Kelly Thompson’s AMA on LOCG today! (3/10)

[Sisterhood Of Mutants]

Here are some highlights from Kelly Thompson’s AMA today, over on LOCG:

https://leagueofcomicgeeks.com/commu...hread/16985723

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Q: What kind of research into a characters previous stories do you do before taking on a character like Black Widow? I ask because I think you nailed her character so well.

How important is Canon to you when writing an established character?

A: I read a lot, of course. In Black Widow's case it was mostly re-reading because I've long been a fan of the character and have read most of her stories. But something that quickly happens when doing that reading is that takes you like emerge and takes you don't like emerge -- and you naturally lean into the ones that feel right to you. But I learned when I was writing the Rogue & Gambit mini-series (which leans heavily on old canon stories to try to carve a new path) that every story (and every character) is SOMEONE'S favorite. Even stuff you hate, someone loves it! So I try to be really careful about respecting past continuity and not throwing anything away if I can help it. If it doesn't work for me I lean away from it and push in other directions, but I try to give it room to still exist. In Nat's case there was a lot I loved out there and I pushed toward it with our story and I think we were largely successful. It always bums me out when I find Nat fans that hated our run (it absolutely happens) but then I try to shrug and let it go -- you can't please all of the people, all of the time. It's impossible.

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Q: You've managed to turn me around on characters that didn't interest me much and made my favorites shine extra bright. What approach do you take with your writing that makes us want to root for these characters so much? Also, do you have more stories for Carol and her current X-Men pals if the opportunity ever returns?

A: Thank you! It means a lot to me to hear you say that as I know you have some strong feelings about these characters! ;D I talked a bit about it in the answer above, but I do think having respect for the other stories and characters is important. I try really hard not to nerf characters for plot convenience -- not only is every character SOMEONE'S favorite -- but every story is an opportunity to make someone a new fan of a character. Turning someone around on a character they've never liked before makes me feel like a god -- a nice benevolent cool god that just wants people to read more. lol.

I would LOVE to write more "Carol and the X-Men" but it looks like that ship has sailed.

Onto the next!

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Q: who is your dream character that you wish you could write but haven't yet?

A: Daredevil.* Batman. Wonder Woman.

I'd add a bunch of characters here but maaaaaybe I'm writing one of my dream projects right now that includes a whole bunch of them? ;D

(*I technically wrote him already in a few panels in Jessica Jones).

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Q: I am a big X-Men fan and the Binary/Brood saga is one of my favorite arcs from Claremont's run, so this storyline has been an absolute delight for me personally.

A: Same for me on Brood/Claremont stuff.

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Q: Have new projects planned which you can talk about?

A: The Cull, obviously, we just debuted a big preview for (both on my Substack and also if you're reading Black Cloak in print you can see the pages there too). I have one VERY BIG EXCITING project to announce... but can't quite yet.

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Q: Captain Marvel is ending after a huge and record-breaking 50 issues run, did you initially plan it as such? Was your original pitch shorter/longer? What is your favorite part or arc from the series? Are there any cut ideas that you can disclose that didn't make it to the final page?

A: My original pitch for Captain Marvel was just a five-issue arc. Though I pitched a few arcs that would have taken us through probably a first year. Famously, the Falling Star arc was supposed to come first, but Marvel got excited about the Nuclear Man stuff and all Carmen's "Mad Max-y" designs and decided to go with that arc first. Everything from then on was just planning arc to arc. I don't think any ideas got cut, it was more just that some things I would have liked to do didn't fit with other things going on in the Marvel U (i.e. I love Mystique and would have been interested in featuring her -- but for where Mystique is at right now it didn't make sense to use her -- and I'm sure I wouldn't have been allowed due to other things going on with her). I had also been wanting to use The Brood (and X-Men!) since day one, but fortunately that one panned out for our final arc -- issue #49 is out today! ;D

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Q: In film, there are actors and directors who speak to having greater creative freedom and choice once they win a major award. At the same time, some of them also say winning a major award means they are now under more scrutiny and thus become more selective with their next projects. In that light, how has winning an Eisner for your work on Black Widow changed your writing? Do publishers and editors give you a longer leash? Are you able to lean more into creator owned work? Does your creative process become even more experimental?

A: I don't think winning an Eisner has changed me as a writer at all. I do think that in SOME ways it potentially opens doors -- it's a good thing to be able to say in my bio, or tack onto announcements that gives me/the project a bit of shine/potential pedigree and I think comic publishers are happy to have that in their quiver for PR and such, but it's hard to know for sure how much it helps (or hurts?)

Like, I want to say it all helps... buuuuut the book I won the Eisner for was cancelled and I'm barely doing any work for that company anymore and am no longer under and exclusive with them, so I guess it can't matter THAT much?

