Kelly Thompson’s journey as a writer has been nothing short of remarkable. She began her career as an entertainment journalist before making a seamless transition into comic book writing, where she’s captured the attention of fans and critics alike. Over the years, Kelly has worked on numerous Marvel female heroes, and now she’s tackling one of DC Comics’ most iconic characters, Wonder Woman, with a fresh perspective. SciFiPulse recently had the privilege of catching up with Kelly to discuss her journey, her take on strong female characters in comics, and her thoughts on their evolving role in both comics and other media.
SciFiPulse: You took a sort of indirect route into comics as you started as more of a comic book journalist with your column, She Has No Head on CBR. Would you mind telling us a little about how that writing gig led you to start writing for comics?
Kelly Thompson: I mean, I only think it’s indirect in the sense that there isn’t really a direct “art school” to “cool art job” pipeline. All of these industries are incredibly competitive, so just graduating from art school and “knowing how to do it” doesn’t necessarily mean you can break in immediately (or at all). It tends to take time and a lot of hard work. And unless you have a direct connect or are independently wealthy, during that time you probably need a job that pays your rent. I took a day job in LA after graduating from SCAD. While in LA doing that day job, I also auditioned for a couple storyboarding gigs (got none of them) and began writing short fiction, poetry, the beginnings of a novel (that eventually became The Girl Who Would Be King), and my first of two tries at a creator-owned graphic novel (one of which eventually became Heart In A Box).
A couple of years after I moved to NYC, I began a comics blog, which eventually turned into writing for Comics Should Be Good (She Has No Head!/3 Chicks Review Comics), CBR (reviews), and much more. While writing reviews for She Has No Head! and CBR probably taught me the most about how to get better at actually making comics, She Has No Head! and 3 Chicks Review Comics probably best connected me with the most creators and editors and helped me build a few relationships that eventually helped me break in.
SFP: Your first comic writing gig—or at least one of the first that I’m aware of—was for Jem and the Holograms. That book won much love from readers and critics alike for how well it represented the LGBTQ and Trans community. What was it about Jem and her cast of characters that you so identified with to spur you on to revive what, at the time, was kind of a forgotten gem? Sorry about that—I love puns.
Kelly Thompson: Well, it WAS my first paid non-creator-owned work, so it wasn’t like I had some grand plan and brought the idea to IDW. I was a nobody, and I was lucky enough to pair up with Sophie Campbell and be allowed to pitch for it. But I thought it was the perfect fit for both Sophie and I, who had become friends and were sort of vaguely looking for a way to work together on something. I’d write nearly anything if Sophie was going to draw it, but Jem was this beautifully inclusive, diverse, positive idea that I was very into. I had watched the cartoon as a child and it was a real dream to get to go back into all of that and build on what they’d begun. Jem and The Holograms was a dream of a first gig for someone breaking in. I got very lucky. And a hat tip to Editors John Barber and Sarah Gaydos who taught me so much.
SFP: Obviously, like television and other media, comics have been a medium that allows writers to address various social issues and injustices. I’m curious to know which comics and comic book writers stand out to you as good examples of that kind of allegorical writing. In other words, this is your chance to talk a little about what you are reading and make a few recommendations.
Kelly Thompson: I think Kelly Sue DeConnick is always writing powerful stuff that has sometimes obvious and sometimes subtle political ramifications. Her Wonder Woman: Historia is a big inspiration for Absolute Wonder Woman and one of my favorite things she’s ever done (art by Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha, and Nicola Scott). But her Bitch Planet is another favorite—diametrically opposed to Historia in a way, and yet talking about many of the same things, just through a totally different lens. I think the themes James Tynion IV explores in his work—Something Is Killing The Children, W0rld Tr33, Nice House On the Lake, The Deviant—are similarly complex—sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle.
