Thought Bubble 2024: Tini Howard In Conversation

The first panel of the day, and the last one for me, is the Tini Howard spotlight panel, with her partner Blake Howard in tow. And thanks to my superpower of never having a hangover, I got there in one piece! Here’s what I learnt about her and her career:

1. Starting at the beginning, host Alex Fitch revisited Tini’s early success in winning a talent competition at Top Cow/Image Comics. While she had read Watchmen and trades she picked up from the library. But Blake encouraged her to read superhero comics. Her first was Ultimates by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch.
2. Her love of developing RPG campaigns also helped, which led to her and Blake co-writing the Vampire Masquerade series.
3. Moving onto her work for Marvel she spoke about her work on Captain Britain. But she didn’t want to just call it that, hence the inclusion of Betsy Braddock into the full title, Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain. This led her to working on Excalibur too. Although the book did not have that name until she pitched a mutant series about magic. Only then did all involved realise what she was pitching was not a Betsy Braddock series but an Excalibur book, who she rang British writer Paul Cornell for advise as someone who has written in that particular toy box in his MI6 Marvel series. Excalibur #1 was a script she re-wrote three times!
4. As her career progressed she was able to choose her projects, such as Catwoman at DC Comics. Two weeks after her Marvel exclusive was up she got the phone call.
5. Blake and Tini divide up their co-writing depending on how busy the other one is. For example, Blake took the lead on Vampire Masquerade, as Tini was writing two books at the time. They plotted together and Tini acted as his first line editor. She also encouraged others to work with their loved ones because, as she said, “working in comics is all about working with your friends and loved ones”. With other collaborators, such as Chip Zdarsky or Johnathan Hickman, it involves a lot of phone calls. For example, Hickman and Tini’s ‘Apocalypse’ story line involved one taking on the “what” with the other working on the “how” as she put it succinctly. Or, one would write. a loose draft with the other polishing it up.
6. Before Leah Williams and Tini wrote Betsy, she had alway been written by men. Both writers believed that Betsy was a character that struggles with body dysmorphia. She may be returned to her own body, but she would still compare herself to the body of Psylocke she possessed for so long. Even if Betsy was a model, she still has issues. This is an example of how women can offer far more insight into female character, but in no way was Tini trying to dissuade men from writing female characters and female writers write male characters.
7. Finally, the panel turned to Harley Quinn, with Tini seeing Harley as the archetypal jester character; a character who can say what others can’t to power.

And that about wrapped up this early morning panel aside from a few questions from the audience.

Right, off to catch up with friends, start saying my goodbyes (which takes up a lot longer each and every year) and head back home after another outstanding Thought Bubble.

Same time next year then?