Hey guys. Sorry for the radio silence, there’s been a lot going on. Most of it work — trying to prepare our third Substack title for announcement! Ahhhh!) among other things, so I’ve been a bit pressed, but let’s catch up with a little “news” post, shall we?
I WILL try to pull together a post with these (and some selections from the twitter thread too maybe - like Damon...I may have to just re-post your tweet...it was pure perfection! lol)
I'll try for posting next week if my pitch work goes well this weekend!
Kamala Khan is my girl. I was raised in Muslim family, from South Asia, have overprotective parents and living two identities like her (South Asian and American). My joy knew no bound when my unusual name made it into a villain #5 was named Fariha in freaking MCU’s Ms. Marvel!
The one moment that made me fall in love (rather than “ofc I love this character cause we are same person”) was when she confronted Carol, her hero, in issue 11 of 2016 run. She absolutely worshipped Carol, but she saw how out of character Carol was acting... er sorry... um she saw that her hero was in the wrong. And she took a stand. It’s easy to take a stand against your enemy but it’s much harder to do so when it’s your hero, someone you trust and you owe a lot to. This is the moment that cemented her for me.
There is nothing good to say about civil war 2, BUT it helped Kamala to step out of Carol’s shadow and become a hero of her own.
Ahaha, I love that there are already so many answers here and there are so many X-Men because that's absolutely what I came here to say as well. To pick just one moment, I'll go with something recent from just about the end of Tini Howard & Marcus To's Excalibur. Betsy Braddock gets caught in a spell that knocks out all the magic in the area (and her 'Captain Britain' powers as a result) and while all the bad little Otherworld Arthurian folks are gloating about their great victory there is one panel where she rises up out of the fog in basically just gym clothes wielding a sword and entirely unimpressed by the idea that anyone would think she'd be beaten just because she can't fly at the moment. It's a very cool moment for a character who has a long, somewhat (very?) fraught history of cool poses with a sword, but also really hits home that Betsy can be the most frightening person in a room full of mythic characters even when she's the hero of the piece.
Favorite character? Easy! It’s Gambit! Been my favorite since I received a trading card of him fighting Wolverine as a kid. Was just too great with that crazy hair, don’t care attitude, red eyes, and trench coat!
But the moment that solidified him as my all time came a lot later in my X-reading life, and not the moment I really expected to do. It was in X-Men in the last part of Legion Quest, right after Legion accidentally killed Charles in the past, the present was collapsing in on itself and before they blinked out of existence (which turned into AoA) Gambit and Rogue kissed for the first time right before they “died”.
It was just a kiss.... but holy shit something about that 1 panel changed everything in my mind about those two. It was a pretty intense story line as it is, and it must have just hit me at the right point of puberty because it was like years of whatever the 90’s version of shipping is was coming to a head. And it also sort of lead to Rogue figuring out that Gambit sort of caused the mutant massacre which lead to his first real ongoing series (by Nicieza and Skroce) that is my favorite 25 issue run of any book ever!!
I don't remember where/when it happened (a great way to start an answer to this question, i know.) but there's a moment where Gwenpool just LEAPS off a building and she's like "i wonder how i'm going to survive this one" and then i want to say she lands in a truck full of pillows, but i may be thinking of the simpsons. Anyways. That's when she became my favorite character and the love only deepened the more i read to the point where i'm seriously getting "PS. You can't control me and I will never die" tattooed on my arm as if on a post-it note.
Favorite character is Daredevil and I knew it on page 21 of Daredevil the Man Without Fear #2 (by Miller and Romita Jr et al). It’s a full page panel where Matt “joins the celebration” of city sounds in his black sweatsuit, and I liked it because he’s learning about himself and discovers what he loves and where he finds his quiet center (out in the city up high at night, of course). I then convinced my parents to buy me some black sweatpants and a black hoodie that I used to love to wear, haha.
Oh man, where to begin! First and foremost... I don’t say it enough but (especially after reading the most recent issue of Captain Marvel) your Carol run is probably my favorite of hers she’s ever had. It’s always just so good.
Secondly! I can’t wait for that It’s Jeff. It’s just a joy to see that little shark cat baby whenever we get the chance.
