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Gail Simone on leaving WONDER WOMAN, returning to BIRDS OF PREY

Friday, March 5th, 2010

By Alex Segura

The headline’s true. After a lengthy and impressive run on WONDER WOMAN, writer Gail Simone is moving on to other projects.

Gail’s work on WONDER WOMAN has become a staple of the DC Universe, and her take on Princess Diana has resonated with readers from the get-go, and will continue to connect with newer fans as they discover her work. But let’s not get overly maudlin here, gang. Gail’s not disappearing. Quite the opposite. Her work on SECRET SIX, which has garnered stellar reviews, will continue and it’s hard not to get excited about her upcoming BIRDS OF PREY relaunch. We even managed to wrangle a new piece of BIRDS art from artist Ed Benes to serve as a gentle reminder that big things are indeed on the horizon:

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We’ll have lots more news and info on Gail’s upcoming work, but let’s take a moment to give her a well-deserved round of applause and hear her thoughts on an epic run on WONDER WOMAN. Take it away, Gail:

“Working on Wonder Woman has been one of the most thrilling things in my career. There aren’t many jobs in comics as cool as writing dialogue for Hippolyta as she’s riding a flying horse and stabbing giant sea monsters. I had a blast and as always when I leave a book, I’m going to miss the cast terribly.

When you write this book, you meet these remarkable, amazing Wonder Woman fans and it’s quite unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, just this wave of love and kindness.  Diana means something to these people in a way that few other superhero characters really ever seem to do, and I can’t thank the readers enough for their undying affection for the character. I’ve met people whose stories about what
Wonder Woman meant to them are going to stay with me forever. It’s a pretty rare gift.

I have to also thank, once again, the writers and creators who came before me on the book. I’ve said it many times, but the club of Wonder Woman writers seems to be a group of people bonded forever. Whenever I needed help or advice or answers, they were always, always there.  The endless support and generosity of these people is astounding and I am grateful forever to Phil, Greg (both of whom were endlessly patient and helpful as I asked a thousand questions about their runs), Trina, Kurt, Dan Mishkin, Allan, Jodi, J. Torres, Bill Messner-Loebs, Mindy Newell, and of course, the great George Perez. When you have those people in your corner, you feel like you can do anything.

And above all I want to thank some of the most amazing artists in the business, people who somehow managed not to kill me when I would write panel descriptions like, “Then a thousand warriors attack…”  These people were supremely dedicated and professional and any applause you might have for the book should be squarely aimed at them.  Thank you so much, Chris Batista, Nicola Scott, Matt Ryan, Brad Anderson, Fernando Dagnino, Terry and Rachel Dodson, and above all, the amazing Bernard Chang and Aaron Lopresti. They did Diana proud and I also appreciate them not killing me for asking for pages and pages of Themysciran architecture.

I’m sad to leave but very, very proud of the work we did together and delighted to have been a small part of Diana’s ongoing epic saga.  It’s really been a joy.  And I have to say in complete honestly, I am genuinely thrilled by who is taking over the book.  It’s someone who is going to rock this book like there’s no tomorrow, and I could not be happier with this choice. They got this one 100% right. I think it’s going to be a new era of greatness for our princess.  People are going to freak and that makes me smile a lot.

My schedule is packed full, as well…and I’m doing books that make me happy every day, like the incredibly fun and horrid SECRET SIX, which has some really shocking surprises coming, and then of course  a book very dear to my heart, the return of BIRDS OF PREY in May, with artist Ed Benes doing the finest work of his career.  And I can announce for the first time officially, a really exciting WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY mini-series starts in July!  Add to that a little treat that is a life-long dream of mine coming true in WONDER WOMAN #600 and it’s turning out to be a great, great year.  Aside all that, a huge surprise with one of my all-time favorite artists is coming, but we can’t even hint at that now, so pretend you didn’t read that last bit.

Thank you again, everyone. Be sure to check out Birds of Prey number one…it is CRAZY fun. You can’t see it, but I’m giving the Amazon salute. Thanks, everyone!”

