Gail Simone's Blog, page 928

jetrocketskates:good guy BanePerv guy Lawton!

jetrocketskates:

good guy Bane

Perv guy Lawton!

knightess-rouge:I am always surprised about all those...

knightess-rouge:

I am always surprised about all those fantastic ideas people come up with. Here is a photomanipulation by Jusffer Villanueva using my Batgirl picture and a screenshot of a TDKR scene.

Batgirl on the Batpod!

Another astounding mix of cosplayer, costume, ‘prop,’ photographer and computer skills.

Fantastic.

What was the hardest area of writing for you to master? Character creation, pacing, etc?

Hmm. I don’t know if I’ve ‘mastered’ anything, but character creation and pacing are two of my favorite parts of writing. It feels like you’re rolling up your sleeves and building something of significance. I don’t really have a part of writing I don’t like, but you mentioned two of my very favorite parts!

gruskek:gailsimone:wheredidgirlpowergo:gailsimone:wordsan...

gruskek:

gailsimone:

wheredidgirlpowergo:

gailsimone:

wordsandloveandloveandwords:

gailsimone:

blugoblin:

To quote Motley Crue, “She’s got the looks that KILL!”

Hahaha!

I am going to say this with ALL DUE RESPECT, but it’s amazing that her fierce look was so impressive I didn’t even notice the OTHER clearly impressive attributes at first!  ;)

Gorgeous, fun cosplay, great drama, great costume, great pose, great photography, great PEEJ!

I still think it’s an entirely ludicrous costume, but she’s selling the character with her ferocity. Go her!

Okay, here’s the thing on that.

I get why people hate Peej’s classic costume. I think their hearts are totally in the right place, and let’s face it, on some level, it IS exploitative and tacky, even. I will grant you all of that.

But I think, for Peej, it works. For me, the statement from her as has always been not, “Look at my boobs,” but, “I don’t give a shit what you think.”

The idea that a sexy costume is empowering is, okay, sometimes just used as an excuse to dress a character in a way that she can be leered at. And a lot of the bad girl craze was just that, violent women dressed in almost nothing, with no personalities, just a collection of things to drool over.

If Peej was ever that way, I think her character outgrew it quickly.  I think it’s hard to look at Power Girl’s stories and think of her that way. You can think she’s hot, sexy, cute, adorable, whatever.

But of all the heroines out there, Power Girl is the one who always has that message…she can STILL KICK YOUR ASS TO THE MOON if she wants to.

I don’t always buy ‘this  sexy outfit is empowering’ thing, not coming from male creators about characters who are cliche (cosplayers are different and get to decide for themselves what they find empowering).

But PG’s boob window and Black Canary’s fishnets, I buy it with them. It’s not how they look, it’s how they are worn. It’s who wears them.  They like it, so I like it.

I know this is purely subjective and not everyone will agree, but I have such fondness for Power Girl and I know that part of it is because she simply doesn’t care what you or anyone else thinks about how she dresses.

Just my opinion. Everyone is welcome to disagree. But when Amanda Conner draws Power Girl, there is no question that she is happy with who she is and what she wears and that’s all that matters. For her, it makes sense.

My thoughts, anyway!

Also, to add to that, as someone who has a large chest, I’ve always looked up to this costume. Most times when you have a big chest, the response is usually either hide it because you look like a slut or show it off and get boys to like you. It is an asset. I think Power Girl’s costume is taking control of that. Its almost like saying, “I’ve got big boobs. Don’t like it? TOO BAD.” I can see why it has other messages but, as a bug busted woman, I dig her costume and attitude.

I didn’t bring that up, but yeah, that totally makes sense too. I developed earlier than any other girl at my school and the way PEEJ deals with her chest, I believe it. It makes sense to me.

Putting this same outfit on almost any other female heroine, I don’t think I would buy it.

Same goes for Starfire. Her planet’s culture (even men wear revealing clothing on Tamaran) and her personality and approach to sexuality fit her dressing style. She is at ease with it and comfortable to show this much skin.

Drawing heroines in revealing clothing can be perfectly fine as long as it suits them. The problem starts when it’s done for pure fanservice without any regard to what the character is like.

