Since the announcement that Gail Simone would be taking over WW, fan excitement has been high. Maybe even too high.
On every message board where I either lurk or post, there has been a very strong feeling of anticipation for Gails run on WW. BUt are the fans expcting so much that she will be unable to deliver?I love Gails writing for the most part, even if I don’t consider her in my top 5 wirters, however I don’t think any writer could deliver on the expectations most fans seem to have.
There has been talk of her being the “savior” of the franchise, but is that realistic?
Is this just a repeat of the Anticipation many had for Heinberg, or Piccoult?
In other words, will our expectations lead to dissapointment?
It’s actually a pretty valid concern, not least because the book is only on issue 7, and she’s not due on until issue 13; no matter how great her take on the book will be - and I fully expect it to be very, very good indeed, because I generally like Gail’s writing a lot - there’s still six issues worth of time for backlash to build. That said, the rest of Comic Bloc don’t seem to share our concerns:
“No offense, but I think the question, ‘[a]re we setting Gail up for a fall?’ is just silly. We know she’s going to rock this one out of the park!”
“I think Simone’s run on Wonder Woman will probably be very good. Simone doesn’t swing and miss very often, and Wonder Woman is right in her wheelhouse. But you’ll never get rich if you bet that anything will be an all-time masterpiece. It’ll be very good.”
“My only expectations are that the book will maintain a monthly schedule, and that Gail will have a long term commitment to the character (i.e. not a one story arc and out, run). If she can match Rucka’s tenure in those regards I’ll be perfectly content. If she brings the same passion to Wonder Woman that she has Birds of Prey, I’m sure I’ll be very happy with the results.”
“I’ve tried to think of a writer in comics that comes through as consistently as Gail and there are maybe one or two. The woman simply does not disappoint. I don’t buy comics based on creators. Characters are what I focus on. However, if I were to switch, Gail would be one of the very top choices on my list. With the amount of effort and care her interview suggests she’ll have and the unequaled enthusiasm she brings to most any project, I don’t know that failure will even be an option. I don’t think Gail has it in her to fail on something like this.”
April 16th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Setting up for failure? No, I don’t think anyone WANTS her to fail (outside of Rick Olney).
Will we be disappointed? Yeah, we probably will be.
Not to take anything away from Gail, but any writer taking over the book would be hailed as a savior at this point. I’m sure Gail has a great plan for WW. And her first few arcs will probably be seen as “great stuff,” or “just what the title needed.”
But all it takes is one weak story arc, or one ill-planned crossover, or one controversial idea, and the same fans hailing her as a hero will turn on her. Look at any comic book creator taking over a high profile, yet directionless, book in the last few years as proof (Chuck Austen on Uncanny X-Men, JMS on Amazing Spider-Man, everyone writing Iron Man after Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern left, etc, etc, etc).
April 16th, 2007 at 8:48 am
To be fair, that’s Comicbloc, where enthusiasm levels are usually 400% higher per person than a lot of people have mustered in an entire lifetime.
April 16th, 2007 at 9:40 am
If she does half as well as Rucka did, she’ll be fine.
April 16th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
“To be fair, that’s Comicbloc, where enthusiasm levels are usually 400% higher per person than a lot of people have mustered in an entire lifetime.”
Is Millarworld and Jinxworld 500%?
April 16th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Like any other book, some will love what Gail does, some will hate it. Yes, anticipation is high, because DC messed up with this relaunch after setting the character up to be the core foundation of the new direction as part of the Big Three along side Superman and Batman. We had a fairly good story to start off that was just too long in coming out while never finishing the tale. We get a female writer, but from outside the inner geekdom. She has started off firly well, but it seems very much like what had came before.
What many of us are anticipating are these things from Gail. Stories that makes sense. Stories that build upon each other and where the first story arc can have ramifications on the fortieth story arc. A female writer that has earned the job through the volume of comicbook work that she has done before (No disrespect to Picoult, but Gail has been in the trenches and faced the boy’s club. She has shown that women are as capable as guys at this job.) We expect Gail to focus on Wonder Woman, by this expectation we lose her on Birds of Prey.
None of us who love Gail’s work and have her as a favorite writer are setting her up for failure. It is those that dislike Gail that will be crying failure. From her track record, Gail will deliver issue in and issue out.
April 16th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
Gail Simone has done some great work to be sure, but I haven’t really dug the last few books she’s done. It’s just leaving me flat or worse.
I’m not exactly a hater, but I’m not very excited about it, either. She’s sure to improve on the series, though that’s damning with faint praise.