In 2018, he received the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his work on multiple Batman books and Mister Miracle, sharing the award with Marjorie Liu.
In January 2023, it was announced by DC Studios co-chairman and co-CEO James Gunn that King would be one of the architects of the new DC Universe media franchise of feature films. It was also announced that King's Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow miniseries would be adapted into a feature film by DC Studios.
Early life
King primarily grew up in Southern California. His mother worked for the film industry which inspired his love of storytelling. He interned at both DC and Marvel Comics during the late 1990s. He studied both philosophy and history at Columbia University, graduating in 2000. He identifies as "half-Jewish, half-midwestern".[1]
King interned both at DC Comics and Marvel Comics, where he was an assistant to X-Men writer Chris Claremont, before joining the CIA counterterrorism unit after 9/11.[2][3] King spent seven years as a counterterrorism operations officer for the CIA before quitting to write his debut novel, A Once Crowded Sky, after the birth of his first child.[4][5]
A Once Crowded Sky, King's debut superhero novel with comics pages illustrated by Tom Fowler, was published on July 10, 2012, by Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, to positive reception.[6][7][8]
In 2014, King was chosen to co-write Grayson for DC Comics, along with Tim Seeley and Mikel Janin on art. After penning Nightwing No. 30, King, Seeley, and Janin launched Grayson in May 2014, featuring Dick Grayson leaving behind his Nightwing persona at age 22 to become Agent 37, a Spyral spy.[9][10] King and Seeley plotted the series together and traded issues to script separately, with King providing additional authenticity through his background with the CIA.[11][12]
A relaunch of classic DC Comics series The Omega Men was published in June 2015 by King and debut artist Barnaby Bagenda, as part of the publisher's relaunch DC You.[13][14] The series follows a group of rebels fighting an oppressive galactic empire, and feature White Lantern Kyle Rayner.[15] The Omega Men, created in 1981, are DC's cosmic equivalent to Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, though significantly more obscure.[16] King's and Bagenda's use of the nine-panel grid, popularized by Alan Moore's and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen, has been praised by reviewers.[17]
In San Diego Comic-Con 2015, Vertigo revealed a new creator-owned project written by King with art by Mitch Gerads titled The Sheriff of Baghdad.[18] The project, a crime series in the vein of Vertigo titles like Preacher and Scalped, was set to launch in late 2015, and was inspired by King's time in Iraq as part of the CIA.[19] Initially an eight-issue miniseries, it was later re-titled The Sheriff of Babylon and expanded into an ongoing series.[20][21] The first issue launched in December 2015 to critical acclaim, with reviewers praising its "deeply personal" storytelling and the "intriguing" and "captivating" personalities of its characters.[22][23] That same year, DC announced "Robin War", a crossover storyline set for December that would run for five weeks through titles Grayson, Detective Comics, We Are Robin, and Robin: Son of Batman; King was set to orchestrate the crossover's story-line and pen two one-shots to open and close the series.[24]
As part of Marvel Comics' All-New, All-Different relaunch, King was announced as the writer of The Vision, a new ongoing following the titular character and his newly created family, with artist Gabriel Hernández Walta, colorist Jordie Bellaire, and covers by Mike del Mundo, launching in November 2015.[25][26][27]The Vision has been well received by the public, with reviewers calling the series one of Marvel's "biggest surprises" and praising the narration, art, and colors.[28][29]
