Gail Simone | |
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![]() Simone at the New York Comic Con in Manhattan, October 9, 2010 | |
Born | Oregon, U.S. | July 29, 1974
Area(s) | Writer, comics critic |
Notable works | Birds of Prey Secret Six Welcome to Tranquility Wonder Woman Red Sonja Batgirl |
Gail Simone (born July 29, 1974) is an American writer best known for her work in comics on DC's Birds of Prey , Batgirl , Dynamite Entertainment's Red Sonja, and for being the longest running female writer on Wonder Woman to date. Other notable works include Clean Room, Secret Six , Welcome to Tranquility , The All-New Atom , and Deadpool .
She enjoyed a long-running stint on The Simpsons comics and has also written for television and video games. [1] In 2024, Orbit Books published her debut novel Red Sonja: Consumed .
Her work has been nominated for a number of awards including the GLAAD Media Award, and she is the recipient of an Inkpot Award at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con.
Gail Simone was born and raised in Oregon. [2]
A former hairdresser who studied theater in college, [3] [4] Simone first came to public notice through Women in Refrigerators , a website founded in 1999 by comics fans in response to a scene in Green Lantern #54, in which Kyle Rayner's girlfriend, Alexandra DeWitt, is murdered and her corpse shoved in a refrigerator for him to find. The fans analyzed the treatment of women in fiction and concluded that they are often killed or harmed to advance the narrative of male characters. [4] The site brought Simone into contact with many people working in the comics industry.
Beginning in October 1999, her column You'll All Be Sorry! appeared weekly on Comic Book Resources. [5] Topics ranged from short, satirical summaries of comic books ("Condensed Comic Classics") to fan fiction parodies.
From 2001, Simone wrote Simpsons Comics for Bongo Comics, including an annual Treehouse of Horror special, and regular scripts for Bart Simpson Comics . Simone also penned many Sunday strips for the syndicated Simpsons comic strip.
Simone worked for Marvel Comics on Deadpool from 2003. After Deadpool was canceled and relaunched as Agent X , Simone continued as writer, but eventually left the project after a conflict with the series' editor. [6] Simone returned to write the concluding arc to Agent X after the series' initial cancellation.
Simone moved to DC Comics, where she wrote Birds of Prey in 2003 from issue #56, which featured an all-female team: Oracle, Black Canary, Huntress, and Lady Blackhawk.
Simone wrote Action Comics with John Byrne as pencil artist. In 2005 Simone wrote the Villains United limited series – part of the Infinite Crisis crossover – starring Catman. She also wrote a two-issue story arc that focused on Hawk and Dove for a rebooted Teen Titans series with Rob Liefeld as artist. Simone supported Liefeld in the face of public criticism of his art. [7] [8]
Simone's Villains United limited series spin-off Secret Six followed in 2005, which led to an ongoing series in September 2008, and multiple DC crossovers prior to the September 2011 New 52 relaunch.
Other works by Simone include Action Comics , The Legion , Rose and Thorn , WildStorm's Gen13, and an Atom series based on ideas by Grant Morrison and penciled by John Byrne and Mike Norton. She wrote a creator-owned project about a retirement community of super-heroes, Welcome to Tranquility , for WildStorm, and contributed to Tori Amos's Comic Book Tattoo .
In 2007 Simone took over writing duties on Wonder Woman from issue #14. [9] [10] To date, Simone is Wonder Woman's longest-running female writer. In 2010, she became the writer of Birds of Prey. [11] [12]
She returned to Welcome to Tranquility for a second limited series in 2010. [13] [14] In 2011, Simone and Ethan Van Sciver wrote The Fury of Firestorm as part of The New 52 . [15] Later that year, Secret Six was canceled and Simone left Birds of Prey and Firestorm. [16] [17]
In 2011, Simone contributed to The Power Within, a Kickstarter-funded comic book that focuses on teen bullying. [18]
As part of DC Comics' New 52 initiative, Simone wrote a new Batgirl title starring Barbara Gordon, which debuted in 2011. [19] Simone introduced Alysia Yeoh, the first transgender character written in a contemporary context in a mainstream comic book. [20]
In 2012, news outlets reported that her exclusivity deal with DC had terminated and she was leaving the Batgirl title as well as DC Comics. [21] In 2012, Simone revealed that she was fired from Batgirl by the book's new editor Brian Cunningham. [22] After fan protests, Simone returned to Batgirl as writer. [23] Simone was replaced in 2014 as writer for Batgirl, with significant retcons made to the character's backstory following Simone's departure. [24]
In 2013, DC Comics published The Movement by Simone and artist Freddie Williams II, which Simone called "a book about power – who owns it, who uses it, who suffers from its abuse." [25] Also in 2013 Simone wrote a new ongoing Red Sonja series for Dynamite. [26]
Also in 2013, Simone was listed first on IGN's list of the "Best Tweeters in Comics" for the "enthusiasm and thoughtfulness" of her Twitter posts. [27]
In 2014–2015, Simone wrote the Lara Croft series Tomb Raider for Dark Horse Comics, set between the 2013 video game reboot and its sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider .
Oni Press published her graphic novel Seven Days with art by Jose Luis in 2020 as part of an initiative to launch a new Catalyst Prime superhero universe. [28]
In Nightwing #110, Tom Taylor introduced a bear named in her honor, Gail the Slayer, as a tongue in cheek reference to their continued mock feud. [29]
In March 2024, Simone was announced as the first solo female writer for Uncanny X-Men. [30]
In 2005, Simone wrote the Justice League Unlimited episode "Double Date", which featured Question, Huntress, Green Arrow and Black Canary. Originally, Simone intended the episode to feature Batgirl, but animation rights for the character were unavailable. [31]
In 2007, Simone wrote an episode of GameTap's Revisioned: Tomb Raider , entitled "Pre-Teen Raider". [32]
In 2010, Gimone wrote the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "The Mask of Matches Malone!", which featured the Birds of Prey. [33]
In 2019, Simone wrote the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode "Between Dark and Dawn". [34]
In 2023, Orbit Books announced that Simone would write an original Red Sonja novel, titled Red Sonja: Consumed, published in November 2024. [35] [36]
Simone is notable for being one of the most influential women in the comic book industry. [37] Her blog "Women In Refrigerators" raised awareness of the representation of women in comics. [38] Simone believes most female comic characters are targeted at male audiences through oversexualization, and advocates for the creation of female characters that are as powerful, appealing, and commercially viable as male characters, something she strives to achieve in her own work. [37]