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Gail Simone

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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.

Gail Simone
Simone at the New York Comic Con in Manhattan, October 9, 2010
Born (1974-07-29) July 29, 1974 (age 50)
Oregon, U.S.
Area(s)Writer, comics critic
Notable works
Birds of Prey
Secret Six
Welcome to Tranquility
Wonder Woman
Red Sonja
Batgirl

She enjoyed a long-running stint on The Simpsons comics and has also written for television and video games.[1]

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.

Career

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Early work

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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 the titular hero's girlfriend, Alexandra DeWitt, was murdered and her corpse shoved in a refrigerator for the hero to find. The site's purpose was to analyze how female characters are written so as to suffer traumatic indignities, a plot device to advance the narrative of male characters.[4] The site brought her 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.

Comics

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2000–2010

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Simone posing with a fan dressed as Huntress, a character whom Simone wrote in Birds of Prey, at the New York Comic Con, October 9, 2010.

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, The 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 the Catman character. She also wrote a two-issue story arc that focused on Hawk & 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 was a contributor 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 took over the writing reins on Birds of Prey.[11][12]

She returned to Welcome to Tranquility for a second limited series in 2010.[13][14] In 2011 she collaborated with co-writer Ethan Van Sciver on a revamped Firestorm series.[15] Secret Six was canceled and Simone left Birds of Prey and The Fury of Firestorm.[16][17]

2011–2020

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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 a character named 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]

 
Simone at the 2018 WonderCon

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]

2021-present

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In 2023, Orbit Books announced that Simone would write an original Red Sonja novel, titled Red Sonja: Consumed, published in November 2024.[29][30]

In March 2024, Simone was announced as the first solo female writer for Uncanny X-Men.[31]

Animation

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In 2005, Simone penned an episode of the series Justice League Unlimited entitled "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.[32]

In 2007, Simone wrote an episode of GameTap's Revisioned: Tomb Raider, entitled "Pre-Teen Raider".[33]

She also wrote a 2010 episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold entitled "The Mask of Matches Malone!", featuring Black Canary and Huntress from "Birds of Prey".

In 2019, she wrote an episode of the series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic entitled "Between Dark and Dawn".

Awards and honors

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Simone is notable for being one of the most influential women in the comic book industry.[34] Her blog "Women In Refrigerators" raised awareness of the representation of women in comics.[35] 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.[34]

Notable works

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Comics

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Bongo Comics

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  • Simpson's Comics #50 "Li'l Goodfellas", Bongo Comics, August 2000
    • Simpsons Comics Royale reprinted, Bongo Comics, March 2001
      • Simpson's Comics #73, reprinted, Bongo Comics, Titan Magazines, October 2002
        • The Best of the Simpsons#29 reprinted, Bongo Comics, Titan Magazines, April 2006
  • Simpson's Comics #83, "...So You Want To Work for Globex, Huh?", Bongo Comics, August 2003
    • Simpson's Comics Jam Packed Jamboree reprinted, Bongo/HarperCollins, April 2006
      • The Best of the Simpsons #37 reprinted, Bongo Comics, Titan Magazines April 2007

Dark Horse Comics

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  • Leaving Megalopolis (with Jim Calafiore, 2014, Dark Horse Comics, ISBN 978-1-61655-559-7.)

DC Comics/Vertigo/Wildstorm

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Dynamite Entertainment

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  • Red Sonja Vol 2[72] #0–18 (Dynamite Entertainment, February 2014 – October 2014) collected as:
    • Queen of the Plagues (with Walter Geovani, Adriano Lucas, and Simon Bowland, collects Red Sonja Vol 2 #1–6, July 2013 – December 2013, 180 pages, softcover, February 2014, ISBN 1606904817[73])
    • Art of Blood and Fire (with Walter Geovani, collects Red Sonja Vol 2 #7–12 and 0, January 2014 – June 2014, 176 pages, softcover, October 2014, ISBN 978-1606905296[74])
    • The Forgiving of Monsters (with Walter Geovani, collects Red Sonja Vol 2 #13–18, July 2014 – May 2015, 160 pages, softcover, Unpublished, ISBN 1606906011[75])
  • Legends of Red Sonja volume 1, #1–5 (Dynamite Entertainment, August 2014) collected as:
    • Legends of Red Sonja (anthology, collects Legends of Red Sonja #1–5, November 2013 – March 2014, 152 pages, softcover, August 2014, ISBN 978-1606905258[76])

