Gail Simone wants to write Spider-Man and MJ

[Kevinroc]

I understand that. I just figured there was wider interest in the topic.

It is somewhat newsworthy, and there are some interesting wrinkles (Do you want to see Gail Simone write Spider-Man? Are there any concerns? What's your take on the concept of a Spider-Man-MJ book?)

I do get it. I just don't think "comic creator interested in working on Spider-Man" is particularly newsworthy. Pretty much everyone in comics wants to work on Spider-Man. But there is discussion when a particular creator expresses that. What would this creator's Spider-Man look like? Would you be interested in it?

The fact that Gail Simone expressed interest in writing MJ is also something people can discuss.

[SpiderOrange]

Not a huge fan of Simone's style on a Spidey book. Maybe on a point issue or something like that but I'd prefer her not to write the main ASM series. I could see her on Spider-Gwen maybe.

[Project Initiative Cascada]

I do get it. I just don't think "comic creator interested in working on Spider-Man" is particularly newsworthy. Pretty much everyone in comics wants to work on Spider-Man. But there is discussion when a particular creator expresses that. What would this creator's Spider-Man look like? Would you be interested in it?

The fact that Gail Simone expressed interest in writing MJ is also something people can discuss.

I have a feeling that MJ reminds Gail a lot of one of her favorite characters Barbara Gordon. Besides looks, MJ and Barbara are two strong women who fight for what they believe in and suffered tragic losses for the ones they loved.

[Scott Taylor]

Well, I enjoyed Simone's Wonder Woman run but not her Batgirl stuff. Though admittedly much of what I disliked of Batgirl may have been due to the wholesale character changes that came with the New 52 more than Simone's writing. She writes strong female characters and is really strong at developing supporting casts.

So that said, I would love to see her write a book that focuses on MJ.

[Derek Metaltron]

Yeah, if Gail or someone like her could write a book where Spider-Man and MJ were an item or married/with children and done in a way as to make MJ predominant and not simply there to be captured or threatened, then I would happily read that sort of book.

[boots]

Soooo, like the Captain Marvel Family?

pretty much, except nobody in the parker home knows it. it could either be funny or …just an empty house.

[Huntsman Spider]

As many disagreements as I have with Slott's stories, ( see 'Superior'), I would prefer him over Gail Simone. I am certainly one who disagrees with his politics, but it is not as "In Your Face" as hers. I do not want extreme liberalism shoved down my throat more than it is already, and when it gets that way ( such as Season 2 of 'The Blacklist'), I simply exercise my option not to invest my time and (or) money watching, listening, reading and especially not spending my money on it I shudder to think what she would do on Spider-Man? Peter gayer than harry in TASM 2? No thank you.

Where do you get the idea that she would "turn Spider-Man gay"? Was the it the fact that she said she wanted to write Peter and MJ as a couple or the fact that she's supportive of the LGBT community?

the argument could be made that nothing has ever been apolitical. unless the writer is purposefully trying to write from a particular view point, his or her personal politics inform their work. even if they do try to write from someone else’s political standpoint, they run the risk of “commenting” on their politics rather than presenting it genuinely. alan moore tends to do a good job of writing uncompromising political viewpoints for characters.

that being said, i can understand why readers might prefer it to be subtext rather than overt (i got a little tired of ellis’ stuff only because the themes became repetitive). haven’t read gail’s work, though i’ve been over her interviews and articles, what are her politics other than 'turning characters gay'?

She's a pretty staunch feminist. Hell, her big break into comics started with her commenting on how just often female supporting cast members, especially those set up in the role of love interest, meet gruesome and terrible fates or have other horrible things happen to them just to motivate the male protagonists into (often violent and retributive) action. She made it the subject of a blog, "Women in Refrigerators," named after what Major Force did to then-new Green Lantern Kyle Rayner's girlfriend Alex, and it's become common lingo for the overarching plot device of injuring, abusing, or even outright killing a supporting female character to incite a protagonist male to violence against the villain(s) responsible. She was on Deadpool/Agent X for Marvel, and then switched to DC where she became really well-known for her Birds of Prey run, and has since continued on a trend of writing complex, dynamic, and well-rounded female characters as the heroes of their stories.