Thirdly! Yea. My favorite character is Kate (shocker). BUT outside of some of my favorite moments of her just being a living ball of sass, my favorite thing from her that YOU wrote is just how she is always trying to get better. Whether it was learning PI basics from JJ or taking, whatever good, she can get from Clint... the inner drive for her to always get better is something I’ve always connected with. (And the sass too.)
Lastly-ly! Just an extra thanks from all of us for these great stories. They do, truly, make the little moments in our days better.
Jul 21, 2022·edited Jul 21, 2022Liked by Kelly Thompson
For me it’s still the “I set out to scare criminals, not children” scene from New Frontier. It’s my favorite comic of all time, and this is my favorite Batman moment ever. It explained Silver Age Batman in a single line, and it’s brilliant.
Jul 21, 2022·edited Jul 21, 2022Liked by Kelly Thompson
Thanks for these questions about characters, they’ve really got me thinking. I’m the person who tweeted to you about Magik and how her losing her childhood really affected me so much. I love the character, but my favorite is Jean Grey and it started in just the weirdest way.
My first X-Men story I ever read was a bed time fairy tale that Kitty told Illyana about six issues before that one I tweeted about. Kitty made up a story about the current team making them pirates and monsters and other fairy tale appropriate characters. Jean was in one of her dead periods, but Kitty included her. It was kind of a retelling of the dark Phoenix saga. I didn’t know who Jean was, but I was really struck by how much the other X-Men still loved the character and missed her.
I went and bought the back issues to read the actual Dark Phoenix saga and see what was so special about this character. Jean’s been my favorite ever since. I’m working on some paintings of her now to build out my comic cover portfolio (I got my first work published last year and am trying to get more).
I haven’t thought about those two character intros in a looong time. So thanks.
Speaking of weird intros, my first time reading about Carol was Avengers Annual 10. I never realized how tragedy and perseverance are what draws me to characters. Guess it makes sense why I like those three and Batman.
If you made it through, thanks for reading, and good luck with the pitches!!
Favorite character right this moment would be Emma Frost. I originally missed a lot of her time on the X-Men when I was away from comics but have been catching up with the app. While I have had a lot of struggles with the character in her early years with the team, I’ve grown to really like her as time has gone on.
What pushed her into top tier at the moment status is the Hellfire Gala issue. Her rapidly becoming something of a moral compass for the team is so striking compared to where she started. Her butting heads with Hank is also a plus. And of course, knowing that she is good enough to be Jeff’s life long companion in a post apocalyptic winter speaks volumes for her. “You can’t kill fabulous darling”
Kelly! I'm responding to this way too late, so if that disqualifies me from the contest, that's totally cool.
My favorite character has always been Spider-Man. I don't know that I can pinpoint the moment he leveled up and became my favorite character but I think I can highlight one of my favorite moments (out of many, many more). In Roger Stern and John Romita Jr.'s run of Amazing Spider-Man, Spidey famously has to fight the Juggernaut to save Madame Web (ASM 229-230). He tries everything he can think of and nothing works. Finally, he just jumps onto Juggy and covers his helmet's eye holes and refuses to let go, even as Juggernaut pummels him nearly to death. Luckily, they had been fighting in a construction site and while Spidey effectively blinds him, Juggernaut wanders into a deep foundation of freshly poured wet cement. He sinks to the bottom and is stopped, for the time being.
