Interesting Interview With AfterEllen.com

[Gail Simone]

http://www.afterellen.com/people/2009/4/gailsimone-part1

I think it's interesting, anyway!

[4PointOh]

I love in-depth interviews! *Reading*

[4PointOh]

I appreciate your efforts to see the good in things, Gail. I feel like such a cynic and a pessimist compared to you.

[Jae Namkyoung]

It is very much so, and I cannot wait to read the next part of the interview mostly about Birds of Prey, which was my first ever exposure to your actual writing, and overall into the full medium of comics.

I also have to agree with your statement here, Gail.


generation grew up in the shadow of the work Gloria Steinem

I really, honestly, growing up had no idea who she was until in middle school, I was exposed to Feminisim, and the early Sufferage movement. The Xena's and Buffy's, are what I grew up with and my Dad ensured as I was going through middle school that I knew just how far my gender had come and he even continues to fight for more equality for women, that being said.

The interview so far, I found, very intriguing and I really like your take on Wonder Woman, its very refreshing to see that with Diana. I have the Wonder Woman series on DVD and I've watched the Lynda Carter Intimiate Protrait and all in all, she said she played Diana as if she were just the oridinary chick who just happened to have powers and I loved her protrayal of that.

Going back to Birds of Prey (while I have time before work that is), the exposure I had, and yes I have *grown* up with your comics, it made me very, very happy to see a big time (female) comic creator/writer writing great stories about women in the superhero business, prior to Birds I had little-to no exposure to the overall industry that I love so much and that has made really, really apperciate where my literature came from.

I don't know if you read it or not, and I think I've practically preached this book, DC Comics Covergirls, its a beautiful book by Louise Simonson and its just beautiful, if none of you have it, here you go DC Comics Covergirls (http://www.amazon.com/DC-Comics-Covergirls-Louise-Simonson/dp/0789315440).

I go back and I read, all these, articles and takes on the female superheroes, or women as whole coming up in the industry and it truly makes me apperciate that I can go in, grab a book (comic book) be able to purchase a book written/created by a woman, and I know there have been some other women in the comic industry. I felt, as a whole, that you've made an impact on that industy (comics), so far a very large impact for me at least. (Please remember I was an 8th Grader when I picked up my first comic, and it just happen to be Birds of Prey).

I'll say this now, that some here already know. I grew up without a Mother, my Mom left me when I was six years old, and told me quite bluntly, that she was never coming back. That has had such a tremendous impact on me, that I clung for so long to the idea of a strong woman, Wonder Woman, Batgirl, and the WNBA, the Alias, the Xena's, the exposure to all of that growing up really has shaped me to who I am today. I mean I practically flipped over my noggin' learning that there was a Captain Kathryn Janeway, and that the ORIGINAL number one, was Mrs. Roddenberry as the first XO for Captain Pike. (Bit of Trivia for you there folks).

Back to the interview, I cannot wait, until the next part is posted, and my time is out I have to run to work! Thank You Gail !

[KevinTBrown]

VERY good interview, definitely looking forward to Part II!

My favorite line so far is this: "That's got to be a bit intimidating for the poor guy. It speaks well of him that he doesn't simply crawl away in a puddle of his own urine. "

[4PointOh]

AfterEllen.com: You seem to really love Wonder Woman as a character. Why?

Gail Simone: Ah, well, that's a long answer, there, so I'll try to be concise (and probably fail!). But I have a scene in one of my early issues where Wonder Woman lets an opponent kick the crap out of her, without fighting back, just her extending an open hand to him, no matter what his rage makes him do. I think that's a big part of it — she COULD tear someone's head off, she COULD destroy a country if she chose. But she would consider that a failure as a warrior for peace.

The death of an enemy is not victory to her. I love that stuff. I think it's a far better blueprint for the future than most of the action hero stuff out there right now.

But there are a million reasons. I love that she's the DC universe's premiere badass. I love that she was giving messages of the power of womanhood in the 40's, you know, decades before Buffy or Xena or Lara Croft.

And there's a part of me that loves the pegasi and the princess-ness of it all, and all the trappings of Paradise Island. She's just brilliantly conceived.

And I like her with a dry sense of humor, while we're at it. The sisterhood aspect of the Amazons is tremendously compelling to me. Who wouldn't love to have that many sisters who loved you AND carried bladed weapons?

[Jae Namkyoung]

... Continued from earlier,

That all being said, back to your take on Wonder Woman, and a generation not really being able to pick out Gloria Stienem from a line up..

In school, its really from where I studied, it wasn't really a big part (feminism) of the class, the big focus was Civil Rights, and really we were taught Feminism and Suffrage almost in one quick day or two, a week in the case of my teacher she ended up not going past the Cold War, however; that being said, this was basic high school US History and I had to do my own research outside of class because she was really only given a week since she thought a day was just ... horrible and a day being really only maybe an hour or so every other day (block schedule).

The movie itself, Wonder Woman, was very well put together the story was nice and basic building blocks. Even in her 1970's debut, Wonder Woman had that power, to open minds, and open hearts, understanding, and tolerance.

