| Jill Thompson | |
|---|---|
 Thompson at the 2011 New York Comic Con. | |
| Born | November 20, 1966 |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Writer and Illustrator |
Notable works | The Sandman Scary Godmother Beasts of Burden |
Jill Thompson (born November 20, 1966) [1] is an American illustrator and writer who has worked for stage, film, and television. Well known for her work on Neil Gaiman's The Sandman characters and her own Scary Godmother series, she has worked on The Invisibles , Swamp Thing , and Wonder Woman as well.
Thompson attended The American Academy of Art in Chicago, graduating in 1987 with a degree in Illustration and Watercolor. [2]
Jill Thompson began her comics career working for such publishers as First Comics and Now Comics in the 1980s. [3] She became the artist of DC Comics' Wonder Woman series in 1990. [4] Her work on the "Chalk Drawings" story in Wonder Woman #46 (Sept. 1990) drew praise from writer George Pérez who stated "It was a good, quiet story, and I think Jill and I worked really well together on that one." [5] Thompson illustrated the Brief Lives story arc in The Sandman issues #41–49, [6] and the story "The Parliament of Rooks" in issue #40 (part of the Fables and Reflections collection). [7] Within this tale she created the characters Li'l Death and Li'l Morpheus, childlike versions of two of the Endless based on classic comic characters Sugar and Spike.
She has since written and illustrated several stories featuring the Sandman characters. These include the manga-style book Death: At Death's Door , one of DC's best selling books of 2003, [8] set during the events of Season of Mists , and The Little Endless Storybook , a children's book using childlike versions of the Endless. [9] In 2005 Thompson wrote and illustrated The Dead Boy Detectives , [4] an original graphic novel based on two characters introduced in Season of Mists and subsequently portrayed by various creators.
Thompson designed the ring attire for WWE wrestler Daniel Bryan. [10]
Thompson created the comic book series Scary Godmother, originally published by Sirius Entertainment and later by Dark Horse Comics. The books spawned two television specials: Scary Godmother Halloween Spooktacular, which aired in foreign countries in 2003 before being picked up by Cartoon Network in 2004. [11] This was followed by Scary Godmother: The Revenge of Jimmy in 2005. Both were animated using CGI. Thompson did scripting for the project and maintained a measure of creative control. In 2003, the merchandising rights to Scary Godmother reverted to Thompson, allowing her to proceed with plans to create a Scary Godmother fashion doll for which she promoted a successful Kickstarter campaign. [12]
Thompson was a body model for other comics artists, and uses herself as the basis for several characters in her work, most notably as the original model for Scary Godmother. [13] Her likeness has been used by P. Craig Russell in his graphic novel The Magic Flute, [14] and many other works by Russell. In a 2012 interview, she said,"For his Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight story "Hothouse", I was this evil doctor, or someone who was manipulating Poison Ivy...He used me for operas and things, like Brunhilda and Ring of the Nibelung." [15] Alex Ross used her likeness for the character Duela Dent in Kingdom Come . [16] [17]
Thompson is a featured interview in the film Ringers: Lord of the Fans , a documentary about The Lord of the Rings fandom. [18] She was also interviewed for the film She Makes Comics, a documentary about the history of women in the comics industry. [19]
In 2015, Thompson was ranked fourth in the "Top 50 Female Comic Book Artists" poll conducted by Comic Book Resources. [20]
In April 2022, Thompson was among the more than three dozen comics creators who contributed to Operation USA's benefit anthology book, Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds, a project spearheaded by editor Scott Dunbier, whose profits would be donated to relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees resulting from the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. [21] [22]
In The Sandman: Act III audiobook adaptation of the graphic novel series, Jill Thompson performed the role of Etain, a character she drew in the comic book series. [23]
Thompson studied improvisation comedy at Chicago's The Players Workshop and The Second City Training Center. She performed for four years with the Cleveland Improv Troupe. [24]
Thompson is an avid gardener and holds a Master Gardener Certificate from the Chicago-based Extension program. [25]
Thompson was formerly married to writer Brian Azzarello, but Azzarello mentioned in a 2021 interview that they were no longer together. [16] [26]
Thompson has won multiple Eisner Awards, including in 2001 for best painter for Scary Godmother, 2004 for "Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)" for her work on The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings , [27] and in 2005 for "Best Short Story" for Unfamiliar (from The Dark Horse Book of the Dead) with Evan Dorkin. [28] In 2011 the National Cartoonist Society named her Best Comic Book Artist for Beasts of Burden . [29]
She was nominated for Lulu of the Year in 1998 [30] and won in 1999. [31]
National Cartoonists Society Award
Eisner Awards:
Eisner Award nominations:
Created by, written and illustrated by Thompson:
Adaptation/ co-writer, art director, set designer:
Actor, "Aunt Lindsay":
With Mainframe Entertainment:
Colleen Doran is an American writer-artist and cartoonist. She illustrated hundreds of comics, graphic novels, books and magazines, including the autobiographical graphic novel of Marvel Comics editor and writer Stan Lee entitled Amazing Fantastic Incredible Stan Lee, which became a New York Times bestseller. She adapted and did the art for the short story "Troll Bridge" by Neil Gaiman, which also became a New York Times bestseller. Her books have received Eisner, Harvey, Bram Stoker, Locus, and International Horror Guild Awards.
