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Tom King (writer)

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For other people named Thomas King, see Thomas King (disambiguation).
Tom King
King during an appearance at
Midtown Comics in Manhattan
Born (1978-07-15) July 15, 1978 (age 46)
NationalityAmerican
Notable works
The Vision
Batman
Mister Miracle
The Sheriff of Babylon
AwardsEisner Award for Best Writer

Tom King (born July 15, 1978) is an American author, comic book writer, and ex-CIA officer. He is best known for writing the novel A Once Crowded Sky, The Vision for Marvel Comics, The Sheriff of Babylon for the DC Comics imprint Vertigo and Batman, Mister Miracle, and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow for DC Comics.

In 2018, he received the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his work on multiple Batman books and Mister Miracle, sharing the award with Marjorie Liu.

In January 2023, it was announced by DC Studios co-chairman and co-CEO James Gunn that King would be one the architects of the new DC Universe media franchise of feature films. It was also announced that King's Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow miniseries would be adapted into a feature film by DC Studios.

Early life

King primarily grew up in Southern California. His mother worked for the film industry which inspired his love of storytelling. He interned at both DC and Marvel Comics during the late 1990s. He studied both philosophy and history at Columbia University, graduating in 2000. He identifies as "half-Jewish, half-midwestern".[1]

Career

King at the 2023 WonderCon

King interned both at DC Comics and Marvel Comics, where he was an assistant to X-Men writer Chris Claremont, before joining the CIA counterterrorism unit after 9/11.[2][3] King spent seven years as a counterterrorism operations officer for the CIA before quitting to write his debut novel, A Once Crowded Sky, after the birth of his first child.[4][5]

A Once Crowded Sky, King's debut superhero novel with comics pages illustrated by Tom Fowler, was published on July 10, 2012, by Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, to positive reception.[6][7][8]

In 2014, King was chosen to co-write Grayson for DC Comics, along with Tim Seeley and Mikel Janin on art. After penning Nightwing No. 30, King, Seeley, and Janin launched Grayson in May 2014, featuring Dick Grayson leaving behind his Nightwing persona at age 22 to become Agent 37, a Spyral spy.[9][10] King and Seeley plotted the series together and traded issues to script separately, with King providing additional authenticity through his background with the CIA.[11][12]

A relaunch of classic DC Comics series The Omega Men was published in June 2015 by King and debut artist Barnaby Bagenda, as part of the publisher's relaunch DC You.[13][14] The series follows a group of rebels fighting an oppressive galactic empire, and feature White Lantern Kyle Rayner.[15] The Omega Men, created in 1981, are DC's cosmic equivalent to Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, though significantly more obscure.[16] King's and Bagenda's use of the nine-panel grid, popularized by Alan Moore's and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen, has been praised by reviewers.[17]

In San Diego Comic-Con 2015, Vertigo revealed a new creator-owned project written by King with art by Mitch Gerads titled The Sheriff of Baghdad.[18] The project, a crime series in the vein of Vertigo titles like Preacher and Scalped, was set to launch in late 2015, and was inspired by King's time in Iraq as part of the CIA.[19] Initially an eight-issue miniseries, it was later re-titled The Sheriff of Babylon and expanded into an ongoing series.[20][21] The first issue launched in December 2015 to critical acclaim, with reviewers praising its "deeply personal" storytelling and the "intriguing" and "captivating" personalities of its characters.[22][23] That same year, DC announced "Robin War", a crossover storyline set for December that would run for five weeks through titles Grayson, Detective Comics, We Are Robin, and Robin: Son of Batman; King was set to orchestrate the crossover's story-line and pen two one-shots to open and close the series.[24]

As part of Marvel Comics' All-New, All-Different relaunch, King was announced as the writer of The Vision, a new ongoing following the titular character and his newly created family, with artist Gabriel Hernández Walta, colorist Jordie Bellaire, and covers by Mike del Mundo, launching in November 2015.[25][26][27] The Vision has been well received by the public, with reviewers calling the series one of Marvel's "biggest surprises" and praising the narration, art, and colors.[28][29]

