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Hello Seth,
It was so good to see you at the reunion last week. I can’t believe it’s been 15 years since we graduated from UCSB. I’m so glad you’ve had so much success as a writer! It’s really exciting that you have another book coming out on the supers scene.
I wanted to pass this article along to you – I don’t know if you heard that Charles Kingsley passed away last Monday. It wasn’t reported heavily locally since he moved to Oregon a few years ago.
I didn’t know if it would help with your current book project. I remember you mentioned that its focus would be on the Mecha Men. I had actually forgot about Blue’s “incident” with Charles until I read this.
Let me know the next time you’re in town so we can get coffee or maybe some drinks.
Be good,
Sami
Charles Kingsley (1975-2033)
Adrianne Krivchenia
For NoCapesEver.com
Charles Kingsley, a firebrand reporter who covered superheroes in Southern California for nearly two decades, died on Tuesday due to complications from colon cancer at the age of 57.
Kingsley started as a reporter in Newark, New Jersey, before moving to Minneapolis. By the time he moved to the Los Angeles area, he had established himself as a regular of the superhero reporting scene, covering superheroes in the general Los Angeles-area as well as internationally.
Kingsley was best known for his no-holds-barred style of reporting on superheroes. He was a two-time winner of the Buscema Award, given as recognition for “excellence in the field of reporting related to superpowered individuals and their impact on society.” He received his first Buscema in 2016 for revealing that the superhero team “Los Meteoros” were falsely claiming to have Latino heritage to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants. Kingsley’s investigation was cited in the three-year sentence of Meteoros leader Lyman “El Mago” Seward for fraud and tax evasion.
Kingsley won his second in 2025 for his article series covering the long-term health issues experienced by people who received so-called “implants” from Elliot “Shroud” Connors and his Red Ring gang. In these articles, Kingsley argued that those who received these implants were victims of crimes themselves, profiling some as young as 14 who received them under false pretenses or were otherwise exploited by Connors. After these articles were published, the state of California created a fund to help treat those with these implants for any original underlying medical issues that the implants were supposed to treat and health issues caused by the implants themselves.
A loud portion of the superhero reporting community were critical of Kingsley for being too harsh on people who, in their view, were just trying to help. In turn, Kingsley was outspoken about this group of critics, moaning the rise of access journalism and railing against writers who were more interested in playing friends with superheroes than honest reporters. It was not uncommon to see Kingsley berating reporters that he found to be sycophantic in their coverage.
Kingsley wouldn’t shy away from being abrasive with heroes themselves if he felt they fell short of his standards. It’s more than fair to say that he took this too far sometimes.
Charles Kingsley’s most infamous moment came in 2023. At the press conference where Mecha Man Blue announced his hiatus from piloting the mech, Kingsley said to the hero, “most heroes avenge their family. You did the opposite. You killed their legacy. How disappointed would your dad be if he were here right now? Your father, your grandfather, they must be rolling over in their graves.”
Mecha Man walked into the crowd of reporters and attacked Kingsley, headbutting and kicking him. Bystanders failed to step in for several minutes due to a combination of fear of also being attacked and, in my opinion, a dislike of Kingsley’s reporting style.
Ironically, the assault may have saved Kingsley’s life. While being checked for broken ribs, chest x-rays revealed a small tumor in Kingsley’s left lung. Charles, known for his dry sense of humor among friends, remarked to those close to him that it was the “healthiest ass kicking in recorded human history.” He successfully underwent surgery to remove that tumor and was cancer free for many years.
Charles was also unafraid to admit he was wrong. He very loudly did this in 2023 in the aftermath of the Red Ring Riots. While he was initially very critical of SDN’s newly launched team of Phoenix Program heroes, he went on to laud the efforts of the so-called “Z-Team” for their response to the attacks on Torrance by the Red Ring gang.
I worked with Kingsley at the South Bay Signal when I first broke into journalism. He was an early mentor to me and his advice was invaluable to me as I started my career. He was never afraid to tell you when you were doing something wrong, but he also was a fierce supporter of young reporters that he thought were genuinely trying to do their job the right thing. He was beloved in the Signal’s bullpen for his willingness to fight – very loudly – for the integrity of the newspaper in the face of budget cuts and misguided management decisions. I wouldn’t be the writer I am today if it wasn’t for his guidance and feedback. I miss him greatly.