Gail Simone's Blog, page 1028

Warning: Genuinely Awful People Story

Okay, this story, fair warning, sucks. It haunts me to this day. But it really happened.

I’m posting it because it happened, and I think there’s value in knowing what some people are really like.

I don’t think it’s any secret that I love China, it’s my favorite county to visit in the world. I love almost everything about it, the art, the culture, the food, the history. But most of all, I love the people. There’s a pretty racist myth out there among Westerners that Chinese people are ‘cold,’ ‘aloof,’ or ‘distant.’ Like most blinkered Western mythology, it’s just bullshit. But that idea is out there and perpetuated constantly.  We found it to be a total lie, I never got so many hugs from people I’d only just met as in China. Little schoolkids would come up and say hello and I would try out my crappy few words of Cantonese or Mandarin and they would speak in their excellent English. And I make friends every trip I go.

One time, in Beijing, I went to the restroom in a large (for Beijing) grocery store, and there was a group of teenage girls in there, and one of them came up to me and said, “You is so beautiful.” And I was just stunned, I tried to imagine an American kid saying that out of the blue, just such a kind thought, out of nowhere, and couldn’t quite do it. I told them that they were the MOST beautiful, but again, we saw that kind of random kindness everywhere…”aloof,” my ass.

I remember we took off to some backstreet markets in, I think, Shenzhen, and I found a barber cutting hair right in the middle of the street, chair, mirror, all the stuff, just right in the street, next to a vendor selling frogs and spiders. I must have stared, because the guy got a little perturbed (plus, he had chops, the guy was an excellent precision barber)…I was embarrassed and I haltingly conveyed that I was a hairdresser too, and then the guy was incredibly nice, and showed me his supplies and his very expensive Jo Well shears (the same kind I used…they were 300 bucks a pop back then, and if you dropped them, they had to be hand-sharpened).  It was lovely.

So, I love China. But my knowledge of the place was from books, mostly, and there’s a lot they don’t talk about in books.

On the way back to the states from my first trip (16 hours!), we noticed that there were about a dozen women in our cabin with very young babies and toddlers. The women were all Caucasian, except for one African American woman (who might actually have been British, she was seated a ways from me). Some of you might know where this is heading…if you’ve ever taken a flight back from China, you will often see this. All the babies and toddlers were Chinese.

Now, there’s a lot of controversy over so many Americans adopting Chinese babies, and I get why a lot of people have problems with it. But at the time, I was only very dimly aware of the cultural implications of it, typical American lack of awareness.  I will say, these women did appear to be wonderful mommies, you could feel the love pouring out of them. How it all worked out, I have no idea. It’s a big issue and I’m not informed enough to know all the connotations.

But the love these mommies were showing was intense. It’s a long flight, we settled in. After a few hours, a bunch of the new adopted moms got up with their new babies to walk around a little bit, and got together in the forward space between cabins. They started talking to one another heatedly, and I thought they might actually be fighting, weirdly enough. Then they came back to their seats and almost all were either crying or looking like they were about to cry.

I had one of the mommies next to me and I asked her if she was okay…she couldn’t talk right away, so I gave her a bit of space.

Eventually we talked…contrary to what some people think, you can’t just show up with a checkbook and buy a baby from China, thank god. The process is laborious and draining, you have to come visit, you go through an extensive background check, it’s expensive and time-consuming, but necessary. There are orphanages that are overcrowded and underfunded, probably like any country in the world, but they want the babies and children to go to good homes and are scrupulous about it, as well they should be.

These women had almost all gone through the process at the same time, so they almost all knew each other. This was them taking their new children home for the first time, so I wondered what had made them so angry, then so bitterly sad.

It turns out that there had been another woman in the group, who had wanted to adopt a five year old girl. She had gone through the entire process, was approved, and had flown over to take her new daughter home.

This is the bad part.

When she got there, her beautiful new daughter-to-be had had a slight scalp condition, nothing serious, and the medics there had shaved her head.  Evidently, she had had long, beautiful hair, she had never had a haircut her entire life, but they had to shave her head and now she just had maybe an inch of growout.

And the adoptive mother took one look, said her husband would be angry, and backed out. She canceled the adoption.

Because the little girl didn’t have long, “China doll” hair. Because she was a real child, not a fashion accessory.

She went home on another flight so she didn’t have to face the other, angry moms, but she wouldn’t be dissuaded. So this little girl, who has been told she’s going to have a family, she’s going to have a mom and dad and leave the orphanage, has to be told that her ‘parents,’ have changed their minds.

I’m still raging about this after all these years. It’s so sick on so many levels, it’s racist, it’s evil, it’s anti-human, I don’t even know what to say that’s bad ENOUGH.

The other mommies, to their credit, they all said, every single one, “We have been through the screening. We’ve done the checks,” and they every single one volunteered on the spot to adopt the little girl. No hesitation, they just couldn’t face what they had witnessed.  Hell, I would have happily adopted the little girl myself at that moment…all other considerations are just kind of background noise at that exact moment when you think of that little girl being rejected by the world’s biggest a-holes. And worse, the mommy’s said the adoption administrators weren’t surprised at all…it had happened before.