In September 2015, DC cancelled King's The Omega Men, along with four other titles, with the series ending with issue seven.[30] After negative fan response to the cancellation, Jim Lee, DC's co-publisher, announced that they would be bringing back The Omega Men through at least issue 12.[31] Lee described the decision to cancel the series as "a bit hasty," crediting the book's critical acclaim and fan social media reactions as the reason the title would go on for the planned 12-issue run.[32]

King penned a Green Lantern one-shot that ties into the "Darkseid War" storyline, titled "Will You Be My God?", which James Whitbrook of io9 praised as "one of the best" Green Lantern stories.[33]

King and co-writer Tim Seeley announced they would leave Grayson after issue No. 18, with King clarifying on Twitter that they were working on something "big and cool" and needed time.[34] King and Seeley officially left the series in February with issue No. 17, with Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly taking over for its last three issues with issue No. 18 in March.[35]

DC Comics announced in February 2016 that King had signed an exclusivity deal with the publisher, which would see him writing exclusively for DC and Vertigo.[36][37] King revealed via his Twitter account that he would stay on The Vision as writer through issue 12, finishing the story arc he had planned from the beginning.[38][39]

In March 2016, it was announced that King would be writing the main bi-weekly Batman series beginning with a new No. 1, replacing long-time writer Scott Snyder, as part of DC's Rebirth relaunch that June.[40] King has stated that his run would be 100 issues total, with the entirety being released twice-monthly, though this was later curtailed to 85 issues and 3 annuals, with a 12 issue followup maxiseries Batman/Catwoman to finish the story.[41]

In August 2017, King and regular collaborator Mitch Gerads launched the first issue of their Mister Miracle series, with a planned total run of twelve issues.[42] In June 2018 DC Comics announced King would be writing Heroes in Crisis, a limited series centering around a concept he introduced in Batman.[43]

In July 2018, he received the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his work on Batman, Batman Annual #2, Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1 and Mister Miracle,[44] sharing the award with Marjorie Liu.[45]

In May and June 2019, King, DC Co-Publisher Jim Lee, and CW series actresses Nafessa Williams, Candice Patton, and Danielle Panabaker toured five U.S. military bases in Kuwait with the United Service Organizations (USO), where they visited the approximately 12,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in that country as part of DC's 80th anniversary of Batman celebration.[46]

In September 2020, DC Comics announced that King would be among the creators of a revived Batman: Black and White anthology series to debut on December 8, 2020.[47] From 2021 to 2022, King was the writer on the eight-issue miniseries Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow with artist Bilquis Evely.[48] David Harth, for CBR, commented that since Omega Men, "King has mostly stayed away from sci-fi, going for a more psychological take on superheroes instead". Harth highlighted that Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow "is very much a sci-fi epic" and that the series is "even more imaginative than Omega Men's sci-fi, as it has King flexing his muscles in different ways".[49]

In November 2022, it was announced that King would be writing both Batman: The Brave and the Bold and The Penguin, as a part of Dawn of DC relaunch in 2023.[50]

In January 2023, it was announced that King's Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow miniseries would be adapted into a feature film by DC Studios.[51] It was also announced by DC Studios co-chairman and co-CEO James Gunn that King will serve as one of the architects of the new DC Universe media franchise of feature films and other media that would succeed the DC Extended Universe.[52]

In March 2023, it was announced that King would be writing the new Wonder Woman relaunch as a part of Dawn of DC.[53]

In July 2023, it was announced that King would work on a new creator-owned series for Boom! Studios, with Peter Gross serving as the illustrator. The series would later be revealed to be Animal Pound, a modern reimagining of George Orwell's Animal Farm set in an animal shelter.[54][55]

Personal life

As of 2016, King lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and three children.[4]

