Gail Simone's Blog, page 848

morebullets:…Wouldn’t it be nice to bring back awesome...

morebullets:

…

Wouldn’t it be nice to bring back awesome asexual Bengali woman and devastatingly powerful TREMOR.

I surely do think so.

oddchelonian:gailsimone:ayellowbirds:gailsimone:sonofb...

oddchelonian:

gailsimone:

ayellowbirds:

gailsimone:

sonofbaldwin:

@GailSimone knows that Diana ain’t nuttin’ to fuck wit.

Damn straight.

It’s Wonder Woman.

Better bring TWO armies.

My sole complaint about this scene? The singular of castrati is “castrato”.

Yep.

This is the life of comics writers, I have tortured myself about that mistake ever since.

This is actually something I’ve always wondered about. Is there any process the editors use to ensure that foreign languages are used correctly in comics? I cringe almost every time I see Spanish used (which is my mother tongue), or hell … even any other language I have even a passing acquaintance with. The erros are very obvious and really break immersion from me.

The castrati/castrato was a very minor mistake btw, no need to beat yourself up over it. I’m more referring to cases where writers use really cliché terms like the dreaded “Madre de Dios!” and “Ay carmaba!”. I cringe every time I see those used.

In my experience it is usually the writer’s job to have the translations be accurate, however, there are so many people at the DC offices it is very common for someone to double check.

I do have one slightly amusing thing to say here, though…the quality of translations varies from flawless to absolute shit. I’ve heard of people using Google translator for translations, which is ridiculous, and often, as you point out, people take cliches from old comics and movies and use those.

But, and this is a little weird, you almost never, and I mean never, get a bit of dialogue in a foreign language through without SOMEONE complaining. I don’t know what it is, but even if the dialogue is beyond reproach (I had an Italian PROFESSOR actually give me some Italian dialogue, and some people complained it was inaccurate, I asked how that could be, and he said, “It’s because they don’t speak Italian”), someone will complain, even if their knowledge of the language is a bit spotty.

My friends who are professional Japanese and Chinese translators, native born, who do this for a living, they say it happens every time they help someone with a bit of proper dialogue, someone will say it’s inaccurate or makes no sense.

And what can you say in return? I don’t speak those language, my Mandarin is awful, my French and Spanish mostly forgotten, and that’s the extent of my toolbag. If I can’t trust native language professors who teach in their own country, or I can’t trust professional translators, I don’t know who to go to at all.

Language is tricky—people take it very personally, and with good reason. I don’t blame people for being protective at all. But it’s odd, sometimes.

ianthe:#bonersesYesterday I decided that Smeagol hateses...

ianthe:

#bonerses

Yesterday I decided that Smeagol hateses Bagginses because Smeagol has a bonerses.

It was so ridiculous that it had me laughing all day.

confessionsofacomicshopaholic:My amazing Scandal commission by...

confessionsofacomicshopaholic:

My amazing Scandal commission by Jim Calafiore! I’m seriously freaking out. I have a Scandal drawn by none other than the artist of Secret Six! Christmas definitely came early and it is in the form of a wrist-mounted blade-wielding, Knockout-loving, kick-ass lady.

Sigh. How gorgeous is that?

kummiko:My favourite Superman cover is Action Comics #830. Dan...

kummiko:

My favourite Superman cover is Action Comics #830. Dan Jurgens and Gail Simone giving us girls some brokeback payback!

HA!

I never even thought! It’s Hawkeye stuff, right there.

ayellowbirds:gailsimone:sonofbaldwin:@GailSimone knows...

ayellowbirds:

gailsimone:

sonofbaldwin:

@GailSimone knows that Diana ain’t nuttin’ to fuck wit.

Damn straight.

It’s Wonder Woman.

Better bring TWO armies.

My sole complaint about this scene? The singular of castrati is “castrato”.

Yep.

This is the life of comics writers, I have tortured myself about that mistake ever since.

As a gay man, I'd actually like to step in and support our allies. The gay rights movement has come a very long way and it absolutely would not have come this far without the help of the decent, sensible straight people who have gone out of their way to f

That’s lovely and wonderful.

I don’t mean to be harsh on people who do good things in life and support causes they believe in.

But so MUCH of the discussion about allies is cookies and medals and the like, it gets very painful to read.

I was recently reading some of your comments about the subject matter of rape in comics, and how there were ways that it could be handled with care and done well. My question is, how would a writer go about doing that? For example, if one were to have a pl

The big one to me is voyeurism. Many a supposedly well-intentioned story where rape is an element is completely undone and revealed as a lie by the deliberate attempt to make the viewer feel a vicarious thrill for the victimizer, not the victim.

Second, remember that the victim is a human being. Many, many, maybe even most, stories with rape prominently figured tend to put the following narrative on everyone but the victim, who often is referred to from then on as:

1) A victim partially to blame for their own poor judgment

2) A martyred, defiled saint, or

3) that character who was in the story for a rape scene and now doesn’t seem to exist anymore.

Those are the two big ones. And it wouldn’t hurt to be well aware of the long history of rape mythology and make a real effort to avoid those tropes.

Also, something that didn't seem to be touched on in the discussion I saw: one should not expect to be rewarded for being an ally. The reward for being an ally: not being a terrible person! It would seem the OP missed out on that one, though...

I’ll be honest, I’m kind of sick of hearing about allies, talking about allies, reading about allies and all the worry worry worry about the feelings of allies.

Allies get to take their elf-friend helmets off any time it’s convenient. I’m sure many or most are wonderful people who mean well. 

But why are they even the topic? Why is so much oxygen spent on their feelings instead of the genuinely marginalized people they supposedly support? Why is it endless threads are started about the medals they deserve for being baseline decent human beings? I don’t get it, and the more I read from allies who suddenly leap up in anger when questioned in even the most civil ways just makes me glad I don’t call myself one. The quest for constant cookies is creepy and transparent.

I’m sorry to offend people who genuinely place the rights and feelings of others over their own minimal effort and eternal comfort. But I wish they would quit trying to take all the sunshine so often.

Edited to add: I don’t put myself above any of these awful behaviors, I’m sure I’ve checked off every square on the bad ally bingo card at some point. I just think allies talking about how hard it is to be an ally or how they don’t get enough appreciation for common damn decency is nauseating.

An open letter to Gail Simone: Do not instruct people to follow SonofBaldwin. He is a thief that steals from Black women.

crackerhell:

For a quick run down of things he’s done, please view my receipts tag for him.

As you can see, he has outright stolen repeatedly from tashabilities, without credit. He is a nuisance in the community and consistently attributes the words of Black women to himself and other Black men, and he has never once shown remorse or care for it.

I appreciate you as a person, but PLEASE look carefully into this and understand where Black women and Black FAAB trans people are coming from in our withdrawal of support for him or anything he does.

Several people have made this accusation and I must admit it makes me heartsick to contemplate. I promise I will look into this and apologize for any hurt I may have caused.