In September 2015, DC cancelled King's The Omega Men, along with four other titles, with the series ending with issue seven.[30] After negative fan response to the cancellation, Jim Lee, DC's co-publisher, announced that they would be bringing back The Omega Men through at least issue 12.[31] Lee described the decision to cancel the series as "a bit hasty," crediting the book's critical acclaim and fan social media reactions as the reason the title would go on for the planned 12-issue run.[32]
King penned a Green Lantern one-shot that ties into the "Darkseid War" storyline, titled "Will You Be My God?", which James Whitbrook of io9 praised as "one of the best" Green Lantern stories.[33]
King and co-writer Tim Seeley announced they would leave Grayson after issue No. 18, with King clarifying on Twitter that they were working on something "big and cool" and needed time.[34] King and Seeley officially left the series in February with issue No. 17, with Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly taking over for its last three issues with issue No. 18 in March.[35]
DC Comics announced in February 2016 that King had signed an exclusivity deal with the publisher, which would see him writing exclusively for DC and Vertigo.[36][37] King revealed via his Twitter account that he would stay on The Vision as writer through issue 12, finishing the story arc he had planned from the beginning.[38][39]
In March 2016, it was announced that King would be writing the main bi-weekly Batman series beginning with a new No. 1, replacing long-time writer Scott Snyder, as part of DC's Rebirth relaunch that June.[40] King has stated that his run would be 100 issues total, with the entirety being released twice-monthly, though this was later curtailed to 85 issues and 3 annuals, with a 12 issue followup maxiseries Batman/Catwoman to finish the story.[41]
In August 2017, King and regular collaborator Mitch Gerads launched the first issue of their Mister Miracle series, with a planned total run of twelve issues.[42] In June 2018 DC Comics announced King would be writing Heroes in Crisis, a limited series centering around a concept he introduced in Batman.[43]
In May and June 2019, King, DC Co-Publisher Jim Lee, and CW series actresses Nafessa Williams, Candice Patton, and Danielle Panabaker toured five U.S. military bases in Kuwait with the United Service Organizations (USO), where they visited the approximately 12,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in that country as part of DC's 80th anniversary of Batman celebration.[46]
In September 2020, DC Comics announced that King would be among the creators of a revived Batman: Black and White anthology series to debut on December 8, 2020.[47] From 2021 to 2022, King was the writer on the eight-issue miniseries Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow with artist Bilquis Evely.[48] David Harth, for CBR, commented that since Omega Men, "King has mostly stayed away from sci-fi, going for a more psychological take on superheroes instead". Harth highlighted that Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow "is very much a sci-fi epic" and that the series is "even more imaginative than Omega Men's sci-fi, as it has King flexing his muscles in different ways".[49]
In January 2023, it was announced that King's Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow miniseries would be adapted into a feature film by DC Studios.[51] It was also announced by DC Studios co-chairman and co-CEO James Gunn that King will serve as one of the architects of the new DC Universe media franchise of feature films and other media that would succeed the DC Extended Universe.[52]
In March 2023, it was announced that King would be writing the new Wonder Woman relaunch as a part of Dawn of DC.[53]
In July 2023, it was announced that King would work on a new creator-owned series for Boom! Studios, with Peter Gross serving as the illustrator. The series would later be revealed to be Animal Pound, a modern reimagining of George Orwell's Animal Farm set in an animal shelter.[54][55]
Personal life
As of 2016, King lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and three children, Charlie, Claire, and Crosby.[4]
Issue No. 22 is scripted by Joshua Williamson from a plot by King and Williamson.
