Gail Simone Interview.
Lots of good, powerful statements here from a woman who truly gets what comics should be about. But here's my favorite, Quoted For Truth.
Here's the thing, for several years, when some of the more innocent or charming or fun-loving characters were killed at both of the major companies, we've always heard that it's because (and it's hard to argue this point) of our fondness for them that their misfortune has dramatic impact. If you don't love the character, then it means nothing if they sacrifice their lives. As much as I love Ted Kord and miss him, his telling Max to go to hell had real agony in it because it wasn't, you know, some forgotten Global Guardian or somesuch.
I do understand that, but to me, it means the opposite with these characters is also true, that something positive can make you cheer just as something bitter can make you weep.
If you don't love the character, then it means nothing if they sacrifice their lives. As much as I love Ted Kord and miss him, his telling Max to go to hell had real agony in it because it wasn't, you know, some forgotten Global Guardian or somesuch.
ReplyDeleteThis is the bit I wonder about, given various "clearing the board" deaths in her IC-build up stuff. Starting with the original Fiddler. Who I still want to know why Luthor put him on the team in the first place. Were those deaths editorially mandated?
Probably. But even so - there's a world of difference between killing off a corny Teen Titans villain from the 60's for comedy value and... oh, let's say killing off Captain America to jump-start a Very Important Story.
ReplyDeleteI've read enough of Gail's work to believe that she is very much about the life-affirming fun stories. Read any of her Gus Beezer books or her old "You'll All Be Sorry" columns. Even at her darkest (I think "Riverdale: No Man's Land would be the best example of that), there's still an underlying layer of winking and "I mock you because I love you" knowing.