The other issue is the WAY the girls are drawn. If you bend the spine ridiculously or give us constant butt and boob shots with the rest cut off, even a costume that covers up more can look horrible. And even more so with the revealing ones. 

It simply boils down to drawing a character and not a set of assorted “sexy” body parts contorted for the straight male’s viewing pleasure (and I’m happy to note that there are men who find this obnoxious too).

I actually have a harder time with Starfire. I bought the excuse for her costume for years, until I talked with the writer who created her, and he said DC asked for a ‘t&a’ character and this is what they came up with.

I love Koriandr, I’d love to write her, but that has always bothered me a little bit. I’m behind on Red Hood so maybe they’ve moved away from that entirely, not sure.
Still a great character, but that made me like her costume less.

I was recently rereading the Masked anthology and after reading your story again I was wondering if you had ever considered doing more superhero prose. Maybe kickstarting it?

I have written some prose…to be honest, I was a bit iffy on it, because I’m so used to writing with a wonderful artist. But the response to THUG in the Masked anthology was so tremendous, it was remarkable. Some prose heroes of mine praised it mightily, some people nominated it for one award or another, and in general, I was very moved by the whole experience.

I’ve been thinking more about it, have a couple things I’m working on, just for myself right now.

The one cool thing is that I’ve had a number of agents and publishers asking me to consider it for a long time, and I think a couple of them really have a nice understanding of my work and that makes the road a lot easier.

I would love also to do a anthology of short LEAVING MEGALOPOLIS stories, that would be a cool Kickstarter project. :)

So, thinking on it!

tallestsilver:gailsimone:wheredidgirlpowergo:gailsimone:w...

tallestsilver:

gailsimone:

wheredidgirlpowergo:

gailsimone:

wordsandloveandloveandwords:

gailsimone:

blugoblin:

To quote Motley Crue, “She’s got the looks that KILL!”

Hahaha!

I am going to say this with ALL DUE RESPECT, but it’s amazing that her fierce look was so impressive I didn’t even notice the OTHER clearly impressive attributes at first!  ;)

Gorgeous, fun cosplay, great drama, great costume, great pose, great photography, great PEEJ!

I still think it’s an entirely ludicrous costume, but she’s selling the character with her ferocity. Go her!

Okay, here’s the thing on that.

I get why people hate Peej’s classic costume. I think their hearts are totally in the right place, and let’s face it, on some level, it IS exploitative and tacky, even. I will grant you all of that.

But I think, for Peej, it works. For me, the statement from her as has always been not, “Look at my boobs,” but, “I don’t give a shit what you think.”

The idea that a sexy costume is empowering is, okay, sometimes just used as an excuse to dress a character in a way that she can be leered at. And a lot of the bad girl craze was just that, violent women dressed in almost nothing, with no personalities, just a collection of things to drool over.

If Peej was ever that way, I think her character outgrew it quickly.  I think it’s hard to look at Power Girl’s stories and think of her that way. You can think she’s hot, sexy, cute, adorable, whatever.

But of all the heroines out there, Power Girl is the one who always has that message…she can STILL KICK YOUR ASS TO THE MOON if she wants to.

I don’t always buy ‘this  sexy outfit is empowering’ thing, not coming from male creators about characters who are cliche (cosplayers are different and get to decide for themselves what they find empowering).

But PG’s boob window and Black Canary’s fishnets, I buy it with them. It’s not how they look, it’s how they are worn. It’s who wears them.  They like it, so I like it.

I know this is purely subjective and not everyone will agree, but I have such fondness for Power Girl and I know that part of it is because she simply doesn’t care what you or anyone else thinks about how she dresses.

Just my opinion. Everyone is welcome to disagree. But when Amanda Conner draws Power Girl, there is no question that she is happy with who she is and what she wears and that’s all that matters. For her, it makes sense.

My thoughts, anyway!

Also, to add to that, as someone who has a large chest, I’ve always looked up to this costume. Most times when you have a big chest, the response is usually either hide it because you look like a slut or show it off and get boys to like you. It is an asset. I think Power Girl’s costume is taking control of that. Its almost like saying, “I’ve got big boobs. Don’t like it? TOO BAD.” I can see why it has other messages but, as a bug busted woman, I dig her costume and attitude.

