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 Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

, 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 Elizabeth M. Curtis (September 17, 1917 – April 17, 2002) was an American science fiction/fantasy writer. She was born in Toledo, Ohio. She earned a BA and MA in English from Oberlin College. In 1966, she earned a MEd from Allegheny Col ...

, 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 "The Steiger Effect" is a science fiction short story by Betsy Curtis. It was first published in '' Analog Science Fiction'' in October 1968. Synopsis Human merchants sell internal combustion engines to a planet whose inhabitants view the devices ...

"; 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 Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author and the founder of Scientology. A prolific writer of pulp science fiction and fantasy novels in his early career, in 1950 he authored the pseudoscie ...

. 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 The ''Standard Catalog of Comic Books'' is the world's largest book about comic books. A joint production of the team behind ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' magazine and the CD-ROM program ComicBase, the first edition was released in 2002 from Krause Publ ...

'' (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 Innovation Publishing (also known as Innovation Books and the Innovative Corporation) was an American comic book company based in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was co-founded by David Campiti in 1988 after writing a business proposal and raising U ...

. 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 National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

. 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 The Goethe Award, later known as the Comic Fan Art Award, was an American series of comic book fan awards, first presented in 1971 for comics published in 1970. The award originated with the fanzine '' Newfangles'' and then shared close ties with ...

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 The Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards were a set of awards for achievement in comic books, presented from 1985 to 1987. Voted on by comic-book professionals, the Kirby awards were the first such awards since the Shazam Awards ceased in 1975. Spo ...

, 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 The Motor City Comic Con is a fan convention held in Novi, Michigan, United States, at the Suburban Collection Showplace. It is traditionally a three-day event (Friday through Sunday), usually held in May of each year. The Motor City Comic Con was ...

awarded the

Don Thompson Award The Compuserve Comics and Animation Forum's Don Thompson Awards (also known as the Thompsons) were given for achievement in comic books, comic strips, and animation. Initiated in 1992, they were originally known as the Compuserve Comics and Anima ...

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