard to complain I think. I mean, really awful stuff is still out there, but that will always be true, so long as there’s really great stuff to combat that and offer a contrast then I think we’re doing okay.

PREVIEWSworld: How do you want to see women represented in comic books 10 years from now?

Kelly Thompson: The same way men are.

PREVIEWSworld: If you could give advice to any aspiring editors, executives, writers, or artists, what would you tell them?

Kelly Thompson: Well, I doubt editors or executives want my advice…but I guess I’d say don’t be afraid of talented newcomers. New and diverse voices are important and a lot of credits in comics aren’t always necessary to find talent…but I’m obviously biased! To artists, I guess I’d say that comic writers desperately need you and want you, so make you/your work easy to find if you’re looking to partner up on projects. For writers…don’t give up. Comics, like any art form, take a long time to break into. There are a lot of ways to get there, but all of them take a lot of time investment, hard work, good collaborators, shattered expectations, plenty of rejection, and a fair bit of luck. But don’t give up!

PREVIEWSworld: And lastly, are there any up-and-coming women creators who you would recommend readers check out?

Kelly Thompson: Oh wow. So many. I think I’m better at knowing artists because I’m always looking for artists I hope I can work with…also up-and-coming is such a weird category, but I’ll rattle off a list of some of my favorites who are still I guess making a name for themselves in more mainstream circles…but forgive me for leaving off so many worthy of mention…Meredith McClaren, Marguerite Sauvage, Tula Lotay, Afua Richardson, Paulina Ganucheau, Anne Szabla, Vanesa Del Rey, Jemma Salume, Irene Koh, Stacey Lee, Maris Wicks, Tara O’Connor, Arielle Jovellanos, Abigail L. Dela Cruz, Cassandra Canete … so many women!

Check out more Women In Comics Month interviews in our special section on PREVIEWSworld!