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This entry was posted on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 4:00 pm and is filed under From the Creators, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

36 Responses to “Gail Simone on leaving WONDER WOMAN, returning to BIRDS OF PREY”

  1. carnivac says on March 5th, 2010 at 4:15 pm :

    very glad to see Birds of Prey back and with it’s true writer back doing it too. Can’t wait

  2. Hyperion322 says on March 5th, 2010 at 4:15 pm :

    SO bummed, but I trust Gail that we fans will be excited - can’t wait for more news!

    ~ Hype

  3. kennypick says on March 5th, 2010 at 4:24 pm :

    Hmmm…

    “And I have to say in complete honestly, I am genuinely thrilled by who is taking over the book. It’s someone who is going to rock this book like there’s no tomorrow, and I could not be happier with this choice.”

    Grant Morrison?!?!? PLEASE!!!

  4. jorel1983 says on March 5th, 2010 at 4:33 pm :

    I think i am gonna go cry in a corner now thx

  5. majesticfool says on March 5th, 2010 at 4:35 pm :

    I Salute you back Goddess of Storytelling. Your work on WW has been absolutely wonderful (yep I used that word on purpose!) and will be forever missed! You have treated Diana with great respect, and you completely got what she is all about.

    I, personally, got to know your writting in WW and cannot get enough of it now! So you know I’m definitely on board for Birds, a book of which I was never really a fan of, but after reading your work with Diana, I’m just dying to check it out! And having Mr. Benes behind the pen just makes it perfect!

    I hope whoever takes over WW does the character justice, cuz this is usually where a book’s sales start going down and they end up cancelling the title!!!

  6. shadowpsykie says on March 5th, 2010 at 4:42 pm :

    but but…. what about Achillies?…. i just know some one will either neglect him or make him straight! :( or turn him into an egg….

  7. darkbat8199 says on March 5th, 2010 at 4:54 pm :

    I’ve enjoyed her run on WW especially early on. It’s a great way for her to go out bringing the book back to the numbering. Very much looking forward to BOP.

    As for the replacement if it’s anyone other then JMS I’ll be disappointed since his name was the first I thought of to jump on the book. Of Course if Geoff Johns is planned then there is nothing wrong with that also.

  8. jorel1983 says on March 5th, 2010 at 5:18 pm :

    So when is her last issue? 600? or within the next few monts?

  9. nerites says on March 5th, 2010 at 5:24 pm :

    I’m sad to know she’s leaving.

    I’m grateful for all she’s given us.

    I’m excited for her new projects.

    God bless you, Gail.

  10. Ricardo says on March 5th, 2010 at 5:25 pm :

    Just because I finally decided to follow WW, Gail does that. Humpf. But I’d love to see some George Pérez back… And, no, not Geoff Johns. It’s probably either Morrison or JMS.

  11. mcruz68 says on March 5th, 2010 at 5:30 pm :

    You know, Gail Simone’s run on Wonder Woman has been absolutely stupendous! Her stories and the art on that title have been solid and I will miss her talents so much on this title.

    Gail, you did a great job of raising Wonder Woman to new heights. I hope you come back to the title one day sooner rather than later!

    See you in San Diego!

  12. wildclaw says on March 5th, 2010 at 5:35 pm :

    NO GRANT MORRISON!! I’m sorry Kennypick but you can’t be for real. He has no respect for Diana - at all. Remember the Final Crisis crap where she was a slave to Darkseid? That was one of those stories where Wonder Woman should have been front and centre and not compromised. @majesticfool - they will never cancel Wonder Woman. Its either Greg Rucka or maybe James Robinson. I would like to see Paul Dini or J.T. Krul take on Diana. Also Mike Benson. Not Morrison. Never. Unless it was a multiverse thing

  13. u1ahbme says on March 5th, 2010 at 5:52 pm :

    Dare to dream, cuz he is too busy to keep up with a monthly’s schedule, but I’d LOVE to see Joss Whedon take over WW at least for a story arc.

  14. seansd says on March 5th, 2010 at 5:52 pm :

    Grant has said in the past he doesn’t like the character, so I’d hope they wouldn’t put him on the book.

