Kelly Sue DeConnick

Career

Kelly Sue DeConnick was first introduced to the comics industry by writing copy for photos in adult magazines. She eventually moved on to posting her own stories on a message board for fellow comic book author Warren Ellis. He invited her to work on his new website at the time, artbomb.net, where she wrote catalog entries for comic-book issues. Later in life, she got a job adapting translations of Japanese manga comics for Tokyopop and Viz Media.

To ensure the dialogue she was adapting to English still followed the story arcs, she worked with a translator. DeConnick did this for seven years, and estimates she wrote more than 11,000 comic-book pages. About her work in foreign adaptation she said "... when people say dialogue is the best part of my scripts, it's because I had a lot of practice."

DeConnick's first published comic book story was a five-page text story published in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – Dominos #5 (Dec. 2004). She wrote the Osborn limited series in 2011 which was drawn by Emma Ríos.

DeConnick and Ríos collaborated again in 2013 to create the Image Comics title Pretty Deadly, a Western story that blends elements of magical realism and horror.

DeConnick began writing DC's Aquaman with issue #43 in December 2018. She was interested in writing the character because he's not as well known as his Justice League counterparts. In a 2018 interview, DeConnick said "Aquaman is [...] considered second-tier. [...] [T]hat makes him an underdog to start with, which is a place I really like to work from." In response to those worried about her changing the character, DeConnick said "I'm writing my Aquaman. I've done my research...Taking an interest in a character is one thing, but crafting your own unique approach is another."

From 2021 to 2022, DeConnick commemorated the 80th anniversary of DC's Wonder Woman by writing a three-issue limited series titled Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons. Inspired by George Pérez's reworking of Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons takes place before the birth of Diana and tells of the creation of the Amazons and how Hippolyta became their queen. The first issue of Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons was illustrated by Phil Jimenez, the second by Gene Ha, and the third by Nicola Scott; an omnibus edition of the comics miniseries was released in June 2023.

Personal life

Kelly Sue DeConnick was raised on various military bases because her father was in the United States Air Force. She says that comics were a part of "base culture" and her mother used to buy Wonder Woman comics thinking they were Go Girl books to give to DeConnick as rewards. She earned a drama degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

DeConnick is married to fellow comic book writer Matt Fraction with whom she has two children, Henry and Tallulah.

Feminism

DeConnick is a self-proclaimed feminist and uses her position in comics to promote feminism and feminist ideas. She started the #VisibleWomen movement on Twitter in March 2016 "to disabuse folks of the notion that women comic artists are rare, to get eyes on said artists & to get them work.".

In another effort to support new artists, DeConnick helped found Creators for Creators, a non-profit organization that provides grants and mentoring to new artists. When asked about handling sexism in the historically male-dominated comic industry, DeConnick advised, "Be terrifying."

DeConnick makes a point to break the "damsel in distress" trope in her work. She received backlash from comic fans for several of the changes made to Carol Danvers comics during her time as a writer for Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel, which resulted in accusations of being "an angry feminist" and taking "the character and [inserting] her feminist agenda." Regarding the opportunity to write Carol Danvers, DeConnick said, "Pretty much any chance I get to write female characters I'm going to write them because I want to see more of them." She received criticism over her approach of the character before the first issue was even published because of the worry that her feminist beliefs would become more important than good writing of the character. Using her family background in the Air Force, she was able to "add an extra dimension" to Danvers' character development and "gave it a personal angle." During this time, the character's codename and uniform were changed, although DeConnick noted that plans for these changes predated her involvement. With this new Carol Danvers, DeConnick influenced the story foundation for the 2019 Captain Marvel movie.

According to a 2014 study, the fastest growing demographic for comic readers was young adult women, crediting DeConnick's comic Pretty Deadly as one of the titles capturing this growing demographic's attention.

DeConnick also proposed the "Sexy Lamp Test" adjunct to the Bechdel test. In a 2012 interview, she said "If you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft. They have to be protagonists, not devices."

In response to male fans' criticism of Captain Marvel, DeConnick created her series Bitch Planet. She explained, "If you want to see 'angry feminist,' then I will show it to you." Bitch Planet is a dystopian series where "non-compliant" women are sent to a "correction facility" on another planet. DeConnick cites Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and RoboCop as influences in the creation of Bitch Planet. In Bitch Planet, women who do not follow the rules of the patriarchy and are put in jail are given “Non-Compliant” tattoos. Many fans of the comic have gotten these same symbols tattooed on their bodies because they connect with the women in the comic. She brought it up in a 99U talk and said "You don't get that tattoo to celebrate something in the book, you get that tattoo because the book celebrates something in you."

Awards

2026

Inkpot Award

2022

Will Eisner Comic Industry Award – Best Single Issue with artist Phil Jimenez for Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons #1

2018

Hugo Award nomination for Best Graphic Story – Bitch Planet, Volume 2: President Bitch, illustrated by Taki Soma and Valentine De Landro.

British Fantasy Awards nomination for Best Comic/Graphic Novel – Bitch Planet, Volume 2: President Bitch.

2016

British Fantasy Awards win for Best Comic/Graphic Novel – Bitch Planet, Volume 1.

2014

Eisner Award nomination for Best Writer – Pretty Deadly series, co-created with Emma Ríos.