Jill Thompson (born November 20, 1966) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

and writer who has worked for stage, film, and television. Well known for her work on

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

's '' The Sandman'' characters and her own '' Scary Godmother'' series, she has worked on ''

The Invisibles ''The Invisibles'' is a comic book series published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics from 1994 to 2000. It was created and scripted by Scottish writer Grant Morrison, and drawn by various artists throughout its publication. The series loosely ...

'', ''

Swamp Thing The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental List of swamp monsters, creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or mo ...

'', and ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'' as well.

Early life

Thompson attended The

American Academy of Art The American Academy of Art College is a private art school in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1923 for the education of fine and commercial arts students. The school's Bill L. Parks Gallery is open to the public and features exhibitions ...

in Chicago, graduating in 1987 with a degree in Illustration and Watercolor.''Rockford Register Star'' staff. (November 7, 2005). "Meet a couple of comic book creators". ''

The Rockford Register Star The ''Rockford Register Star'' is the primary daily newspaper of the Rockford, Illinois, metropolitan area. The fifth-highest circulation newspaper in Illinois, the Register Star takes its name from the 1979 merger of two predecessors, the ''Re ...

''. p. 1E

Career

Jill Thompson began her comics career working for such publishers as

First Comics First Comics was an American comic book publisher that was active from 1983 to 1991, known for titles like ''American Flagg!'', ''Grimjack'', ''Nexus'', ''Badger'', ''Dreadstar'', and ''Jon Sable''. Along with competitors like Pacific Comics and ...

and

Now Comics NOW Comics was a comic book publisher founded in late 1985 by Tony C. Caputo as a sole-proprietorship. During the four years after its founding, NOW grew from a one-man operation to operating in 12 countries, and published almost 1,000 comic book ...

in the 1980s. She became the artist of

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

' ''

'' series in 1990. Her work on the "Chalk Drawings" story in ''Wonder Woman'' #46 (Sept. 1990) drew praise from writer

George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (co ...

who stated "It was a good, quiet story, and I think Jill and I worked really well together on that one." Thompson illustrated the ''

Brief Lives ''Brief Lives'' is a collection of short biographies written by John Aubrey (1626–1697) in the last decades of the 17th century. Writing Aubrey initially began collecting biographical material to assist the Oxford scholar Anthony Wood, who ...

'' story arc in '' The Sandman'' issues #41–49, and the story "The Parliament of Rooks" in issue #40 (part of the '' Fables and Reflections'' collection). Within this tale she created the characters Li'l

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

and Li'l

Morpheus Morpheus ('Fashioner', derived from the grc, μορφή meaning 'form, shape') is a god associated with sleep and dreams. In Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' he is the son of Somnus and appears in dreams in human form. From the Middle Ages, the name b ...

, childlike versions of two of the

Endless Endless or The Endless may refer to: Business * Endless (private equity), a British firm * Endless.com, an e-commerce website selling shoes and accessories * Endless Computers, an American operating system company Film * ''The Endless'' (film ...

based on classic comic characters

Sugar and Spike ''Sugar and Spike'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1956 through 1971, named after its main protagonists. The series was created, written, and drawn by Sheldon Mayer. Publication history The series was launched in 1 ...

. She has since written and illustrated several stories featuring the Sandman characters. These include the

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

-style book '' Death: At Death's Door'', one of DC's best selling books of 2003,Arnold, Andrew D. (February 16, 2004). "Drawing In the Gals; Move over, guys. Graphics for girls are the hot new genre in Japanese comics". ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

''. p. 97 set during the events of ''

Season of Mists ''Season of Mists'' is a 1990-1991 American eight-part comic and the fourth collection of issues in the DC Comics' '' The Sandman'' series. It collects issues #21–28. It was written by Neil Gaiman; illustrated by Kelley Jones, Mike Dringenbe ...

