Gail Simone's Blog, page 925
September 14, 2012
As a comic book writer, have you ever found it difficult to write an already defined character with a set personality while still keeping that personality intact? I don't know if that's a clear question. Sometimes I think about how great Steph was and how
Well, all writers have different skill-sets, some magnificent television and film and prose writers fail disastrously at comics writing, they simply can’t adjust to the format. Happens ALL the time…you’d be amazed how many of those guys require extensive rewrites because they just couldn’t master the form. Same in reverse, I’m sure.
With shared universe stuff, being able to write characters in their established voices is an absolute must. The readers KNOW what Batman’s voice is, and can spot a fraud in a second.
I always say these characters are pliable. But they are breakable, too. You can screw up pretty easily. Batman can be written lots of ways, you can pull him like taffy. But you go too far and the illusion shatters and the story fails.
So we all have to be able to walk that line. I am pretty fortunate that I have a good rep for being able to find a character’s voice, so it’s not a huge concern.
However, I will say, sometimes a writer is SO distinctive on a character that it is much harder for others to emulate. I’m thinking of, say, Giffen’s Ambush Bug, or Rucka’s Batwoman, something of that nature. In those cases, you have to do your homework, and you have to do a lot of thinking time, and you have to measure your words carefully. It’s just part of this particular career…you want to do right. Steph would fit in that category, sure.
My favorite story about that is that I am a HUGE fan of Keith Giffen. I think he’s an absolute genius, I love his art, his writing, I love his character creation, his dialogue, everything.
It turns out, amazingly, that he loves my work as well. And one day he called me and said, “That’s it, we’re doing a Secret Six/Doom Patrol crossover and it’s going to be NUTS.”
I was so excited…I couldn’t stand it. But I started thinking, holy crap, that means I would be writing Ambush Bug.
I LOVE Ambush Bug, I find him hysterical. But the problem is, NO ONE writes him well except for his creators, Keith and Robert Loren Fleming. He always sucks when ANYONE else writes him.
So I thought, uh, oh, what have I gotten myself into?
And I really worried about it. It was my number one fear throughout the whole thing. I did my best, I wrote him as an oddball, but with a focus. I was sure Keith would hate it. The two teams had to meet, that’s the whole point of the crossover.
And so I wrote one of my favorite character’s dialogue, the guy NO ONE gets right, and it was in a story for that character’s creator, also a huge hero of mine.
No pressure, right?
So I write the script, sure he’s going to hate it. I hear back, he loves the script, and I am relieved.
After the issues come out, I relax, the story’s a lot of fun (maybe more for us than for anyone else, we just wanted to put DC’s weirdest teams together). And finally I wrote Keith and said, “You know, the story’s great, but I was absolutely TERRIFIED that I was going to do the world’s crappiest Ambush Bug.”
There’s silence on the end of the phone. And Keith, my hero, says, “You’re kidding, right? I was completely in TERROR of getting Ragdoll wrong!”
I’m telling this story because it makes me laugh, but it also illustrates a point, that good writers really do care about this stuff deeply, and that they don’t get over it, ever. Even when you have accomplished as much as someone like Keith has, you still want to get the characters just right, and you never stop fretting over it and being anxious about it.
So, you have THAT to look forward to forever. :)
As a comic book writer, have you ever found it difficult to write an already defined character with a set personality while still keeping that personality intact? I don't know if that's a clear question. Sometimes I think about how great Steph was and how
Well, all writers have different skill-sets, some magnificent television and film and prose writers fail disastrously at comics writing, they simply can’t adjust to the format. Happens ALL the time…you’d be amazed how many of those guys require extensive rewrites because they just couldn’t master the form. Same in reverse, I’m sure.
With shared universe stuff, being able to write characters in their established voices is an absolute must. The readers KNOW what Batman’s voice is, and can spot a fraud in a second.
I always say these characters are pliable. But they are breakable, too. You can screw up pretty easily. Batman can be written lots of ways, you can pull him like taffy. But you go too far and the illusion shatters and the story fails.
So we all have to be able to walk that line. I am pretty fortunate that I have a good rep for being able to find a character’s voice, so it’s not a huge concern.
However, I will say, sometimes a writer is SO distinctive on a character that it is much harder for others to emulate. I’m thinking of, say, Giffen’s Ambush Bug, or Rucka’s Batwoman, something of that nature. In those cases, you have to do your homework, and you have to do a lot of thinking time, and you have to measure your words carefully. It’s just part of this particular career…you want to do right. Steph would fit in that category, sure.
