Gail Simone's Blog, page 1096
January 19, 2012
sapphoshands:
beccatoria:
FINAL SECRET SIX TRADE ACHIEVED.
I...
FINAL SECRET SIX TRADE ACHIEVED.
I let my rat out to play and she started trying to climb inside it, and I was all, "no, do not climb inside the darkest house THAT IS A REFERENCE TO HELL, ALSO IT HAS A CATMAN."
Anyway, she's super old and unimpressed with the chunk of cereal I gave her in recompense for the indignity of photography.
I hope this thing sells like a gabillion copies so they make more of it, but if not, it's a rare example of a comic that got an ending that really fit. So all of you go out and buy one too. And also buy a rat, because they make excellent pets.
This has been a public service announcement.
RAT
I'm glad you love this book like I love this book, man. :D
I spoke to Catman. He said keep that rat off his face.
:)
APE IN A CAPE: A Question About The Polyamory In Secret Six
This was in my Ask box just now but didn't have a way to respond publicly, so CUT AND PASTE, BABY!
**************
Hey, that reminds me, was the polyamorous marriage something you had planned or was it just done that way because that was the last issue anyway? And if it wasn't the last issue do…
"Also, I have to say, I don't think DC had a single concern about the scene, if I remember correctly. They are actually really good about lgbtq content, which is what makes it irritating that there ISN'T more of it in the books themselves, as it means much of the onus is on us, the creative teams, and we haven't delivered despite the road being pretty dang clear, actually."
that's pretty cool, actually. well, one part cool to one part COME ON GUYS MAKE SOME STUFF
Yeah, exactly.
Just saying we creators share some of the blame.
Creating A Comic Book Club For My Students Was The Best Idea I've Ever Had...
We're Just Sitting Here Talking About Doomsday and Buffy… NBD.
NERD.
…why couldn't you have been my teacher…
THAT IS AWESOME.
Is there anything I can do to help? Let me know!
Out of curiosity, do you know of any Asexual characters in comics?
The only one I know of for certain who would actually IDENTIFY that was was my own TREMOR from Secret Six. I hope to bring her back in another book later this year.
Can't I Just Have The Anus Bar?: Maybe I shouldn't have made that "Perfect couples" post
Look, I didn't mean to start anything, especially any deep, metaphysical or critical analysis of a scene from Secret Six.
I went for a cheap joke, yes, the top post says "perfect couples" and the image below is one woman proposing marriage between her, her current girlfriend, and the girlfriend…
NO WORRIES!
Seriously, I don't think it's a big deal at all, just someone expressing an opinion. It's fine!
Don't give it a second thought!
ziggbot:
gailsimone:
ziggbot:
gailsimone:
ziggbot:
Yeah,...
Yeah, because forcing two women who have never met before to marry because you want to have claim over both of them is perfect.
How did she 'force' them to marry? She proposed. Later, we see that Knockout accepted.
How did she 'force' anyone?
Knockout. And did Liana?
Either Scandal forced (yes, you can force someone out of manipulation or simply unknowing, dumb love pressure) both women to marry each other along with her without letting them get to know each other first, or Liana got shoved to the side in favor of Scandal's resurrected flame.
Even the idea of Scandal having the gol to propose like an idiot to both women right after a large traumatic event, and not suggesting a dating period first, or hell, a get-to-know-you session, befuddles me. Had I been Liana, I would have told Scandal to go have fun with her old girlfriend, who she obviously still has feelings for, seeing as she went to hell and back to get her, and shove it.
I have no issue with three-way relationships. Everyone can love each other equally, and the relationship can blossom into a beautiful thing, but you can't have one woman, because she feels like it, decide to marry two women who don't know each other because throughout the entire arc she's been an indecisive moron.
This ending reeked of last minute shove ins. Either like Simone forgot something, or that she was trying to fit in as much gushy mushy goo goo love as she could before she got cancelled. (See: Why the fuck is Bane falling in love so easily and asking to 'mate'?)
The fact is, the way Scandal acted through the course of the arc, ever since she got the damn card, she doesn't deserve either of them.
Think of it like this: If it was a man how would it look?
The same? I don't see how gender would have changed this scene at all. I would happily write this scene with dudes.
I didn't 'shove anything in,' as I say, go look, there's foreshadowing for this moment several issues in advance.
And again, it seems like you are just going by this panel, or maybe this scene. But it's not like we haven't spent a LOT of time on Scandal's two loves. And the story of Liana essentially stops with Scandal's proposal. Everything else is pure speculation here…which is why I don't understand the point, it's talking about something not at all on the page, not even implied.
Look, there's a deliberate structure to the entire series and an ending I always knew we would get to. It's not 'mushy mushy love' stuff…for one, who said Bane was in love? Right to his very last time seeing Spencer, he doesn't mention anything about love, barely understands the concept at all. He says the noises she makes bring up a protective reflex, and that's dangerous. Is that really love?
