Tom King (comic book writer)

Tom King
King during an appearance at Midtown Comics in Manhattan
Occupation	Author, comic book writer
Language	English
Nationality	United States
Genre	Comic books Superheroes Science fiction
Notable works	A Once Crowded Sky The Vision Batman

Tom King is an American author, comic book writer, and ex-CIA officer. He is best known for his 2012 superhero novel A Once Crowded Sky, and for writing the comic book series Batman for DC Comics, and The Vision for Marvel Comics. As of mid-2016, King writes Batman for DC, The Vision for Marvel, and The Sheriff of Babylon for the DC imprint Vertigo.

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 September 11. 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.

A Once Crowded Sky, King's debut superhero novel with comics pages illustrated by Tom Fowler, was published in July 10, 2012 by Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, to positive reception.

King was chosen to co-write Grayson for DC Comics, along with Tim Seeley and Mikel Janin on art. After penning Nightwing #30, King, Seeley, and Janin launched Grayson on May 2014, featuring Dick Grayson leaving behind his Nightwing persona to become Agent 37, a Spyral spy. King and Seeley plotted the series together and traded issues to script separately, with King providing additional authenticity through his background with the CIA.

A relaunch of classic DC Comics series The Omega Men was published in June 2015 by King and debut artist Barnaby Bagendas, as part of the publisher's relaunch DC You. The series follows a group of rebels fighting an oppressive galactic empire, and feature White Lantern Kyle Rayner. The Omega Men, created in 1981, are DC's cosmic equivalent to Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, though significantly more obscure. 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.