Gail Simone's Blog, page 20
March 10, 2020
THE BATMOBILE EFFECT
So, I was on Twitter this morning, talking about a thing I like to call the ‘Batmobile Effect,’ and some friends like the great Ian Rankin and the wonderful Ed Brubaker jumped in, it was great fun.
The Batmobile Effect seems to hit every pro writer who works on licensed characters at some point or another, I don’t know anyone who is immune. I have heard similar statements from editors and artists, as well.
It goes like this. You get a pro assignment working on a character you loved as a kid, and the first time you are working on that character, some small thing that is part of their mythos suddenly SMACKS YOU IN THE FACE AND YOU REALIZE YOU ARE WRITING BATMAN (or Spider-man, or Godzilla, or whomever it is that you loved as a kid).
For bat-writers, it’s almost always the first time they write the word ‘batarang (which it was for Ed Brubaker and Devin Grayson)’ or maybe the word ‘batmobile, (which it was for me).’
It’s this amazing feeling, like a HOLY SHIT moment. No matter how cynical you fancy yourself, no matter how jaded, when you realize you are writing that character that meant so much to you as a younger reader. And the triggers are often very small…who would think grown men and women would shout out loud over the word 'batarang?’ But we do, and we’ve almost all done it.
Ed said it also happened to him the first time he wrote Cap throwing his shield. It’s happened MANY times for me…Batgirl, Red Sonja, Oracle, Justice League, Wolverine, Kato, just on and on. It still happens and I am coming up on having written 500 comics!
I think, if I may wax goofy for a moment. I think it’s more than just, WOW, look at how my dreams came true!
I think it’s also a direct, electrical charge, like a time machine. In a passing word that represents a physical manifestation of a concept we loved, we are communicating directly with our previous selves.
Maybe Batman helped us get through tough family times, maybe Superman was a father figure, maybe the X-men helped us be okay with our sexuality, whatever. When we finally get to write those characters, we are, in some small way, talking directly to ourselves at a time when those characters were a big part of the joy in our lives, and maybe even a reason to go on living.
Beyond that, there’s also this amazing feeling of the tapestry, the huge lineage that goes back decades, maybe more, all the way back to the original creators of the characters in question. When you type the word 'batmobile,’ you are putting yourself in a room with all the people who wrote or drew that weird car all the way back to Bill Finger, including Neal Adams, Denny O'Neil, Frank Miller, and hundreds of others. You’re in, you’re an inside man or woman.
And finally, I think there’s a dim awareness that we suddenly realize that there may be thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of people out there who may be reading this character for the first time, or maybe this is the story that makes THEM feel what WE felt years ago. And maybe someday THEY type 'batmobile’ on whatever brain software Apple has declared mandatory in the year 2030. :)
I don’t know anyone who hasn’t experienced it at least once. For some pros, maybe it’s not Gotham City that turns that switch, maybe it’s a Legion Flight Ring, or a web-shooter, or any of a thousand other little joyful explosions back to childhood. Maybe it’s video game characters, or rpg charts, or who knows what else.
But I don’t know anyone who Is immune. We’re all infected by that joy at some point, even if we don’t want to admit it.
The Batmobile Effect.
So my question to pro creators out there…
Have you ever had a Batmobile Effect moment, and if so, what was it over?
gailsimone:
legomocfodder:
Happy Pride Month!I’m starting this month off a little different. In my...
Happy Pride Month!
I’m starting this month off a little different. In my research for LGBT+ characters, I found DC’s The Movement, by Gail Simone. It only ran for 12 issues in 2013, but was an amazing story and the team was incredibly diverse, including lots of LGBT representation. So, I present to you, The Movement.
First is Virtue. She is a lesbian and the leader of the team, with dreams of her and her team working side by side with the Justice League. She can sense others’ emotions which makes her a level headed leader, but she is very protective of all her friends.
Next is Katharsis. She was a refugee from Laos and a former police officer. When the justice system failed, she build her wings and became a vigilante I’ve heard people say she is bisexual, but I couldn’t find anything to confirm or deny it.
Tremor is the character that I first learned about on this team. She is one of the few asexual characters in main stream comics. She was born in India and her family moved to America after she began to develop her powers.
Vengeance Moth is one of the two cishet characters on this team. The niece of Killer Moth, she is a recovering substance abuser who suffers from muscular dystrophy. When she uses her powers, she can fly, but it takes a lot out of her and can leave her exhausted.
Mouse is the second cishet character. He was born to a rich family but left them behind as he was more comfortable living in the sewers with his army of rats and the rest of the team. He has names for all his rats and loves them with all his heart.
The last member of the team is Burden. He grew up in an Amish village, but was cast out because the believed he was possessed by the devil, due to his powers. He has since found a family with the Movement after they rescued him. When he left his village with the movement he proclaimed to everyone that he was gay. Sadly, with the series being cancelled after 12 issues, they never really talked about his sexuality again.
So, that was The Movement. They are a team of teen anti-heroes, most of them willing to do what other heroes won’t. It was a very good series and I wish it had lasted longer. I would highly suggest reading it if you get the chance.
NSFW blogs do not reblog!
Amazzzzzzzzzing!
March 6, 2020
wcwit:
“I give you your princess. I give you our daughter!”
From...
“I give you your princess. I give you our daughter!”
From Wonder Woman (2006) #16
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Terry and Rachel Dodson
Probably my favorite sequence I have ever written in any superhero comic.
Having given birth helped me write this sequence quite a lot. It’s bloody, it’s scary, it’s joy, it’s pain. It’s not all sunshine on the beach.
And I believe Hippolyta would feel that Diana belonged to a thousand parents.
Guys, I am just full of feelings.
I caught this little twitter lovefest between @twistedtwinsproductions and the immortal Gail Simone:
and I can’t even explain the rush of warm feelings. “I adjusted my Widow to be more like yours.” It’s such a simple thing, right? Creators reading each other’s work and building on it? Creators who care about character arcs and development? Creators who just plain care?
Part of what’s been so painful about Natasha’s portrayal throughout the MCU: the strong sense that she’s an afterthought, that nobody has taken the time to sit down and think of her life and character in context.
It feels so damn good to see content creators who seem to care as much as we, the content consumers, care.
I don’t know who makes the decisions of who writes what, but I’ll be burning my little black-and-red candle hoping that future Natasha appearances are written by these women or someone like them.
twothousandgregs:Guys on Twitter trying to explain comic books to Gail Simone is never not going to...
Guys on Twitter trying to explain comic books to Gail Simone is never not going to be hilarious
thefabulouskilljoyz:actually i’m on a plastic man kick tonight but gail simone’s plas series was...
actually i’m on a plastic man kick tonight but gail simone’s plas series was easily my favorite comic of 2018 it was so so fun. it was so fun man and the art worked with eel’s….. plasticness REALLY well i loved how expressive and (forgive me for using this word again) FUN he was to look at…. i just think plastic man (2018) is neat
stryfeposting:
marvel comics #1000 (2019), ‘turkey soup for the...
marvel comics #1000 (2019), ‘turkey soup for the deadpool soul’
written by gail simone, art by david baldeón, colours by jesus aburtov
Gail Simone's Blog
- Gail Simone's profile
- 1222 followers