Matt Wagner is an American comics artist and writer who is best known as the creator of the series Mage and Grendel.
Brian Michael Bendis is an American comic book writer and artist.
Vincent Patrick Deighan, better known by the pen name Frank Quitely, is a Scottish comic book artist. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with Grant Morrison on titles such as New X-Men, We3, All-Star Superman, and Batman and Robin, as well as his work with Mark Millar on The Authority and Jupiter's Legacy.
Eduardo Risso is an Argentine comics artist. In the United States he is best known for his work with writer Brian Azzarello on the Vertigo title 100 Bullets, while in Argentina and Europe he is noted for his collaborations with Ricardo Barreiro and Carlos Trillo. He has received much acclaim for his work.
Evan Dorkin is an American comics artist and cartoonist. His best known works are the comic books Milk and Cheese and Dork, the latter of which features his comic Eltingville. His comics often poke fun at fandom, even while making it clear that Dorkin is a fan himself. Dorkin also served as a writer on the Adult Swim animated series Space Ghost Coast to Coast from 1994 to 1999, and created a pilot for an animated adaptation of Eltingville for Adult Swim in 2002.
Michael Dalton "Mike" Allred is an American comic book artist and writer. He is most well known for his independent comics creation Madman and for co-creating and drawing the comic book series iZombie. His work often draws upon pop art, as well as commercial and comic art of the 1950s and 1960s.
Philip Craig Russell is an American comics artist, writer, and illustrator. His work has won multiple Harvey and Eisner Awards. Russell was the fourth mainstream comic book creator to come out as openly gay, following Andy Mangels in 1988, Craig Hamilton in 1989, and Eric Shanower in 1990.
Marc Hempel is an American cartoonist/comics artist best known for his work on The Sandman with Neil Gaiman.
Charles Vess is an American fantasy artist and comics artist who has specialized in the illustration of myths and fairy tales. His influences include British "Golden Age" book illustrator Arthur Rackham, Czech Art Nouveau painter Alphonse Mucha, and comic-strip artist Hal Foster, among others. Vess has won several awards for his illustrations. Vess' studio, Green Man Press, is located in Abingdon, VA.
Michael Zulli was an American artist known for his work as an animal and wildlife illustrator and as a comic book illustrator. Best known for his work on the Sandman.
Scary Godmother is a series of children's books and comic books created by artist Jill Thompson and published by Sirius Entertainment beginning in 1997.
James H. Williams III, usually credited as J. H. Williams III, is an American comics artist and penciller. He is known for his work on titles such as Chase, Promethea, Desolation Jones,Batwoman, and The Sandman: Overture.
Teddy Kristiansen is a Danish comic book artist, known for his work in mystery, horror, and dark, suspense-filled comics. He drew one chapter of "The Kindly Ones" story arc in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman series. In 2005, Kristiansen won an Eisner Award for Best Comics Painter for his work on the Superman Graphic Novel It's a Bird.... Kristiansen was also featured in DC's 8th issue of Solo.
Mike Okamoto is an American comic book artist and commercial illustrator best known for co-creating Marvel Comics' Atomic Age; as a "good girl art" cartoonist; and as the five-time International Network of Golf Illustrator of the Year.
Daniel Alan Brereton is an American writer and illustrator who has produced notable work in the comic book field.
Steve Leialoha is an American comics artist whose work first came to prominence in the 1970s. He has worked primarily as an inker, though occasionally as a penciller, for several publishers, including Marvel Comics and later DC Comics.
Beasts of Burden is a comic book series created by writer Evan Dorkin and artists Jill Thompson and Benjamin Dewey, and published by American company Dark Horse Comics. The title centers on an eponymous team of intelligent animals that investigate different paranormal events that occur in their small neighborhood of Burden Hill. The initial group consists of five dogs and a cat. They are often seen consulting with "Wise Dogs", local shamanic elders of their community.
The Little Endless Storybook, written and lovingly illustrated by Jill Thompson in the style of a young children's picture book, told the story of the Endless's Delirium and her dog, Barnabas.
Legendary comic artist Jill Thompson has been busy designing ring attire for WWE superstar, Daniel Bryan.
In Kingdom Come, Alex Ross DID specifically use [Jill] Thompson as the model for Joker's Daughter (and her husband, Brian Azzarello, as the basis for another character, the villain 666).
What's absolutely fascinating to me about Jill Thompson is that she is one of the few artists who have become a star artist using two fairly dramatically different art styles.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
