Gail-Simone

American Vampire has always been more about America than vampires. Because America has always been portrayed as a land of opportunity, it has always attracted those most desperate for that opportunity. That has often led to the exploitation of those least able to defend themselves. Yet, unlike many countries, throughout a good chunk of America’s history, it has been one of the easiest countries to move up the social ladder. For some that meant running away from debts to start anew in America. For others, it was getting free, large tracts of land out west from the American government. From the industrial revolution forward, a good idea and a bit of luck could propel one to the highest heights. A great deal of fiction has explored what happens once someone catapults out of their poorer circumstances - sometimes up just one level and sometimes from poor to rich. Do they now treat their former peers with the same contempt they once received? Or do they remember where they came from and remain respectful of those in poorer circumstances?

With the second story arc in her Red Sonja run, Gail Simone unifies what could easily be a series of six one-offs by creating a fetch quest. In this case, Sonja is asked by the nearly-dead King of Not-Egypt to find him six gifted people to play key parts in his death party. In order to raise the stakes, the king promises her that he will let his slaves free if she fulfills the request. Just as before, Simone leans hard into the tropes and proves that tropes are not inherently bad. Red Sonja continues to be a warrior woman who doesn’t quite understand why everyone objects to her stench. She starts off hungry, parched, and horny and is only ever able to quench the first. Sonja can never have enough alcohol and Simone makes a mighty fine brick joke out of Sonja’s inability to get laid during this arc. Besides making a great running gag out of all the reasons she’s denied, I think Simone is also subtly making a commentary on how Red Sonja’s often considered hot stuff that any reader inclined to find ladies hot would want to get with, but in reality might be quite off-putting.

If there was one person who could rival Mark Waid for being mostin-demand at Baltimore Comic-Con 2014, it was Gail Simone. This writer was on multiple panels, gave the keynote speech at the Harveys, and spent nearly every OTHER hour of the convention signing autographs and speaking to her fans. But after reading her first Secret Six arc and her first Red Sonja arc, I REALLY wanted to talk to her. So, I think it was quite fitting that my Red Sonja analysis was one of the shortest I’ve written since the relaunch of the site and this interview is the shortest one I did at Baltimore Comic-Con 2014. I spoke to her about one of the key issues I’ve seen across her work: sisterhood. ...

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund: Tales from the Code There are lots of great books to read about the comics code and why it came into being. I recommend The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America. The neat thing about this panel was having Jim Starlin talk about how it did or, often, didn’t affect his writing. It appears that he took the stance that he’d write what he wanted to write and it was up to the editors to tell him to change something because of the comics code.

Dynamite is in an interesting place in the comic book marketplace. While Marvel and DC are constantly striving to update their characters, Dynamite embraces the pulpy past of comics. So they publish titles like Green Hornet, The Shadow, Vampirella, Jungle Girl, and Red Sonja. It was this pulp that contributed to the comics code back in the 50s. And it certainly is an aesthetic that aims to please the male gaze. It’s for this reason I never cared to check out Red Sonja before. Look at her, does this look like a heroine that will have stories worth reading or will, like porn, be all visuals with no substance.

I’m just going to jump out in front of this and call it a rant. It’s inspired by Kari’s entry last week: So What’s With Batwoman?: Why This Is Important . I’d passively read about the Batwoman controversy and shook my head. Batwoman was the subject of a few early articles here at Comic POW! ( Dan’s 2012 DC Runner Up, vs Wolverine and the X-Men, and vs SHIELD) and we’ve always praised the art and the storytelling that set it apart from the rest of the Bat Family. However, being apart from the Bat Family was a double-edged sword. When financial constraints hit, Batwoman hit the chomping block for me. I always intended to collect it as an omnibus trade but I didn’t bother supporting it monthly since it didn’t fit in with the other comics I was reading. Since I didn’t read it monthly, I only followed the departure of JH Williams III from the periphery. At first I thought it was an anti-gay stance which I thought was weird after the whole Alan Scott thing. But when Kari brought word that it was an anti-marriage stance coming from Dan Didio himself, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. ...

I had at least a passing familiarity with nearly all of the stories chosen by Christy Blanch for her Gender in Comic Books SuperMOOC. Gail Simone’s 2008 run on Secret Six was not one of those. In fact, I hadn’t even heard of any of the main characters in Secret Six other than Deadshot and Bane; and I’d heard of Deadshot, but had no idea who he was. However, the description of the book seemed to be one of wanton violence and naughtiness since the team wasn’t made up of heroes. Here’s the high-level description: someone has hired this group of mercenaries to spring someone from prison. That person has something important within their body. Deliver that person to the person who hired the group. Also, someone else wants this object and is willing to offer millions of dollars for the death and/or capture of the Secret Six. Sounds like a fun action movie. And there’s nothing wrong with that, but you don’t exactly expect to have it challenge your notions of comic story-telling. But we’re talking Gail Simone at the peak of her talent here. The rest of this post, as most of the posts on this site, will contain significant spoilers. ...

[caption id=“attachment_359” align=“alignleft” width=“195” caption=“Batman and Robin #4”] [/caption] Batman and Robin #4 - The creative team hits their stride as a book I was once sure to drop and collect in trades starts becoming a book I can’t wait to read every month. This issue has Batman and Robin deal with escaping Nobody’s trap as well as Batman’s parenting issues. This run could end up becoming as groundbreaking as everyone says Grant Morrison’s Batman and Robin was. Batgirl #4 - Batgirl’s faceoff with The Mirror! Will she finally win or will it be one of those battles where he escapes at the end? Gail Simone does a good job writing an issue that really makes me feel that Barbara is in good hands. I just wish she’d finally answer whether or not she was Oracle Superboy #4 - Superboy continues to be a bit emo, but it’s fun to watch. I think kids of a certain age would identify with him and I enjoy shaking my head at him. He travels to NYC and has some “fun” there. I’m curious to see just how this first arc ends. [caption id=“attachment_361” align=“alignright” width=“197” caption=“Uncanny X-Force #18”] [/caption] ...

Welcome to week 3 of Comic POW! To find out the genesis of this site, check out the About page link above. What you need to know now is that the following is rife with spoilers. [caption id=“attachment_136” align=“alignleft” width=“194” caption=“Batgirl Vol 4 #3”] [/caption] Eric’s Book: Eric: Alright, ready to battle? Dan: My kung fu will destroy yours Eric: So this week I decided to choose Batgirl #3 which was actually a surprise contender to me. The week before the issue was out I was telling you about how I wasn’t sure about Batgirl. As you know, hype can be a double-edged sword. All the hype about Gail Simone piqued my interest in the book, but it also lead to disappointment when issues #1 and #2 weren’t the greatest thing ever. ...