The Mary Sue Interivew: Kelly Thompson Talks Jem, the Carol Corps, and What She Loves About Comics
If you’re not reading Jem and the Holograms (IDW) or Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps (Marvel), you’re missing out on two of the best feminist titles on the shelves right now, and those books have one very important element in common – writer, Kelly Thompson. If you love awesome women in the comics industry, today’s your lucky day!
TMS had an exclusive chat with Thompson that was originally only going to be about Jem, but since she’s got so many projects in the works, it made sense to talk to her about those, too. Below, Thomspon talks to us about working with Sophie Campbell on Jem, working with Kelly Sue DeConnick on Carol Corps, and what you need to be reading right now!
Teresa Jusino (TMS): How did you become attached to IDW’s Jem and the Holograms, and what was it about the property that attracted you?
Kelly Thompson: I was already talking to an editor at IDW (the lovely Sarah Gaydos) and she asked me if I might be interested in a Jem and The Holograms book they were putting together. I basically screamed yes at the top of my lungs and she put my name forward as someone that might be interesting for it. I sent John Barber (our fabulous Jem editor) some of my work, most notably the first 100 or so pages of my graphic novel Heart In A Box and he was kind enough to let me pitch. Sophie and I have been trying to work together for years and I knew she loved Jem and The Holograms, so this was a natural fit for us to pitch together. I think our pitch was really great, but I am well aware that having Sophie as one half of the creative team was surely our ace in the hole. As for what attracted me to it…well, I loved Jem and The Holograms as a kid; it was just wall-to-wall with interesting creative powerful women, which is pretty rare for cartoons—especially back then. Plus, I mean—glamour and glitter, fashion and fame—what’s not to love?
TMS: What’s your mission with Jem and the Holograms? What do you hope to do in the comic that may or may not have been done on the show?
Thompson: I don’t think I have a bold mission to do something that wasn’t done on the show, I think Christy Marx was ambitious and smart in what she did with the original, so there’s no attempt on my part to “outdo that.” Also, a monthly comic and a weekly TV show are very different animals in terms of what they can do in the time they have available to them; the story demands are just very different. So I think I just have a desire to bring what people loved about Jem and The Holograms into the 21st century and into a new medium, and to create stories and characters that people can really fall in love with for the first time, or all over again. I suppose as a bonus I’m really excited about telling stories about women and more diverse stories than we sometimes get to see—but the original show was very about that too, so I don’t think I’m re-inventing the wheel there.
TMS: What’s your working relationship and process with Sophie Campbell?
Thompson: Ninety percent amazing and ten percent hell. No, I’m just kidding, it’s more like 99% amazing. Sophie and I are very close “text every day” friends, so it’s mostly the best thing ever. But sometimes working with friends can be tough. We’ve had a few bumps here and there but I think we’ve done a great job of communicating and figuring out how to do the best possible book and not kill each other. Aside from us being friends, as a writer, it’s just absolutely incredible to work with an artist of her talent level. She constantly surprises and impresses me. I write reasonably tight scripts and Sophie is reasonably faithful to them, but I think some of that is just me knowing and understanding her style (and Sophie understanding mine) I think we’re in very good sync overall. We were talking just the other day—since the first arc is completed—about how happy with are with how this first arc turned out, how much better we got at working together, and how excited we are to get started on our next big arc (that arc begins with Jem and The Holograms #11—out in January!)
TMS: How did you get involved with Marvel’s Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps?
Thompson: Well, I had been actively working on getting my foot jammed in the door over there at Marvel so I could pitch since maybe early 2014 and finally in the fall of 2014 I began actually pitching a book (one that still MIGHT someday see the light of day, so I’m not going to say what) to Jeanine Schaefer, Marvel’s talent scout at the time. While that book didn’t just immediately get a “YES!” or anything crazy the pitch was well liked and passed on to others and eventually landed on Sana Amanat’s desk. She dug it and so when the opportunity for a co-writer arose on Captain Marvel & The Carol Corps, I was already sort of “in the pile of possibilities” I guess. I don’t actually know if Kelly Sue also recommended me for the gig or not, but I wouldn’t be surprised as she has been incredibly supportive and encouraging. So, yeah, a lot of work, some lucky breaks, good connections, and a whole lot of time and patience!