It's a great story and shines a huge spotlight on Spidey's never-say-die attitude. He would NOT give up even though he was clearly overpowered and outmatched. Classic Spidey. :)
Hi Kelly, just wanted to say I'm glad you're ok - I was getting genuinely worried! 😳 as for favourite character?! Just one?! I'll get back to you on that one! 🤔😁
Man this is tough because I feel like I really have two favorites, Gambit and Rogue. But when push comes to shove, Gambit probably has a slight edge. Maybe it's because he's had better solos? Or is a more street level character? And it's hard to pinpoint a specific moment when he became a favorite. It was really more of a culmination of short appearances and little moments. But I do think one that really impressed upon me his true core character, rather than the facade he typically puts on, was Uncanny X-Men #297. It's a great quiet issue with so many huge character moments and very little action. Rogue is on the rooftop, because it's the best place to be angsty. Her own facade of toughness and false bravado is gone after being injured. She is frustrated and depressed and just really angry and hurting over how her powers limit her personal life. And she's totally not in the mood for Remy's flirting and bullshit anymore when he shows up. She tells him off pretty harshly, slapping his hand away when he reaches out and rightly calls him out on his behavior and questions his sincerity towards her. He leaves the scene without saying anything. He doesn't try to defend his behavior or win her back over. It really seems like a break up. Like maybe they're done. Then he reappears with a blanket so he can cover her up to give her a hug. It's just a beautiful moment and the art portrays it so well. He shows that he is sincere and that she's not just a game to him. No fragile masculinity or hurt feelings, just love and support. ❤
I think I am simpatico in that character is SO much more important to me than plot - their motivations, their personality, their history. It all is so central to me about why the story is worth reading. How a character deals with and interacts with the world and plot they're thrust into is what makes it interesting and totally informed by who they are and where they've been.
Anyway, very excited for more Jeff and Black Cloak and Captain Marvel and upcoming announcements!
I am a Gambit fan as well (specifically your run with him) but the turning point for a character question drew me to Warpath and here’s why:
Warpath is a character defined by the death of his brother. He comes to the comic full of rage which simmers into resentment that will never go away and yet drives him to be as good a person as he possibly can in his brother’s absence. Having lost one of my best friends at a young age, a brother to me, I relate to this very viscerally.
Then what happens recently? His brother is brought back to life. So there’s this moment in a recent New Mutants where Thunderbird, his brother, comes knocking on his door and is like why weren’t you there to greet me when I was resurrected? And Jimmy is just running around trying to set up the house so that his brother has somewhere to stay now that he’s alive again.
Because what the fuck do you do when everything you ever wanted is handed back to you? Freak out about it and hang shelves instead of dealing! Very relatable. Like “I couldn’t fathom that this was real and all I can do is feel all the overwhelming feelings and direct that into cleaning the house. Great question, thank you for asking it
GUYS!
These are all so great.
I WILL try to pull together a post with these (and some selections from the twitter thread too maybe - like Damon...I may have to just re-post your tweet...it was pure perfection! lol)
I'll try for posting next week if my pitch work goes well this weekend!
Kelly
As for character and moments....
Kamala Khan is my girl. I was raised in Muslim family, from South Asia, have overprotective parents and living two identities like her (South Asian and American). My joy knew no bound when my unusual name made it into a villain #5 was named Fariha in freaking MCU’s Ms. Marvel!
The one moment that made me fall in love (rather than “ofc I love this character cause we are same person”) was when she confronted Carol, her hero, in issue 11 of 2016 run. She absolutely worshipped Carol, but she saw how out of character Carol was acting... er sorry... um she saw that her hero was in the wrong. And she took a stand. It’s easy to take a stand against your enemy but it’s much harder to do so when it’s your hero, someone you trust and you owe a lot to. This is the moment that cemented her for me.
There is nothing good to say about civil war 2, BUT it helped Kamala to step out of Carol’s shadow and become a hero of her own.
Ahaha, I love that there are already so many answers here and there are so many X-Men because that's absolutely what I came here to say as well. To pick just one moment, I'll go with something recent from just about the end of Tini Howard & Marcus To's Excalibur. Betsy Braddock gets caught in a spell that knocks out all the magic in the area (and her 'Captain Britain' powers as a result) and while all the bad little Otherworld Arthurian folks are gloating about their great victory there is one panel where she rises up out of the fog in basically just gym clothes wielding a sword and entirely unimpressed by the idea that anyone would think she'd be beaten just because she can't fly at the moment. It's a very cool moment for a character who has a long, somewhat (very?) fraught history of cool poses with a sword, but also really hits home that Betsy can be the most frightening person in a room full of mythic characters even when she's the hero of the piece.
Favorite character? Easy! It’s Gambit! Been my favorite since I received a trading card of him fighting Wolverine as a kid. Was just too great with that crazy hair, don’t care attitude, red eyes, and trench coat!
