Gail Simone's Blog, page 801

I'm thinking about messing around with writing a few comics, so here's my question, are there a lot of black comic writers?

The answer, at least in mainstream comics at the moment, is no, there isn’t, and it SUCKS.

There are some out there, and they’re definitely qualified, but I don’t know of many that have ongoing gigs at the major companies right now.

However, there are lots of black artists, and the independents have lots of black creators of all kinds. I see more black READERS every year, so hopefully the industry catches up and some of these people start making comics, either for the majors or for themselves.

We need those voices.

But it takes commitment. A few people have succeeded by ‘messing around,’ but not very many. I hope you give it a try, but be prepared to really work at it and promote your work…it’s harder than you might think (but also worth it!).

Gail, you are my favorite ever. Who/what is your favorite ever?

Favorite artist: Joe Kubert

Favorite cartoonist: Sergio Aragones

Favorite Writer…I can’t possibly say. TOO MANY!

Hi Gail! Are we going to see any characters from Secret Six appear in Batgirl soon? (I would love it if Catman did!)

Someone may be off the bench. :)

Not saying who, not saying where.

But someone finally may be off the bench!

You are one of my favourite writers for comics--I have practically eaten your Birds of Prey and Secret Six. It's inspiring, to see both a female writer and an entire series with girls, kicking butt and taking names. I've wanted to become a better writer be

First, thank you so much. Don’t eat your Bop and S6 books, they are not nutritious!

I’m a little confused, though. The arc where Black Alice and Misfit actually interacted, that came after I left the book. I believe it was written by the great Tony Bedard. Can you tell me what arc you mean?

I'm a huge fan of comics, and currently majoring in physics. I know comics generally ignore how all the sciences work irl, but do you ever keep it in mind when writing?

I do. I love science and I subscribe to the science magazines to try to keep up…I may have downright fetishized it to some degree, particularly in the ALL-NEW ATOM which was very much about that. There was quite a bit in Firestorm and more was coming when I left.

But I also have a tremendous group of scientists and science writers from many different disciplines (astronomy, biology, nuclear physics, and many others) that I routinely pester to answer questions and to vet science issues. I HATE getting that stuff wrong.

This is one of the things I  liked about the DCu as opposed to the Marvel Universe when i was a kid…the MU, it seemed to me, used a lot more gobbledygoo science, “unstable molecules,” and the like. It’s clear that Stan just had no background in science.

Whereas many of the biggest DC writers in the past were SF writers, who often routinely stuck some science facts in there. The Atom might not have explained a lot about where his mass went when he shrank, but they TALKED about real science, as opposed to the “Ultimate Nullifier” sort of thing, which is fun, but a little silly.

Greetings from Argentina! I just finished reading Batgirl 16 and tomorrow I will buy issue 17. As usual, your stories are very deep and keep me interested. Just one question, why every issue lately has two artist? I would prefer only one artist per issue.

This is a hard decision for us to make. Ed Benes, the regular artist, has difficulty with a monthly schedule due to persistent issues that are neither his fault nor within his control. It’s a physical issue that he can’t predict that causes difficulty for him at times.

We love Ed, he’s a wonderful person and a wonderful artist, and he loves to work on my scripts. But sadly it’s just not worked out for the above reasons. All of us strongly feel that we would rather he be healthy and happy than straining for a deadline that could make the situation worse for him.

So sadly, he has to move on. BUT he is moving on to projects I can’t talk about yet, that don’t have a monthly deadline. For a little while, he’s focusing on his studio and special projects of his own, then he’s coming back to DC for big cool stuff where he can work at a pace that works for him.

I really love that guy. I will miss him on Batgirl, but his health comes first.

superspacechick:Challenge: How many Birds of Prey can Kristin...

superspacechick:

Challenge: How many Birds of Prey can Kristin represent in one outfit? #BlackCanary #Batgirl #BirdsOfPrey #comics

SO ADORABLE.

begitalarcos:My 8 year old drew me a picture of Iron Man...

begitalarcos:

My 8 year old drew me a picture of Iron Man taking Bat Girl on a date

OH MY GOD.

femmebotshaveemotion:I would rather be reading BoP that I need...

femmebotshaveemotion:

I would rather be reading BoP that I need right now vs. writing an 8 page philosophy paper about cultural relativism.

Cutest photo, or cutest photo EVER?

springald-jack:Lady Shiva finds that humor does not come as...

springald-jack:

Lady Shiva finds that humor does not come as naturally as bloodshed. 

Birds of Prey v1 #67.

Shiva does almost no stand-up comedy.