Maggie Thompson (born Margaret Curtis; November 29, 1942) is an American longtime editor of the now-defunct comic book industry news magazine ''

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The publ ...

'', science fiction fan, and collector of comics.

Early life

Margaret (

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

, "Maggie") Curtis was born November 29, 1942. Her mother, science fiction writer Betsy Curtis, would be nominated for the

Hugo Award for Best Short Story The Hugo Award for Best Short Story is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The short story award is available for works of fiction of ...

in 1969 for her story " The Steiger Effect"; she carried on a long correspondence with colleagues such as

Robert Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...

and L. Ron Hubbard. According to family tradition, Betsy claimed descent from

Anne Bradstreet Anne Bradstreet (née Dudley; March 8, 1612 – September 16, 1672) was among the most prominent of early English poets of North America and the first writer in England's North American colonies to be published. She is the first Puritan ...

and at least two presidents of

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. Thompson and her late husband and fellow science fiction fan Don Thompson (October 30, 1935 – May 23, 1994) were among the instigators of what developed in the 1960s into

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of Fan (person), fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significan ...

. Their ''Harbinger'' (a mimeographed one-sheet published in the autumn of 1960) announced the upcoming publication of ''Comic Art'', one of the early amateur magazines devoted to all aspects of sequential art (a term not then in use). The initial issue of ''Comic Art'' was released the following spring.Biographical information at CBGXtra.com
/ref> Seven issues were published at irregular intervals between 1961 and 1968. As publication of ''Comic Art'' wound down, they shifted their attention to a new venture as the Thompsons started a fanzine titled ''Newfangles'' in March 1967. Unlike other comics news fanzines of the time it was devoted to the doings of comics fandom instead of news about comic books and comic book professionals.

Career

Thompson began working for

Krause Publications Krause Publications is an American publisher of hobby magazines and books. The company was started by Chester L. Krause (19232016) in 1952 and published '' Numismatic News''. In the coin collecting community the company is best known for its ...

as the editor of ''

Movie Collector's World Alan L. Light (b. September 15, 1953) is a publisher involved in comics and pop culture fandom. He is best known as the founder of ''The Buyer's Guide for Comic Fandom'' (later known as the ''Comics Buyer's Guide''), which was the longest-running ...

'' and ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' in 1983. With her husband Don, she wrote a miscellany of articles and comic-book stories; ''The Official Price Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy'' (1989, House of Collectibles); five years of ''Comics Buyer's Guide Annual'' (1992–1996, Krause Publications); ''Marvel Comics Checklist & Price Guide 1961-Present'' (1993, Krause Publications); and ''Comic-Book Superstars'' (1993, Krause Publications). With others, she produced the ''

Checklist & Price Guide'' (now in its 15th edition, Krause Publications); and the '' Standard Catalog of Comic Books'' (now in its 5th edition, Krause Publications). Working solo, Thompson created and edited ''Fantasy Empire'' magazine for New Media in 1981 and wrote ''Dark Shadows: Book Two - Lost in Thought'' #1-4 in 1993 for Innovation Comics. Krause later sold the movie newspaper, but Thompson continued to edit ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', long after her husband's death in 1994 and the transformation of the publication into a monthly magazine. In 2013 she began a column for

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

's Toucan blog called "Maggie's World". Her son Stephen Thompson would go on to become an editor for ''

The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is currently based in Chicago, but originated as a weekly print publication ...

'' and creator of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' before moving on to NPR. Stephen co-hosts "Pop Culture Happy Hour", a pop culture-themed podcast on which Maggie has made multiple appearances.

Accolades

Under Maggie's editorial direction, ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' twice won the comics industry's

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...

for periodicals, among other awards. She was a recipient of the

Bob Clampett Robert Emerson Clampett Sr. (May 8, 1913 – May 2, 1984) was an American animator, film director, director, film producer, producer and puppeteer best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' animated series from Warner Bros. as well as the te ...

Humanitarian Award and was also the first recipient of the

Friends of Lulu Friends of Lulu (FoL) was a non-profit, national charitable organization located in the United States, designed to promote readership of comic books by women and the participation of women in the comic book industry. FoL operated from 1994 to 20 ...

's Women of Distinction Award. Maggie and Don Thompson received many joint awards,Thompson entry
Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. including: * Comic Fan Art Award Favorite Fan Writer, 1973 & 1974Don Thompson entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999''. Accessed Feb. 4, 2016. *

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at Comic-Con Internati ...

, 1976 * Jack Kirby Award, Best Comics Publication, 1985 * Diamond Lifetime Fandom Award, 1991 *

, Best Comics-Related Periodical, 1992 *

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be a successor to the Kirby Awards, which were ...

, Comics Industry Pioneer Award, 2019 * Eisner Award, Hall of Fame, 2020

Thompson Award

The Motor City Comic Con awarded the Don Thompson Award from 1992 to 1998. Originally known as the "Compuserve Comics and Animation Forum Award", the name was changed to the "Compuserve Comics and Animation Forum's Don Thompson Award" (or, simply, the "Thompson") after Don Thompson's death in 1994.

References

External links

Maggie Thompson official site

Maggie's World
(column for Comic Con's Toucan blog)
Comics Buyer’s Guide

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Maggie 1942 births Living people American print editors Comics scholars American comic collectors Women collectors Comics critics Oberlin College alumni American female comics writers Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award winners American librarians American women librarians Women print editors Harvey Award winners