But the moment that solidified him as my all time came a lot later in my X-reading life, and not the moment I really expected to do. It was in X-Men in the last part of Legion Quest, right after Legion accidentally killed Charles in the past, the present was collapsing in on itself and before they blinked out of existence (which turned into AoA) Gambit and Rogue kissed for the first time right before they “died”.
It was just a kiss.... but holy shit something about that 1 panel changed everything in my mind about those two. It was a pretty intense story line as it is, and it must have just hit me at the right point of puberty because it was like years of whatever the 90’s version of shipping is was coming to a head. And it also sort of lead to Rogue figuring out that Gambit sort of caused the mutant massacre which lead to his first real ongoing series (by Nicieza and Skroce) that is my favorite 25 issue run of any book ever!!
That was winded. I’m sorry. Happy days!!
I don't remember where/when it happened (a great way to start an answer to this question, i know.) but there's a moment where Gwenpool just LEAPS off a building and she's like "i wonder how i'm going to survive this one" and then i want to say she lands in a truck full of pillows, but i may be thinking of the simpsons. Anyways. That's when she became my favorite character and the love only deepened the more i read to the point where i'm seriously getting "PS. You can't control me and I will never die" tattooed on my arm as if on a post-it note.
Favorite character is Daredevil and I knew it on page 21 of Daredevil the Man Without Fear #2 (by Miller and Romita Jr et al). It’s a full page panel where Matt “joins the celebration” of city sounds in his black sweatsuit, and I liked it because he’s learning about himself and discovers what he loves and where he finds his quiet center (out in the city up high at night, of course). I then convinced my parents to buy me some black sweatpants and a black hoodie that I used to love to wear, haha.
Oh man, where to begin! First and foremost... I don’t say it enough but (especially after reading the most recent issue of Captain Marvel) your Carol run is probably my favorite of hers she’s ever had. It’s always just so good.
Secondly! I can’t wait for that It’s Jeff. It’s just a joy to see that little shark cat baby whenever we get the chance.
Thirdly! Yea. My favorite character is Kate (shocker). BUT outside of some of my favorite moments of her just being a living ball of sass, my favorite thing from her that YOU wrote is just how she is always trying to get better. Whether it was learning PI basics from JJ or taking, whatever good, she can get from Clint... the inner drive for her to always get better is something I’ve always connected with. (And the sass too.)
Lastly-ly! Just an extra thanks from all of us for these great stories. They do, truly, make the little moments in our days better.
*me choosing to not renew my MU sub just last month*
KT: Guess what? It’s Jeff is BAAAAACK!”
Me: *sigh and press subscribe*
For me it’s still the “I set out to scare criminals, not children” scene from New Frontier. It’s my favorite comic of all time, and this is my favorite Batman moment ever. It explained Silver Age Batman in a single line, and it’s brilliant.
Thanks for these questions about characters, they’ve really got me thinking. I’m the person who tweeted to you about Magik and how her losing her childhood really affected me so much. I love the character, but my favorite is Jean Grey and it started in just the weirdest way.
My first X-Men story I ever read was a bed time fairy tale that Kitty told Illyana about six issues before that one I tweeted about. Kitty made up a story about the current team making them pirates and monsters and other fairy tale appropriate characters. Jean was in one of her dead periods, but Kitty included her. It was kind of a retelling of the dark Phoenix saga. I didn’t know who Jean was, but I was really struck by how much the other X-Men still loved the character and missed her.
I went and bought the back issues to read the actual Dark Phoenix saga and see what was so special about this character. Jean’s been my favorite ever since. I’m working on some paintings of her now to build out my comic cover portfolio (I got my first work published last year and am trying to get more).
I haven’t thought about those two character intros in a looong time. So thanks.
Speaking of weird intros, my first time reading about Carol was Avengers Annual 10. I never realized how tragedy and perseverance are what draws me to characters. Guess it makes sense why I like those three and Batman.
If you made it through, thanks for reading, and good luck with the pitches!!
You have no idea how excited I am about It's Jeff :D
Favorite character right this moment would be Emma Frost. I originally missed a lot of her time on the X-Men when I was away from comics but have been catching up with the app. While I have had a lot of struggles with the character in her early years with the team, I’ve grown to really like her as time has gone on.