Marvel Comics

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  • Deadpool #65–69 (Marvel Comics, May – September 2002)
  • Agent X #1–7, 13–15 (Marvel Comics, September 2002 – March 2003 & November – December 2003)
  • Marvelous Adventures of Gus Beezer (Marvel Comics)
    • Spider-Man (with Jason Lethcoe, May 2003)[77]
    • Hulk (with Jason Lethcoe, May 2003)[78]
    • X-Men (with Jason Lethcoe, May 2003)[79]
    • Spider-Man (with Guihiru, February 2004)[80]
  • Domino #1-10 (with David Baldeon, Marvel Comics, April 2018 - January 2019) collected as:
  • Domino: Hotshots #1-5 (with David Baldeon, Marvel Comics, March - July 2019) collected as:

Television

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Films

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Crosswind #1 | Releases | Image Comics". Image Comics. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  2. ^ Turnquist, Kristi (February 25, 2014). "Gail Simone to sign copies of new 'Tomb Raider' comics series Wednesday at Things from Another World". The Oregonian. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  3. ^ "Passing the Tiara: Who Should Play the Next Wonder Woman" Archived 2013-09-25 at the Wayback Machine. UGO.com. October 5, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Housel, Rebecca (March 3, 2013). "Gail Simone!" Dr. Rebecca Housel.
  5. ^ Simone, Gail. "'You'll All Be Sorry!' Archives". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on 2004-12-11. Retrieved November 1, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ Thomas, Brandon (2003). "The Gail Simone Dialogues". Comics Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2009-08-27.
  7. ^ Newsarama[dead link‍]
  8. ^ "DC Comics message boards". Archived from the original on Oct 17, 2005. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  9. ^ Brady, Matt (April 12, 2007). "Gail Simon Named New Wonder Woman Writer". Newsarama. Archived from the original on April 15, 2007.
  10. ^ Brady, Matt (2007-08-14). "Simon's Wonder Woman Debut Pushed Back a Month". Newsarama. Archived from the original on 2007-08-27.
  11. ^ Segura, Alex (January 13, 2010). "DCU in 2010: Welcome Back the Birds of Prey". The Source. DC Comics.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  12. ^ McGuirk, Brendan (January 13, 2010). "Gail Simone Returns to 'Birds of Prey' in 2010 – EXCLUSIVE". ComicsAlliance. Archived from the original on January 16, 2010. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  13. ^ Phegley, Kiel (March 5, 2010). "Gail Simone Leaves "Wonder Woman"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  14. ^ "Gail Simone on leaving Wonder Woman and returning to Birds of Prey". DC. March 5, 2010.
  15. ^ Hyde, David (June 2, 2011). "The New Justice". DC Comics.
  16. ^ JK Parkin (June 9, 2011). "Gail Simone confirms that Secret Six will end with issue #36". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on 2013-09-25. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  17. ^ Khouri, Andy (December 7, 2011). "ComicsAlliance: DC Shakeup: Gail Simone Off 'Firestorm,' Tom DeFalco on 'Legion Lost', Cornell Off 'Stormwatch'". ComicsAlliance. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012.
  18. ^ Pirshafiey, Nicole (May 20, 2011). "The Power Within: Anti-Bullying Comic Book Raising Funds To Spread Positive Message" Archived 2016-03-26 at the Wayback Machine. GLAAD.
  19. ^ Meylikhov, Matthew (June 6, 2011). "DC Confirm the Women of Gotham" Archived 2011-08-20 at the Wayback Machine. Multiversity Comics.
  20. ^ Kane, Matt (April 10, 2013). "'Batgirl' Comic Introduces Transgender Character" Archived 2019-08-05 at the Wayback Machine. GLAAD.
  21. ^ "Bleeding Cool: Will Gail Simone Leave Batgirl? DC Creative Changes In The Next Few Months". Bleeding Cool. 2012.
  22. ^ Esposito, Joey (December 9, 2012). "Gail Simone Fired from Batgirl". IGN. Newscorp.