And to comment on the first quoted post, I have to say, when I hear stuff like "shoving politics down my throat" spoken about writers in comics or other popular media, what it usually sounds like to me is that the speaker simply wants the medium in question to pander to their power fantasies and conform to their often-narrow worldview instead of being challenged like the real world is already doing. If that sounds like judgment, that's because it is; the world is changing and evolving for the better, and many of our media, however slow some of them may have been, are starting to follow suit, especially comics. Neither the industry nor the fandom, let alone the larger world out there, needs small and narrow minds holding it back.

[Cam6363]

I'd give her a go.

[Sardorim]

Could always write Tean or Rachel Grey-Summers.... Just saying.

[The_Greatest_Username]

I do remember seeing some older interviews with Gail were she's expressed interest in writing Spider-Man before, at least dating back to before 2010. I'm sure she's read enough of him to understand his character and she should have a good sense of his mythology to craft many great stories.

She's a pretty staunch feminist. Hell, her big break into comics started with her commenting on how just often female supporting cast members, especially those set up in the role of love interest, meet gruesome and terrible fates or have other horrible things happen to them just to motivate the male protagonists into (often violent and retributive) action. She made it the subject of a blog, "Women in Refrigerators," named after what Major Force did to then-new Green Lantern Kyle Rayner's girlfriend Alex, and it's become common lingo for the overarching plot device of injuring, abusing, or even outright killing a supporting female character to incite a protagonist male to violence against the villain(s) responsible. She was on Deadpool/Agent X for Marvel, and then switched to DC where she became really well-known for her Birds of Prey run, and has since continued on a trend of writing complex, dynamic, and well-rounded female characters as the heroes of their stories.

And to comment on the first quoted post, I have to say, when I hear stuff like "shoving politics down my throat" spoken about writers in comics or other popular media, what it usually sounds like to me is that the speaker simply wants the medium in question to pander to their power fantasies and conform to their often-narrow worldview instead of being challenged like the real world is already doing. If that sounds like judgment, that's because it is; the world is changing and evolving for the better, and many of our media, however slow some of them may have been, are starting to follow suit, especially comics. Neither the industry nor the fandom, let alone the larger world out there, needs small and narrow minds holding it back.

I hope this doesn't sound confrontational, but what does this have to do with my post?

[boots]

She's a pretty staunch feminist. Hell, her big break into comics started with her commenting on how just often female supporting cast members, especially those set up in the role of love interest, meet gruesome and terrible fates or have other horrible things happen to them just to motivate the male protagonists into (often violent and retributive) action. She made it the subject of a blog, "Women in Refrigerators," named after what Major Force did to then-new Green Lantern Kyle Rayner's girlfriend Alex, and it's become common lingo for the overarching plot device of injuring, abusing, or even outright killing a supporting female character to incite a protagonist male to violence against the villain(s) responsible. She was on Deadpool/Agent X for Marvel, and then switched to DC where she became really well-known for her Birds of Prey run, and has since continued on a trend of writing complex, dynamic, and well-rounded female characters as the heroes of their stories.