'', and '' The Little Endless Storybook'', a children's book using childlike versions of the Endless. In 2005 Thompson wrote and illustrated the '' Dead Boy Detectives'', an original graphic novel based on two minor characters from ''Season of Mists''. Thompson designs the ring attire for

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

wrestler Daniel Bryan. Thompson created the comic book series ''Scary Godmother'', originally published by

Sirius Entertainment Sirius Entertainment was an American comic book company which operated from 1994 to 2007. Sirius Entertainment was founded by Robb Horan, Joseph Michael Linsner, and Larry Salamone, Fassbender, Tom. "A Sirius Interview: With Two Sirius Guys," ...

and later by

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

. The books spawned two television specials: ''Scary Godmother Halloween Spooktacular'', which aired in foreign countries in 2003 before being picked up by

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

in 2004. 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. 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. Her likeness has been used by

P. Craig Russell Philip Craig Russell (born October 30, 1951) is an American comics artist, writer, and illustrator. His work has won multiple Harvey and Eisner Awards. Russell was the first mainstream comic book creator to come out as openly gay. Biography ...

in his graphic novel ''The Magic Flute'', 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''."

Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which he collaborated wi ...

used her likeness for the character Duela Dent in '' Kingdom Come''. Thompson is a featured interview in the film '' Ringers: Lord of the Fans'', a documentary about ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

'' fandom. She was also interviewed for the film ''She Makes Comics'', a documentary about the history of women in the comics industry. In 2015, Thompson was ranked fourth in the "Top 50 Female Comic Book Artists" poll conducted by

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

. In April 2022, Thompson was reported among the more than three dozen comics creators who contributed to

Operation USA Operation USA (also known as OpUSA, Operation California, or OpCal) is a non profit humanitarian organization supporting health, education and relief programs at home and abroad in order to help children and families recover and thrive in the wak ...

's benefit anthology book, ''Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds'', a project spearheaded by editor

Scott Dunbier Scott Dunbier is an American comic book editor, best known as the Special Projects Editor at IDW Publishing. Career Dunbier rose to prominence in the comic book industry as executive editor of the Wildstorm comic book line. After several years a ...

, whose profits would be donated to relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees resulting from the February

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

Personal life

Thompson studied improvisation comedy at Chicago's

The Players Workshop Created in 1971 by Josephine Forsberg, The Players Workshop was Chicago's only official school of improvisation for over a decade. Although it was never officially a part of The Second City cabaret theater, The Players Workshop was often referred ...

and

The Second City Training Center The Second City Training Center was founded in the mid-1980s to facilitate the growing demand for workshops and instruction from the world famous The Second City theatre. Training Centers are located in Chicago, Toronto and Los Angeles. Satelli ...

. She performed for four years with the Cleveland Improv Troupe. Thompson is an avid gardener and holds a Master Gardener Certificate from the Chicago-based Extension program. Thompson is single or divorced.

Awards and honors

Thompson has won multiple

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

s, 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 ''The Dark Horse Book of...'' was the banner title given to a series of four Dark Horse Comics one-shot hardcover comic book horror anthologies edited by Scott Allie and featuring the work of Mike Mignola and others. In 2017 Dark Horse collected ...

'',Price, Matthew. (July 30, 2004). "''Endless Nights'' wins Eisner Awards". ''

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th large ...

''. p. 11D and in 2005 for "Best Short Story" for ''Unfamiliar'' (from ''The Dark Horse Book of the Dead'') with

Evan Dorkin Evan Dorkin (born April 20, 1965) is an American comics artist and cartoonist. His best known works are the comic books ''Milk and Cheese'' and ''Dork''. His comics often poke fun at fandom, even while making it clear that Dorkin is a fan himsel ...

.Price, Matthew. (July 29, 2005). "Eisner awards honor comic book excellence". ''The Oklahoman''. p. 13D In 2011 the National Cartoonist Society named her Best Comic Book Artist for '' Beasts of Burden''. She was nominated for Lulu of the Year in 1998 and won in 1999. National Cartoonists Society Award * 2011 Best Comic Book Artists ''Beasts of Burden'' Eisner Awards: * 2000 Best Humor Publication ''Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror'' (group award) 2000 * 2001 Best Painter/Multimedia ''Scary Godmother'' (interior art) * 2001 Best Title for a Younger Audience ''Scary Godmother: The Boo Flu'' * 2004 Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art) "Stray" ''The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings'' * 2005 Best Short Story, "Unfamiliar" ''The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft'' Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson 2005 * 2007 Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art) "A Dog and His Boy" ''The Dark Horse Book of Monsters'' (etc.) Eisner Award nominations: * 1998 Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition * 1998 Best Graphic Album-New ''Scary Godmother'' * 1998 Best Publication Design ''Scary Godmother'' * 2000 Best Painter/Multimedia ''Scary Godmother: The Mystery Date'' * 2004 Best Anthology ''The Dark Horse Book Of Hauntings'' (group award)

