The comic world is buzzing with the news of Gail Simone’s departure from DC’s popular line Batgirl. Simone was notified by email that she will no long be a writer for the line that has become her baby since DC’s reboot. Simone seemed to be as shocked as her fans when she released a few tweets about the experience.
As a huge fan of Batgirl I have to say I was not happy with this news. Despite my divided opinion on rebooting Barbara Gordon as Batgirl rather than Oracle, I really liked the direction that Simone took this character with the reboot. She’s the same optimistic Barbara but with a bit more realism too her. Simone has focused on Barbara’s recovery from her near-paralysis and fear of guns as well as her anger over her relationship with her mother in a poignant and relatable way. Batgirl #6 is one of my favorite issues of all time; Simone paints a beautiful picture of the relationship between Barbara and Bruce that any fan of the Batfamily would love.
Looking back, Simone’s career has been a string of impressive works. She started off penning strips of The Simpsons and later moved on to Marvel’s Deadpool (which was changed to Agent X). When Simone moved to DC Comics she began writing for the Birds of Prey title and also took on Action Comics. Simone is also responsible for the 2005 Villains United (part of the Infinite Crisis crossover) and its spin-off Secret Six, which led to an ongoing series. She has been involved in many other titles as well including Rose and Thorn and The Legion. Simone has also written series on Atom and Gen13.
In 2007 Simone became a regular writer for the third volume of Wonder Woman and went on to become Wonder Woman’s longest-running female writer. She also continued to write for Birds of Prey and Secret Six. With the New 52 reboot, Simone left Birds of Prey to write Batgirl. Simone has also written episodes for the animated television series Justice League Unlimited, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and the Tomb Raider Animated Series.
I know that writers come and go in the world of comics but this particular change has left me with a heavy heart. Gail Simone is a much-loved writer and her sudden discharge has left many fans scratching their heads. Batgirl has been popular but for whatever reason DC has decided to continue the series with another writer. Despite being told she was fired via email (seriously, who does that?), Simone has remained gracious and humble so far during this ordeal. I hope she can continue to find work that matches her talent and I know that I for one will not stop reading anything she produces.
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