Gail Simone's Blog, page 123

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I like Olicity and I have no beef with you. Just saying. #notallolicityfans

SIDE-EYE! :)

Oh, I have no beef with Olicity people, it’s just one oddball sicced her followers on me and they don’t seem to have any knowledge of comics, or how comics work, or the characters’ history. Additionally, they don’t seem to have a sense of humor. So THAT’s a little weird.

But all along there have been Olicity fans who keep pointing out to them that I don’t watch ARROW, and I don’t even really have a clear notion of what it is they are so upset about.  So I have no worries, if it’s a big group, most of them seem either to get the joke or are okay with being teased a little. :)

So no worries, the group that keeps attacking me is small and a little odd, but really no big deal. Thanks!

I know you've been to a few international conventions and events. What are some things that have surprised you during them?

I’ve been to a LOT, and it’s a big part of every year. I do it because I love to spread the word of comics.

I’ve had a lot of shocks, but one of the best is that everywhere I go, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Singapore, China, there’s not just a FANDOM there, but a group of people either making comics or ASPIRING to make comics, and most of them are maintaining a flavor of their home country. I can’t explain how much I love that.

When I was in Brazil, every time I actually made it out onto the comics floor, I was just SWARMED by people, mostly women, who were making their own comics. I had no idea there was THAT big of a movement to make comics there, none whatsoever, and I’m IN the industry and work with Brazilian artists all the time.

But there was every size and shape of book, everything from photocopied mini comics featuring cut-outs from magazines, to lush, gorgeous, painted hardcovers. I came home with a suitcase FULL of these books, and it was utterly inspiring. 

I’ve seen that happen again and again. I’ve said it many times, but I think the next big things are going to come from international artists. The talent and ambition and it’s just electric.

I'm confused, why do you want to ban Erik Larsen from Arrow? Is shark royalty involved in any way?

I want to ban all guys, even my friends, because patriarchy, or some such shit. I have no idea. :)

I'm so envious of you. I'd love to work in the comic industry!

It can be very trying, and it’s not at all easy. But even if there were NO other perks, getting to tell stories, man, that’s just the good stuff. I love it, I dearly love it, and can’t imagine any other life at this point. 

Getting to tell stories to cool people with amazing artists, that’s winning the lottery.

There are lots of ways to make comics, it can be done. Don’t give up trying, if that’s your goal!

I just wanted to say I'm halfway through volume one of Clean Room and wasn't even able to finish before writing you to tell you what a riveting, startling, viscerally wonderful read this is. And the moment when I put the book down and just writhed with joy

Heh, thank you. When I first read of the history of the Library, my heart went cold to imagine it, and to this day, I get a sense of dread just thinking about what was lost. 

I hope you enjoy the book, more historical connections are on the way!

Hi Gail I just want to say I am a big vertigo fan and I just want to say Clean Room is so awesome and demented I think it is definitely up there with Fables and Astro City please keep up the awesome work and dont leave the book anything else you are writin

That’s very high praise, indeed, thank you!

I have no intentions of leaving the book. :)  Seriously, it’s disturbing but fun, and working with this art/editorial team is INTENSELY rewarding.  We have a lot of nightmares still to come, I promise!

How cool would it be if Netflix made an original series named The Birds of Prey and Katie Cassidy voiced The Black Canary?

I still haven’t seen her perform as BC, but she was very nice in person and seemed to be very much aware of what the character is about.

I’d love a BOP show, that would get me to watch every week!

An anthology of fiction by trans Women of Color

gilly-laughs:

writingwithcolor:

shiraglassman:

You can buy it here, and I think if you are a TWoC you can get it for free.

I want to give some kudos to the stories I really liked out of this anthology:

1. “Lisa’s Story: Zombie Apocalypse”, by Gillian Ybabez. After the zombies have driven everyone out of town, Lisa ventures out into the world in search of extra water in case hers runs out. The story is woven through and through with the theme that for marginalized people–especially people marginalized on multiple axes–the everyday, realistic, andmortal terrors might actually feel more threatening than spec fic scaries like zombies.

2. “Three Story Fragments” by Jamie Berrout. I wanted to show some appreciation for Fragment #2, in which the murder of a conservative government leader’s trans daughter kicks off, eventually, legislation that strikes at the heart of the dangers facing trans women of color. It’s a blueprint for a hopeful future and a bittersweet piece of wish-fulfillment. Carried in this story is the voice of a trans woman of color making it abundantly clear what she and her sisters need from the rest of us, so listen up.

3. Fragment #1, “Don’t Go” from “Back Home: Three Short Stories” by Libby White, is a poignant vignette about someone having an affair with a married preacher. Fragment #3, “Under the Lights”, about a woman regretting a talk show appearance, reminds me of the “How to Stay Friends” story in A Safe Girl To Love in that it shows from a transfeminine POV what cis women often sound like when we’re trying to help but really kind of only making it a fifth of the way out the door with no shoes on.

4. “Space Hunters” by Lulu Trujillo is fluffy science fiction that included a f/f relationship and a pair of twins who are both nonbinary. So I expect pretty much everyone who follows me to want this one :P

5. “La Shooting Estrella” by Alma Díaz is my favorite story from this collection. A young trans woman is hanging out with her trans friends (of various genders) getting creative with her new drag persona when her dad comes home–with much better results than anticipated. I loved this. It’s so warm and hopeful. The author also did a really good job with the bilingual dialogue.

Also, here’s some admiration for the great line “I wanted to let him know that if I had been given a choice I would have asked to be born in another dimension, where sissies conquered planets and enslaved nations of men hung like Samson,” from the story “Lord, be a Femme” by Joss Barton.

A lot of literary fiction goes over my head, so no insult intended to the stories I didn’t review.

Review by Jewish mod

Thank you so much for the review! If you want to read more of Lisa’s Story, I’m posting an expanded version weekly on my website www.Gillian-Ybabez.com along with more of my fiction.

fabula-unica:I just finished volume one of Clean Room and it has messed me up. I need to talk...

fabula-unica:

I just finished volume one of Clean Room and it has messed me up. I need to talk about it. Anyone else reading?