Bibliography

Novels

  • A Once Crowded Sky (with illustrations by Tom Fowler, 336 pages, Touchstone, 2012, ISBN 1-4516-5200-3)

DC Comics

Other publishers

References

  1. ^ Polo, Susana (September 25, 2018). "The World's Finest: Batman's Tom King and Superman's Brian Bendis in conversation". Polygon. Archived from the original on September 25, 2018.
  2. ^ Goldstein, Rich (June 24, 2014). "The CIA Spook Turned Comic Book Scribe: Robin Grabs a Gun in 'Grayson'". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on June 24, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  3. ^ Phegley, Kiel (October 30, 2014). "Tom King Explores the Undercover History of 'Grayson'". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on May 30, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Ottesen, K. K. (January 27, 2016). "Holy DC connection! A local comic book writer used to work for the CIA!". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on January 28, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  5. ^ "From CIA to comics: Former agent makes career splash". Military Times. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  6. ^ McFarland, Kevin (July 23, 2012). "Tom King: A Once Crowded Sky". www.avclub.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  7. ^ Kelly, James (July 26, 2012). "Heroes and Villains Are Gone From A Once Crowded Sky". WIRED. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  8. ^ Archipelago, World. "A Once Crowded Sky". pages.simonandschuster.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  9. ^ Truitt, Brian. "Batman's sidekick leaves the cave for 'Grayson' comic". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  10. ^ Renaud, Jeffrey (May 30, 2014). "Seeley, King Enter the DCU's Espionage World in "Grayson"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on May 30, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  11. ^ Yaws, Jay (June 5, 2015). "Interview: Grayson's Tim Seeley and Tom King". Batman News. Archived from the original on June 8, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  12. ^ Ching, Albert (April 11, 2015). "CBR TV: "Grayson" Co-Writer King Connects CIA Past to DC Comics Future". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  13. ^ Yehl, Joshua; Schedeen, Jesse (June 3, 2015). "The Omega Men Are Reborn in the New DC Universe". IGN. Archived from the original on June 7, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  14. ^ McMillan, Graeme (May 29, 2015). "Decoding DC Entertainment's 'DC You' Comic Book Relaunch". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 17, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  15. ^ Renaud, Jeffrey (August 20, 2015). "Tom King Hasn't Decided if DC's "Omega Men" Are Good or Bad Guys". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on May 25, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  16. ^ "This new comic series is the 'Star Wars' meets 'Game of Thrones' mashup you didn't know you wanted". Business Insider. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  17. ^ "Restriction & Revolution: 'Omega Men' And The Nine-Panel Grid". Comics Alliance. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  18. ^ "Vertigo comes back from the dead by announcing 12 new titles at Comic-Con". The Daily Dot. July 10, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  19. ^ "SDCC: Vertigo Finishes 2015 by Launching 12 New Series". Comic Book Resources. July 14, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  20. ^ "THE SHERIFF OF BABYLON #1". www.vertigocomics.com. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  21. ^ "DC Comics' Sheriff Of Baghdad Changes Name Because Of John McPhee". Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News. August 18, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  22. ^ "Two new releases spotlight Tom King's sharp, sophisticated storytelling". www.avclub.com. December 4, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  23. ^ "Best Shots Rapid-Fire Reviews: ALL-NEW ALL-DIFFERENT AVENGERS #2, MIDNIGHTER #7, STAR WARS #13, More". Newsarama.com. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  24. ^ "SDCC: DC Announces "Robin War" Crossover, Weekly "Batman & Robin Eternal"". Comic Book Resources. July 10, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  25. ^ "King & Walta To Launch "The Vision" Ongoing This October". Comic Book Resources. June 29, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  26. ^ "Tom King Shares His Familial "Vision" for Marvel's Synthezoid Avenger". Comic Book Resources. September 2, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  27. ^ "Loikamania 244: Tom King". Loikamania. