Gail Simone's Blog, page 228
August 18, 2015
Yvonne Craig...
…changed my life. I was born on a small farm in the boonies, very little television, very remote. Everyone around me was a very conservative farmer.
I can’t talk about this much right now, I just found out the news.
One day I got to go to a cousin’s house and watch a rerun of the Batman syndicated show. I’d never seen it. And I saw Yvonne Craig as Batgirl and my little girl mind was blown. It is not exaggeration to say my life was changed forever.
A girl who could kick bad guy butt, who was a librarian, who had RED HAIR, who was smart, and tough, and rode a motorcycle. I can’t even begin to explain what that meant to me. I’ve said it many times, but after seeing Yvonne Craig on television, I stood a little taller in my school, I spoke up a little louder in class, and when bullies picked on other kids, I would take a stand. Because of Batgirl, because of Yvonne Craig.
To this day, a huge chunk of the joy in my life is because I discovered Batgirl, and because Yvonne Craig played her so beautifully.
The writing I do, the travel I take, the readers I meet, it’s all because one day, a painfully shy redheaded girl with big dreams and no way to express them saw a life-changing portrayal. It may have been camp to some, it wasn’t to me.
I am not being articulate right now, I’m actually having trouble typing. But I just want to say for myself, and all the other kids of all genders who felt the same way…thank you, Yvonne.
You are still the coolest thing to ever wear the cowl.
supernaturalwiki:
Me and Gail Simone after the brilliant “India...
Me and Gail Simone after the brilliant “India Inkblot test” panel at Comic Con 2015.
Mental health spotlight at Comic Con 2015Ahead of the amazing and moving fandom candlelight celebration of the Always Keep Fighting campaign at the Supernatural panel in Hall H on the Sunday, I was attended two other awesome panels on that also raised mental health in a way I don’t think has been seen before at Comic Con
First up was The India Inkblot Test: Why Comics Are Good for Mental Health, and Mental Health is Good For Comics.The second panel was Spotlight on Allie Brosh with Felica Day which you can read here.
The India Inkblot Test panel consisted of:
Gail Simone (@GailSimone) comics writer of titles including Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Secret Six and Red Sonja.
Clinical psychologist Andrea Letamendi, (@ArkhamAsylumDoc) - Read more about her in this feature and check out her website Under the Mask which includes her podcast The Arkham Sessions.
Forensic psychiatrists H. Eric Bender and Praveen R. Kambam and Vasillis K. Pozios who are the Broadcast Thought group that provides professional consultation to the entertainment and media industries on mental health issues.
Comedian and Project UROK founder Jenny Jaffe (@jennyjaffe),
Psychologist and creator of Superhero Therapy Janina Scarlet, (@shadowquill).The panel aim was to look at the role of comics in a therapeutic setting, and the importance of the portrayal mental health issues in comics. What resulted was a panel that exemplified how awesome these smaller focussed panels are at Comic Con. It stimulated so much discussion which continued out of the room into the hallway after the panel.
I was too caught up in the panel for note taking but here’s some general points. I apologise for any mis-attributions or mistakes:
• Many of the panellists talked about how geek culture helped them with depression and other issues, not only as an escape, but in finding inspiration and ways to cope.
• Jenny Jaffe discussed her experiences with anxiety, ODC and how celebrates the weird and the outsider, so that can make it a place where people feel less judged for being different.
• Janina Scarlet spoke about, having grown up in the Ukraine in the fallout from the Chernobyl disaster and radiation sickness, found a place of connection with the X-Men, especially Storm. This lead to her developing the use of identification with fictional characters (Superhero Therapy) in a therapeutic framework.
• Gail Simone talked about her writing of Batgirl, who had been traumatised after being shot in the spine and paralyzed by the Joker. Simone wanted Barbara’s experiences to be accurate to someone in that situation. So she consulted with geek and psychologist Andrea Letamendi about Barabara’s psychological state, and what therapy would look like for her. Working on her loss of self-respect and identity, and belief about whether she could still do good informed Batgirl’s recovery. Letamendi talked about how this was informed by her work with veterans.
• Jenny Jaffe talked about how she used to go one day at a time and "Dread Pirate Roberts" it - "Good night. Sleep well. I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.“
• The fact that people with a mental illness are often portrayed as violent killers was discussed, and how this had a very real impact on people.
• “People with mental health issues can be heroes as well.” Vasilis K Pozios on Aura, a superhero with BPD.
• Let talked about how the expectation that you’ll be happy at a cons makes some people more anxious. This acknowledgement received loud applause.
• Eric Bender talked about how mental health needs to be integrated into storytelling and “very special episodes” avoided.
• Discussion on the responsibility of creators to include stories that reduce stigma, and that this can be done in a way that sells books.
• Honest stories make connections - Gail Simone.
• And I end with this great thought from Jenny Jaffe: “It is your superhero origin story: you get through it and then you have this unshakeable core.”
Ah! It was so great to talk to you after the panel!
I definitely want to speak to you again if we get to do another, @rocketspouse says you had some solid ideas for improving future discussions!
"The truth is that many of us have probably been through a painful or a traumatic event and while not..."
-
Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Superhero Therapy founder Dr. Janina Scarlet on the vital influence of fictional role models dealing with mental health issues.
(via lifeworkspsych)
I had the honor of being on a panel with this amazing woman and several more health care professionals at SDCC this year, to talk about how comics have portrayed these issues and how we can do better. I feel like we barely scratched the surface, but GOOD LORD was it amazing to be part of. I just want to shut up and listen.
captainstarlord:
Secret Six #8
Written by Gail SimoneArt and...
Secret Six #8
Written by Gail Simone
Art and cover by Dale Eaglesham
As monstrous giant beings from beyond the stars pound at the gates of reality, the Secret Six reluctantly race around the globe (with their guide, the demon ETRIGAN) as they attempt to prevent a horrifying fate for all mankind. Guest stars galore as the balance of power in the DCU rests solely in the hands of teenager Lori Zechlin, a.k.a. Black Alice!
I love this cover so much.
And you want to hop aboard on this story. EVERYONE magic guest stars!
Also, AQUAMAN.
August 17, 2015
This is how to start a Secret Six comic.:)
This is how to start a Secret Six comic.
:)
thefingerfuckingfemalefury:
theswenqueen:
You saved me.
What...
You saved me.
What SHOULD be happening in the new Tomb Raider game
ventingaboutstuff:
DC Corner for August 16th 2015
Just one...
DC Corner for August 16th 2015
Just one fan’s opinion on diversity in comics…and why we need more!
I just liked this.
This is a fan who has been reading comics since the ‘60′s, and had what I thought was a very sweet message about the comics of today. Worth a listen!
Hey!
I got the catchphrase on one of my favorite podcasts, COMEDY BANG BANG!
Some of you may remember that I was actually ON an episode of the show, they were absolutely wonderful to me. Scott Aukerman was the host, the great Paul F. Tompkins was the guest (as Andrew Lloyd Weber), and it was a great time, we read aloud from old Batman comics and had a blast. I was nervous and not funny at all but they were so funny I was struggling not to just crack up.
AND they know their comics, both have serious geek cred. It was awesome. It was recorded at the UCB theater, I think in LA? Burbank? I don’t remember.
Sadly, the recording got messed up. So the only people who heard it were the people who were there at the time. Drat!
Anyway, here’s the link. My plan for world domination moves one step closer!
even with the growing numbers of artist and writers do you still think there's room for more?
Yeah, people always move on or drop out. And fresh blood is always needed.
There are a lot of new publishers with entry-level assignments.
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