  15. u1ahbme says on March 5th, 2010 at 5:57 pm :

    Rucka would be very cool. I’m Love Batwoman right now

  16. albatross says on March 5th, 2010 at 6:22 pm :

    @Wildclaw
    ‘they will never cancel Wonder Woman’… Didn’t they do that before Infinite Crisis? or was that just a “we’re ‘ending’ the book so we can have a new #1″? I’m not trying to be a jerk, I just remember buying the last issue of Rucka’s run of WW. He cranked it up on that book. I wanna say STAY AWAYYYYY to Robinson. I’m getting back into comics more hardcore again and would love reading WW again… but I ain’t subjecting myself to Robinson’s current shock tactics storytelling… not for Wonder Woman! Give me Rucka or heck, maybe Pete Tomasi?? I just love his writing, and wonder if he’s got interest in this gal.

    To agree with a few people here, it’s not Grant Morrisson. No way! If he ever did (a) Wonder Woman (story), it’d have to be a mini or something. It wouldn’t make much sense (to me) any other way.

  17. thecoyotegospel says on March 5th, 2010 at 7:11 pm :

    I’m always surprised when Grant’s name gets tossed around for WW. I love the man, but I think he’s made it pretty clear that he’s not going to take the project. I think he could do amazing work with a Diana Prince, secret agent spin, but I don’t think it will happen.

    WW is a character that struggles to maintain relevance. I suspect that DC will lose support for this title soon (not that it has had a ton of support anyway) and then it will fade away or get cancelled, which could totally happen. Hopefully the new execs will line up a better talent that might draw in readers. Simone’s run was beloved, but it wasn’t drawing a huge crowd. It will take a very interesting move to get me onboard for a character I have never really clicked with in the main DCU.

  18. batmanners says on March 5th, 2010 at 7:14 pm :

    Soooooo, any thoughts on the new members of the team? Who they might be?

  19. wildclaw says on March 5th, 2010 at 7:18 pm :

    I think Nicola Scott should be the new artist. It has to maintain the look it’s had during this run. Its iconic and she’s done great work on Diana. But please no John Byrne….EVER!

  20. kennypick says on March 5th, 2010 at 7:27 pm :

    @wildclaw…

    Sorry WC, I’m totally serious. I think he could explore a depth in Wonder Woman we haven’t seen before… Like he has with Superman and Batman.

    As for his use of WW in FC, Morrison said he had some problems with the character and relegated her to the periphery. That being said, I find it highly unlikely that he’d consider writing the title.

    Don’t worry, things are in your favor. ;)

    John’s or JMS would be a cool option though.

    With his promotion, I bet the pressure is on for Geoff to make the flagship titles all as successful as Green Lantern so he may well be in line to give WW a (IMHO, a much needed) makeover.

    No disrespect to Gail, but she got handed a steamer after Amazon’s Attack. She did her best with what she had, but I think she got a raw deal from editorial just like McDuffie did on JLA.

    As soon as I heard about her putting her foot down on the title “Rise of the Manazon” vs. her preference to “Rise of the Olympian.” “Manazon.” Typing that word makes me feel like I’ll never be clean again. So stupid.

    Anyway, I’ll be the 1st in line for BoP #1… Canceling that title was a HUUUUGE mistake!

    Have a good weekend!

  21. deunen says on March 5th, 2010 at 7:47 pm :

    It would be awesome if ADAM HUGHES was jumping on Wonder Woman! :) He was supposed to be working on an All Star title for her but maybe they decided to run it in the monthly title?! I can dream can’t I.

  22. grifter78 says on March 5th, 2010 at 8:40 pm :

    Yay! Welcome to Tranquility! :D

  23. wildclaw says on March 5th, 2010 at 8:41 pm :

    @deunen I was hoping that we would get an Adam Hughes all round Wonder Woman written and drawn. He draws the most beautiful women. Its not tacky but it is classy and pin up all the same

  24. Theozilla says on March 6th, 2010 at 1:18 am :

    I am so sad to hear this Gail Simone did a great run on Wonder Woman, but if she is okaying the next writer I have faith. If it is actually JMS that would be awsome, if he can do what he did with the Norse mythology in Thor and do that with Wonder Woman’s Greek/Roman mythology that would be great!