Here's the structure: Team of hopeless losers consistently find that the world says it has no place for them, no room at all. Citizens hate and fear them, heroes brutalize them, other villains mock and attack them. They lose most fights, they turn on each other routinely.
And just when, JUST when there is a small glimmer of hope and happiness for all of them (expressed in two page segments), JUST where they find friendship, companionship, and a place in the world, THAT's when they lose everything.
If they didn't know what happiness COULD be, then losing it all means very little.
If the story doesn't work for you, that's fine, but this is the way the book was always supposed to end, regardless of the cast or the particulars.
I'm not talking about assuming all members of this scene were gay. I'm talking about it like this. Think of it from Liana's postion.
Your absentee boyfriend gets you into a car accident. While you're in the hospital, recovering, he visits you with a stranger. A woman who look suspiciously like you. He says, "Hey honey! This is my old girlfriend. I really love her. I went to Hell to find her."
When you ask, "Are you dumping me for her?" because it seems like an awful lot of trouble to get an old girlfriend, he says:
"No, I want to marry you both."
How would it feel? A woman should be held to the very same standards in relationships as men. Should a man do this with two women, not men, he would be viewed as a bigamist ass.
And no, I'm not going by this scene alone. I'm going by the build up, the trip into Hell, and the scene directly after, in which everyone, at the mere sight of this proposal, begin melting and 'squee-ing' (Seriously? Never write 'Squee' into your work unless it is the name of a Jonan Vasquez character.) at how 'happy' an ending this is, and how 'true love' exists.
The story does happen to be my thing. I read stories about the Six ever since they started in Villains Untied. I know their ups and downs, and valued Simone's writing very, very highly until this last arc, in which everything seemed to fall apart. At first I thought I was just bitter over the loss of Nicola Scott as an artist in the comic, who was replaced by an artist I don't like, Califore. But then, once this came along, I realized that it wasn't the art, because I loved Catman's story arc, which was in Califore's art. No, what I had become bitter about was how forced everything started to feel. If felt less like Secret Six, and more like a mouthpiece for Simone, which is what it always was, I guess, but at least she tried to be subtle and clever at first.
I wanted to see more than just Scandal's turmoils. I wanted to see a more convincing Bane, who wouldn't blather at 'I would like to mate.' When he has a classical education, and has read nearly every romantic novel in existence. I'm sure the even though he doesn't understand love, he knows how to fucking court. I wanted to see something, anything more about Deadshot's family, or Ragdoll's past.
Instead I got something I never expected from Simone. A half-baked storyline that didn't make me feel the love I had felt so dearly for Scandal, Bane, or any of the others in the past. I love Gail Simone, which is why I expect more from her. If she did hint toward this, than whatever, fine, I suppose more people out there think that this is 'perfect' and I'm the odd one out, because I think things should develop more, and a proposal is an important thing.
Also, to the ass who said I don't read this series, thanks for that. Anyone who has an opposing view to yours automatically just 'doesn't get it' or 'hasn't read it' rather than simply having a different view point. I guess that there's only one allowed thought process in comics, huh?
Seriously, first, I'm not attacking you, please don't think that. If that's how this feels, let's just shake hands and disagree. I have no problem with what you're saying, or your right to express it, I just disagree. I appreciate the kind words, and past support, and sorry you didn't care for that last arc. Not sure what you mean by it being a mouthpiece for me, though, I can't think of a single Sixer who really speaks for me in any direct manner.
I don't get why gay/not gay is in this discussion. It wouldn't change the way the scene is at all. I might be missing your point, but women, dudes, mixed, whatever, I wouldn't have any problem at all writing the scene the same way. Why would it make a difference if they were straight?
I'm fine with 'squee,' that's been that character's entire vocabulary, pretty much.
As for Bane, hoo boy, listen, if you go back and read Bane's appearances in Birds of Prey by the character's creator, Chuck Dixon, you can see the seeds of his social awkwardness. I did NOT invent that, I was adding to what the creator of the character had already established. Bane's awkward, clumsy attempts to woo Black Canary are the direct ancestor of the stuff with Spencer. I stress again, that is his established history, that predates my working in comics at all.
As for Deadshot's history, John did a great issue about that that barely had the rest of the Six in it, and the major villain in the entire series was Ragdoll's sister.
As for this scene, I'm not saying it wouldn't be awkward or that it immediately means everything works out. A very few pages later, we see that they DON'T necessarily get eternal happiness. But Scandal has two people she doesn't want to lose and she wanted them to know that. It would make a great sitcom!
Anyway, seriously, not a big deal, I find the conversation interesting, sorry you hated the arc!
ziggbot:
gailsimone:
ziggbot:
Yeah, because forcing two women...
Yeah, because forcing two women who have never met before to marry because you want to have claim over both of them is perfect.
How did she 'force' them to marry? She proposed. Later, we see that Knockout accepted.
How did she 'force' anyone?
Knockout. And did Liana?