I didn’t bring that up, but yeah, that totally makes sense too. I developed earlier than any other girl at my school and the way PEEJ deals with her chest, I believe it. It makes sense to me.

Putting this same outfit on almost any other female heroine, I don’t think I would buy it.

Ohmigawsh, such amazing compliments! I’m all starry eyed at the moment @.@

As the Peeg being portrayed, I think her character is more than just a lack of pants and some cleavage. PG owns up to her body and isn’t ashamed of it. Sure, some exploit it for just fap material, but to get down to her character, she’s fierce, doesn’t take any shit, isn’t apologetic about it, and is just overall admirable. And I adore her.

That’s why I dressed like her, despite having a lot of anxieties cosplaying her what with a lot of slut shaming and people just not getting the joke when I do the whole Peeg standard of “Eyes up here.” …it’s a joke, people. You don’t have to call me a stupid slut because of it. Please, no slut shaming.  

I am very sorry to hear that happens to you. What an appalling reaction to your art, which hurts no one and brings joy to many.

I swear, I have no idea why people are so ready to insult and embarrass cosplayers. It makes me furious.

Have you ever written a character and felt you didn't quite capture them at the time, but given the chance, you'd have a better grasp of them now?

Yep. The one that haunts me.

Cassandra Cain.

This is a long story, but for a while, I hadn’t kept up with Batgirl, just because I live in the boonies and was behind. I asked to use Cassandra in Bop, and they sent me some issues for research. But they were stories where she appeared in other books, they didn’t match her own book.

But I didn’t know that, so I wrote to match her in these other books. Where they just hadn’t captured her character.

Later, I got the actual trades and fell in love with her, she’s STILL one of my very favorite characters in any medium, and I just felt so guilty for letting the character down, it still bugs me.

We should have caught it. It was just a cameo, but her being out of character like that still bugs me.

cosplayingwhileblack:Green Lantern and Vixen 1 by...

cosplayingwhileblack:

Green Lantern and Vixen 1 by *Insane-Pencil

Series: DC Comics

I don’t need to know another thing…I would write this comic in a goddamned heartbeat.

“In their push to make all their characters so young, which I find a bit silly, did DC ask...

“

In their push to make all their characters so young, which I find a bit silly, did DC ask that Barbara be made even younger than she is in the current series?
— iskios”


I don’t think so…by the time they were figuring out those kind of details and nailing them down, I was involved already, and the chronology was already decided that she had been Batgirl for one year, before the Killing Joke. Then three years in the chair, and most of a year in rehab, I think is the chronology. Which makes her 21 at this point.

It’s still a bit of disconnect at time, but as her story fills in, I have a much more complex timeline in mind that resonates with the pre-new52 stuff I love so much.

Is there a character you weren't interesting in, but ended up liking after getting the chance to wright the him/her?

It happens all the time. I wouldn’t say I wasn’t interested in them, but they weren’t high on my priority list, maybe. Because of Birds of Prey, I got a rep at the DC offices for being able to polish off characters that were languishing a little bit. This included some characters that I love, like Big Barda and Deadshot, but also some characters that I hadn’t really developed a deep attachment to yet.

Some characters like that that come to mind quickly are Martian Manhunter (always LIKED him okay, but was never wild for him until I got to actually write him), Hawk in Birds of Prey, and then the best example, probably, is Bane.

It was felt that Bane had lost his edge. People kept writing him as just a berserker, almost a Hulk-like figure.

My thinking was, the reason he wasn’t scary like that is that he had nothing to lose, nothing he was fighting for. You can’t have Bane robbing banks, it doesn’t work. So you give him a grown woman that he adopts and his daughter, and you show that he can try to be human and humane.

Then when he’s angry, it’s scary. It’s Bane.

These things are often in the characters already, but you don’t really see them until you write them yourself, it happens with writers all the time. The creators put all that great stuff in there but for one reason or another, it doesn’t connect for you until you dig for it with your own shovel.

It’s kind of nifty.