Bibliography

Comics

Comico

*'' The Elementals'' #13, 20, 23–25, 27–29 (1987–1988) *''Fathom'' #1–3 (1987)

First Comics

*''

Classics Illustrated ''Classics Illustrated'' is an American comic book/magazine series featuring adaptations of literary classics such as ''Les Misérables'', '' Moby-Dick'', ''Hamlet'', and '' The Iliad''. Created by Albert Kanter, the series began publication ...

The Scarlet Letter ''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, ...

'' (artist 1989) *'' The Chronicles of Corum'' (artist 1989)

DC Comics

*''

'' vol. 2 #45–48, 50–51, 53–55, 57–59, 61–64, ''Special'' #1 (1990–1992) *'' The Sandman'' #40–49 (1992–1993) ** "The Parliament of Rooks" in '' Fables and Reflections'' ** ''

'' *'' Black Orchid'' vol. 2 #1–6 (1993–1994) *''

'' #5–9, 13–15 (1995) *''

'' vol. 2 #159 (1995) *'' Seekers into the Mystery'' #11–14 (1996–1997) *''

The Dreaming The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...

'' #13–14 (1997) *''

The Books of Magic ''The Books of Magic'' is the title of a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has ...

'' vol. 2 #42 (1997) *''

Challengers of the Unknown The Challengers of the Unknown is a fictional group of adventurers appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The quartet of adventurers explored paranormal occurrences while facing several fantastic menaces. The characters' provenance is ...

'' vol. 3 #10, 13 (1997–1998) *''

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

'' #1–4 (1999) *''The Invisibles'' vol. 3 #3–4 (2000) *''

Transmetropolitan ''Transmetropolitan'' is a cyberpunk transhumanist comic book series written by Warren Ellis and co-created and designed by Darick Robertson; it was published by the American company DC Comics in 1997–2002. The series was originally part of t ...

: Filth of the City'' #1 (2001) *''

Bizarro Bizarro () is a supervillain/anti-hero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman, and first appeared in ''Superboy'' #68 (1958 ...

Comics'' HC (writer/artist 2001) *'' The Little Endless Storybook'' (writer/artist 2001) *'' 9-11: The World's Finest Comic Book Writers & Artists Tell Stories to Remember, Volume Two'' (2002) *''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

'' #100 (2003) *'' Death: At Death's Door'' (writer/artist 2003) *'' Batman: Gotham Knights'' #44 ("

Batman Black and White ''Batman Black and White'' refers to the comic book limited series published by DC Comics featuring 8-page black and white Batman stories. Volumes 1, 4 and 5 of the series feature all-new stories (published in 1996, 2013–14, and 2020–21, res ...

" backup story) (writer/artist 2003) *''Masks: Too Hot for TV'' #1 (2004) *'' Dead Boy Detectives'' (writer /artist 2005) *''

Fables Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular moral ...

: 1001 Nights of Snowfall'': "Fair Division" *''Fables'' #59 (2007) *''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror, fantasy, and mystery Comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets''. It is also the name of the titular setting of the series. First serie ...

'' vol. 2 #2 (2008) *'' Delirium's Party: A Little Endless Storybook'' (writer/artist 2011) *'' The Unexpected'' vol. 2 #1 (2011) *'' Shade'' vol. 2 #8 (2012) *'' The Dark Knight III: The Master Race'' #1 (variant cover art 2016)

Marvel Comics

*''Shadows and Light'' #2 (

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

) (1998) *''

X-Men Unlimited ''X-Men Unlimited'' was the title of three comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The purpose of this title was to run stories that fit between the main X-Men comics. The stories included all characters (heroes and villains) from the X-tit ...