  23. ^ Esposito, Joey (December 21, 2012). "Gail Simone Back on Batgirl: Writer announces she's back on the book". Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  24. ^ Mozzocco, J. Caleb (2014-10-09). "35 months late, a 'Batgirl' reboot done right". CBR. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  25. ^ Hunsaker, Andy (February 8, 2013). "DC Announces 'The Green Team' and 'The Movement'". CraveOnline. Archived from the original on April 26, 2014.
  26. ^ "ECCC 13: Gail Simone to Write New RED SONJA Ongoing Series". Comic Vine. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  27. ^ Yehl, Joshua (20 February 2013). "The Best Tweeters in Comics". Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  28. ^ Simone, Gail (17 November 2020). Seven Days Vol. 1. ISBN 9781549303036.
  29. ^ Codega, Linda (2023-04-05). "Gail Simone Will Pen an All-New Red Sonja Novel". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  30. ^ "Comic Book Writer Gail Simone Debuts Cover for New Red Sonja Novel — Take a Look! (Exclusive)". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  31. ^ "After 61 years and 700 comics, Gail Simone is Uncanny X-Men's first solo female writer". Popverse. 2024-03-14. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  32. ^ "Double Date". Archived from the original on 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
  33. ^ "Pre-Teen Raider: Interview With Writer Gail Simone". Wired. 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
  34. ^ a b Maggs, Sam (March 7, 2013). "Ladies Make Comics Too: Gail Simone". Dork Shelf.
  35. ^ Meyer, Jim "Women in Comics- Gail Simone Interview". PREVIEWS.
  36. ^ "SDCC 09: 2009 EISNER AWARDS Winners". Newsarama. July 25, 2009. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  37. ^ "2009". Harvey Awards. February 27, 2014. Archived from the original on November 8, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  38. ^ "2009 Female Comic Creator's Hall Of Fame Inductee: Gail Simone". Friends of Lulu 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
  39. ^ a b Wheeler, Andrew (January 19, 2012). "GLAAD Announces Nominees for Outstanding Comic Book 2011" Archived 2014-04-29 at the Wayback Machine. ComicsAlliance.
  40. ^ Melrose, Kevin (July 14, 2014). "True Believers Comic Awards announce 2014 winners" Archived 2016-01-10 at the Wayback Machine Comic Book Resources.
  41. ^ "Inkpot Award". Comic-Con International: San Diego. 2021. Archived from the original on January 3, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  42. ^ Villains United details Archived 2008-09-13 at the Wayback Machine at DC
  43. ^ Of Like Minds trade details Archived 2009-02-10 at the Wayback Machine at DC
  44. ^ Sensei & Student trade details Archived 2009-02-23 at the Wayback Machine at DC
  45. ^ Between Dark & Dawn trade details Archived 2009-02-26 at the Wayback Machine at DC
  46. ^ The Battle Within trade details Archived 2009-02-10 at the Wayback Machine at DC
  47. ^ Perfect Pitch trade details Archived 2009-02-10 at the Wayback Machine at DC
  48. ^ Blood and Circuits trade details Archived 2009-02-26 at the Wayback Machine at DC
  49. ^ Dead of Winter trade details Archived 2009-02-26 at the Wayback Machine at DC
  50. ^ Welcome to Tranquility Volume 1 trade details Archived 2008-08-04 at the Wayback Machine at DC
  51. ^ Welcome to Tranquility Volume 2 trade details Archived 2008-08-04 at the Wayback Machine at DC
  52. ^ Collated from DC Comics data from individual comic book page counts. The graphic novel does not have a page number count in the "Library of Congress Catalog" or "DC Comics page" Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
  53. ^ "JLA: The Hypothetical Woman", Library of Congress Catalog. DC Comics. Accessed August 15, 2015
  54. ^ The Circle hardcover details Archived 2009-02-26 at the Wayback Machine at DC
  55. ^ The Circle trade details Archived 2009-09-28 at the Wayback Machine at DC
  56. ^ End of the Earth hardcover details Archived February 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine at DC
  57. ^ Rise of the Olympian trade details Archived 2009-11-06 at the Wayback Machine at DC. Note: Site incorrectly identifies this volume's contents as issues #20–27.
