Kelly Thompson Comics: Where to Start Reading

Kelly Thompson writes a lot, for several publishers, and the list of series bewilders anyone looking for an entry point: should you follow Kate Bishop, Natasha Romanoff, Carol Danvers or Diana? This guide answers with a reading order, from team comedy to series that require the memory of an entire universe.

As always in this guide, only verified information (creators, issues, dates) is stated as fact; the analysis is our own, with no reproduction of protected panels or dialogue.

Step 1: Hawkeye (2016 to 2018), Kate Bishop solo

Kelly Thompson's Hawkeye series puts Kate Bishop, not Clint Barton, at the center. Leonardo Romero draws the first episodes, and Michael Walsh joins in on the following ones. Kate settles in Los Angeles and runs private detective investigations, in a dry and funny tone. The character has existed since the 2005 Young Avengers, but this is where she becomes the heroine of her own series.

Why this entry? Because the series demands almost nothing: it reads without having followed the Avengers, and it shows right away what makes Thompson's signature, a heroine who talks fast, makes mistakes, and ends up getting by with a makeshift plan. If the dialogue grates on you, you will know within three issues, before committing time or money to a longer series.

The launch date varies by source, because the cover date and the on-sale date do not always coincide: you find 2016 as well as 2017. Our ranking of Hawkeye runs places it from 2016 to 2018; to put Kate back in the archer's lineage, the history of Hawkeye goes back to the origins.

Step 2: West Coast Avengers (2018 to 2019), the team from the same universe

West Coast Avengers ran from September 2018 to June 2019, in ten issues, with Stefano Caselli on art at the start. Kate Bishop leads a team of young heroes in Los Angeles, with America Chavez, Quentin Quire and Gwenpool, in a setting where a reality TV show funds the adventure. The tone is openly light, and the series extends the comic rhythm of Hawkeye.

It comes after the previous one because it reuses Kate and her circle, and because readers who enjoyed the tone find familiar faces there. It also requires a little Marvel knowledge: several supporting characters come from other series, and the nods to the history of the West Coast Avengers are better enjoyed when you spot them.

For collecting, ten issues make a short set, simple to gather. Our sheet West Coast Avengers, key issues catalogs this series separately from the two others that share the same name, which avoids mixing up the volumes in a listing.

Step 3: Rogue and Gambit, then Mr. and Mrs. X (2018)

The pairing consists of the miniseries Rogue & Gambit, then the series Mr. and Mrs. X, both written by Thompson around 2018. Anna Marie and Remy LeBeau form a couple of mutants there, and their complicity drives missions that are more zany than dangerous. The register is that of an adventure romantic comedy, with the same liveliness of dialogue as in the previous series.

This step is the most self-contained of the path after Hawkeye: no prior knowledge of the X-Men is required, as our Rogue reading guide confirms, which lists this pairing among the light entry points. It suits anyone who wants to love the couple before going back to their origins with Claremont.

The ranking of the best Rogue runs shows where these issues stand against the older periods. On the collecting side, these are short series with no scarcity stakes; the collected editions are perfectly suited to reading them.

Step 4: Black Widow (2020), the spy off the field

The Black Widow series launched in 2020 brings together Thompson and Elena Casagrande, with Jordie Bellaire on colors. According to our history of the character, it runs fifteen issues. Thompson begins by pulling Natasha Romanoff away from the spy trade, then brings her back toward action: the result is a thriller where the past always ends up knocking at the door.

It lands in fourth place because the tone changes: fewer gags, more tension, and a heroine whose secrets weigh on every scene. A reader coming from the movies will find a Natasha consistent with the image of the spy, but does not need to know the character's complete chronology. The Black Widow reading guide shows where this period fits in the whole.

To go further into the character, the ranking of the best Black Widow runs compares this series with those before it, and the Black Widow hub gathers the sheets. Sources differ on the end date of the series; keep 2021 as a cautious landmark.

Step 5: Captain Marvel (2019 to 2021), Marvel continuity

Thompson takes over Captain Marvel in 2019 for a series that runs until 2021, with Carmen Carnero on art at the start. Carol Danvers goes through arcs that our hub cites under the titles "The Last Avenger" and "The End". It is the most continuity-focused work of the set: Carol is an Avenger, she has a military past, and the series assumes you know the teams she has moved through.

It arrives fifth because it demands patience. The first issues set up a status quo, and the scale of the project appears only when reading several arcs in a row. A reader who enjoyed steps 1 to 4 can enter without worry; one who has read no Captain Marvel before should first watch the movie, then consult our movie versus comics comparison to spot what changes.

For collecting, the first 2019 issue is the natural door into the series, but we do not price any recent issue: its value depends on the number of print runs, on the variant covers and on public interest in the character in the years ahead, and none of that has settled.

Step 6: Absolute Wonder Woman (2024) and Birds of Prey (2023), Thompson at DC

The last step leaves Marvel. Absolute Wonder Woman #1 came out on October 23, 2024, with Hayden Sherman on art and Jordie Bellaire on colors, at the same time as Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta's Absolute Batman. In this rebuilt universe, Diana grows up in Hell, raised by Circe, which flips the character's usual starting point. Birds of Prey, a 2023 series drawn by Leonardo Romero, extends Thompson's work with the heroines of Gotham.

Why at the end? Because the Absolute Universe is young, its flagship series is still being published, and an ongoing work is better judged once you know the habits of the writing. Unlike the previous step, access is simple: no prior reading is needed for Absolute Wonder Woman. Our reading guide to the DC All In line and the key issues of the Absolute Universe place this series within the whole line.

For collectors, an issue from this period has no established value. Three factors will weigh on its future: how long the series lasts, how many times it is reprinted, and what the public does with the variant covers. No ratio is cited here. The Wonder Woman hub gathers the rest of the file.

How to read: single issues or collected editions

To read Thompson, collected editions are the right choice for Hawkeye, West Coast Avengers, Rogue and Gambit or Black Widow: these series of ten to about fifteen issues fit in two or three volumes. Captain Marvel is longer and suits the collected edition better whenever you want to follow the arcs in order without missing an episode that explains another.

For collecting, single issues are justified for the first issues: Hawkeye #1, West Coast Avengers #1, Black Widow #1 from 2020, Captain Marvel #1 from 2019 and Absolute Wonder Woman #1 from October 23, 2024. Two habits matter: check the printing or print run, then note the cover letter. When one of these first issues is already in your boxes, go through the free estimate, which takes the actual condition of the issue into account.

Recap: the recommended order

The path comes down to six steps. Hawkeye (2016) opens the dance, West Coast Avengers (2018) extends the tone, the Rogue and Gambit pairing (2018) brings romantic comedy, Black Widow (2020) tension, Captain Marvel (2019 to 2021) continuity, and Absolute Wonder Woman (2024) the move to DC. You can stop at any step.

Other paths exist for anyone who wants to go further. Jem and the Holograms, at IDW in 2015, with Sophie Campbell, predates Thompson's arrival at Marvel. Jessica Jones: Blind Spot (2020), with Mattia De Iulis, explores a darker register, and Black Cloak, at Image, is among the series Thompson created outright; sources differ on its artists and its exact year, so check them in the catalog.

Jem deserves one more word for the collector: it is at IDW that Thompson sets up what will become the signature, a band of female characters with sharp personalities, fast dialogue and an openly embraced taste for color. Reading a few issues of Jem before Hawkeye shows that Kate Bishop in Los Angeles is not a turn, but the logical continuation of a tone already found.

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