Topps DigiCon 2022 – Marvel Comics Writer Kieron Gillen Talks Fan Interactions and Seeing His Characters on Screen

Topps DigiCon 2022 continued today with Marvel Comics writer and artist Kieron Gillen, who discussed some of his inspirations

Gillen has worked on characters like the Young Avengers and the Eternals and will be working on the upcoming “Judgment Day” comic event.

The writer was asked about some of his inspirations that have influenced his illustrious comic book career.

“I’m not a comics lifer. I read comics as a proper kid then drifted out as a teenager, then I came back in my 20s,” Gillen said. “When I was 21 I read ‘Watchmen’ for the first time and that introduced me to Alan Moore and that was kind of like one of the really big moments in my life in terms of ‘oh this is different, this is a very different way of seeing the world.’”

Gillen also talked about the struggles of being a sort of starving artist and how comic creators can go a long time without really making any money in the industry.

“There’s definitely times there’s no money in it, and you’re doing it for the love,” Gillen said. “And that has to be kind of, in some ways the guiding light. I was never trying to quote unquote ‘break into comics,’ I was just trying to do comics.”

He also shared some advice for young creators who are looking to “break in” to the industry.

“Do not worry about breaking in as much as you think you [need] to, worry about being good,” he said. “Because being good, whatever that means, makes it A: easy to break in, but it also means you’re not kicked out when you’re in. So like breaking in and not being good enough, that’s fatal.”

Gillen was also asked about any memorable interactions he may have had with fans over the years.

“I’m not saying that someone cries at us constantly, but people cry at us, me and Jamie [McKelvie], regularly enough to have a sort of drill,” the writer said. “There’s a bit in Young Avengers where America Chavez speaks directly to the reader. And the whole point of that scene, it’s cute, but it’s also it’s visibly saying ‘hey, I’m your big sister, I’ve got you.’ And the number of people is significant who have said ‘hey that made me come out’ or ‘that made me feel seen.’”

With it being a very interesting time for comic creators as so much of their work is adapted for the screen these days, Gillen was asked about what that is like for him.

“It’s weird,” Gillen laughed. “It’s always about people being able to find heroes that are useful to them. That’s the real kick, I think. When someone cries at me, I’m very worried about them, I’m trying to make sure they’re ok. That’s how I kind of look at the multimedia stuff. I think it’s like sort of having an emotional block to be entertained by it, but I understand it’s like part of a larger system. I’m much more interested in seeing the effect in pop culture and seeing it sort of echo out and people finding useful things in the art for them.”

And speaking of the art, Gillen was asked about his upcoming work, the “Judgment Day” crossover Marvel Comics event. He joked that he can’t really give away anything about the upcoming story, but he shared his excitement for the project.

“It’s something that moves through various acts. It started, I think, as a simple concept then it built through the comics and it didn’t derail other peoples’ stories. This is a continuation,” he explained. “The reason the why X-Men and the Eternals are fighting is because of the comics in the X-Men line and the Eternals line. And it’s not one of these misunderstanding stories, like the Eternals aren’t specifically bad in this story.”

Something he mentioned that will likely get comics fans excited is another popular event that he compared the upcoming event to.

“The one Marvel event I read as a kid, apart from ‘Secret Wars,’ was ‘Infinity Gauntlet’ and it’s also got a bit of the philosophy there,” Gillen said. “When it hits the third act, it gets a bit more like starlit in that mode while still trying to keep the motifs and theme of something like the ‘Ultimates.’”

“A.X.E.: Judgment Day #1” will be coming in July.

Mike Mack
Mack is the Editorial Director for Marvel and ESPN content and he has covered comic cons, theme park events, video game showcases and other fun events. He is a fan of theme parks, sports, movies, Marvel Comics and is a self-proclaimed "nerd."