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Gail Simone Fired From Batgirl via Email
Happenstance
Posts: 113
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/12/09/gail-simone-fired-from-batgirl
Full story in the story above but she tweeted today that the new Batgirl editor had let her know that she was no longer the writer of Batgirl through an email.
DC's editorial these days just seems worse and worse and with more writers coming out and talking about it fans must be starting to get annoyed. I know im honestly tempted to drop Batgirl after this.
Here's a link to a load of responses over twitter
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/12/09/comic-creators-respond-to-gail-simones-firing-by-e-mail-off-batgirl/
This tweet especially is a bit worrying:
Full story in the story above but she tweeted today that the new Batgirl editor had let her know that she was no longer the writer of Batgirl through an email.
DC's editorial these days just seems worse and worse and with more writers coming out and talking about it fans must be starting to get annoyed. I know im honestly tempted to drop Batgirl after this.
Here's a link to a load of responses over twitter
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/12/09/comic-creators-respond-to-gail-simones-firing-by-e-mail-off-batgirl/
This tweet especially is a bit worrying:
Comments
Fortunately, there's still Christy Marx on Amethyst.
But, frankly, this isn’t really anything new in terms of how DC treats its creators. This is a far cry from how Mort Weisinger treated his writers. Or the reason why Jack Schiff had Kirby blackballed at DC. And just ask Colleen Doran how she was treated at DC early in her career. DC is editorially driven, and always has been, and they aren’t afraid to let their creators know it.
I'm not saying all DC editors treat all their creators like crap all the time. Far from it. But things like this do happen more often than you might think, and it’s been that way for as long as DC’s been around. It doesn’t forgive the way this particular situation was handled, but it should come as no surprise either.
I don’t think we can judge whether DC “likes” female writers or not. I would think that DC as a company would prefer to say, “Yes, we have the best female writers in comics working for us.” That being said, who’s to know the biases of the people making the hiring decisions. Maybe they can’t find—or don’t think they can find—female writers who are willing and/or able to tell stories in the dark, violent way they want. And judging by her response to Mike Nelson’s tweet, maybe Gail Simone has been added to that list because of something coming up that she wasn’t happy with.
Two of Marvel’s biggest female writers now are Kathryn Immonen and Kelly Sue Deconnick. One is married to one of Marvel’s top artists, the other to one of Marvel’s top writers. Is that a coincidence? Personally, I loved Kathryn’s Hellcat mini-series, as well as the creator-owned projects she and Stuart have done together. I haven't read anything by Deconnick, so I can't judge her talent, but I’m sure she’s good enough to make the grade. But I wonder if they would have been given a fair chance to prove themselves at Marvel if not for their significant others. I'm not making a judgement, just throwing the question out there.
No class at all.
At this point, I can't wait to see the Triumvirate turn upon each other.
Guys, I am being told that some people at DC are receiving nasty emails addressed to them personally. PLEASE do not do this. It helps no one. DC and I are not enemies, we're still talking about other stuff. I appreciate the kind thoughts, but please, please, please, don't email or post mean personal things at anyone, okay?
Emboldened stuff by me. So I don't believe we've heard the last of Mizz Simone on a DC title. And wisely so...
Well I guess I'll just be mad about it until Leaving Megalopolis shows up on my doorstep.
And thanks to the article being on ign and blocked at work I'll have to wait to find out more haha.
But if this were a television show and they told a writer they were going to let someone else work on a few episodes, it wouldn't be a firing... would it? Especially since she seems to be saying now they are going to try and find something else to do? Maybe they just want her to bring some good writing and buzz to another title if they feel like Batgirl is in good shape.
And this is a firing. To put it in television terms, it's like saying, “You're no longer writing for our show. We like your writing, but not for where we want to take the show from this point on. But let’s see if we can get you writing for one of our other productions.” Simone is a freelancer, so if she's not writing for DC, she’s not getting paid by DC. That's not to say she won’t be hired tomorrow to write a different book, but for now she is without a job at DC. If they wanted her to bring buzz to another title, it would have been lined up before they took her off Batgirl.
Ultimately this seams to be just another of a long line of self destructing decision's that has stalled and is beginng to reverse DCs momentuem.
Or maybe she did...