  25. Theozilla says on March 6th, 2010 at 1:19 am :

    I am guessing the darkened character is Dove. and the Penguin! This should be funny/interesting.

  26. Gorbunov says on March 6th, 2010 at 2:00 am :

    Good luck with new projects, Gail. Secret Six is still DC’s most kickass title.

    And hope that new WW writer is old WW writer named Greg Rucka. His run is the reason I sticked with Diana through all debacle editorial had put her.

    P.S. Although would be excited to see Morrison take, too.

  27. electricv01 says on March 6th, 2010 at 3:20 am :

    If it is Grant Morrison following Gail, I will be dropping Wonder Woman as a monthly pull for the first time since I started reading the comic (Greg Rucka’s first issue).

    In my opinion it would be just another example of DC giving the character to someone who doesn’t understand her (like Heinberg) instead of people who do (like Rucka and Gail).

  28. wildclaw says on March 6th, 2010 at 11:03 am :

    @electricv01: I totally agree with you. I’m glad on here we respect each others opinions. I got called a name by some fool over at newsarama

  29. electricv01 says on March 6th, 2010 at 2:58 pm :

    @wildclaw: Thanks! Yeah, I don’t understand why some people take it as a personal insult when someone doesn’t like a particular writer or something. I can understand if the person is screaming blood murder about how “Such and such writer sucks and anyone who likes them is a moron,” but you don’t see that very often.

    My opinion on Morrison not understanding WW is simply based on past comments he has made about the character and the ways he has depicted her in previous stories. He might prove me wrong and do a great job, but we will have to wait and see (assuming he is taking over the writing duties).

  30. wildclaw says on March 6th, 2010 at 4:11 pm :

    I really doubt it. I would see him doing an All star or earth 2 wonder woman who I believe is still alive according to her daughter in the JSA story. Can I just say didn’t Lyta Trevor have the most ugly costume ever beheld of an Amazon as Fury?

  31. Odds and Ends « Comic Culture Warrior says on March 6th, 2010 at 5:06 pm :

    [...] And now for the worst comic news I have heard all week: It looks like Simone will be stepping down as writer of Wonder Woman after issue #600. Not very happy about this. I was quite looking forward to her and Nicola Scott having a lengthy Wonder Woman run together but I guess that’s just not going to happen. If DC made this choice in order to make room for Grant Morrison on the book I really don’t know if that will sit well with me. We shall have to wait and see. You can read Gail Simone breaking the news here. [...]

  32. Wonder Woman: nuovo team creativo! » DC Leaguers says on March 6th, 2010 at 5:47 pm :

    [...] confermato dal blog ufficiale DC The Source, la scrittrice Gail Simone a breve passerà il testimone della testata Wonder Woman, dopo aver [...]

  33. tony says on March 7th, 2010 at 11:31 am :

    Simone’s WW has been my one solace during a time when the Superman and Batman titles have been unbearable. She will be missed. The only writers I can imagine replacing her are Darwyn Cooke, Joss Whedon, or Jane Espenson. I’d be thrilled with any of them.

  34. Gail Simone LEAVING Wonder Woman! | Heroes N Hunks says on March 7th, 2010 at 5:13 pm :

    [...] via CBR, Comixology and TheSource [...]

  35. Zawisza says on March 7th, 2010 at 9:46 pm :

    Sad to see Gail leaving WW. I’m really digging this book right now. I may be in the minority, but I’d rather not see Morrison replace her on Wonder Woman. Sure it’d be a sales boon, but I’m not so sure it’d be right for the character.

    As for Birds, it’s really looking like Hawk & Dove are joining the Birds.
    Massive shadowy figure with gritted teeth and clenched fists behind Huntress. . . just saying.

  36. epedreros says on March 9th, 2010 at 11:22 pm :

    After so many years you found a witer who made Wonder Woman a good read, and you are kicking her out to get JMS?

    Looking forward for Gail’s return to BoP.

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