Jill Thompson (born November 20, 1966) is an American comic book writer and illustrator. Probably better known for her work on Neil Gaiman's The Sandman characters and her own Scary Godmother series, she has also worked on The Invisibles, Swamp Thing, and Wonder Woman.
Thompson is a graduate of The American Academy of Art in Chicago. She has won multiple Eisner Awards, including in 2001 for best painter for Scary Godmother, 2004 for "Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)" for her work on The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings, and in 2005 for "Best Short Story" for Unfamiliar (from The Dark Horse Book of the Dead) with Evan Dorkin.
Thompson is married to fellow comic book writer Brian Azzarello, creator of 100 Bullets and former writer of Hellblazer and Batman.
The Sandman
Jill Thompson illustrated The Sandman story arc Brief Lives (issues 41-49), and the individual Sandman issue "The Parliament of Rooks" (issue 40) in the Fables and Reflections collection. Within this tale she created the immensely popular characters of Li'l Death and Li'l Morpheus, child-like versions of two of the Endless based on classic comic characters Sugar and Spike; these (together with their siblings, the other five of the "Little Endless") were later given their own book.
She has since written and illustrated several stories featuring the Sandman characters; these include the manga-style book At Death's Door (one of DC's best selling books of 2003) set during the events of Season of Mists, and The Little Endless Storybook, a children’s book using child-like versions of The Endless.
In 2005 Thompson wrote and illustrated the Dead Boy Detectives, an original graphic novel based on two minor characters from Season of Mists.
Thompson first came to the attention of Sandman creator Neil Gaiman when a fan presented him with a nude sketch of Death she had drawn at the request of the fan; he was impressed enough to ask her to illustrate for the series.
The character Etain of the Second Look, from Brief Lives, and much of the contents of her flat, were based on Thompson herself.
The looks of the character Ragged Robin (from The Invisibles) and the Joker's Daughter (from Kingdom Come) were also based on Thompson's likeness.
Thompson's version of the character Delirium bears a facial resemblance to Tori Amos.
Thompson is a graduate of Chicago's famed Player's Workshop of the Second City, summer 1988. Her graduate show was held on the mainstage of Second City.
Thompson's brother, Steven, appears as a bouncer in an issue of The Sandman and then is blown up.
