Gail Simone's Blog, page 697

I just thought of something that I want to know if you've thought of too. Could it be that Sonja dresses the way she does in order to deliberately make herself unprotected, as a motivator to fight even harder to avoid injuries? I'm sufficiently ignorant th

That’s interesting…

Again, for me, she wears what she wants to wear, it doesn’t feel that out of place to me, but I do tend to look at these characters from a point of view of what motivates them to be the way they already have been established.

The excuse used a lot is that it distracts men while in combat, which I’m not crazy about,  but makes a certain sense, I guess. But I’d rather she just wore what she wants because she likes it.

As a trans woman, I want to offer another opinion about cis writers writing about things going badly for us. I understand what the other woman said. Her voice is as valid as mine. Please keep her concerns in mind. And we do need to see more trans writers w

I totally appreciate this, but I don’t think anyone automatically assumed all trans folk would have the exact same position on any issue. I hope not, anyway!

Thanks for expressing the differing viewpoint. I suspect it mostly comes down to execution, like all things.

As a trans woman, I want to offer another opinion about cis writers writing about things going badly for us. I understand what the other woman said. Her voice is as valid as mine. Please keep her concerns in mind. And we do need to see more trans writers w

I totally appreciate this, but I don’t think anyone automatically assumed all trans folk would have the exact same position on any issue. I hope not, anyway!

Thanks for expressing the differing viewpoint. I suspect it mostly comes down to execution, like all things.

You recently released the different stages of a page in Batgirl, but in what format do you first see it? Do you explain the concept of a page, then it gets penciled, then do you review it before that becomes the final page to get the lines and then colour?

This varies a lot, some artists don’t like you to see the work until it’s done, some do the pages out of order, there are lots of different ways to do this.

With me, I write a full script. That describes every panel, all the choreography, all the dialogue, captions, all that stuff. Then the artist is allowed to put their spin on it, and their contribution and ideas are most welcome.

I am not a hugely collaborative writer at the script stage. I don’t find a lot of blabbing or editorial interference remotely helpful at this point in the process,  it slows things down and waters down the story. AFTER the script is written, those things can be very helpful in improving the story. BEFORE, not so much. The best editors by far are the ones who spot what’s wrong and have ideas to help after the script is in, I’m fortunate enough to be working with a bunch of this type of editor and I love them to bits.

After the script is in, the editor gives notes. I have been lucky to work with mostly amazing editors who really care and want to make the story better. Some of them are just awesome at finding where your script is weak. These people are a blessing. You may not enjoy hearing their thoughts but when they’re right, they’re right. A great editor is like a Christmas gift and I have been lucky enough to work with a bunch of them.

Then the artist gets it. Some artists follow the scripts exactly, others offer their own input. This is always, always welcome. If you are a writer and you’re smart, you listen when the artist tells you there’s a better way to do something. I try never to squash an artist’s instincts unless it’s absolutely necessary for something later in the story.

Some artists send each penciled page as they complete it, some send them in batches, some wait the entire issue. We all look at it, editors are great at spotting things that need correcting, the artist makes revisions. The pages go to inking. Same process.

Then coloring, same process. Most of the artists I am working with now send a page a day, in all three stages, so I am getting art to look at all day long pretty much every day.

It’s a very, very fun part of the job. When a beautiful piece of art comes in, my heart does a little dance.

You recently released the different stages of a page in Batgirl, but in what format do you first see it? Do you explain the concept of a page, then it gets penciled, then do you review it before that becomes the final page to get the lines and then colour?

This varies a lot, some artists don’t like you to see the work until it’s done, some do the pages out of order, there are lots of different ways to do this.

With me, I write a full script. That describes every panel, all the choreography, all the dialogue, captions, all that stuff. Then the artist is allowed to put their spin on it, and their contribution and ideas are most welcome.

I am not a hugely collaborative writer at the script stage. I don’t find a lot of blabbing or editorial interference remotely helpful at this point in the process,  it slows things down and waters down the story. AFTER the script is written, those things can be very helpful in improving the story. BEFORE, not so much. The best editors by far are the ones who spot what’s wrong and have ideas to help after the script is in, I’m fortunate enough to be working with a bunch of this type of editor and I love them to bits.

