Maggie Thompson

Early life Margaret (nickname, "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 in 1969 for her story "The Steiger Effect"; she carried on a long correspondence with colleagues such as Robert Heinlein and L. Ron Hubbard. According to family tradition, Betsy claimed descent from Anne Bradstreet and at least two presidents of Yale University.

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 fandom.

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. 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 as the editor of Movie Collector's World 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 Comics Buyer's Guide 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

Maggie and Don Thompson received many joint awards, including: Comic Fan Art Award Favorite Fan Writer, 1973 & 1974 Inkpot Award, 1976 Jack Kirby Award, Best Comics Publication, 1985 Diamond Lifetime Fandom Award, 1991 Eisner Award, Best Comics-Related Periodical, 1992 Harvey Award, 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.