There are a lot of complicated issues with almost any adoption. I myself was adopted.  And people rightly have concerns about issues of culture, country and race. But as much as I think the little girl must have felt a great deal of pain over being told she wasn’t going to have a new family, I often think she must be better off in many ways, not being raised by the most horrible people in the world, people who wanted a trophy, not a child.

I know that when you are a kid without a family, having a family is pretty much all you think about. But that doesn’t mean ANY family is better.

I hope some real human beings adopted that little girl and I hope she’s the happiest child on Earth.

spam-monster:APE IN A CAPE: My Theme Park Obsessiongailsimone:I love theme parks. I do. I just...

spam-monster:

APE IN A CAPE: My Theme Park Obsession

gailsimone:

I love theme parks. I do. I just adore them.

I love the rides, the cheesy shows, the bad food and the good food…when I know I am going to a good theme park, it’s all I can think about for a week beforehand. I am pathetic.

I particularly love the Disney parks, I love the history and craftsmanship…

OMG YOU’VE BEEN TO TOKYO DISNEYSEA TOO!

I live an hour away from Disney World Orlando and we have annual passes so we go all the time and it’s the best thing ever. I’d have to say Epcot is my favorite there, just because it’s the park I go to most often - it’s a nice place to just relax and take pictures and eat good food. I love all the parks there though. (And Islands of Adventure in Universal is pretty nice too; I need to go back there and see Harry Potter land already.)

But I’ve been to Japan twice now and I’d have to say Tokyo DisneySea is seriously the best theme park I’ve ever been to. They’ve just got so much awesome stuff in there, like the big fort and the Simbad ride and the whole Ariel place and the part they made look like Long Island kinda. And the main Disneyland has cool stuff too, like the best version of Winnie the Pooh ever, seriously.

I’ve only been to those two though. One of my goals in life is to go to all the Disneys someday.

…Is it weird I want to hang out with you so we can talk about theme parks now? (I’ve never met someone else who has been to DisneySea before though…)

Oh, Tokyo Disneyseas haunts my dreams, I loved it so much. It’s such a rich experience, it feels like no expense was spared anywhere in the park. It’s remarkable.

And agreed, the Pooh ride in Tokyo Disneyland is RIDICULOUS. I mean, when you tell people how great the Pooh ride is, it’s just impossible to get across what the experience is like. It makes the ones in the states look like, well, poo!

I have been to lots of parks around the world…the new Universal park in Singapore is a joy, been to some really interesting parks in other parts of Asia.

I’m ridiculous, is why.

Photo

If you could pick up any series of the New 52, which would it be, and what would you do with it? (Loving Batgirl, by the way.)

Oohh, to be honest, this is not really a polite thing for me to talk about. There are a lot of books I would love to try my hand on, but I don’t pitch for books with current creative teams…it’s like pushing someone out of their job, and I don’t do that.

So I have to decline. I guess it’s safe to say that I would love to write more Superman someday, since he has multiple books.

Oh wow... it's so hard to ask a smart question, so I'm going to ask a feeky one. Considering your rather risque sense of humour, such as the Huntress joking about Big Barda's Mega Rod or even the Chewbacca joke in Killer Princesses, have you had any editor

Oh, yeah, it happens all the time.

I remember I got notes back on one issue of Secret Six where they literally had to say, “Can we maybe do away with the jokes about bestiality and necrophilia in this issue?”

Also, I remember getting TWO jokes bumped from the ‘Li’l Sixers’ backup strip, the short Secret Six story drawn in the style of the Tiny Titans.

One was Ragdoll saying to Superman, “Thanks for helping me beat off all those aliens, Superman!”

And the other was, after Ragdoll made a joke about ‘duty,’ Wonder Woman hugs him and says, “You’re the Greek god of butt jokes, Ragdoll.”

Weirdly, neither of these jokes made it through, somehow.

;)

Oh wow... it's so hard to ask a smart question, so I'm going to ask a feeky one. Considering your rather risque sense of humour, such as the Huntress joking about Big Barda's Mega Rod or even the Chewbacca joke in Killer Princesses, have you had any editor

Oh, yeah, it happens all the time.

I remember I got notes back on one issue of Secret Six where they literally had to say, “Can we maybe do away with the jokes about bestiality and necrophilia in this issue?”

Also, I remember getting TWO jokes bumped from the ‘Li’l Sixers’ backup strip, the short Secret Six story drawn in the style of the Tiny Titans.

One was Ragdoll saying to Superman, “Thanks for helping me beat off all those aliens, Superman!”

And the other was, after Ragdoll made a joke about ‘duty,’ Wonder Woman hugs him and says, “You’re the Greek god of butt jokes, Ragdoll.”

Weirdly, neither of these jokes made it through, somehow.

;)

My Theme Park Obsession

I love theme parks. I do. I just adore them.

I love the rides, the cheesy shows, the bad food and the good food…when I know I am going to a good theme park, it’s all I can think about for a week beforehand. I am pathetic.