Batman Vol 4: The War of Jokes and Riddles (collects #25–32; tpb, 200 pages, 2017, ISBN1-4012-7361-0)
Batman Vol 5: The Rules of Engagement (collects #33–37 and Annual No. 2; tpb, 160 pages, 2018, ISBN1-4012-7731-4)
Batman Vol 6: Bride or Burglar? (collects #38–44; tpb, 168 pages, 2018, ISBN1-4012-8027-7)
Batman Vol 7: The Wedding (collects #45–50; tpb, 176 pages, 2018, ISBN1-4012-8338-1)
Includes "Your Big Day" short story (art by Clay Mann) from DC Nation (one-shot, 2018)
Batman Vol 8: Cold Days (collects #51–57; tpb, 176 pages, 2018, ISBN1-4012-8352-7)
Batman Vol 9: The Tyrant Wing (collects #58–60; tpb, 152 pages, 2019, ISBN1-4012-8844-8)
Includes "True Strength" short story (art by Mikel Janín) from Batman Secret Files No. 1 (anthology, 2018)
Batman Vol 10: Knightmares (collects #61–63 and 66–69; tpb, 176 pages, 2019, ISBN1-7795-0158-7)
Batman Vol 11: The Fall and the Fallen (collects #70–74; tpb, 144 pages, 2019, ISBN1-7795-0160-9)
Batman Vol 12: City of Bane Part 1 (collects #75–79; hc, 176 pages, April 2020)
Batman Vol 13: City of Bane Part 2 (collects #80–85; and Batman Annual #4; hc, 220 pages, July 2020)
Batman: City of Bane – The Complete Collection (collects #75–85 and Annual No. 4; tpb, 344 pages, 2020, ISBN1-7795-0595-7)
Batman by Tom King Book 1 (collects Batman: Rebirth one-shot, #1-6 and 9-22, The Flash #21-22, and Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1, tpb, 560 pages, 2024)
Collected in Oversized Hardcovers as:
Batman: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition – Book 1 (collects Batman: Rebirth one-shot and #1–15; ohc, 379 pages, August 2017)
Batman: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition – Book 2 (collects #16–32 and Batman Annual #1; ohc, 428 pages, June 2018)
Batman: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition – Book 3 (collects #33–44 and Batman Annual #2; ohc, 311 pages, December 2018)
Batman: The Deluxe Edition – Book 4 (collects #45–57 and a story from DC Nation #0; ohc, 339 pages, July 2019)
Batman: The Deluxe Edition – Book 5 (collects #58–69; ohc, 278 pages, July 2020)
Batman: The Deluxe Edition – Book 6 (collects #70–85 and Batman Annual #4 and Batman: Secret Files #2; ohc, 379 pages, July 2022)
Batman by Tom King and Lee Weeks: Deluxe Edition (Collects #51–53, #67, Batman Annual #2, and Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1, ohc, 184 pages, November 2020)
The Omega Men: The End is Here (collects #1–12, 296 pages, tpb, 2016, ISBN1-4012-6153-1)
The Omega Men By Tom King: The Deluxe Edition (collects #1–12, 320 pages, ohc, 2020, ISBN1-4012-9992-X)
Teen Titans vol. 5 Annual #1: "The Source of Mercy" (co-written by King and Will Pfeifer, art by Alisson Borges and Wes St. Claire, 2015). Collected in.
Teen Titans: Rogue Targets (tpb, 192 pages, 2016, ISBN1-4012-6162-0)
DC 100-Page Comic Giant: Superman #3–10, 12–15: "Up in the Sky" (with Andy Kubert, anthology, 2018–2019). Reprinted as a regular-sized 6-issue limited series under the title Superman: Up in the Sky (2019–2020). Collected As.
Batman/Catwoman #1–12, (with Clay Mann and Liam Sharp (#7–9), December 2020 – June 2022) and Batman/Catwoman Special (with John Paul Leon, Bernard Chang and Mitch Gerads, January 2022). Collected as.
Batman/Catwoman (collects #1–12, Batman Annual #2 and Batman/Catwoman Special, 424 pages; hc, December 2022; tpb, February 2025)
Human Target vol. 4 #1–12 (with Greg Smallwood, November 2022 – February 2023). Collected as.
Human Target Book 1 (collects #1–6; hc, September 2022; tpb, October 2023).
Human Target Book 2 (collects #6–12; hc, July 2023; tpb, July 2024)
Danger Street #1–12 (with Jorge Fornés, December 2022 – December 2023). Collected as.
Danger Street Book 1 (collects #1–6, 198 pages; tp, November 2023)
Danger Street Book 2 (collects #7–12, 184 pages; tp, May 2024)
Jenny Sparks #1–6 (with Jeff Spokes, August 2024 – Present). Collected as.
Jenny Sparks: Be Better (collects #1–6, 216 pages; tpb, May 2025)
Other publishers
The Vision vol. 2 #1–12 (with Gabriel Hernández Walta and Michael Walsh (#7), Marvel, 2016) collected as:
Little Worse than a Man (collects #1–6, tpb, 136 pages, 2016, ISBN0-7851-9657-9)
Little Better than a Beast (collects #7–12, tpb, 136 pages, 2016, ISBN0-7851-9658-7)
