Gail Simone's Blog, page 839

Dear Gail, as an aspiring black writer, I'd love to create the next Batman, Superman, or Harry Potter.I sometimes worry that if I write a story with a black character as the lead, I might have a hard time selling it to a publisher. Also not sure if that wo

I am not going to pretend I have knowledge of all aspects of publishing and the media, but I know very few people who have ever had to sell the idea of a white person being ‘commercially viable,’ while the same can’t be said of characters of color.

I think in many cases, the creative team doesn’t click…recent comic books with POC leads, I think some of them failed might have failed because people didn’t find them compelling. But I’m also sure that many books with POC leads might have a different struggle in the marketplace.

However.

There is an antidote to this, and that is a combination of clout, name recognition, branding, and talent. If a book is exceptionally well-written, that can break down a great many walls. For a lot of people, Harry Potter was the first series of fantasy novels written by a woman that they had ever purchased. Quality of work and commitment still can make a difference. Not always, sometimes great, committed works still go nowhere. But it can help.

Then the other is clout. If you have built up a name for yourself, if your work is known and followed, you can make things happen that may be harder for a newbie writer. If Geoff Johns and Jim Lee decided to create a character of color to star in their own book, it would succeed.

My final thought is this, though. It may have a higher degree of difficulty to make a book with a non-white, or non-cis, or non-het lead and have it succeed. But it IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE.

And truthfully, I think it’s worth it. If the first one doesn’t succeed, do a second one. I think it’s absolutely worth it. I don’t know anything at all about what it’s like to be a writer of color, but I do know that writing diverse casts is important to the audience and to the writer, the importance of it can’t purely be measured in sales. It means something, it moves the needle, it shifts the gameboard.

Good luck, let me know how it turns out!

Edited to add: Ohmygil makes an excellent point that Image has had breakout POC stars since they started and quite a few just recently. But again, most of those were established creators, too. Definitely don’t let it hold you back!

Good luck!

People In The Pacific Northwest, USA...

My son has a week off from school and work right after New Year’s Day.

Does anyone have any cool suggestions for a fun getaway for a 2-4 days?

I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas, Gail. All of us fans love you very much.

Some day I will find the words to say thank you to readers in the manner they deserve.

But I haven’t yet even come close.

Firstly, congrats on being on Batgirl again :) I was just generally wondering about Babs during preboot Birds of Prey. Do you think, if she had the chance, would Barbara attempt a surgery that could give her at least partial reuse of her legs? Or would she

I have talked to SO many people with limited mobility who have said that they would have to give serious, serious thought to ‘corrective’ surgery before deciding to go ahead with it. Some would do it without question, but not all.

I think it’s a complex question and is definitely part of why Barbara has had some difficulty regaining her emotional balance.

Firstly, congrats on being on Batgirl again :) I was just generally wondering about Babs during preboot Birds of Prey. Do you think, if she had the chance, would Barbara attempt a surgery that could give her at least partial reuse of her legs? Or would she

I have talked to SO many people with limited mobility who have said that they would have to give serious, serious thought to ‘corrective’ surgery before deciding to go ahead with it. Some would do it without question, but not all.

I think it’s a complex question and is definitely part of why Barbara has had some difficulty regaining her emotional balance.

Love your work! Are there any plans for Catman or Scandal? Because I loved Scandal and you really broke Catman out as a character, and I'd hate to see them get sidelined.

I THINK I have two of characters that I either created or heavily RE-created that will be coming back pretty soon. I can’t say which ones, or if they are Secret Six or some others.

Can’t say more yet, but thanks!

Thanks for reblogging my post asking for recommendations awhile ago - I got some good ones, and ended up getting some installments of Secret Six and one of Birds of Prey. But a lot of the recommendations I got (usually the first tpb volumes of your runs) w

The out of  print Secret Six and Birds of Prey stuff is RIDICULOUSLY expensive, sadly. They are kinda hard to find, too.

My best suggestion in trying cons and comics shops, I have seen them as bargains sometimes.

The other choice is getting the issues individually at the DC digital app.

I don’t know if they will be reprinted soon. Sorry!

Thanks for reblogging my post asking for recommendations awhile ago - I got some good ones, and ended up getting some installments of Secret Six and one of Birds of Prey. But a lot of the recommendations I got (usually the first tpb volumes of your runs) w

The out of  print Secret Six and Birds of Prey stuff is RIDICULOUSLY expensive, sadly. They are kinda hard to find, too.

My best suggestion in trying cons and comics shops, I have seen them as bargains sometimes.

The other choice is getting the issues individually at the DC digital app.

I don’t know if they will be reprinted soon. Sorry!

Just out of curiosity... Did you guys have an age in mind for Ragdoll, or an age range? I was trying to figure it out based on what he said about his surgeries, but I just have no idea... (Wow I hope you don't mind random Ragdoll-related questions but I am

I didn’t really, I think, in Ragdoll’s case, it’s almost better just to leave EVERYTHING a mystery.

But I’d say he’s probably in his twenties somewhere?

Just out of curiosity... Did you guys have an age in mind for Ragdoll, or an age range? I was trying to figure it out based on what he said about his surgeries, but I just have no idea... (Wow I hope you don't mind random Ragdoll-related questions but I am

I didn’t really, I think, in Ragdoll’s case, it’s almost better just to leave EVERYTHING a mystery.

But I’d say he’s probably in his twenties somewhere?