My favorite story about that is that I am a HUGE fan of Keith Giffen. I think he’s an absolute genius, I love his art, his writing, I love his character creation, his dialogue, everything.
It turns out, amazingly, that he loves my work as well. And one day he called me and said, “That’s it, we’re doing a Secret Six/Doom Patrol crossover and it’s going to be NUTS.”
I was so excited…I couldn’t stand it. But I started thinking, holy crap, that means I would be writing Ambush Bug.
I LOVE Ambush Bug, I find him hysterical. But the problem is, NO ONE writes him well except for his creators, Keith and Robert Loren Fleming. He always sucks when ANYONE else writes him.
So I thought, uh, oh, what have I gotten myself into?
And I really worried about it. It was my number one fear throughout the whole thing. I did my best, I wrote him as an oddball, but with a focus. I was sure Keith would hate it. The two teams had to meet, that’s the whole point of the crossover.
And so I wrote one of my favorite character’s dialogue, the guy NO ONE gets right, and it was in a story for that character’s creator, also a huge hero of mine.
No pressure, right?
So I write the script, sure he’s going to hate it. I hear back, he loves the script, and I am relieved.
After the issues come out, I relax, the story’s a lot of fun (maybe more for us than for anyone else, we just wanted to put DC’s weirdest teams together). And finally I wrote Keith and said, “You know, the story’s great, but I was absolutely TERRIFIED that I was going to do the world’s crappiest Ambush Bug.”
There’s silence on the end of the phone. And Keith, my hero, says, “You’re kidding, right? I was completely in TERROR of getting Ragdoll wrong!”
I’m telling this story because it makes me laugh, but it also illustrates a point, that good writers really do care about this stuff deeply, and that they don’t get over it, ever. Even when you have accomplished as much as someone like Keith has, you still want to get the characters just right, and you never stop fretting over it and being anxious about it.
So, you have THAT to look forward to forever. :)
As a comic book writer, have you ever found it difficult to write an already defined character with a set personality while still keeping that personality intact? I don't know if that's a clear question. Sometimes I think about how great Steph was and how
Well, all writers have different skill-sets, some magnificent television and film and prose writers fail disastrously at comics writing, they simply can’t adjust to the format. Happens ALL the time…you’d be amazed how many of those guys require extensive rewrites because they just couldn’t master the form. Same in reverse, I’m sure.
With shared universe stuff, being able to write characters in their established voices is an absolute must. The readers KNOW what Batman’s voice is, and can spot a fraud in a second.
I always say these characters are pliable. But they are breakable, too. You can screw up pretty easily. Batman can be written lots of ways, you can pull him like taffy. But you go too far and the illusion shatters and the story fails.
So we all have to be able to walk that line. I am pretty fortunate that I have a good rep for being able to find a character’s voice, so it’s not a huge concern.
However, I will say, sometimes a writer is SO distinctive on a character that it is much harder for others to emulate. I’m thinking of, say, Giffen’s Ambush Bug, or Rucka’s Batwoman, something of that nature. In those cases, you have to do your homework, and you have to do a lot of thinking time, and you have to measure your words carefully. It’s just part of this particular career…you want to do right. Steph would fit in that category, sure.
My favorite story about that is that I am a HUGE fan of Keith Giffen. I think he’s an absolute genius, I love his art, his writing, I love his character creation, his dialogue, everything.
It turns out, amazingly, that he loves my work as well. And one day he called me and said, “That’s it, we’re doing a Secret Six/Doom Patrol crossover and it’s going to be NUTS.”
I was so excited…I couldn’t stand it. But I started thinking, holy crap, that means I would be writing Ambush Bug.
I LOVE Ambush Bug, I find him hysterical. But the problem is, NO ONE writes him well except for his creators, Keith and Robert Loren Fleming. He always sucks when ANYONE else writes him.
So I thought, uh, oh, what have I gotten myself into?
And I really worried about it. It was my number one fear throughout the whole thing. I did my best, I wrote him as an oddball, but with a focus. I was sure Keith would hate it. The two teams had to meet, that’s the whole point of the crossover.
And so I wrote one of my favorite character’s dialogue, the guy NO ONE gets right, and it was in a story for that character’s creator, also a huge hero of mine.
No pressure, right?
So I write the script, sure he’s going to hate it. I hear back, he loves the script, and I am relieved.
After the issues come out, I relax, the story’s a lot of fun (maybe more for us than for anyone else, we just wanted to put DC’s weirdest teams together). And finally I wrote Keith and said, “You know, the story’s great, but I was absolutely TERRIFIED that I was going to do the world’s crappiest Ambush Bug.”
