| Maggie Thompson | |
|---|---|
 Thompson at Wizard World Chicago, 2017 | |
| Born | Margaret Curtis[1] (1942-11-29)November 29, 1942 (age 82) |
| Nationality | American |
| Area | Writer, Editor |
| Pseudonym | Arthur Judson (when collaborating with late husband Don Thompson)[1] |
Notable works | Comics Buyer's Guide |
| Awards | Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award Eisner Award Inkpot Award Jack Kirby Award Harvey Award |
Maggie Thompson (bornMargaret Curtis; November 29, 1942)[2] is an American longtime editor of the now-defunct comic book industry news magazineComics Buyer's Guide,science fiction fan, and collector of comics.
Margaret (nickname, "Maggie") Curtis was born November 29, 1942. Her mother, science fiction writerBetsy Curtis, would be nominated for theHugo Award for Best Short Story in 1969 for her story "The Steiger Effect"; she carried on a long correspondence with colleagues such asRobert Heinlein andL. Ron Hubbard. According to family tradition, Betsy claimed descent fromAnne Bradstreet and at least two presidents ofYale University.[citation needed]
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 intocomic bookfandom.[3]
TheirHarbinger (a mimeographed one-sheet published in the autumn of 1960) announced the upcoming publication ofComic Art, one of the early amateur magazines devoted to all aspects of sequential art (a term not then in use). The initial issue ofComic Art was released the following spring.[4] Seven issues were published at irregular intervals between 1961 and 1968. As publication ofComic Art wound down, they shifted their attention to a new venture as the Thompsons started a fanzine titledNewfangles 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.[5]
Thompson began working forKrause Publications as the editor ofMovie Collector's World andComics 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 ofComics Buyer's Guide Annual (1992–1996, Krause Publications);Marvel Comics Checklist & Price Guide 1961-Present (1993, Krause Publications); andComic-Book Superstars (1993, Krause Publications). With others, she produced theComics Buyer's Guide Checklist & Price Guide (now in its 15th edition, Krause Publications); and theStandard Catalog of Comic Books (now in its 5th edition, Krause Publications).[citation needed] Working solo, Thompson created and editedFantasy Empire magazine for New Media in 1981 and wroteDark Shadows: Book Two - Lost in Thought #1-4 in 1993 forInnovation Comics.[6]
Krause later sold the movie newspaper, but Thompson continued to editComics Buyer's Guide, long after her husband's death in 1994[4] and the transformation of the publication into a monthly magazine. In 2013 she began a column forSan Diego Comic-Con's Toucan blog called "Maggie's World".[citation needed]
Her sonStephen Thompson would go on to become an editor forThe Onion and creator ofThe A.V. Club before moving on toNPR. Stephen co-hosts "Pop Culture Happy Hour", a pop culture-themed podcast on which Maggie has made multiple appearances.[citation needed]
Under Maggie's editorial direction,Comics Buyer's Guide twice won the comics industry'sEisner Award for periodicals, among other awards.[3] She was a recipient of theBob Clampett Humanitarian Award and was also the first recipient of theFriends of Lulu's Women of Distinction Award.[7]
Maggie and Don Thompson received many joint awards,[1] including:
TheMotor City Comic Con awarded theDon 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.
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