Tom Taylor (writer)
Tom Taylor is an Australian comic book writer, playwright and screenwriter. A #1 New York Times bestselling author, his work includes DC Comics series Injustice, DCeased, Nightwing, Superman, Suicide Squad, and the Marvel series All-New Wolverine, X-Men Red, Superior Iron Man and Star Wars comics.
Taylor is the co-creator, writer and executive producer of the animated series The Deep, based on his graphic novels of the same name.
Biography
Taylor was born in Melbourne, Australia.Writing many works for DC Comics, Marvel and Star Wars, Taylor is the creator, with James Brouwer, of the all-ages adventure graphic novel The Deep: Here Be Dragons and its sequel The Vanishing Island published by Gestalt Publishing and Boom! Studios. The Deep was optioned by Technicolor. 65 episodes have screened of the CG animated series, across four seasons, with Taylor serving as the co-creator, head writer and executive producer.
In 2012, The Deep: Here Be Dragons won the Aurealis Award for Best illustrated book/graphic novel, Australia's premier speculative fiction literary award. The sequel, The Vanishing Island, won the award again in 2014.
Taylor is also the co-creator of Seven Secrets which, at the time of its release, was the highest launching original series in the history of Boom! Studios.
Taylor has written X-Men: Red, All-New Wolverine and Hunt for Wolverine Adamantium Agenda for Marvel Comics, along with Justice League/Power Rangers and Injustice 2 for DC Comics. He has also written Batman/Superman, Titans and Earth Two.
Performing and writing for theatre and musicals from the age of fourteen, Tom's works have been produced across four continents. His plays have won a number of awards and accolades including winning the award for 'Best Dramatic Writing' in Short and Sweet β The world's largest short play festival.
His plays have been produced at the Sydney Opera House, Arts Centre Melbourne and the Edinburgh Fringe.
Taylor is well known for his many Star Wars comics and graphic novels for Dark Horse Comics. These include, Star Wars: Blood Ties with artist Chris Scalf, and Star Wars: Invasion, with illustrator Colin Wilson. April 2012 saw the start of Taylor and Scalf's new Blood Ties series provocatively titled Boba Fett is Dead as reported by CNN. Taylor is also the writer of the Darth Maul: Death Sentence miniseries, which is set immediately after the end of the fourth Clone Wars television series.
Star Wars: Blood Ties won the 2012 'Stan Lee Excelsior Award' as voted for by thousands of school students across the UK.
Taylor wrote the graphic novella, Star Wars Adventures: Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes which shows a never before seen story of Luke Skywalker training with Yoda on Dagobah during The Empire Strikes Back. Taylor also penned Star Wars Adventures: The Will of Darth Vader. Dark Horse Vice President Randy Stradley says that Tom Taylor has taken to writing comics faster than anyone he's ever seen.
Taylor also wrote The Authority, published under the Wildstorm imprint, starting with issue #22 in May 2010 until the end of the Wildstorm imprint. He also wrote The Brainiac / Sinestro Corps war storyline in the pages of DC Universe Online: Legends, a Batman story with artist Nicola Scott and Rose and Thorn with artist Neil Googe.
Taylor's award-winning play The Example has also been adapted into a comic book with illustration by Colin Wilson through Gestalt Publishing.
In December 2020, it was announced that Taylor would be the new writer on the Nightwing solo series with artist Bruno Redondo illustrating.
In October 2021, on National Coming Out Day, Taylor announced that the character Jon Kent, the son of Superman in the comic book series Superman: Son of Kal-El will be bisexual.
In 2023, Taylor's Neverlanders, with Jon Sommariva, became the first graphic novel to win the Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers.
In February 2024, it was announced that Taylor and Redondo's run on Nightwing would enter its final story arc with Nightwing #114. This five-part story arc titled "Fallen Grayson" would begin in May 2024. In all, Taylor and Redondo's run encompassed over 40 issues.