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  28. ^ Whitbrook, James. "Marvel's The Vision Is Telling a Story Unlike Any Superhero Comic I've Ever Read". io9. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  29. ^ Whitbrook, James (November 5, 2015). "The Vision Is One Of The Most Unsettling Comics I've Read This Year". io9. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  30. ^ "Five DC Titles Set to End, Including "Justice League United" and "Lobo"". Comic Book Resources. September 13, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  31. ^ "DC Brings Back OMEGA MEN Due To Fan Response At Cancellation". Newsarama.com. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  32. ^ Yehl, Joshua (September 27, 2015). "Jim Lee Talks Batman Noir: Hush, Un-Canceling The Omega Men, and Potential Supergirl Comic". IGN. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  33. ^ Whitbrook, James (November 12, 2015). "The Fallout of Darkseid War Gives Us The Best Green Lantern Story In Years". io9. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  34. ^ "Seeley and King Leave Grayson for "something big and cool"". The Beat. January 20, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  35. ^ "GRAYSON Writers On Finale & Building Towards NIGHTWING's REBIRTH". Newsarama.com. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  36. ^ "Tom King, Clay Mann, and John Timms Sign Exclusive Deals at DC". Comics Alliance. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  37. ^ "DC ENTERTAINMENT SIGNS TOP TALENT". DC Comics. February 18, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  38. ^ "DC-Bound TOM KING Reveals His Last Issue of MARVEL's THE VISION". Newsarama.com. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  39. ^ "Axel-In-Charge: Investigating "Black Widow," the Future of "The Vision"". Comic Book Resources. February 26, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  40. ^ "WONDERCON: DC COMICS REVEALS "REBIRTH" CREATIVE TEAMS". Comic Book Resources. March 26, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  41. ^ "Tom King is Planning to Stay on Batman for 100 Issues". September 8, 2017.
  42. ^ "Mister Miracle #1". March 15, 2021.
  43. ^ McMillan, Graeme (June 12, 2018). "DC's 'Heroes in Crisis' to Explore Superhero Trauma". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  44. ^ "2018 EISNER AWARDS Winners (Full List)". Newsarama. July 21, 2018. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  45. ^ Ducharme, Jamie (July 21, 2018). "A Woman Has Finally Won the Top Writing Award in Comic Books". Time. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  46. ^ Arrant, Chris (June 2, 2019). "JIM LEE, TOM KING, DC-CW Stars Make Surprise USO Trip To KUWAIT". Newsarama. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  47. ^ Adams, Tim (September 9, 2020). "DC's Batman: Black and White Anthology Series Returns in Late 2020". CBR.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  48. ^ "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #1 Review: A Gorgeous Rendering Cloaks Notable Narrative Flaws". ComicBook.com. June 16, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  49. ^ Harth, David (February 10, 2022). "Supergirl: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Woman Of Tomorrow". CBR.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  50. ^ ""Dawn of DC" Starts in January 2023". DC. November 18, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  51. ^ Gonzalez, Umberto (January 31, 2023). "'Hardcore' Supergirl Movie in the Works Based on Tom King's 'Woman of Tomorrow'". TheWrap. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  52. ^ Vary, Adam B. (January 31, 2023). "New DC Universe Unveils First 10 Projects: 'Superman: Legacy' in 2025, Batman & Robin Movie, Green Lantern Series, Wonder Woman Prequel and More". Variety. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  53. ^ "The Dawn of DC Continues with Oversized Special Issues and New Talent Teams". DC. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  54. ^ writer, Grant DeArmitt Contributing (July 22, 2023). "For the love of dogs (and tacos!), Tom King and Peter Gross are working on a big book for BOOM! Studios". Popverse. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  55. ^ Grunenwald, Joe (August 24, 2023). "Syndicated Comics". The Beat. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tom King.
Preceded by Nightwing writer
2014
(with Tim Seeley) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Batman writer
2016–2019 		Succeeded by
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