  58. ^ Warkiller trade details Archived 2010-08-10 at the Wayback Machine at DC.
  59. ^ Contagion trade details Archived 2010-12-02 at the Wayback Machine at DC.
  60. ^ Cat's in the Cradle trade details Archived 2011-05-05 at the Wayback Machine at DC
  61. ^ The Reptile Brain trade details Archived 2011-05-11 at the Wayback Machine at DC
  62. ^ The Darkest House trade details Archived 2011-12-10 at the Wayback Machine at DC
  63. ^ "BIRDS OF PREY VOL. 1: ENDRUN" Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine. DC Comics. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  64. ^ The Death of Oracle hardcover details Archived 2011-12-10 at the Wayback Machine at DC
  65. ^ Welcome to Tranquility: One Foot in the Grave trade details Archived 2012-02-06 at the Wayback Machine at DC
  66. ^ "BATGIRL VOL 1: THE DARKEST REFLECTION" Archived 2014-04-29 at the Wayback Machine. DC Comics. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  67. ^ "BATGIRL VOL 2: KNIGHTFALL DESCENDS" Archived 2013-12-24 at the Wayback Machine. DC Comics. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  68. ^ "BATGIRL VOL 3: DEATH OF THE FAMILY" Archived 2013-12-24 at the Wayback Machine. DC Comics. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  69. ^ DC Comics page incorrectly lists this as 19–25, but 19 is included in the previous volume 3 and 26 is included in this volume.
  70. ^ "BATGIRL VOL 4: WANTED" Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. DC Comics. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  71. ^ "BATGIRL VOL 5: DEADLINE" Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. DC Comics. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  72. ^ Dynamite Entertainment lists this as Red Sonja Vol 2 on their website.
  73. ^ "RED SONJA VOL. 1: QUEEN OF PLAGUES TPB". Dynamite Entertainment. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  74. ^ "RED SONJA TP VOL 02 ART OF BLOOD AND FIRE". Dynamite Entertainment. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  75. ^ "RED SONJA VOL 3 THE FORGIVING OF MONSTERS". Dynamite Entertainment. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  76. ^ "LEGENDS OF RED SONJA VOL. 1 TPB". Dynamite Entertainment. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  77. ^ "Marvelous Adventures of Gus Beezer: Spider-Man (2003) #1". Marvel Comics. Accessed 15 Aug 15.
  78. ^ "Marvelous Adventures of Gus Beezer: Hulk". Marvel Comics. Accessed 15 Aug 15.
  79. ^ "Marvelous Adventures of Gus Beezer: X-Men". Marvel Comics. Accessed 15 Aug 15.
  80. ^ "Marvelous Adventures of Gus Beezer & Spider-Man (2004) #1". Marvel Comics. Accessed 15 Aug 15.
  81. ^ "Domino Vol. 1: Killer Instinct (Trade Paperback)". Marvel Comics. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  82. ^ "Domino Vol. 2: Soldier of Fortune". Amazon. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  83. ^ "Domino: Hotshots (Trade Paperback)". Marvel Comics. Retrieved February 25, 2021.

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gail Simone.

Interviews

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Preceded by Deadpool writer
2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Birds of Prey writer
2003–2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by The Legion writer
2004 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Action Comics writer
2005–2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Gen13 writer
2006–2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Wonder Woman writer
2008–2010 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Tony Bedard
 Birds of Prey writer
2010–2011 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Batgirl writer
2011–2014 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Firestorm writer
2011–2012
(with Ethan Van Sciver) 		Succeeded by
Joe Harris
Ethan Van Sciver
Preceded by Red Sonja writer
2013–2015 		Succeeded by
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