Gail Simone's Blog, page 1116

Has any LGBTQ character that you have written, impacted you, as a writer, a female, and as a person writing out their experience? Is it hard to write LGBTQ characters, yourself? Do some folks have a better grasp at it because they experienced it, firsthand

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Anything I say here is probably going to sound like a copout, but I learn things from almost all the characters I write. If you can't wear those hats, you probably shouldn't be a writer.

As for lgbtq characters, I am not sure how to express that. When I think of them, I don't think of a cold list of characters with a particular grouping, I think of the individual characters, and how much I adore them. I think of brave and distant Rainmaker, bold and brassy Jeannette, lonely yet hopeful Achilles, loving and fierce Scandal, you know, on and on.

They are characters first to me, they affect me every time I write them. And they may have a special place in my heart because I know they mean so much to some people.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if lgbtq people wrote lgbtq characters better, I don't really know, but that sounds perfectly plausible and logical. Devin is openly bi and I was tremendously excited for her to write a gay female character, but on the other hand, it seems hard to complain when the alternative was Greg Rucka and JH Williams doing one of the best books DC has ever published.

I think more lgbtq writers and artists would be lovely, it's necessary.

I don't have great answers for any of these questions, I notice. Sorry!

Do you believe Barbara Gordon is a stronger character as Oracle or as Batgirl?

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I think she's the same character. But I'm not coming at it from a competitive point of view, I'm coming at it as a fan of the big, iconic characters that are fascinating at different stages of their lives. I like young Conan and Conan when he's a grumpy old king. I like Year One Batman who makes dumb mistakes, and old man Batman who is cranky and feisty.

Oracle has a lot more POWER than Batgirl just re-entering the cape game for sure, if that's the question. She hasn't gained that kind of wisdom yet.

Hello! I was just curious, You've said you think the reboot is a good place to be infusing more variety into the women of DC, which it seems like it should be, but the only characters getting press seem to be the ones people are unhappy with. Are there any

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Urgh, if I name names, people will take it too seriously, but there are definitely a couple creative teams that are doing work on female characters in a way I liked better than the pre-relaunch.

I'm sorry, I know that's a crap answer, but I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

If the question is, could a different creative team improved those characters WITHOUT a relaunch, I would say sure, probably.  But would those changes have gotten as much attention, would they have had the opportunity to sell in the numbers they are selling in now? Probably not.

People are going to debate this forever, I bet.

Hello! I was just curious, You've said you think the reboot is a good place to be infusing more variety into the women of DC, which it seems like it should be, but the only characters getting press seem to be the ones people are unhappy with. Are there any

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Urgh, if I name names, people will take it too seriously, but there are definitely a couple creative teams that are doing work on female characters in a way I liked better than the pre-relaunch.

I'm sorry, I know that's a crap answer, but I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

If the question is, could a different creative team improved those characters WITHOUT a relaunch, I would say sure, probably.  But would those changes have gotten as much attention, would they have had the opportunity to sell in the numbers they are selling in now? Probably not.

People are going to debate this forever, I bet.

Hello! I was just curious, You've said you think the reboot is a good place to be infusing more variety into the women of DC, which it seems like it should be, but the only characters getting press seem to be the ones people are unhappy with. Are there any

****************

Urgh, if I name names, people will take it too seriously, but there are definitely a couple creative teams that are doing work on female characters in a way I liked better than the pre-relaunch.

I'm sorry, I know that's a crap answer, but I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

If the question is, could a different creative team improved those characters WITHOUT a relaunch, I would say sure, probably.  But would those changes have gotten as much attention, would they have had the opportunity to sell in the numbers they are selling in now? Probably not.

People are going to debate this forever, I bet.

Just Wondering...

What IS Shiva's "List of the 25 Best Martial Artists" (if there is one)? And does Shiva put herself as #1?

ceebee-eebee:shh-im-wondering:doctorwaitwhat:Just some...

ceebee-eebee:

shh-im-wondering:

doctorwaitwhat:

Just some cybermen

chillin' out

doing stuff

nbd

And that's why classic Cybermen are the best

Everything is better in the UK.

Wow, I had no idea they looked like that. They look like they should be selling matresses at a substantial discount!

Can't I Just Have The Anus Bar?: Scandal Savage

Can't I Just Have The Anus Bar?: Scandal Savage :

ceebee-eebee:

thefingerfuckingfemalefury:

thefingerfuckingfemalefury:

Best friend EVER

I love how that even though these two aren't a couple anymore they still care about each other so very much and are still such good friends. It's adorable

And this scene is so sweet and so heartbreaking. I just want to reach into the…

I don't think you are wrong at all. The Secret Six are some of the few comic book characters that I have genuinely cared about like they were real people, who I have felt were important to me, because they were written like real people. People who were flawed, and imperfect and occasionally made absolutely horrible choices but who in the end, you couldn't help but admire and even love

They were anti heroes in an interesting way, people who didn't fit into the black and white world of superhero or supervillain.

And yep, I would definitely say that I loved the Six as much as Kate Kane and Steph. They were characters that I felt a genuine connection to and I still miss the Six :(

I OWN THAT PAGE! I OWN THAT PAGE! LA LA LA I OWN THAT PAGE!

::ahem::

But yes. I pretty much lost my interest in reading comics now that S6 is gone (even if only temporarily as I hope). Nothing touches me the way these characters do, no other book I've seen is as layered and emotionally complex. It's everything I think comics SHOULD be but so rarely are.

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First, HOW DO YOU OWN ALL THE GREATEST PAGES?

Second, I'm sorry you feel that way…there are some very good books out there, still. I am loving the work of Lemire and Snyder and Batwoman is also excellent. I think Wonder Woman is doing something special!

"If I have a pet peeve in comics, it's that the danger is rarely moral. It's rarely about the kinds..."

"If I have a pet peeve in comics, it's that the danger is rarely moral. It's rarely about the kinds of choices that keep you up at nights."

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— Gail Simone, regarding the Secret Six. (I miss that book so bad.)

This is a little embarrassing, I started to reblog this before I even remembered I was the one who said it.

TODAY.

I think I might need a vacation.

APE IN A CAPE: Scandal Savage

APE IN A CAPE: Scandal Savage :

thefingerfuckingfemalefury:

thefingerfuckingfemalefury:

Best friend EVER

I love how that even though these two aren't a couple anymore they still care about each other so very much and are still such good friends. It's adorable

And this scene is so sweet and so heartbreaking. I just want to reach into the…

Just talking about how I personally feel about the characters, I've always considered Scandal, Knockout, Jeanette, Catman and Black Alice at least to be anti-heroes more than villains and I've personally found them to be very heroic :) They are flawed  in a lot of ways and have done some awful things over the years but I've never thought of them as evil, like people like the Joker or Darkseid or Cheshire are

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No, no, no, it's fine, I'm agreeing with you! Seeing this moment made me rethink the 'not heroes' policy. :)