[Kitty&Piotr<3]

Eisner probably helps if you want a good writing credential to list when moving to a different medium. Like, you've conquered comics, maybe someone will take a little longer look at you for TV stuff.

[Sisterhood Of Mutants]

Q: If you were in charge of writing a Rogue & Gambit movie or TV series, which existing movies/shows would you point to as inspiration? Or, if you can’t answer that: which movies/shows strike you as the type of media they’d consume themselves, either separately or as a couple?

And: which of their dynamics with characters other than each other do you enjoy the most, or want to develop/write more of one day?

A: I have a great idea for a Rogue/Gambit movie... and I wish I had positioned myself powerfully enough that I was someone they'd someday consider for that... but I suspect that's a pipe dream. Obviously I don't want to say what it is -- but I will say that it basically is one of my favorite X-Men stories -- one that is core to the so much of what the X-Men are in the world -- and I found a way to make it a Rogue and Gambit story that sort of sets a larger piece up. Annnnyway.

I really love Gambit and his sort of small crew of close x-friends. Like, I feel like Remy is pretty good with almost everyone -- because that's how he is -- he's charming and likeable and good at making himself useful but he's ultimately still an outsider even within his "family" (and here I mean both the X-Men and his New Orleans family) -- he's the ultimate misfit -- some of that he does to himself, some deliberate, some not -- but there are very few people he REALLY lets in who become his most beloveds -- Rogue (obviously). Storm. Laura. Bishop. I think Wolverine is probably in there and a few others.

Rogue is different and yet the same -- in that I think she broadly connects to EVERYONE. Once she got past her brash impulsive youth (a favorite time for me with the character!) she's incredibly empathetic. She's the best person on earth to understand your problem -- whatever it is -- because she has LITERALLY walked in so many shoes. It's why I get frustrated when people do modern Rogue as unsympathetic or dumb or rash. She UNDERSTANDS. But I think Rogue lets almost NOBODY get all the way close. Close for her is dangerous as it gets and I'd argue Remy is the only person she's let all the way in. She has tons of very close friends. She's beloved in a way Gambit isn't, but short of Gambit, nearly everyone still hits that barrier with her. It's just one of the many ways Rogue and Gambit are interestingly suited for one another.

I think Rogue and Gambit love a good TV show -- of all kinds (sci-fi, period, detective, reality tv, they do it all) -- that's their "power down" -- like so many of us -- Netflix and chill on a great series with spicy treats and cat cuddles. ;D

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Q: Do you plan on doing more indie works in the future? Whether it's from Image or Substack or some other company? If so, can we expect them to come out in the not too far future? Or are you more focused on your works at Marvel right now?

A: Well, Marvel didn't re-new my exclusive so, other than a few Jeff-shaped things in the works, I'm done when Captain Marvel wraps -- so yes, expect more creator-owned and more from other companies/characters in the near future including a big announcement coming soon!

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Q: 1) With Rogue&Gambit ->Mr&Mrs X -> Captain Marvel you went from strength to strength when writing Gambit. So much that you have parked yourself firmly on many fans toplists. Together with Marjorie Liu you have really shown us that some of the best, arguably the best, Gambit comics are written by women. Is it because more female writers have gotten the chance to write him? Or just the case of some talented writers?

2) During Mr&Mrs X it was teased that the couple might be thinking about starting a family. Then in CM you introduced Irene LeBeau. If Mr&Mrs X would have continued what were your plans for this plot?

3) So you got me to finally like Carol Danvers, something even Kurt Busiek failed to do. Then you end your run. So what am I suppose to do now?

4) Any chance of you using the roster of this last CM arc to start an Uncanny Avengers run in the future?

A: 1. Hmmm. My honest theory on this is that Gambit, as written back in the 90s, doesn't really work great in 2023. We'd see a lot of that behavior now as pretty problematic -- I don't think the old stuff is BAD -- I just think we all change and grow and so does the society we live in (and so does Gambit!) And I think female writers probably have a slightly better natural insight to some of the things about old Gambit that feel problematic in 2023 and so maybe it's slightly easier for them to temper that stuff while leaning into the really great stuff about him. Just a theory. Marjorie Liu is also just an incredible fucking writer, so it mya just be that. ;D

2. No. I didn't have any interest in giving Rogue and Gambit children -- or even an attempt to have some -- in MMX. In fact, I had them talk about it, simply because it's a thing couples do (and should) talk about. But putting Rogue and Gambit's daughter Irene in a distant apocalyptic future just felt like a nice way to say "these two made it" -- they might be dead now, but they stayed together and they made this beautiful human who is here carrying them forward.

3. I'm delighted to accept this honor. ;D

4. Nope. But that would have been super fun!

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Q: With Carol, Kate, Nat & Rogue over the past few years at Marvel, if you could pick, would you return to one of them, aim for another team book (starring some or all) or prefer to dive into someone entirely new, and if so, who?

