Gail Simone: Professional Ass Kicker

By Stephen Tramontana on March 2nd, 2010

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Um, so has everyone been reading Gail Simone? I don’t mean her monthly contributions of Wonder Woman and Secret Six–though you should check those out, too (awesome storytelling). No, I’m talking about her Twitter feed. If you’re not following it, you’re really missing the bus. Last month, the woman has been caught up in not one, but two fights–one of which wasn’t even her fight. And the way she’s handled them, it makes me think of–hmm, how do I explain this?

You remember in the old ’80s action movies when a hero like JCVD or Seagal would go into a bar and proceed to windmill through about 1,567 trained assassins? Well that’s kind of what happened there. So let’s go through them:

SIMONE BRAWL 1: Gail Hates Women.

The first fight started as most fights do, out of nowhere and on a pleasant weekday afternoon. The title of the brawl says everything. Some guy–that’s right, a guy–in a gender studies class decided to tune up on the woman who is known for writing Wonder Woman. His, uh, case?

“It’s a shame that this writer, who claims to be a “feminist” is so lacking in feminist consciousness.”

And then it began. Gail Simone, serving it up in response with her usual grace and wit. Some of her responses:

Evidently the problem is I have Diana (Wonder Woman) in, I kid you not, ‘proximity to domesticity.’ I mentioned she was also in ‘proximity to gorillas.’

He says I haven’t read as many books on gender as he has. Maybe because I was too busy being QUOTED in those same books? :)

This gender studies guy is my favorite angry poster ever. But he revealed my homophobia and hatred of women, curse his intellect!

Curse his intellect indeed.

SIMONE BRAWL 2: Tea Time.

This is the more interesting one. You probably heard about this. There had been a non-controversy ginned up by Fox News over a panel that appeared in Captain America issue 602 where a protest scene appeared and it looked at if they were taking a pot shot at the recent Tea Parties. So, as par for the course for those crazy bastards, they managed to make a mountain out of a molehill. Now future printings of that same issue (second printings and trade paperback collections) will have an adjusted panel that doesn’t make fun of them.

I just want to point out that Gail Simone doesn’t write Captain America. She doesn’t even work for Marvel. She was just making an observation on her Twitter feed and a Tea Bagger (?) found her out. And it began, again. She was on the receiving end of as much hate as Captain America writer Ed Brubacker.

Here are some of the highlight tweets in the exchange:

GailSimone: ED BRUBAKER DID NOT KILL YOUR FAMILIES, TEA BAGGISTS! He merely pointed out that you make a swell mob.

And some exchanges with @Rebelcomix, apparently a tea bagging comic lover:

GailSimone: I absolutely do, and Ed Brubaker’s as well. rt @Rebelcomix we respect your right to speak.so why is it you are incapable of respecting ours?

GailSimone: No, Fox News are Jerks. rt @Rebelcomix don’t respect us. i read your comments. we’re jerks, tea “totalitarians”. it’s unnecessary and petty.

GailSimone @choochoobear Catman also teabagged me. Wait, that may have just been a dude in a Catman suit. San Diego is a blur.

GailSimone: Guys, this is not about hating me. It’s about hating freedom. Please remember to hate FREEDOM, not me. FREEDOM.

By the way, Luke Ross, the artist who created the panel in question? He’s from Brazil.

So seriously, start following her, both in comics and on Twitter. It’ll make your day a little bit brighter, and you’ll get to be dazzled with her hand to hand combat skills.

(Photo Via: Friends of Lulu)