Gail Simone's Blog, page 249

So, you have seen more birds of prey than arrow?

It’s about even. I saw the first episode of both.

Some of my favorite swag from San Diego Comicon!Think we...

Some of my favorite swag from San Diego Comicon!

Think we overdid it on the kaiju shirts?

Hey Gail! Did you hear? The new Lego Avengers game is going to include Captain Marvel, America Chavez, the new Thor, Sam Wilson-Captain America, and Ms. Marvel as playable characters?

I did hear! I talked with the Lego people a couple times during San Diego and they gave me a head’s up on some of the characters, it’s pretty exciting. I am getting a tour of their offices on Tuesday!

I love Eugene Mirman. He came by the booth to say hello at SDCC,...

I love Eugene Mirman. He came by the booth to say hello at SDCC, and he’s always the sweetest, kindest, funniest guy. Gene Belcher, I love you!

And then later he sent this photo. I missed his show this con, and it made me sad, he’s an incredibly original voice in comedy and I straight up adore him.

Curated by Gail Simone

Curated by Gail Simone

pr1ncessprivilege:comics make me cry and that’s okay

pr1ncessprivilege:

comics make me cry and that’s okay

Gail is signing free, gorgeous Leaving Megalopolis posters until 1:50 at the Dark Horse Comics...

Gail is signing free, gorgeous Leaving Megalopolis posters until 1:50 at the Dark Horse Comics booth, #2615.

Last chance to see her at SDCC!

Hubbypost!

LAST DAY OF SDCC!I have a billion meetings, but my only public thing today is SIGNING, DARK HORSE...

LAST DAY OF SDCC!

I have a billion meetings, but my only public thing today is

SIGNING, DARK HORSE BOOTH  1:00-1:50.

Please come say hi, and don’t forget to bring your 3ds for a secret StreetPass clue!

Gail, what is your opinion on LGBT+ villains, especially in Batman. I for one would love to have more diversity, even in the form of villains, but some people are worried that this would end up translating as gay = evil. I think if done right it would not.

It’s interesting that you should ask this because I have a stock answer, but something happened yesterday that made me rethink a little.

I have always said that we need lgbtq characters of ALL kinds. Some of the most beloved characters I have created or worked on are not exactly heroic. Characters like Scandal Savage don’t exactly belong in the Justice League, maybe, but I feel the DCU would be a poorer place without her.

So a lot of it is execution. If the villain is the living embodiment of clichés and gay panic for straight people, that’s probably a bad thing. But a great lgbtq character who is fuzzy morally, that can be amazing.

Still, there’s another factor, which is the preponderance of a type.

Yesterday, I did a panel on mental health and comics, and a beautiful, very sweet Harley Quinn cosplayer came up to me after, crying very hard. She was incredibly kind to me, but she was saying how hurtful it was to her that all the characters with mental illnesses in comics seemed to be bad or violent. It made her feel like comics hated her.

Saying we have to have diversity all over the hero spectrum is not the right answer for her. Because it doesn’t address seventy plus years of mean stereotypes.

So my new answer is we can have all types of marginalized characters all over the hero/villain table, BUT we need to make sure that we ALSO address the fact that we have a LOT of fucking ground to cover, as well, and a lot of crappy clichés to make up for.

I want that Harley to know that we will still have the Gotham villains, but we can also have HEROES struggling with mental illnesses. So that is very much on my mind right now, with lgbtq characters as well.

Hi Gail!! I was wondering if you knew if the India Inkblot panel was recorded? The panel sounds amazing, but unfortunately I'm one of the many who couldn't go to SDCC. Even a recap would be very appreciated! It's a topic very near and dear to me.

About a million people have asked me that and I am sad to say that I don’t know the answer, yet. But because nice people like you have asked, I’m going to see if I can find out.

It was a GREAT panel, very emotional, and it was lovely to hear the dedication in these health professionals’ voices. I am a little bit in awe of all of them.

I have been thinking about this a lot.  There needs to be a panel like this at every con.

Not that long ago, there was ONE small lgbtq panel at SDCC every year. It was marginalized, it was often made fun of, it was considered niche programming at best.

Now, they have multiple lgbtq panels, they take up big rooms and they cover a wide range of topics, and nearly every con of any size has at least one such panel. The difference is enormous.

We can do that with mental health issues and comics. Creators like myself need to be more informed, we need to be better educated to avoid the shitty tropes of 70 years ago. And speaking to readers, I know it means a lot for them to be able to gather and discuss these issues. There were a lot of tears shed in that panel.

It was genuinely moving. I am going to go to all such panels I can, just to sit and listen.

I will find out if anyone recorded it, I hope so!