And to comment on the first quoted post, I have to say, when I hear stuff like "shoving politics down my throat" spoken about writers in comics or other popular media, what it usually sounds like to me is that the speaker simply wants the medium in question to pander to their power fantasies and conform to their often-narrow worldview instead of being challenged like the real world is already doing. If that sounds like judgment, that's because it is; the world is changing and evolving for the better, and many of our media, however slow some of them may have been, are starting to follow suit, especially comics. Neither the industry nor the fandom, let alone the larger world out there, needs small and narrow minds holding it back.

thanks mate, i’d gathered a lot of that. i was more curious about the specifics of how her politics are used in the books she writes. if it’s just “complex, dynamic, and well-rounded female characters” then it’s ridiculous for anyone of any political persuasion to have issues with that.

i agree with your general point, but i can’t fault someone who doesn’t want to read a fictionalised manifesto on a regular basis. there’s a place for those stories but there’s also a place for allegory and a place for subtlety and for subtext. “atlas shrugged: the comic” could get a bit tiresome. are these people objecting to political themes or just the “ham-fisting” mode of those themes?


you’re advocating a certain political commentary in comics that seems to echo your own worldview but would you be so supportive if a “writer” from say…return of kings…was hired by marvel and used captain america as a mouthpiece for his particular brand of menism?

[Tuck]

you’re advocating a certain political commentary in comics that seems to echo your own worldview but would you be so supportive if a “writer” from say…return of kings…was hired by marvel and used captain america as a mouthpiece for his particular brand of menism?

Only if he's been hanging out with Black Cat and his personality fell out of his ear too.

[Mister Mets]

She's a pretty staunch feminist. Hell, her big break into comics started with her commenting on how just often female supporting cast members, especially those set up in the role of love interest, meet gruesome and terrible fates or have other horrible things happen to them just to motivate the male protagonists into (often violent and retributive) action. She made it the subject of a blog, "Women in Refrigerators," named after what Major Force did to then-new Green Lantern Kyle Rayner's girlfriend Alex, and it's become common lingo for the overarching plot device of injuring, abusing, or even outright killing a supporting female character to incite a protagonist male to violence against the villain(s) responsible. She was on Deadpool/Agent X for Marvel, and then switched to DC where she became really well-known for her Birds of Prey run, and has since continued on a trend of writing complex, dynamic, and well-rounded female characters as the heroes of their stories.

And to comment on the first quoted post, I have to say, when I hear stuff like "shoving politics down my throat" spoken about writers in comics or other popular media, what it usually sounds like to me is that the speaker simply wants the medium in question to pander to their power fantasies and conform to their often-narrow worldview instead of being challenged like the real world is already doing. If that sounds like judgment, that's because it is; the world is changing and evolving for the better, and many of our media, however slow some of them may have been, are starting to follow suit, especially comics. Neither the industry nor the fandom, let alone the larger world out there, needs small and narrow minds holding it back.

I'd say there's a difference between addressing topics and activism.

It can make for an interesting and timely story to have Spider-Man confront a contemporary issue. However, it would be a problem to have didactic one-sided takes on the topic.

Politics is tough to do in comics because it's difficult to be fair in a medium where a chapter is sometimes equivalent to a five minute read.

[boots]

Politics is tough to do in comics because it's difficult to be fair in a medium where a chapter is sometimes equivalent to a five minute read.

just a nitpick here- i’m not sure what you mean exactly by being “fair”, but i’ll say that fairness can be overrated. some points of view and politics don’t deserve fairness or equal page time. a minority are just plain wrong.

[Steeler53]

I'd say there's a difference between addressing topics and activism.

It can make for an interesting and timely story to have Spider-Man confront a contemporary issue. However, it would be a problem to have didactic one-sided takes on the topic.

That is exactly my point. If someone wants to make a point there is nothing wrong with that ( it's called "Freedom Of a Speech" my objection is taking ASM, and turning over 50 years of continuity upside down in order to make a political statement. By the way it does not have to be something of a liberal bias to mess stuff up ( see 'Sins Past' and what they did to Gwen). Taking the gay issue out of the equation, one of the worst things that Simone ( or another writer for that matter) could do would be to turn ASM into a soap opera, and forget what Spider-Man does: Deal with the BEST Rogues Gallery in Marvel: Norm, Otto, Lizard, Mysterio, Venom, Kraven and all the rest. Not only would I not read such a comic, but, it would actually make me miss OMD ( and it's after effects), and I hate OMD and am a huge MJ fan.