Admittingly, I have not been reading Wonder Woman, or any actual book for that matter, I'm living vicariously through trades at the moment. So I very much look forward to reading more of your work on Wonder Woman, I have a few comics here and there nothing consistent enough, anyway.

Though, to the template for a live action, I whole heartily agree on that. If Joel Silver is looking for something to be a launch pad from, then the animated movie would be a great place to start. For a long time throughout high school, I wanted to write comics, then afterward I realized I'm a procasinator and deadlines are something hard for me to meet at this point in my life anyway, though I wish to one day get a shot at it, even if I fail I'd at least have the shot and say I got to do something that I always wanted.

Anyway, again, I look forward to the second part of this interview as Birds of Prey for me holds a special place in my heart, since like Spiderman was for my Dad (his first comic) Birds of Prey is for me, and you are the Stan Lee of your time.

[Sijo]

Very interesting interview. Looking up for the next part!

Gail sounds like she understands what makes Diana tick very well. I'm almost tempted to go check out her stuff....

...Except that these days I'm not touching a DC Comic with a ten-foot pole. I just don't trust DC's management anymore. For all we know, Gail's efforts could be thrown away at any moment, and in completely irrational ways, JUST because the current Powers That Be decided it. "What's this with WW romancing a MAN? Make her a lesbian, that sells! Kill the guy off! Very messily, too, the fans like that! Oh, and make Wonder Woman more like Xena. Have her KILL MORE!!"

I wish I were kidding. This IS what DC's handling of its characters in the past few years has led me to conclude. :(

(Note: I'm not against the idea of Diana being a lesbian, or bi. Heck, if there's ONE character for whom that would make sense, it's her. I'm just pointing out how little they care about relationships these days. If there were more female heroes, we'd have more Men In Refrigerators as well. )

Still, I wish Gail nothing but success here. But until I'm sure I won't be disappointed I won't buy the comics. Maybe as a trade paperback...

[Corrina]

Every now and then, I'll tell one of my elder daughter's friends that I wasn't allowed to play Little League because girls weren't allowed.

And that there were no soccer, and that girls who were interested in sports were all thought to be lesbians--and it was taught that being a lesbian was a horrible thing.

My daughter's friends are shocked. But it wasn't all that long ago that these beliefs were held tight.

The attitudes were such that MOST people believed that Bille Jean King, at the height of her tennis career, would lose a match to an out-of-shape 50ish loudmouth like Bobby Riggs. Seriously, look at the interviews. Chris Evert picks Riggs to win. Hell, all the commentators do, save Rosie Casals.

Women owe a great deal to the feminist movement, all the waves, even if the movement wasn't always correct, even if I don't always agree with what they said or how they did it.

[Jae Namkyoung]

Every now and then, I'll tell one of my elder daughter's friends that I wasn't allowed to play Little League because girls weren't allowed.

And that there were no soccer, and that girls who were interested in sports were all thought to be lesbians--and it was taught that being a lesbian was a horrible thing.

My daughter's friends are shocked. But it wasn't all that long ago that these beliefs were held tight.

The attitudes were such that MOST people believed that Bille Jean King, at the height of her tennis career, would lose a match to an out-of-shape 50ish loudmouth like Bobby Riggs. Seriously, look at the interviews. Chris Evert picks Riggs to win. Hell, all the commentators do, save Rosie Casals.

Women owe a great deal to the feminist movement, all the waves, even if the movement wasn't always correct, even if I don't always agree with what they said or how they did it.

Here, here. Yep, agreed. *stamp of approval*

I was probably about ten when some one at my middle school asked if I was gay, because I liked the WNBA, watched Xena and hung out with boys... I was 11, and I had to think of what they were asking me because I really hadn't understood what 'gay' meant, because I still under the impression it meant happy, however I realized they weren't asking that, about a day later ...

[4PointOh]

Very interesting interview. Looking up for the next part!

Gail sounds like she understands what makes Diana tick very well. I'm almost tempted to go check out her stuff....

...Except that these days I'm not touching a DC Comic with a ten-foot pole. I just don't trust DC's management anymore. For all we know, Gail's efforts could be thrown away at any moment, and in completely irrational ways, JUST because the current Powers That Be decided it. "What's this with WW romancing a MAN? Make her a lesbian, that sells! Kill the guy off! Very messily, too, the fans like that! Oh, and make Wonder Woman more like Xena. Have her KILL MORE!!"

I wish I were kidding. This IS what DC's handling of its characters in the past few years has led me to conclude. :(

(Note: I'm not against the idea of Diana being a lesbian, or bi. Heck, if there's ONE character for whom that would make sense, it's her. I'm just pointing out how little they care about relationships these days. If there were more female heroes, we'd have more Men In Refrigerators as well. )

Still, I wish Gail nothing but success here. But until I'm sure I won't be disappointed I won't buy the comics. Maybe as a trade paperback...

Actually, true story:

Greg Rucka set out to place Diana in a same sex relationship (with the Amazon, Io), but DC immediately nixed that.

