Gail Simone
Gail Simone is a popular American writer of comic books. She is the current writer of DC's Birds of Prey series, currently featuring Oracle, Black Canary, The Huntress, and Lady Blackhawk; she also currently scripts Action Comics, which features Superman. Simone was also the writer on DC's Villains United miniseries (which served as part of the buildup towards Infinite Crisis). Other work includes a brief stint on The Legion, a Rose and Thorn miniseries, Killer Princesses (with co-creator and artist Lea Hernandez) for Oni Press, the Gus Beezer specials for Marvel Comics, and a recently-announced revival of Gen 13 for Wildstorm.
Simone has gained a reputation for being a gifted comedy-action writer, especially showcased in her mainstream work on Deadpool and Birds of Prey. In addition, she is lauded for writing strong female characters.
Early work
Simone first came to fan attention with her humour column, "You'll All Be Sorry!", which was a weekly feature on Comic Book Resources. Topics ranged from short, satirical summaries of comic book series old and new (which came to be known as 'Condensed Comic Classics'), to parodies of fan fiction that were accurate to the point that many suspected that Simone had simply stumbled across the fanfic elsewhere on the 'net, and opted to repost it wholesale. Simone, in her typically lighthearted manner, stated that this was not the case.
Simone soon began working for Bongo Comics, scripting many of their comics based on The Simpsons; contributions included stories for Simpsons Comics proper, one of the annual Treehouse of Horror specials, as well as regular scripts for Bart Simpson's own solo series. Simone also penned many Sunday strips for the syndicated Simpsons comic strip.
Mainstream
Simone entered the comics mainstream with a run on Marvel Comics' Deadpool, which metamorphosed into Agent X. Simone eventually left the series after a conflict with the editor of Agent X. With her absence the series floundered, and so popular was Simone's work on both titles that she was asked back to pen a concluding arc to Agent X, some months after the series' cancellation.
Due to the dispute with Marvel, Simone moved on to DC Comics, where she was given the Birds of Prey title. Though still humorous, her work here was more serious than the Deadpool-Agent X series. Nonetheless, it has been critically acclaimed by fans, many of whom consider the title to be the best work since writer Chuck Dixon left the series.
Later Simone took over Action Comics from writer Chuck Austen - with John Byrne stepping up to provide pencils, marking a welcome return to the character he had revamped and redefined in the late 1980s. Their run, though well-received, proved short-lived. Said Byrne on his message board, "Apparently it is now 'policy' to rotate the creative teams (including the editor) on Superman titles. Gail and I were hired (though I was not told this when I agreed to do the book, or I would have declined) to 'fill the gap' between one team and the next."
Simone however kept busy with other projects, including the "Villains United" miniseries tying in with "Infinite Crisis," where she revitalized the character Catman. She was also recently tapped to pen a two-issue arc for the current Teen Titans series, with the artist for those two issues being Rob Liefeld (co-creator of Deadpool). The focus of the arc would be on the new Hawk & Dove. While Simone maintained her usual enthusiastic stance, fandom was quick to lambast the promotional art Liefeld produced in tandem with the PR announcement. Of course, here the controversy lies more with Liefeld than it does with Simone, a situation Simone acknowledged on the DC Comics message boards soon after the first Simone/Liefeld issue reached stores.
Other Media
- Simone penned the Justice League Unlimited episode "Double Date", which featured primarily Question, Huntress, Green Arrow and Black Canary in a romantic adventure tinged with revenge and jealousy. Simone stated that she would like to work on the show again, having in mind a Queen of Fables story which she felt would look good animated.
Trivia
- Simone was responsible for the Women in Refrigerators website, which brought her into contact with many people working in the comics industry.
- Up until recently, Simone owned a hairdressing salon.
- Simpsons Comics #88 featured a story by Simone in which the family accompanies Groundskeeper Willie on a trip to his native Scotland. One especially noteworthy sequence had the Simpsons witness a street brawl between Grant Morrison and Mark Millar over who was the better X-Men writer.
External links
- The Action Comics controversy (scroll to Tuesday, June 14, 2005)
- Interview with Silver Bullet Comicbooks
- The 'You'll All Be Sorry!' archives