After the script is in, the editor gives notes. I have been lucky to work with mostly amazing editors who really care and want to make the story better. Some of them are just awesome at finding where your script is weak. These people are a blessing. You may not enjoy hearing their thoughts but when they’re right, they’re right. A great editor is like a Christmas gift and I have been lucky enough to work with a bunch of them.

Then the artist gets it. Some artists follow the scripts exactly, others offer their own input. This is always, always welcome. If you are a writer and you’re smart, you listen when the artist tells you there’s a better way to do something. I try never to squash an artist’s instincts unless it’s absolutely necessary for something later in the story.

Some artists send each penciled page as they complete it, some send them in batches, some wait the entire issue. We all look at it, editors are great at spotting things that need correcting, the artist makes revisions. The pages go to inking. Same process.

Then coloring, same process. Most of the artists I am working with now send a page a day, in all three stages, so I am getting art to look at all day long pretty much every day.

It’s a very, very fun part of the job. When a beautiful piece of art comes in, my heart does a little dance.

You recently released the different stages of a page in Batgirl, but in what format do you first see it? Do you explain the concept of a page, then it gets penciled, then do you review it before that becomes the final page to get the lines and then colour?

This varies a lot, some artists don’t like you to see the work until it’s done, some do the pages out of order, there are lots of different ways to do this.

With me, I write a full script. That describes every panel, all the choreography, all the dialogue, captions, all that stuff. Then the artist is allowed to put their spin on it, and their contribution and ideas are most welcome.

I am not a hugely collaborative writer at the script stage. I don’t find a lot of blabbing or editorial interference remotely helpful at this point in the process,  it slows things down and waters down the story. AFTER the script is written, those things can be very helpful in improving the story. BEFORE, not so much. The best editors by far are the ones who spot what’s wrong and have ideas to help after the script is in, I’m fortunate enough to be working with a bunch of this type of editor and I love them to bits.

After the script is in, the editor gives notes. I have been lucky to work with mostly amazing editors who really care and want to make the story better. Some of them are just awesome at finding where your script is weak. These people are a blessing. You may not enjoy hearing their thoughts but when they’re right, they’re right. A great editor is like a Christmas gift and I have been lucky enough to work with a bunch of them.

Then the artist gets it. Some artists follow the scripts exactly, others offer their own input. This is always, always welcome. If you are a writer and you’re smart, you listen when the artist tells you there’s a better way to do something. I try never to squash an artist’s instincts unless it’s absolutely necessary for something later in the story.

Some artists send each penciled page as they complete it, some send them in batches, some wait the entire issue. We all look at it, editors are great at spotting things that need correcting, the artist makes revisions. The pages go to inking. Same process.

Then coloring, same process. Most of the artists I am working with now send a page a day, in all three stages, so I am getting art to look at all day long pretty much every day.

It’s a very, very fun part of the job. When a beautiful piece of art comes in, my heart does a little dance.

How long does it usually take for an issue of Batgirl to hit the store shelves from the time you submit your final script? Follow up question, can/do editors ever make changes to your finished work? Just curious. Thanks.

Editors have the ability to make changes to scripts after they have been submitted.  But I request adamantly the right to make the changes. If they change significant stuff without letting me do it, I leave the book. I think most writers who have been around a while feel the same way. We don’t mind changes, we just want to be the ones that make them.

I know both writers and artists have a habit of posting unfinished pages both before and after books come out. I'm just curious what sort of restrictions the publishers put on that sort of thing. Or is it a best judgement thing?

Some publishers leave it to the creator’s discretion, but with the bigger companies, they have pr people and want us to go through them, first, for maximum effect.

Not to mention that Barbara is, in canon, established as having some ability to cook - her tendency to order takeout notwithstanding. (She was baking bread while Dick convalesced in the Clocktower, and in the Nightwing title she was also trying to cook whe

Post-52 Babs can’t cook to save her life.

But her ROOMIE is a trained chef. She’ll teach her!

Not to mention that Barbara is, in canon, established as having some ability to cook - her tendency to order takeout notwithstanding. (She was baking bread while Dick convalesced in the Clocktower, and in the Nightwing title she was also trying to cook whe

Post-52 Babs can’t cook to save her life.

But her ROOMIE is a trained chef. She’ll teach her!