Phil Jimenez attempted to place Diana in a relationship with Trevor Barnes, an African-American man, but DC got so much hate mail from the readership ("I don't want any niggers in my comics," Phil quoted from one of the letters) that not only did they end the relationship, but they killed Trevor as well.

And, according to the solicits, Diana's non-relationship with Nemesis is about to end on a sour note as well.

The problem isn't that DC doesn't want Wonder Woman in a relationship with a man; it's that they don't want Wonder Woman in a relationship at all. From my vantage point, DC suffers from a serious lack of imagination. They can only imagine their female characters as virgins or as whores. They aren't yet mature enough to depict fully realized female characters. The idea that Wonder Woman could be in a healthy, sustainable relationship is completely alien to them; unimaginable. And I suppose that's because they've not been able to escape their own points of view: "No guy would ever fall for a woman that much more powerful than he is."

[Gail Simone]

wha?



Gail

[Wonder Watcher]

AfterEllen.com: You seem to really love Wonder Woman as a character. Why?

Gail Simone: Ah, well, that's a long answer, there, so I'll try to be concise (and probably fail!). But I have a scene in one of my early issues where Wonder Woman lets an opponent kick the crap out of her, without fighting back, just her extending an open hand to him, no matter what his rage makes him do. I think that's a big part of it — she COULD tear someone's head off, she COULD destroy a country if she chose. But she would consider that a failure as a warrior for peace.

The death of an enemy is not victory to her. I love that stuff. I think it's a far better blueprint for the future than most of the action hero stuff out there right now.

But there are a million reasons. I love that she's the DC universe's premiere badass. I love that she was giving messages of the power of womanhood in the 40's, you know, decades before Buffy or Xena or Lara Croft.

And there's a part of me that loves the pegasi and the princess-ness of it all, and all the trappings of Paradise Island. She's just brilliantly conceived.

And I like her with a dry sense of humor, while we're at it. The sisterhood aspect of the Amazons is tremendously compelling to me. Who wouldn't love to have that many sisters who loved you AND carried bladed weapons?

Very interesting interview, regrettably I haven't seen the animated film yet so can't comment on it's feminism.

But Gail just pulled out my favourite scene to date in her Wonder Woman run as an example of what she believes the character to be, which was very very cool to read.

[Cam63]

The partying gorillas made it.

[Jae Namkyoung]

wha?



Gail

I second that.

[ScottyQuick]

I think the bigger problem with Trevor is that he was the most boring guy in the world.

[DanCMH]

I think the bigger problem with Trevor is that he was the most boring guy in the world.

His hair was more interesting than Diana's. He had to go.

[CutterMike]

(...)
...Except that these days I'm not touching a DC Comic with a ten-foot pole. I just don't trust DC's management anymore. For all we know, Gail's efforts could be thrown away at any moment, and in completely irrational ways, JUST because the current Powers That Be decided it.
(...)
But until I'm sure I won't be disappointed I won't buy the comics. Maybe as a trade paperback...

I dunno... I understand your point, but passing up something great because somewhere down the road it might change and disappoint you,,, I dunno... it doesn't work for me...

After Gail left BoP it just wasn't working for me and if it hadn't been cancelled I would have dropped it anyway;. But any time I got bummed about the current state of the book, I knew that I could still go back and read the issues that I loved.

It's been that way with a lot of books over the years; a series that I loved with one writer and/or artist on it would lose me when the team was changed and the book wasn't working for me anymore. Usually, I'd decide that those stories "never really happened" and figure that, as far as I was concerned, the stories that I enjoyed were canon and the ones that I didn't, weren't.

But I still have a lot of those old books that I can go back and pore over again, and often find something new to enjoy.

[4PointOh]

Part II:

http://www.afterellen.com/people/2009/4/gailsimone-part2

[4PointOh]

And something a bit older:

http://www.afterellen.com/blog/thelinster/gail-simone-wonder-woman

[Sijo]

Cuttermike: Actually, that was precisely my attitude for a long, long time. Lots of books had promising storylines aborted, or went in directions I didn't like. I just said, "Too bad. Oh well, I guess I'll go read something else until it picks up again."

That was before someone decided it was OK for things like closing a series by murdering the protagonist (Impulse/Flash) or dropping sick jokes in at any moment without any warning (Wonderdog eating Wendy and Marvin) or even simply reinventing characters in twisted, negative ways (Fire being an assassin before becoming a hero) started happening with alarming frequency, and EVERYWHERE, not just in books you'd expect them to. And since they rarely do self-contained stories anymore, you're forced to wait and hope that they won't screw things up before the story concludes. No, thanks. I'll start buying DC comics again once DC has *proven* they won't do those things anymore.

Now to read part two of the AfterEllen interview. That at least, I can hope to enjoy...

[Flying Saucers Over Oz]

Re: Feminism.

I think that's one of the problems, really. Younger women don't quite understand the battles earlier generations of feminists had to fight, so they tend to dismiss them as these strident loudmouths.