I particularly love the Disney parks, I love the history and craftsmanship of them, and I enjoy the often remarkable attempts to create a certain ambiance that many visitors may not even be aware of. My bookshelf is full of hard-to-find books on the art and making of the various parks and I look at them often, because I find them very inspiring.

I think my experience is a little different than the person who just wants to eat a churro and ride the biggest coaster. I am fascinated by the psychology of it, and the history. My least favorite theme parks are the ones that are essentially just permanent carnivals. I want the park to have landscaping and theming, I want them to make some effort at engaging an emotion besides simple thrillseeking.

I have been to lots of parks all over the world, and I hope to see a lot more.

Next week, I will be visiting the DisneyWorld parks, and Universal Orlando, which should be tremendous fun. I have been to WDW twice, and UO just once.

In any case, I’ve started this thread for people to share their theme park obsessions with me, woot!

I would love to hear about your favorite theme park, ride, and food.  If you stayed at a resort or hotel on property at one of the bigger parks, I’d love to hear if it was worth it to you.

Basically, and fond (or unfond!) memories you have of the various theme parks you have visited.

A couple things from me, just to start.

My favorite single park is still Disneyland, probably because it is so steeped in history around every corner.

DISNEYLAND:

Favorite ride: Splash Mountain

Favorite Show: Fantasmic

Favorite Snack: Dole Whip

Favorite Fine Dining: The Napa Rose in the Disney Grand Californian…extraordinary cuisine, pricey but worth it.

CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE:

Favorite ride: Soarin’ Over California

Favorite show: World of Color (mind-blowing!)

Favorite Snack: Hmm. I enjoy the root beer floats, actually.

Favorite Dining In the Park: The vineyard, can’t remember the name, the Italian place?

TOKYO DISNEYSEAS:

Favorite Ride: 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

Favorite Show: Don’t remember the name, but they had an amazing water show in the lagoon, ships and fireworks, it was great!

Favorite Snack: They had fried sushi that was actually delicious (I know it sounds awful)

Favorite Dining: Italian food near the lagoon

UNIVERSAL ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE:

Favorite Ride: Spider-man!

Favorite Show: Hmm. That Poseidon show is kind of fun. Aladdin is CHEESY.

Favorite Snack: Don’t recall, but I bet it’s going to be replaced with butterbeer.

Favorite fine dining: Mythos, regularly voted best in-park restaurant in the world.

There are lots more, just tossing out random memories. :)

What about you guys?

Hey Gail! I just wanted to get your input on something. I'm going to be going to the Puerto Rico Comic Con as Black Canary in May! I'm hispanic and since you've written the character before how do you think a hispanic Black Canary would do her hair?

Wow. This sounds FANTASTIC.

Well, first, I think there’s no reason why you couldn’t go ahead and do her regular hair, since Dinah traditionally wore a wig or dyed it. There’s no good reason why you couldn’t have one of her traditional blonde hairstyles.

However, I think it would be fantastic to actually present Black Canary with your own hair, as seen in your avatar.  An Hispanic Black Canary with naturally dark hair sounds freaking awesome, and the hair in your avatar would be perfect for that. I know Hispanic women have every kind of hair color, but I wouldn’t change a thing (again assuming that’s you in your profile photo, forgive me if I am mistaken). Seriously, your hair is the perfect length and body to look spectacular as the Canary. I say flaunt it!

All I know is, we’re going to need pictures. :)

jesic:DC Ladies, by Sho MuraseBEAUTIFUL.

jesic:

DC Ladies, by Sho Murase

BEAUTIFUL.

APE IN A CAPE: Free Comic Book Day In Florida, WOOT!

APE IN A CAPE: Free Comic Book Day In Florida, WOOT!:

sofantasticallybrilliant:

gailsimone:

oddchelonian:

gailsimone:

I know I mentioned this before, but as it gets closer, wanted to mention it again for any who might be interested.

I’m pretty excited for this Free Comic Book Day. For the first time ever for me, I will be at TWO different stores in Florida. In the morning, I will be at Yancy Street Comics, which…

I’m so excited! My girlfriend and I are planning our entire anniversary trip around this! It’ll be nice to get away from the stresses of work, have a weekend to relax, and get to meet Gail Simone all in one!

I hope it’s not too annoying if I bring a long a bunch of my comics to get signed :)

Not at all! I never have a limit on the number of comics I sign, I am delighted to sign whatever number you choose to bring, okay?

And happy anniversary!  Because it’s your special day, please be sure to check the signing hours, because I am splitting the day between the two stores and wouldn’t want to miss you.

No limit? I feel sorry for your hand, but not sorry enough to not bring a lot of comics to Yancy on Saturday. I’m so excited

Ha!  I am, too. I LOVE Free Comic Book Day. Seeing that many readers and potential readers, and their families, that’s a blast.

And yep, never a limit on signings. I have had people bring boxes and boxes.  If you bring a LOT, the only thing I might do is sign a bunch, pause and sign for some other people in line, then go back to your stack. It’s fine, I am delighted to do it.

And I have strong hands cause I was a HAIRDRESSER, baby!