I missed my chance to get her to sign anything for me, but I did catch a couple of starry-eyed glimpses of Gail Simone at Wizard World. I have genuinely enjoyed her writing in Birds of Prey, Secret Six, and most of all in Welcome to Tranquility, but I have to admit that my enthusiasm is even greater because she is a girl. I love that she is a force to be reckoned with in such a boy-centric industry, and the fact that she was articulate and charming on a Wonder Woman panel clinched my admiration.
I have never read Wonder Woman before, although (brace yourselves), I actually was Wonder Woman when I was ages 6-8. I had the underoos, and I could spin like nobody’s business. Needless to say, I was awesome. I could whip those powers back out anytime I want, I just choose to live the lazy life of an engineer. For now.
I have fond memories of the tv show, I love the character, but I’ve always been afraid to look at what the myriad of past writers and artists have done to her over the years. Since I heard that Gail was taking over the title this year, my interest has been peaked, but these quotes from the panel clinched it for me:
“Now [that Gail is writing it] I can show Wonder Woman to my 10 year old daughter.”- guy on panel
“When I was growing up, I thought the fairy tales I was told were bullshit. Then I discovered Wonder Woman; now there was a princess I could get behind.”- Gail Simone
That’s my princess, I recognized her when Gail spoke. She is tall and booby and gorgeous, yes, but she is also a warrior. Her rules are different than ours, she lives in truth and honor but she takes fighting very seriously, and she is good at it. After the panel, I scoured the many many booths and only found one with Gail’s WW issues on sale, which filled my head with rants about the zillions of crap titles everywhere and no respect for women customers, but they did have plenty of Buffy and Fables issues on display, so… I don’t know. The panel also made it sound like a low seller, despite the huge brand recognition.
When I got home, I devoured the comics I had found (issues 14-20), and came across another wonderful quote; “Avoid fights when possible, but if you have to fight, fight to win.” This is a Diana who can tame genetically-modified warrior apes through a show of respect and regal authority, but who admittedly gets off on fighting. It is her thing, what she was raised for. I know that I’ve denounced graphic dumbass violence in comics before, but when she does it, I want to clap my hands with glee. Don’t get me wrong, there is way more in this arc than fighting, there is also the introduction of amazon courting rituals, which is hilarious and intriguing. When the boy in question comes out of his daze at being chosen, he manages to ask “Wait, if these are Amazon courting rituals, can they be applied to a man?” Diana replies, “We’ll have to muddle through.” Badass fighting, witty dialogue, and an allusion to ancient lesbian mating rituals all in one comic? How could I not be charmed?!
*Disclaimer- all quotes are probably wildly inaccurate.