There’s silence on the end of the phone. And Keith, my hero, says, “You’re kidding, right? I was completely in TERROR of getting Ragdoll wrong!”
I’m telling this story because it makes me laugh, but it also illustrates a point, that good writers really do care about this stuff deeply, and that they don’t get over it, ever. Even when you have accomplished as much as someone like Keith has, you still want to get the characters just right, and you never stop fretting over it and being anxious about it.
So, you have THAT to look forward to forever. :)
September 13, 2012
huntressjill:
luanna255:
30 Days of DC:
Day 4 - Character you...
Day 4 - Character you would bring back from the dead
Helena Bertinelli/Huntress
*sobs* Helena, baby. Baby come back! You can blame it all on meeeeee.
Look at this amazing woman. How could you, DC? How could you?!
My contribution:
[image error]
blugoblin:
Batgirl and Nightwing by *shoot-o
Those faces just...
Due to the pain and inconvenience of having to be a responsible adult, it's been almost a year since I subscribed to any comic books. I managed to chase down the first few issues of the New 52, but what I got honestly made it easier to go cold turkey. I
Well, for superhero stuff, I’m a big fan of Batman right now, Animal Man is great. Swamp Thing is one of my favorites, and Demon Knights. I love Rachel Rising. Walking Dead is always great. At Marvel, Captain Marvel just started and is lots of fun. Punisher, Daredevil are both great right now. For stuff that’s more irregular, Hellboy is always worth the money. Good luck!
i was so sad that you (that is an ambiguous you, it could be you specifically, your editors, or higher ups that made the decision) felt the need to redo Barbara's origin as batgirl, as opposed to Year One (which i believe was cannon before the reboot). her
Yeah, totally understand that feeling.
I see shared universe comics as improv. The idea for me is never to say, “no,” it’s to say, “yes, and…”
So I don’t want to say, THIS story didn’t happen. And B:YO is one of my all-time favorite stories.
But there is a very clear thing I keep seeing, which is people thinking that the New52 is pasting stuff over top of the old universe.
I understand why people think that—first, it would be nice to feel the old one still exists. And second, because some things, like Batman and Green Lantern, didn’t change that much.
But the idea is that this is a new universe, a new continuity. Almost every single hero has had their origin adjusted, villains are new, supporting characters are new, relationships are new. It’s a mixed bag, some are improvements, some might be less successful.
But it’s a new universe, and so the stories are unfolding as we see them. I think, if we fill every gap in the new 52 with our past knowledge of the previous universe, we are going to have a lot of disconnect, you know?
I’ve said it a lot of times, there’s a lot of stuff that I miss dearly that hasn’t yet shown up in the new52, and some stuff has been changed that I really loved.
At the same time, I can understand not wanting to do Killer Moth and a costume ball for a character’s origin story in a universe designed to grab new readers. I get why that wouldn’t be the approach DC would want.
I know that isn’t going to convince everyone, but I use that Star Trek movie comparison again. Some of the stuff in the original Star Trek series would be a tough sell if you were showing it to a brand new reader not already familiar with that continuity. So they have to rethink it some for a new version.
We also wanted something a little less reliant on other characters, and focused more on the Gordons. This story is about them, ultimately.
Anyway, totally understand your point. It IS a great book!
I was wondering if you had any input on the way Barbara looked as Batgirl near the end of #0. I noticed that her look was very reminiscent of Babs in All Star Batman, particularly the hair and mask. I thought it was an interesting nod and wondered if that
That’s a good question. We actually had to avoid flashbacks to the first year Barbara spent as Batgirl, because they hadn’t decided on a finalized look. Ed did some designs, and editorial chose this one. I strongly doubt he’d seen All-star Batman, but I imagine it’s possible.
More than likely it’s a coincidence with some similar thinking going into the design.
So. It's my first year of college... *yay debt~* I've got an undeclared major, but since I discovered I got terribly seasick and therefore Marine Biology probably wouldn't work for me, my heart's been set on writing comics. Any advice for a gal looking
I do.
I post this a lot but here’s some things to consider. It’s not exactly encouraging, but it is realistic and could save you a lot of time spinning your wheels, so please give a look.
http://gailsimone.tumblr.com/post/4654769851/brutal-tips-on-breaking-into-comics-warning-long
Other than that, write every day, get something published even if you have to do it yourself, and make contact with as many editors as possible.
Good luck!
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