A: I think Nat is the one that I would return to right now -- in the sense that I have a great idea for how to continue that and I didn't feel "done" with the character.

But I admit that writing Rogue and Gambit in CM 49... it was hard to say goodbye to them. Harder than I expected. So I think I'm not "done" with them either, if I'm honest. Maybe someday.


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I think this AMA almost made me… tear up?

Obviously, I’m following her to DC (?) and pretty much anywhere else she goes. At least she’s going out with a bang with that fantastic Captain Marvel run.

[Ilargi]

But I admit that writing Rogue and Gambit in CM 49... it was hard to say goodbye to them. Harder than I expected. So I think I'm not "done" with them either, if I'm honest. Maybe someday.

That's make me feel sad. I feel that I'm saying goodbye to. 💔
The answers are superb, it seems obvious that this should be the basis of any writer. Respect the characters.

It's so easy to see with X-men Red.... Why everyone is thrilled with that book.... Because he treats his characters with respect and makes them shine in every issue.

[ChronoRogue]

But I admit that writing Rogue and Gambit in CM 49... it was hard to say goodbye to them. Harder than I expected. So I think I'm not "done" with them either, if I'm honest. Maybe someday.

Ok, this hits different. T.T

I'm so sad Kelly didn't get the opportunity to really explore or write the stories she really wanted to. I can really feel her passion for these characters and the MU in her answers and I wish we had more of that in Marvel. I don't get why Marvel let her go, clearly they recognized her talent if she could sustain a book in this market for 50 issues, so it's just... baffling. DC (?) really does seem to be more competitive and care more about talent.

Very curious on what exactly she had pitched as a Rogue and Gambit movie, though I feel like I'm missing an obvious hint with it being one of her favorite X-Men stories but turned into a Romy story. Phoenix Saga?

[Sisterhood Of Mutants]

That's make me feel sad. I feel that I'm saying goodbye to. 💔
The answers are superb, it seems obvious that this should be the basis of any writer. Respect the characters.

It's so easy to see with X-men Red.... Why everyone is thrilled with that book.... Because he treats his characters with respect and makes them shine in every issue.

Right?

It’s been a good time for me as a Storm fan (and man, she has been long overdue) and especially as a Mystique/Destiny fan… but it’s almost outweighed by how bummed out the Rogue and Gambit stuff has been making me feel.

It seemed to go from ambivalence (Howard’s runs/Duggan’s X-Men) to almost sneering nastiness, both from the current book and comments made by certain editorial. It reminds me of those times in the ‘00s when people kept trying to break them up just because they resented their popularity with fans - both as a couple, and Gambit’s overall.

[Agent Grayson]

I wonder why Marvel didn't renew her exclusive contract. She's written one of the longest-running solo series in recent memory, her work is well-received, and she's an award winner. It's weird that they didn't want to retain her.

[jwatson]

Not surprised. Marvel gives their white male writers time after time to flop but successful female writers? Gone with the wind.

But then how many female shop owners are there or owners of color. Such a coincidence the books model the owners rather than the audience.

[Factor]

Since she mentioned writing a dream project with some of her favorite characters and that she’s barely working with Marvel anymore, it looks like her next big project is a DC team book. Which is honestly pretty exciting.

[Malachi]

She answered my questions so I am happy in that respect. Less happy with how Marvel treats her and other people they really should fight tooth and nail to keep. Well KT will land on her feet no doubt about that. Ultimately the ones who looses are we marvel readers.

[Sandmans_Raven]

Dang, you can really feel the love she has for the characters she's written (not just Rogue and Gambit). Definitely going to miss her work in Marvel. I hope they get their s*** together and bring her back because I have little to no interest in much of Marvel's stuff anymore

[Kingdom X]

I wonder why Marvel didn't renew her exclusive contract. She's written one of the longest-running solo series in recent memory, her work is well-received, and she's an award winner. It's weird that they didn't want to retain her.

It’s doubly weird because she’s one of the top female writers in the industry. In male dominated fields that’s the kind of talent you want to retain and support.

[jwatson]

It’s doubly weird because she’s one of the top female writers in the industry. In male dominated fields that’s the kind of talent you want to retain and support.

New talent is cheaper talent. Unless your you know we all know so why even repeat it.

[Dream Boy]

Can't believe Marvel is letting her get away. KT has to be one of the most consistent writers out now. She made me buy every issue of Mr and Mrs X and I am not even a huge Rogue or Gambit fan! lol Hopefully she's onto a fantastic new project for me to enjoy.

[AppleJ]

Thanks for posting @Sisterhood!

These answers have warmed the cockles of my cold, dead heart. She has so much care for her characters and her audience and it shows through in her stories.

Marvel editorial are idiots to let Kelly go. Honestly, they just chew talented writers up and spit them out.

At this point, it's pretty touch and go whether I continue to pick up any Marvel titles after Captain Marvel ends.