Gail Simone's Blog, page 1070

So....this happened:

aparadoxinflux:

Excuse me while I go flail about like a madwoman because OMG YOU GUYS GAIL SIMONE, ONE OF THE MOST BADASS WOMEN IN COMICS, IS FOLLOWING ME (HI!). 

I'll have none of that.

YOU are badassnessery!

APE IN A CAPE: Sometimes I Get A Little Discouraged

APE IN A CAPE: Sometimes I Get A Little Discouraged:

yanbasque:

gailsimone:

…by how inane and insubstantial the discussion is regarding women and comics. It's not all guys, some females continually make the discussion more juvenile, or become instant apologists, so as not to make waves. It's frustrating.

I've been hearing the same nonsense since before I turned pro,…

I generally try to ignore everything Gail Simone has to say since she blocked me on Twitter (yeah, I haven't gotten over that one yet) but this showed up on my dash and I have to admit it's a pretty good rant. Even just the list of tired old excuses is worth it, because I guarantee you will recognize every single one of the arguments on it. You've heard/read them all a thousand times.

Good lord. 

I blocked several people whose posts on my twitter feed seemed to always be negative about everything. I talked to you about it months ago. I use Twitter mostly for fun, and it's a drag seeing that stuff endlessly and I did some pruning. It's not personal, you have every right to complain all day if you like, but I'm under no obligation to read it, right?  You keep going on and on about this, and it's getting downright odd.

Thank you.

ealperin:blackfolksmakingcomics:Happy 50th birthday, Mr....

ealperin:

blackfolksmakingcomics:

Happy 50th birthday, Mr. McDuffie.

You left us way too soon. We know you had many stories left to tell, many worlds to create or reimagine. And while you're gone, your real peers will pick up where you left off.

(I say real peers, not those that gave you an ounce of respect only because, as one man wisely suggested, you're no longer a threat)

Your fans, the ones whose lives you have touched over the years and still inspire to this day, are doing their damnedest to keep your legacy alive, sir.  Yeah, the industry isn't a better place in your absence, but fans and creators alike are still fighting the good fight.

Even when they tell us we don't exist, when they tell us we don't matter, when they tell is to just shut the hell up, we're here. We're still around. We're still making our voices heard. We're shouting to the top of our lungs.

In you, we lost our loudest voice, our brightest mind, our most vivid creator of worlds, and that loss is still hard to deal with even a year after your passing. In you, we creators have someone to inspire us to be griots for the 21st century, continuing the legacy you're now delicately tied to.

We miss you, Maestro, and we thank you.

Just… :'(

Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, DAMMIT.

BFMC: fyeahlilbitoeverything: blackfolksmakingcomics: During the newer,...

BFMC: fyeahlilbitoeverything: blackfolksmakingcomics: During the newer,...:

fyeahlilbitoeverything:

blackfolksmakingcomics:

During the newer, longer DC Nation promo on Cartoon Network (I know„ it premieres next week, and they're JUST NOW promoting the damned thing on-air), I did notice a scene of Young Justice with Rocket speaking, so, hey, that's pretty…

Wait, wait, wait.

ROCKET?

I LOVE ROCKET.

Sometimes I Get A Little Discouraged

…by how inane and insubstantial the discussion is regarding women and comics. It's not all guys, some females continually make the discussion more juvenile, or become instant apologists, so as not to make waves. It's frustrating.

I've been hearing the same nonsense since before I turned pro, over a decade. While some things are undoubtedly better, some things aren't. But even the conversation has the same banal, stale fluff in almost every conversation.

I just read a nice article about female characters in comics at CBR…

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2012/02/21/she-has-no-head-no-its-not-equal/

And sure enough, the conversation about in the web is exactly the same as it was when similar articles were written over ten years ago.

I keep hearing the same stuff:

"Comics is a male-dominated industry."

"Guys get idealized just as much as women."

"Female leads don't sell."

"Sex sells, why fight it?"

"A woman edited that book, are you going to call HER sexist?"

"We don't look at gender, we just pick the best person for the job/convention/whatever."

"Men get stuck in refrigerators, too."

