Jason Thompson is a manga critic, journalist, writer and comics artist. Thompson was born in San Francisco on October 13, 1974 and lived in Healdsburg for most of his childhood and adolescence. He began drawing and writing in the 1980s. He first became an anime and manga fan in 1991, joining his college's anime club, while studying English and creative writing. Thompson graduated in 1995. In 1996, he became an editor at Viz Media and was briefly the editor for their Game On! USA magazine. In the late 1990s, Thompson self-published some comics, including 1997's The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, which he regards as his 'first real comic'.After Game On! USA concluded, Thompson edited individual series before becoming the first editor of Viz's U.S. edition of Shonen Jump magazine.