DC Comics
- Necretaceous
- C.O.R.T. Children of the Round Table #1β6
- "Sticks & Snikts" in Batman/Deadpool #1
- Detective Comics #1090
- Titans: Beast World #1β6
- Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #1β6
- Batman β One Bad Day: Ra's Al Ghul
- Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1β6
- Titans #1β15
- DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #1β8
- Action Comics #1050
- Superman: Son of Kal-El #1β18
- *Superman: Son of Kal-El β The Truth β Collects Superman: Son of Kal-El #1β6
- *Superman: Son of Kal-El Volume 2 β The Rising β Collects Superman: Son of Kal-El #7β10, Nightwing #89, and Superman: Son of Kal-El 2021 Annual #1
- *Superman: Son of Kal-El Volume 3 - Battle for Gamorra β Collects Superman: Son of Kal-El #11-15
- Nightwing #78 β #118
- *Nightwing Leaping into the Light β Collects Nightwing #78β83
- *Nightwing Fear State β Collects Nightwing #84β86 and Nightwing annual
- *Nightwing Volume 2: Get Grayson β Collects Nightwing #87β91 and Superman: Son of Kal-El #9
- *Nightwing Volume 3: The Battle for Bludhaven's Heart β Collects Nightwing #92β96
- *Nightwing Volume 4: The Leap β Collects Nightwing #97β100 and Nightwing 2022 Annual
- Batman The Detective #1β6
- Dark Knights of Steel #1β12
- *Dark Knights of Steel Volume One Collects #1β6
- Green Arrow: 80th Anniversary #1
- Superman: Son of Kal-El Annual β
- Nightwing Annual β
- Hellblazer: Rise and Fall #1β3
- DCeased: Dead Planet issues #1β7
- The Joker 80th Anniversary #1
- Injustice Year Zero Chapters #1β14
- DCeased: Hope at World's End #1β15
- Aquaman Giant #3
- DCeased: Unkillables Issues #1β3
- Suicide Squad #1β11
- Detective Comics #1017
- DCeased issues #1β6
- Year of the Villain: Black Mask
- DCeased: A Good Day to Die #1
- DC Villains Giant
- Injustice 2 Chapters #1β72
- Batman Annual #3
- Batman Secret Files #1
- DC Nuclear Winter Special #1
- Justice League/Power Rangers Issues #1β6
- Batman/Superman issues #28β30
- Green Lantern Corps: Edge of Oblivion Issues #1β6
- Injustice: Gods Among Us Annual #4
- Injustice: Year Three Chapters #1β14
- Earth-2 Issues #17β29
- Injustice: Year Two Chapters #1β24
- Earth-2 Annual #2
- Injustice: Gods Among Us Chapters #1β36
- Injustice: Gods Among Us Annual #1
- Batman Legends of the Dark Knight β The Crime Never Committed
- Rose and Thorn
- DC Universe Online: Legends β The Brainiac/Sinestro Corps War
Marvel
- Marvel's: Dark Ages #1β6
- Deadpool: Black, White and Blood #1
- Star Wars Legends: Boba Fett β Blood Ties
- Immortal Hulk: Great Power
- Free Comic Book Day: X-Men
- Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1β14
- War of the Realms: Strikeforce β Land of Giants
- Star Wars: Age of Resistance β Rey
- Star Wars: Age of Resistance β Kylo Ren
- Star Wars: Age of Resistance β Poe Dameron
- Star Wars: Age of Resistance β Hux
- Star Wars: Age of Resistance β Finn
- Star Wars: Age of Resistance β Snoke
- Star Wars: Age of Resistance β Rose Tico
- Free Comic Book Day: Spider-Man
- X-Men Red #1β11
- Hunt for Wolverine: Adamantium Agenda #1β4
- X-Men Red Annual
- All-New Wolverine #1β35
- *All-New Wolverine The Four Sisters β Collects All-New Wolverine #1β6
- *All-New Wolverine Civil War II β Collects All-New Wolverine #7β12
- *All-New Wolverine Enemy of the State II β Collects All-New Wolverine #13β18
- *All-New Wolverine Immune β Collects All-New Wolverine #19β24
- *Generations: The Best
- *All-New Wolverine Annual
- *All-New Wolverine Orphans of X β Collects All-New Wolverine #25β30
- *All-New Wolverine Old Woman Laura β Collects All-New Wolverine #31-35
- *All-New Wolverine by Tom Taylor Omnibus
- Superior Iron Man #1β9
- Secret Wars: Agents of Atlas #1
Boom! Studios
- Seven Secrets #1β#18
- The Deep #1β6
- Power Rangers Annual
Penguin Random House
- ''Neverlanders''
Dark Horse Comics
- Star Wars: Darth Maul β Death Sentence
- Star Wars: Blood Ties β Boba Fett is Dead
- Star Wars: Invasion Volume 3: Revelations
- Star Wars: Invasion Volume 2: Rescues
- Star Wars Adventures: The Will of Darth Vader
- Star Wars: Blood Ties β a tale of Jango and Boba Fett
- Star Wars Adventures: Luke Skywalker and The Treasure of the Dragonsnakes
- ''Star Wars: Invasion Volume 1: Refugees''
Gestalt Publishing
- M.I.D.A.S.
- The Deep: The Vanishing Island
- The Deep: Here Be Dragons
- The Example
- Flinch
- Rombies
- ''Brief Cases''
Wildstorm
- The Authority #22β29
IDW Publishing
- In the Dark Anthology: In Plain Sight
- Jinnrise #3
- ''Rocketeer Adventures β Work To Do''
2000 AD
- ''Tharg's 3rillers: 15''
Film and television
''The Deep'' TV series
Taylor is the co-creator, executive producer and head writer of The Deep. The first series began airing on Netflix USA in 2016.Four seasons of The Deep have screened globally in over 130 territories, notably on Netflix and CBBC. The Deep has been the number #1 rated animated series in several territories, including the UK and Greece.
