- "I've always been interested in how the antagonists and villains work, and what makes people bad, and all these kinds of things."
- ―Kieron Gillen
Kieron Gillen (born September 30, 1975) is a British comic-book author and former video game and music journalist.
As a video game journalist, Kieron Gillen is most famous for being the co-founder of Rock Paper Shotgun[1], and authoring the "New Game Journalism manifesto".[2][3]
Gillen's first comic-book project was the 2006 Image Comics series Phonogram, drawn by regular collaborator Jamie McKelvie. In 2009, Gillen began writing for Marvel Comics. He has written for Thor (volume 3), Uncanny X-Men (volumes 1 and 2) and Iron Man (volume 5). His most popular work for the company was Journey into Mystery, focusing on the misadventures of Kid Loki, and the subsequent Young Avengers (volume 2), drawn by McKelvie. Gillen and McKelvie are currently collaborating on another creator-owned comic published by Image, The Wicked + The Divine.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back was the first film Gillen ever saw at the cinema, and he compared its impact on him to that of Tolkien.[4] As a journalist, Gillen wrote a highly enthusiastic review of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic,[5] which he described as reigniting his love of the saga, having played mediocre Star Wars games that were given more positive write-ups for simply being Star Wars, or fans who were "cursing George Lucas' name only to—a handful of months later—go out and buy the DVD anyway 'for the extras.'" He later wrote, "Star Wars isn't great because it's Star Wars. Star Wars is great because it is Great. A Star Wars that isn't Great isn't Star Wars in any meaningful way."[6]
On January 9, 2019, Gillen revealed that after the May 2019 release of the sixty-seventh issue of the Star Wars comic-book series, he would leave the Star Wars universe to embark on other projects because he had told all the stories he desired.[7]
Bibliography[edit | edit source]
SDCC 2014: Inside Marvel's New Star Wars Comics – Exclusive on StarWars.com (backup link)
"Launch Pad"—Star Wars Insider 152
"Blaster"—Star Wars Insider 155
"Marvel Comics 2015: A Marvel Galaxy"—Star Wars Insider 158
"Blaster"—Star Wars Insider 158
Marvel's Star Wars and Darth Vader Annual Covers – Exclusive Reveal on StarWars.com (backup link)
"Breathing New Life Into a Dark Lord"—Star Wars Insider Special Edition 2016
"Launch Pad"—Star Wars Insider 167
"Blaster"—Star Wars Insider 167
The Circle Is Now Complete: Kieron Gillen Looks Back at Marvel's Darth Vader Series, Part 1 on StarWars.com (backup link)
The Circle Is Now Complete: Kieron Gillen Looks Back at Marvel's Darth Vader Series, Part 2 on StarWars.com (backup link)
"Sith Star"—Star Wars Insider 169
Marvel's Star Wars Gets a New Creative Team on StarWars.com (backup link)
Doctor Aphra Creator Kieron Gillen, Co-writer Si Spurrier Discuss What's Next for the Fan Favorite Rogue on StarWars.com (backup link)
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Meer, Alec (2014-03-20). An Evening With The Old Men Of New Games Journalism. Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on December 13, 2019.
- ↑ Gillen, Kieron (2004-03-23). The New Games Journalism. Kieron Gillen's Workblog. Archived from the original on June 2, 2012.
- ↑ Stuart, Keith (2005-03-03). Ten unmissable examples of New Games Journalism. The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020.
- ↑
SDCC 2014: Inside Marvel's New Star Wars Comics – Exclusive on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ Gillen, Kieron. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Eurogamer. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020.
- ↑ Johnston, Rich (2014-07-26). Talking To Kieron Gillen About His New Darth Vader Comic For Marvel's Star Wars Line. Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved on July 26, 2014.
- ↑ Gillen, Kieron. 093: nothing but precision engineered ennui. Tinyletter.com. Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved on January 9, 2019.
External links[edit | edit source]
Kieron Gillen (@kierongillen) on Twitter
Kieron Gillen on Wikipedia