[Gail Simone]

(cont)

4) I've heard you speak of a very interesting point, that you believe (correct me if I misunderstand) that making Wonder Woman an 'ambassador of peace,' was conceptually a mistake. Can you explain what you mean by that?


I don't think it was the "ambassador of peace" part I sad I didn't like -- it was the part where, for a while there, Wonder Woman was presented as a pacifist, and specifically as someone who was trying to be non-violent, to shy away from violence as a way of addressing problems. I thought it made her seem whiny and preachy and wimpy -- she's an Amazon, for Pete's sake. She's not a pacifist, she's a warrior, a champion, one of a culture of women who train in combat all the time and shoot guns at each other as a freakin' game! She believes in peace through strength, in offering the hand of friendship to any who'll take it, because she's tough enough to back up that open hand with the strength, skill and grit to make sure that she won't get trampled. Non-violence is the goal, in that she wants a world that's peaceful, but until the world is like that, she's willing to knock heads together as much as they need knocking. She's an Amazon, not Ghandi.


It was in reaction to seeing her up on a roof ledge, shrinking back in fear at he idea of someone being violent (and I may be misremembering the moment, but it was something like that) that made me conceive one of the ideas we got into TRINITY, that Amazons don't compete against others, they compete against themselves, trying always to outdo their own personal best in whatever they do. They're fiercely competitive, but the competition isn't about "I'm better than you," but "I'm better than I was yesterday, and I'll be better still tomorrow." That feels like what an Amazon should be, at least to me.


It's also in keeping with the Golden Age approach to Wonder Woman, where she was sent to Man's World to show -- by example -- a better way than war and destruction, and one of the ways she did that was by telling (and showing) others that they didn't need to live in subjugation, that any woman can be a Wonder Woman, and can take care of herself. That's what Etta Candy and the Holliday Girls were about -- the message that girls could kick ass, and didn't need to be fainting flowers. That's how the Amazons establish peace, by making sure the weak can protect themselves, so no one is reduced to prey.


So that's what I think Wonder Woman's an ambassador for -- the idea that everyone can develop their inner strengths and become someone capable of excelling, of being their best, strong and capable. So there's peace because everyone's strong enough to defend themselves, like the Amazons are. Peace through strength, not peace through shying away from violence, not when it's needed.



Superman's a protector, Batman's an avenger, but Wonder Woman's an example of how anyone can stand up for themselves. Her underlying message is, "You can be like me, you can do it yourself."



5) And finally, can you tell us what you're working on right now, and maybe a bit about what's coming up?

I'm still working on ASTRO CITY --next up is a two-part ASTRA special, then Book Four of the epic DARK AGE arc. I'm also working on AMERICAN GOTHIC, a new creator-owned series for Wildstorm that'll be launching sometime next year -- it's a series all about contemporary fantasy, about magic all around us in real-world settings. Plus, I'm writing an ARROWSMITH novel and a follow-up-of-sorts to SUPERMAN: SECRET IDENTITY called BATMAN: CREATURE OF THE NIGHT that I expect we'll be talking about more once there's art to show.

There's other stuff in the works, in one stage or another, but that's the main stuff...



That's great, Kurt, thank you. I learned a lot here. It's odd, I thought these interviews were going to be mostly fairly lightweight and simple, but I was unaware of a lot of this history and I think even some of the most hardcore Wonder fans were unaware of some of this, too. Great stuff, and good reading, as always!