"All comics costumes are ridiculous."

"That character has female fans, so she can't be sexist."

All of this crap, all of these excuses laid end to end by people who haven't really thought it through, just so their little territory of fanlove isn't threatened with CHANGE, please, no, anything but CHANGE.

This stuff has been so debunked and shredded so many times, it's exhausting to try to explain it every time a new story goes up on the topic.

I have a high tolerance for cheesecake, as many, many angry people have pointed out. I LIKE some cheesecake, if it's delivered with wit and taste. I like it much, much better if it makes sense in the story. I like it better still if it really ISN'T just females who are sexualized in that manner.

We don't have to be inane. We don't have to be reductionist. We don't have to accept goofy logic from people who think female readers and creators somehow threaten what they like.

At the same time, we don't have to imply that men are bad and all women are perfect. We don't have to convert every single reader to a female-friendly viewpoint.

But I do think it's in our interests to speak up and be heard in some way. To be silent is to be discounted.

The only way to be heard is to make a great noise. For all the crap the San Diego Batgirl (Kyrax) got for speaking up for what she believed,  she got HEARD.

The thing that I like about comics right now is that even a casual fan can name a bunch of talented women having either commercial or critical (or both) success in the industry. No one with a brain can call Marjorie M. Liu, Kate Beaton, Amanda Conner, or Nicola Scott a token. I always think that success shuts the most mouths and opens the most minds. It doesn't have to be having a top ten book, it can be having a critical darling book, or a huge line at comic conventions, or a wonderful column on a website.

Right now there are so many wonderful female things in comics; characters, creators, commentators, editors, convention organizers, store owners and readers. They don't threaten anything in the industry, they add to it.

If you can understand that girls can love these characters as much as boys, embrace that. If you can't, you have my sympathy, and would you very much mind getting out of the way so we can make and enjoy comics, also?

A little more to the left.

Thanks!

BFMC: Dwayne McDuffie Has Been Gone A Year

BFMC: Dwayne McDuffie Has Been Gone A Year:

blackfolksmakingcomics:

gailsimone:

And I still miss him all the time. I keep finding books he wrote, or emails he sent, or cartoons he worked on.

The best writer, the best friend, the best guy.

You are missed so much, Dwayne, and sadly, but as we all expected…

…you are not replaceable.

Quite true. Mr….

Well, good on you for keeping that aspect of what he did alive. Lord knows we need more people like you.

He was one of the key inspirations in my career, many times he sent me a note that boosted me up when I was in doubt. He was all those things you mentioned, but aside from his prodigious talent and fearless social message, I will always remember his patience and generosity, which I experienced first-hand many times.

He was a writer who wasn't ashamed of his humanity, and I will always love him for that.

Dwayne McDuffie Has Been Gone A Year

fyeahlilbitoeverything:

gailsimone:

And I still miss him all the time. I keep finding books he wrote, or emails he sent, or cartoons he worked on.

The best writer, the best friend, the best guy.

You are missed so much, Dwayne, and sadly, but as we all expected…

…you are not replaceable.

 Looking at the state of comics today it seems like a lot of his lessons weren't taken to heart either.

That's part of the problem. Guys like Dwayne don't just fall from the sky, sadly.

He had the message, and he walked the walk, but he also had the chops and esteem to back it all up.

Dwayne McDuffie Has Been Gone A Year

And I still miss him all the time. I keep finding books he wrote, or emails he sent, or cartoons he worked on.

The best writer, the best friend, the best guy.

You are missed so much, Dwayne, and sadly, but as we all expected…

…you are not replaceable.

capncarrot:Lady Blackhawk cosplayWow, that's lovely,...

capncarrot:

Lady Blackhawk cosplay

Wow, that's lovely, and that insignia is awesome!

ealperin:Doodled some Scandal Savage on the last page of my...

ealperin:

Doodled some Scandal Savage on the last page of my Algebra notebook. (Yes. Poor tree. :( Lol. ^_^).

I did her hair pretty good! Gonna do the Lamentation Blades later on, in the night.

That's adorable, Ealperin!