Gail Simone Off Batgirl As DC Continues To Lose It's Collective Hive Mind

Gail Simone, the writer of Batgirl since the comic was rebooted as part of DC Comics’ New 52 relaunch, said on Twitter today that she will no longer be writing the title.

“On Wednesday of last week, new Batgirl editor Brian Cunningham informed me by email that I was no longer the writer of Batgirl,” Simone said. “It is baffling and sad, I will probably have a statement later today or maybe tomorrow. But I want to give huge, huge thanks to the other creators in the bat-offices, and editors Bobbie Chase and @yourpallsmitty, champions all. And the biggest thank you of all to you guys for supporting this book so hugely and making it a commercial and critical success. I honestly don’t have the words right now to thank you all. I’m pretty choked up and it’s all gratitude, not bitterness. I am very proud of what we accomplished with Batgirl and it was an honor to get to write Barbara Gordon again. Love that dame.”

 

Simone has a long history with the character. In addition to writing the New 52 relaunch title that saw Barbara Gordon back in the familiar tights, Simone also wrote the character for years in Birds of Prey before the relaunch, back when Gordon was the wheelchair-bound Oracle. No word yet on what issue will be Simone’s last; presumably it will be issue #17, which was solicited for February. March solicitations I believe are due to be released tomorrow.

 

 

This also leaves Simone without a project in the DCU; she was the co-writer of Fury of Firestorm until issue #7, when Joe Harris replaced her on the title. She and her Secret Six collaborator Jim Calafiore are working together on a creator-owned project called Leaving Megalopolis, which had a successful Kickstarter campaign earlier this year.

 

 

Are there ANY female creators left in the offices of DC Comics? That seems to be a poor business plan in a creative medium that wants to attract all kinds of readers to their products. Simone was the highest profile comic writer that I knew of and I have long admired her work. Birds of Prey was a terrific series and I loved the way original Batgirl Barbara Gordon went on to become Oracle, the computer expert all the heroes turn to. Much of her strength, personality and evolution as a disabled character is all due to Simone's superior writing skills. She understood characters and gave life to many female heroes who would have been marginalized in team books as eye candy.

Could a separate comic company like Image Comics survive with a totally female line of artists and writers? Could they appeal to a male audience. I think of Lauren Faust (below) the creator of the new My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic series and the Super Best Friends cartoon shorts for DC Nation. Those are both fantastic shows that appeal to male viewers as much as female ones.