Either Scandal forced (yes, you can force someone out of manipulation or simply unknowing, dumb love pressure) both women to marry each other along with her without letting them get to know each other first, or Liana got shoved to the side in favor of Scandal's resurrected flame.
Even the idea of Scandal having the gol to propose like an idiot to both women right after a large traumatic event, and not suggesting a dating period first, or hell, a get-to-know-you session, befuddles me. Had I been Liana, I would have told Scandal to go have fun with her old girlfriend, who she obviously still has feelings for, seeing as she went to hell and back to get her, and shove it.
I have no issue with three-way relationships. Everyone can love each other equally, and the relationship can blossom into a beautiful thing, but you can't have one woman, because she feels like it, decide to marry two women who don't know each other because throughout the entire arc she's been an indecisive moron.
This ending reeked of last minute shove ins. Either like Simone forgot something, or that she was trying to fit in as much gushy mushy goo goo love as she could before she got cancelled. (See: Why the fuck is Bane falling in love so easily and asking to 'mate'?)
The fact is, the way Scandal acted through the course of the arc, ever since she got the damn card, she doesn't deserve either of them.
Think of it like this: If it was a man how would it look?
By the way, please don't think I'm offended, everyone gets a ticket to their own read to every story, I just was interested in hearing your expanded reasoning.
Fair?
ziggbot:
gailsimone:
ziggbot:
Yeah, because forcing two women...
Yeah, because forcing two women who have never met before to marry because you want to have claim over both of them is perfect.
How did she 'force' them to marry? She proposed. Later, we see that Knockout accepted.
How did she 'force' anyone?
Knockout. And did Liana?
Either Scandal forced (yes, you can force someone out of manipulation or simply unknowing, dumb love pressure) both women to marry each other along with her without letting them get to know each other first, or Liana got shoved to the side in favor of Scandal's resurrected flame.
Even the idea of Scandal having the gol to propose like an idiot to both women right after a large traumatic event, and not suggesting a dating period first, or hell, a get-to-know-you session, befuddles me. Had I been Liana, I would have told Scandal to go have fun with her old girlfriend, who she obviously still has feelings for, seeing as she went to hell and back to get her, and shove it.
I have no issue with three-way relationships. Everyone can love each other equally, and the relationship can blossom into a beautiful thing, but you can't have one woman, because she feels like it, decide to marry two women who don't know each other because throughout the entire arc she's been an indecisive moron.
This ending reeked of last minute shove ins. Either like Simone forgot something, or that she was trying to fit in as much gushy mushy goo goo love as she could before she got cancelled. (See: Why the fuck is Bane falling in love so easily and asking to 'mate'?)
The fact is, the way Scandal acted through the course of the arc, ever since she got the damn card, she doesn't deserve either of them.
Think of it like this: If it was a man how would it look?
The same? I don't see how gender would have changed this scene at all. I would happily write this scene with dudes.
I didn't 'shove anything in,' as I say, go look, there's foreshadowing for this moment several issues in advance.
And again, it seems like you are just going by this panel, or maybe this scene. But it's not like we haven't spent a LOT of time on Scandal's two loves. And the story of Liana essentially stops with Scandal's proposal. Everything else is pure speculation here…which is why I don't understand the point, it's talking about something not at all on the page, not even implied.
Look, there's a deliberate structure to the entire series and an ending I always knew we would get to. It's not 'mushy mushy love' stuff…for one, who said Bane was in love? Right to his very last time seeing Spencer, he doesn't mention anything about love, barely understands the concept at all. He says the noises she makes bring up a protective reflex, and that's dangerous. Is that really love?
Here's the structure: Team of hopeless losers consistently find that the world says it has no place for them, no room at all. Citizens hate and fear them, heroes brutalize them, other villains mock and attack them. They lose most fights, they turn on each other routinely.
And just when, JUST when there is a small glimmer of hope and happiness for all of them (expressed in two page segments), JUST where they find friendship, companionship, and a place in the world, THAT's when they lose everything.
If they didn't know what happiness COULD be, then losing it all means very little.
If the story doesn't work for you, that's fine, but this is the way the book was always supposed to end, regardless of the cast or the particulars.
APE IN A CAPE: Now I'm Getting PMs About How "Reverse Racism" Exists
Arggh.
The difference, guys?
The entire society is open to white people. Virtually nothing is denied to white people because of their skin color. Incidents of white people being discriminated against for skin color tend to be both fleeting and personal. Incidents of POC's being discriminated…
Isn't POC people redundant?
Otherwise, good point.
It is, I see it both ways all the time, but yeah, it's like saying ATM machine. Will try to watch that.
Man, I Am Having A Crabby Day
The power was out most of yesterday, I couldn't work, and I'm at a tight deadline. The power continues to go off and on today. We're at a severe storm warning for five straight days, with flood warnings. The next town up the highway is already evacuated. The wind blew two holes in my roof and ruined the water heater. My white friend picked today to whine about 'reverse racism.'
It might not be the best day to come to my door selling stuff, is all I'm saying.
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