'' #32 (" Dazzler – Beyond the Music") (2001) *'' Girl Comics'' vol. 2 #2 (2010)

Topps Comics

*''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

: Afterflight''

Dark Horse Comics

*'' The Badger: Shattered Mirror'' *'' The Dark Horse Book of...'': **''Hauntings'': "Stray" (2003) **''Witchcraft'': "The Unfamiliar" (2004) **''The Dead'': "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie" (2005) **''Monsters'': "A Dog and His Boy" (2006) *'' Beasts of Burden'' #1–4 (2009) *''Hellboy/Beasts of Burden'' (2010) *''Beasts of Burden: Neighborhood Watch'' (2012) *''Beasts of Burden: Hunters and Gatherers'' (2014) *''Beasts of Burden: What the Cat Dragged In'' (2016)

Sirius Entertainment

*'' Scary Godmother'' books (all creator/writer/illustrator): **'' Scary Godmother'' (1997) **'' The Revenge of Jimmy'' (1998) **'' The Mystery Date'' (1999) **'' The Boo Flu'' (2000) *''Scary Godmother'' comics: **''Scary Godmother: My Bloody Valentine'' (1998) **''Scary Godmother Holiday Spooktakular'' (1998) **''Scary Godmother'' Activity book (2000) **''Scary Godmother: Wild About Harry'' (2000) **''Scary Godmother: Ghoul’s Out for Summer'' (2000–2001)

Bongo Comics

*''

Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror The following is a list of comic book series published by Bongo Comics based on the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. The first comic strips based on ''The Simpsons'' appeared in 1991 in the magazine ''Simpsons Illustrated'' (no ...

'' (writer 2000) *''Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror'' (artist 2002)

Caliber Comics

*'' The Bandyman'' (artist 1999)

Scholastic

*''

Goosebumps Graphix From 2006–2019, several comic book adaptations have been printed, based on the ''Goosebumps'' books by R. L. Stine. The first was '' Creepy Creatures'', a graphic novel compilation book in the ''Goosebumps Graphix'' line. This series began when S ...

: Terror Trips –

One Day at HorrorLand ''One Day at HorrorLand'' was originally published in February 1994 and is the sixteenth children's horror novel in R. L. Stine's ''Goosebumps'' series. It was adapted into a two-part episode for the television series, which was later released on ...

'' (as illustrator)

Other material

Harper Collins Children's Books

Created by, written and illustrated by Thompson: *''Magic Trixie'' (2008) *''Magic Trixie Sleeps Over'' (2008) *''Magic Trixie and the Dragon'' (2009) *''The Curse of the Royal Ruby: A Rinnah Two Feathers Mystery'' (as illustrator) *''The Secret of Dead Man's Mine: A Rinnah Two Feathers Mystery'' (as illustrator) *''

Mick Foley Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American actor, author, retired professional wrestler, and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE under the company's Legends program, acting as a company ambassador. Foley worked for m ...

's Halloween Hijinx (as illustrator) *''Tales from Wrescal Lane'' (as illustrator)

Stageplay

Adaptation/ co-writer, art director, set designer: *''Scary Godmother'' 2001 at the Athanaeum Theatre in Chicago with Runamuck Productions

Film

Actor, "Aunt Lindsay": *''

Meet Me There ''Meet Me There'' is a 2014 American horror film directed by Lex Lybrand. The movie, written by Brandon Stroud and Destiny Talley, is based on true stories from Talley's childhood. It premiered on April 4, 2014 as part of the New Orleans Film Soc ...

'' 2014 film from Greenless Studios

Scary Godmother Animated Specials

With

Mainframe Entertainment Mainframe Studios is a Canadian computer animation company owned by Wow Unlimited Media and based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1993 as Mainframe Entertainment Inc. by Christopher Brough, Ian Pearson, Phil Mitchell, Gavin Blair and ...

: *'' Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktakular'' co-writer, editor, art director, background painter, prop designer, executive creative director *'' Scary Godmother: The Revenge of Jimmy'' creative consultation, executive producer, prop and character designer

References

External links

Official website
*
Jill Thompson
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Jill 1966 births 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists American female comics artists American comics writers Artists from Chicago DC Comics people Eisner Award winners for Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (Interior) Female comics writers Living people Marvel Comics people Role-playing game artists Writers from Chicago