TMS: Tell us a little about the process of working with Kelly Sue DeConnick and David Lopez. How are your scripts handled, and how are each of you involved in each issue? Is each one a full-on collaboration, or do you have some autonomy on certain issues?
Thompson: I’m sure every co-writing gig is a little different but obviously, I was the guest taking cues from an already seasoned team (and one of my comics heroes in Kelly Sue) so Kelly Sue laid out to me how she wanted it to work and that’s what we did. Basically Kelly Sue gave me the bones of what she wanted the story to be about, the beats she wanted to hit and some broad strokes for the issues. Then I took that and turned it into detailed issue breakdowns. When those were approved by Kelly Sue and Sana I wrote the first draft of the scripts and when finished I would hand off to Kelly Sue and she would work her magic on a re-draft. It was an incredible learning experience both about Kelly Sue’s writing/process and Marvel in general. Every process (and publisher and book and creative team) is a bit different I expect but I just tried to absorb everything like a desperate sponge. David Lopez is a comics god. That guy…I mean, on top of everything, he draws so fast! And there are so little notes or revisions because his understanding of the script is so flawless and his initial instincts are so strong. His first pass layouts are just perfectly on point and then he just GOES. It’s sort of incredible to watch.
TMS: What’s the status of The Girl Who Would Be King‘s film adaptation? Will you be doing any work on the script?
Thompson: Actually…there is some development there, but I’m not sure how much I can share, as we haven’t announced anything yet. Basically the producers that bought the rights back in 2013 partnered with a much bigger company and sort of re-bought the rights this year (when the first option expired) and we’ve shifted it to television instead of film…which, without getting too inside baseball on you makes a ton of sense and I’m very excited about. There are some really interesting creatives attached who are passionate about the book and that’s really the best you can possibly do in situations like this. I probably won’t be writing any of the scripts but I’m an executive producer and the producers have been really wonderful about keeping me in the loop and involved, so when we really get rolling I hope I’ll get to be involved in a capacity that makes sense—we’ll see!
TMS: Are you working on anything outside of comics right now that you want to tell us about?
Thompson: The second novel in my STORYKILLER series is in the final stages, and that will be Kickstarted in early in 2016. I am always working on other novels and pilot scripts as well, but to be honest comics have kept me so busy this year that there has not been time for much else. I did a ton of comics pitching this year and while I’m exhausted it has really paid off—expect some exciting announcements soon!
TMS: What are some of your favorite comics right now that you’re not working on? What should we be reading?
Thompson: Well Lazarus, Saga, and Bitch Planet remain some of my absolute favorite books that never disappoint. I am still loving the magnificence that is Gotham Academy and the new Batgirl is very fun. Ms. Marvel is still going strong (and Captain Marvel, obviously) I adore Squirrel Girl and think it’s straight up one of the funniest, freshest, and best books Marvel has ever published. The new Hawkeye is great and I am just in love with Ramon Perez’s art, but I will also forever miss Fraction and Aja’s Hawkeye…that last issue just killed me. Rebekah Isaacs has been killing it on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, as has Joelle Jones on Lady Killer and Stacey Lee on the wonderful Silk. Fiona Staples on Archie is sheer genius, but only because I don’t have to lose her on Saga! So many great books, so many great creators—these are amazing times to be a comics fan.
TMS: Any advice for women who want to break into writing comics professionally?
Thompson: Don’t give up. I know that sounds trite and just annoying but it’s so true. This is, like any creative business, a very tough business to break into. Thanks to social media and the fact that our community seems smaller and closer knit than something like film, it sometimes seems like it should be pretty easy to do, but it’s not. You have to do good work and keep doing it everyday. You have to work to make connections and you have to prove yourself over and over again. The overnight success idea is a myth in any business, including ours. People who break through “overnight” work for years on building relationships and creating/putting out good consistent work. Sure, a little luck and good timing is key too, but the only way to not fail at this thing (at any thing I suppose) is to keep doing it until the answer is yes. I’m sorry there are no magic beans or something. I wish someone would ask me that question and I could just hand them adorable magic beans and go “Yes, actually, use these! They rock!” but alas, no.
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Make sure you check out Jem and the Holograms #6, which comes out tomorrow!
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