What pushed her into top tier at the moment status is the Hellfire Gala issue. Her rapidly becoming something of a moral compass for the team is so striking compared to where she started. Her butting heads with Hank is also a plus. And of course, knowing that she is good enough to be Jeff’s life long companion in a post apocalyptic winter speaks volumes for her. “You can’t kill fabulous darling”
Kelly! I'm responding to this way too late, so if that disqualifies me from the contest, that's totally cool.
My favorite character has always been Spider-Man. I don't know that I can pinpoint the moment he leveled up and became my favorite character but I think I can highlight one of my favorite moments (out of many, many more). In Roger Stern and John Romita Jr.'s run of Amazing Spider-Man, Spidey famously has to fight the Juggernaut to save Madame Web (ASM 229-230). He tries everything he can think of and nothing works. Finally, he just jumps onto Juggy and covers his helmet's eye holes and refuses to let go, even as Juggernaut pummels him nearly to death. Luckily, they had been fighting in a construction site and while Spidey effectively blinds him, Juggernaut wanders into a deep foundation of freshly poured wet cement. He sinks to the bottom and is stopped, for the time being.
It's a great story and shines a huge spotlight on Spidey's never-say-die attitude. He would NOT give up even though he was clearly overpowered and outmatched. Classic Spidey. :)
Hi Kelly, just wanted to say I'm glad you're ok - I was getting genuinely worried! 😳 as for favourite character?! Just one?! I'll get back to you on that one! 🤔😁
Take care
All hail, Monarch! 🐈
Man this is tough because I feel like I really have two favorites, Gambit and Rogue. But when push comes to shove, Gambit probably has a slight edge. Maybe it's because he's had better solos? Or is a more street level character? And it's hard to pinpoint a specific moment when he became a favorite. It was really more of a culmination of short appearances and little moments. But I do think one that really impressed upon me his true core character, rather than the facade he typically puts on, was Uncanny X-Men #297. It's a great quiet issue with so many huge character moments and very little action. Rogue is on the rooftop, because it's the best place to be angsty. Her own facade of toughness and false bravado is gone after being injured. She is frustrated and depressed and just really angry and hurting over how her powers limit her personal life. And she's totally not in the mood for Remy's flirting and bullshit anymore when he shows up. She tells him off pretty harshly, slapping his hand away when he reaches out and rightly calls him out on his behavior and questions his sincerity towards her. He leaves the scene without saying anything. He doesn't try to defend his behavior or win her back over. It really seems like a break up. Like maybe they're done. Then he reappears with a blanket so he can cover her up to give her a hug. It's just a beautiful moment and the art portrays it so well. He shows that he is sincere and that she's not just a game to him. No fragile masculinity or hurt feelings, just love and support. ❤
I think I am simpatico in that character is SO much more important to me than plot - their motivations, their personality, their history. It all is so central to me about why the story is worth reading. How a character deals with and interacts with the world and plot they're thrust into is what makes it interesting and totally informed by who they are and where they've been.
Anyway, very excited for more Jeff and Black Cloak and Captain Marvel and upcoming announcements!
I am a Gambit fan as well (specifically your run with him) but the turning point for a character question drew me to Warpath and here’s why:
Warpath is a character defined by the death of his brother. He comes to the comic full of rage which simmers into resentment that will never go away and yet drives him to be as good a person as he possibly can in his brother’s absence. Having lost one of my best friends at a young age, a brother to me, I relate to this very viscerally.
Then what happens recently? His brother is brought back to life. So there’s this moment in a recent New Mutants where Thunderbird, his brother, comes knocking on his door and is like why weren’t you there to greet me when I was resurrected? And Jimmy is just running around trying to set up the house so that his brother has somewhere to stay now that he’s alive again.
Because what the fuck do you do when everything you ever wanted is handed back to you? Freak out about it and hang shelves instead of dealing! Very relatable. Like “I couldn’t fathom that this was real and all I can do is feel all the overwhelming feelings and direct that into cleaning the house. Great question, thank you for asking it