''[Neverlanders]'' Feature film
In November 2025, Deadline Hollywood announced an animated feature film adaptation of Tom Taylor's Neverlanders graphic novels was in the works at Pixel Zoo, with Taylor set to pen the screenplay.''Injustice: Gods Among Us''
The 2021 film Injustice is part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line. The film is based on the Injustice: Year One comics by Taylor and the first game, Injustice: Gods Among Us.''Cleverman''
Taylor joined the writer's room of Cleverman for the third season''The Example''
Taylor wrote the film adaptation of The Example which was optioned and filmed by Staple Fiction in 2011.''A4 to A3''
Taylor's award-winning short musical A4 to A3 was filmed by Bravada Films in 2009, for which Taylor also wrote the screenplay. A4 to A3 premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival on 29 April 2010.Awards and nominations
Won
- 2025 Prix Des Collegiens De La Somme
- 2024 Eisner Award for Best Single Issue/One-Shot
- 2023 Children's Book of the Year for Older Readers
- 2023 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series
- 2023 Comic Arts Award of Australia
- 2022 AEAF Award - TV Series - Children
- 2021 Comic Arts Award of Australia
- 2020 Shadow Award for Best Graphic Novel
- 2019 Shadow Award for Best Graphic Novel
- 2018 Ledger Award
- 2017 Goldener Spatz Award
- 2017 Kidscreen 'Best New Series Award'
- 2014 IGN 'Best Digital Series'
- 2014 IGN 'People's Choice Award'
- 2013 Winner 'Aurealis Award' for Best illustrated book/graphic novel'
- 2013 IGN 'People's Choice Award for Best Digital Series'
- 2012 Winner 'Stan Lee Excelsior Award'
- 2012 Winner 'Aurealis Award for Best illustrated book/graphic novel'
- 2007 Winner Short, Sweet and Song People's Choice Award β 'A4 2 A3' Short, Sweet and Song β Sydney AUS 2007
- 2005 Winner 'Best Dramatic Writing' Short and Sweet β
Nominations
- 2025 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series
- 2025 Aurealis Award for best illustrated book or graphic novel
- 2025 ASLA DANZ Children's Book Award
- 2024 Eisner Award for Best Writer
- 2024 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book
- 2024 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series
- 2024 The Dragon Award for Best Comic Book
- 2023 Aurealis Award for best illustrated book or graphic novel
- 2023 Eisner Award for Best Limited Series
- 2023 Excelsior Award
- 2023 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book
- 2022 Ringo Award for Best Writer
- 2022 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series
- 2022 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book
- 2022 The Dragon Award for Best Comic Book
- 2022 Eisner Award for Best Single Issue/One-Shot
- 2020 British Fantasy Award for Best Comic/Graphic Novel
- 2020 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book
- 2019 BAFTA AWARD 'Best International Animation'
- 2019 IGN 'Best Limited Comic Book or Miniseries'
- 2017 IGN 'Best Comic Book Writer'
- 2017 IGN 'Best Comic Book Series'
- 2017 IGN 'Best New Series'
- 2017 IGN 'Best Limited Comic Book or Miniseries' ''
- 2016 Australian Writer's Guild Industry Award for best Children's Television
- 2016 AACTA Award for Best Children's Television Series
- 2015 Australian Writer's Guild Industry Award for best Children's Television
- 2015 The John Hinde Award for Excellence in Science-Fiction Writing
- 2009 Diamond Gem Award
- Finalist β 2008 Bite-Size UK International Playwriting Competition
- 2008 Short and Sweet β Nominated for Best Comedy Script and Best Production
- Finalist 2005 'Write Now' National Young Playwright Award -
Theatrical works
- THE EXAMPLE
- *Sydney Opera House
- *Edinburgh Festival
- *The Edge Performing Arts Centre
- *The Esplanade
- *Brighton Festival Fringe
- *Brisbane Powerhouse
- *Melbourne Arts Centre
- *Seymour Centre
- *Araluen Arts Centre
- *Darwin Entertainment Centre Darwin Australia 2008
- *Cairns Civic Theatre
- *Rockhampton Performing Arts Centre QLD AUS 2008
- *Canberra Theatre Centre
- DRIP
- *Stratton Players
- *Newtown Theatre
- *Carlton Courthouse
- FALLING PRAYING
- *Edinburgh Fringe
- *Parade Playhouse National Institute of Dramatic Art
- *Melbourne Arts Centre
- BELIEVE
- *Bite Size Theatre
- *Newtown Theatre
- PROTEST
- *Fairfax Theatre, Melbourne Arts Centre
- *Newtown Theatre
- MYSTERY FLIGHT
- *Chapel Off Chapel
- A4 2 A3
- *National Institute of Dramatic Art
- CITY HEAD
- *Melbourne Trades Hall Melbourne AUS 2007
- NAZANIN
- *The BDP Ensemble
- MY MONTH AS A MEMBER
- *Old Fitzroy Hotel Theatre
- THE RATINGS WAR
- *La Mama Theatre Melbourne Comedy Festival Melbourne AUS 2004
- CANDIDATE
- *La Mama Theatre Melbourne Comedy Festival
- HARD RUBBISH WEEK
- *The Athenaeum Theatre
Interviews/articles
GQThe Sydney Morning HeraldRolling StoneThe A.V. ClubThe Hollywood Reporter- . CBR.com
- , The AustralianUndercover FanboyThe Higher Authority
- ''The Age''