Questionable Comics is a series where Dan Hill surveys professionals from every corner of the comics industry about their methods and experience. This week we try to slim down our horribly backlogged batch of writer surveys, beginning with Kelly Thompson, who has been doing great work on Marvel’s A-Force and a number of licensed properties including Jem & the Holograms.
What current projects are you working on?
The ongoing A-Force for Marvel Comics and Jem & The Holograms for IDW. I also co-wrote the Pink Ranger mini-series with Brenden Fletcher for Boom. I have a couple really fun shorts forthcoming from Boom as well, and three really exciting announcements coming soon. Comics is such a weird animal – a constant never ending gauntlet of pitching and rejection. I hope to have many more pitches rejected this year. Yay!
Use one word to describe how you work.
Relentless (I let my boyfriend answer this question and promised not to change his answer…so there you go).
What’s your workspace like?
I’m like a reclusive nomad, never leaving my apartment but roaming from room to room laptop in hand – office desk to sofa to bed and back again. When they create an awful technology that fuses laptops to bodies I’ll be first in line because it will just make terrible terrible sense.
What do you listen to when you work?
For bigger projects I create exhaustive (but amazing!) playlists. I find music not only keeps me motivated and energized but works as a great cue to get me into the head space of a project much more quickly. Especially with multiple projects running it can be hard to switch gears. I find the music really helps with that. It’s also the best way I’ve found to tune out other even more potentially distracting media/noise (the Internet/TV/email/whatever).
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
I honestly can’t say. All advice just sounds like eyeroll worthy cliches until it eventually (and inevitably) applies directly to your life, right?
A page from Kelly Thompson and Sophie Campbell’s hit Jem & the Holograms series
How do you get into writing mode?
As mentioned, the playlists help. But that’s an ideal scenario as writing is always such an elusive beast. There’s a saying…something about writing being “80% ass in chair,” and it’s true to a degree…but what’s often missed is how much “other stuff” has to happen in order to write that’s not just literal typing— the research, the brainstorming, the feeding your brain with outside stimuli to excite it, the quiet time for your brain to work on problems you’re not even aware it’s working on, etc. All that stuff has to happen and none of it LOOKS terribly much like productive working. And finding the difference between giving yourself the room to do that stuff as a writer and being a writer that makes a lot of excuses and doesn’t write is tricky and personal for each writer. I know it’s something I will probably always struggle with in my life— knowing the difference between those things— keeping myself honest.
Full script or Marvel Method?
Full script. How much of that script is actually needed or used is largely dependent on the artist and perhaps more importantly the synergy between artist and writer, but it’s my job to make sure everything is there first and foremost and from there we figure it out. Best to start any journey with the best map possible, right?
What’s the one thing you wish you could improve about your work?
Oof. There are so many and I’m still early in my career so I suspect this answer will change over time. Right now I’d say writing with more confidence and that confidence being palpable in the finished product.
When’s the best time to work?
It depends a little bit what I’m working on. I tend to think best in the morning and late at night so if I’m working on a pitch or trying to “create” from scratch, those are the best times for that kind of thing. Late at night also tends to be the best time for me to power my way through a tough script, if only because there tend to be fewer distractions. But working late at night and in the morning makes for a long ass day. I continually want to believe there’s a better way. Hope springs eternal blah blah blah!
Who do you consider to be inspirational creators in your field (classic and modern)?
So so many. I’ll try to limit myself to a giant handful (in no particular order): Kelly Sue DeConnick, Warren Ellis, David Aja, Scott Snyder, Greg Rucka, Brenden Fletcher, Annie Wu, Sophie Campbell, Becky Cloonan, Charles Burns, Fiona Staples, Daniel Clowes, Ben Caldwell, Kris Anka, Sean Murphy, Los Bros Hernandez, Kate Beaton, Joss Whedon, Cliff Chiang, Brian K. Vaughan, David Lopez, Dustin Nguyen, Mike Mignola, Stuart Immonen, Ian Herring, Adrian Tomine, Mike Del Mundo, Scott Forbes, Mariko Tamaki, Jillian Tamaki, Stephanie Hans, Meredith McClaren, Jack Kirby, Jae Lee, Frank Quitely, James Harren, Afu Richardson, Erica Henderson, Ryan North, Allie Brosh, Michael Lark, Tula Lotay, Babs Tarr, Marguerite Sauvage, Jamie McKelvie, Jordie Bellaire, Art Spigelmen, Laura Martin, David Mazzucchelli, Dave Stewart, Chris Ware, Rico Renzi, Chris Bachalo, Olivier Coipel, Ed Brubaker, Savanna Ganucheau, Emily Carrol, Sara Pichelli, Nathan Fairbairn, Lee Loughridge, Faith Erin Hicks, Stacey Lee, Joelle Jones, Sho Murase, Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, Elizabeth Breitweizer, Sean Phillips, Steve Epting, Matt Hollingsworth, Val Staples, Matt Fraction…
Dan also surveyed prolific indie comics writer Jeremy Holt, who broke out with his Action Lab series Southern Dog and has been writing series at great indie publishers like MonkeyBrain and Rosy Press.
What current projects are you working on?
• Virtually Yours (Rosy Press)
• Skinned (MonkeyBrain Comics)
• Art Monster (MonkeyBrain Comics)
• After Houdini (NONE/Simon & Schuster)
• Death Tax (Read Challenger)
Use one word to describe how you work.
Methodically.
What’s your workspace like?
My workspace has changed over the past few years. Depending on the time of year: I will either spend weekends at the one local coffee shop in my small town during the summer, or hunker down in my home office during the winter. In either situation, I have a strong cup of coffee by my side and a trustworthy playlist playing in my ears.
What do you listen to when you work?
Depending on the tone of the project, I alternate between film scores and current favorite bands. With film scores, I typically rely on ones by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross and Thomas Newman. For lyric-based tracks, I typically— and I know this sounds crazy— play one song on loop the entire time. While writing a new series, I had Nirvana’s “In Bloom” play on repeat for up to eight hours per writing session. This is the only way for me to keep the lyrics from becoming distracting.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
I met Max Brooks once after a panel and he said, “Comics will never love you. You just have to make them for yourself until someone notices your passion.”
How do you get into writing mode?
Good coffee and the right music is key. I have no shame in admitting that I’m a total coffee snob. Only the good stuff (City of Saints, Ninth Street, Blue Bottle, and Third Rail) that gives me a nice heady buzz can kick my ass in gear; combining that with the right music allows me to focus for hours. Disabling the wifi on my computer helps too.
A page from Jeremy Holt’s graphic novel After Houdini
Full script or Marvel Method?
Full scripts all the way.
What’s the one thing you wish you could improve about your work?
I wish I didn’t get pulled into the waiting game as much as I do. Between sending an artist a script and seeing completed pages, and/or submitting a pitch and waiting for a response, I wish I could be better about refocusing my time on being productive.
When’s the best time to work?
While holding down a day job, I am most productive on the weekends when I can dedicate large chunks of time to writing. That being said, on the few occasions where I’ve had deadlines, I can start writing as soon as I get home from work. I’ve become much more flexible about when I can write.
Who do you consider to be inspirational creators in your field (classic and modern)?
Creators/friends that I look up to (in no particular order):
• Charles Soule
• Joshua Williamson
• Ed Brisson
• Joshua Dysart
• Kurtis Wiebe
• Justin Jordan
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