SFP: You’ve written a lot of strong female characters, such as Black Widow and Kate Bishop’s Hawkeye, and now you are writing a different take on Wonder Woman. From your perspective, what makes for a good representation of a strong female hero?
Kelly Thompson: I sort of eschew “strong female character” at this point, preferring “complicated female character.” I think there was a time for “strong” as the descriptor, but I’m happy to say that I think we’ve got enough of that and we’re now moving beyond that to more complicated and nuanced approaches—as any character benefits from. I think mixing compassion with strength is a powerful combination. I think your three examples—Absolute Diana, Black Widow, and Kate Bishop—all fall quite neatly inside that—strong but compassionate. They’re all pretty badass (in different ways), and yet it’s their compassion and humanity that is a big part of what makes them great heroes—that gets Natasha to change sides, that gets Kate Bishop to keep getting up when she gets knocked down, that inspires Diana to save the world.
SFP: On your new series Absolute Wonder Woman, which is part of the new DC series of books, one of the fun plot points is the fact that you have Diana raised in hell. What inspired that choice, and how is it that she has not become apathetic and twisted after her experience in hell? Or have we just not seen that yet?
Kelly Thompson: The choice came from needing to change her upbringing dramatically and see what differences that would create in her, and also what things would stay the same. I think her upbringing was not nearly as hellish as it might have been because she was placed with Circe. So even though she was in hell, she ended up having a home. She was raised in love. Some of that is likely the intervention of Goddesses (orchestrating her being placed with Circe), but I think mostly it comes from Diana herself. Diana is, at her core, a loving character, and Circe cannot help but be transformed by that love and then give love back—a feedback loop. I’d say it dramatically changed both their lives. But it’s still the underworld. Their lives were incredibly hard and dangerous… and as a result, they both became even more powerful. We’ll see more of that as things progress.
SFP: One of the many aspects I liked about your first Wonder Woman issue was the relationship that develops between Wonder Woman and Circe who raises her in hell. I also quite liked the fact that the first thing to try and kill Diana in hell was a serpent. What was the inspiration behind writing that relationship, and are we likely to see more flashbacks in future issues?
Kelly Thompson: Circe is a terrific mythological character and a great Wonder Woman villain in many of her iterations. “Raised in hell by your enemy” is interesting to me just on the face of it. Making it Circe, an uncompromising feminist witch, who would actually be quite in line with many Amazon tenets, creates wonderfully interesting twists and turns in where we can go and what we can do. There will be flashbacks in each of the first seven issues (at least)—I’m still plotting the finer points of arc three, so we’ll see if we continue with that structure or break free of it.
SFP: In the prime DC Universe—and I’m not sure which is the prime universe, as there have been so many iterations—we pretty much always see Wonder Woman join Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, and Green Lantern in the Justice League. Are we likely to see some form of that team come about in the Absolute Universe, or is the focus mainly on the individual characters at this point?
Kelly Thompson: We’ll get there! We’re very aware it’s a thing people are excited about (and we are too), but I think everyone is very wisely giving each of these books time to blossom on their own first. No sense in putting the cart before the horse. You want that moment to really have the weight it deserves, and rushing it serves no one.
SFP: Finally, you’ve written a fair few of the strong female characters from pop culture in comics, and I’m wondering if there are any that you haven’t written yet that you would like to have a crack at? Also, what would it be about them that would be the source of your interest in doing a story with them?
Kelly Thompson: I’ve gotten at least a small amount of time with most Marvel heroines I’m super interested in, but since I’ve only been working with DC for a little over a year, there’s tons to explore still. The short list? Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Renee Montoya, Starfire, Raven, Batwoman, and more Zatanna.
SciFiPulse thanks Kelly Thompson for her generosity and time and wishes her the very best of luck with Absolute Wonder Woman and future projects.
You can follow Kelly Thompson on her various Social Media Profiles, which are below:
- Instagram @1979semifinalist
- On X @79SemiFinalist
- On Bluesky @kellythompson.bsky.social
