Gail Simone Will F*ck You Over, Fix You, Then Do It Again

Written by Matheus

Filmmaker by day, Wishlistmaker by night. Kamala Khan’s unofficial PR team since 2014.

If you ever read someone saying something silly about Wolverine online and thought “Oh I need to respond to this", chances are you got Gail’ed.

Between trapping incels who’ve never touched a comic, bear jokes, board game references, and random Gambit inserts, it takes just one look at Gail Simone’s internet presence to see why she might be the MVP comic writer on all fronts. Incredibly funny, always walking the line between deeply ironic commentary and the kind of silly fart joke your uncle makes every Christmas, Gail is always thinking three steps ahead. Her comics are a mix of love letters and attention reclamations for characters, which helps explain why she collects more character-defining runs than Brazilians in her DMs.

When Gail went to CCXP a few years back, I was so excited to meet her that I practiced a bunch of times how to say, “Your comics made me feel like someone gets my vibe” without sounding like a psycho. Fortunately, I just said, “Hello. Matheus.” and pointed at the Wonder Woman prints she was giving away like a moron. Then said “Bye” and left. Masterful gambit, sir.

That Comic Con made her obsessed with Monica’s Gang, a Brazilian comic strip (if Peanuts and Archie Comics had babies), and she proceeded to spend the next decade triggering Brazilians online by calling the main character Mafalda (the Argentine counterpart). That somehow led her to follow me on Twitter because I made a funny joke once. And now, every time I tweet something, I think, “Gail can see this.”

So.. umm.. Hi. Matheus.

Oh let's just get to the recommendations.

Birds of Prey

When I began my DC journey as a young lad, I used to look at the pin-up-like pages of Birds of Prey and think, “This is some regressive stuff,” while sitting high on the horse I used to ride all the time (that horse is retired now, except when my boyfriend does something I don't like). Sure, being a gay-as-hell young lad definitely shaped my impression that this wasn’t for me, just from the covers alone. Sometimes, you just want to punch your old self in the nose, because I really wish I had discovered this sooner.

There's a blurb on the collected edition where Entertainment Weekly calls this a “well-written guilty pleasure”, and that is calling for a slap in the face since there's nothing guilty in this. Gail gives heroines air to breath between being the femme fatales they will gladly be. They get kicked around, kick back, crack some ribs and provoke some rib cracking themselves. But then they talk, and deal with trauma, order food, fight, fix their issues and make fun of each other. Like a careful masterclass, Simone surprises with endearing human dynamics, only to go back to funny slingers and kick-ass action scenes in the next page.

The genius that makes people fall in love with Barbs, Dinah and the full roaster is in the ability to make superhero comics without ever being afraid of being one, and without ever limiting itself for what ill-conceived young lads might think. It's intense, dangerous and heart-breaking when It needs to be. It puts in characters to the ringer and champions them in how they deal with it. One kick at the time. To call this a guilty pleasure is a testament to the bullshit all around us, bullshit that Simone mastered the art of not being bothered by. That’s why you like this even when you tell yourself, “I won’t like this.” Birds of Prey is pleasure without any guilt. How freeing.

DC is collecting the whole run in Omnibus format in 2025. Birds Of Prey By Gail Simone Omnibus Vol. 1 HC

Or you can check out the trade paperbacks (in order)

• Birds Of Prey: Murder And Mystery TP (2024 Edition)
• Birds Of Prey Hero Hunters TP (2025 Edition)
• Birds Of Prey Fighters By Trade TP
• Birds Of Prey Progeny TP
• Birds Of Prey Whitewater TP
• Birds Of Prey: The End Of The Beginning

Batgirl (New 52)

Very famously, Barbara Gordon gets shot by the Joker in the classic story The Killing Joke, losing her ability to walk. She eventually learns how to keep fighting as the hacker-extraordinaire Oracle. That version became the definitive take on Barbara Gordon, in part thanks to Simone’s masterful writing in Birds of Prey. Pair that with the enduring fan devotion to Cassandra Cain’s Batgirl, and it’s fair to say the fan reaction to DC’s decision to use the New 52 reboot as a way to give Barbs back the cowl was not a popular one.

As with many New 52 decisions, this could have gone awry if not for Simone turning in a fan-favorite run. We have to go back to “not bothering” as a core Simone career statement to understand why this works so well. It becomes clear why a new DC Universe needed Barbara to take this step at this point in the book. She's uniquely positioned within Gotham lore. Both the daughter of police officer Gordon, representing the push for good within the shadows, and also a product of the explosive and violent fight against those shadows that Bruce Wayne forever imprints in the city's DNA.

She’s a daughter of heroes, caught between opposing approaches. And she’s living proof that blending them, and learning how to choose the necessary path, is exactly how Gotham shapes its heroes. It’s not a clear path, and it comes with many costs. But Simone frames the character not as a victim of those costs, but as a true survivor who finds opportunity within them. That, in turn, circles directly back to what made the Oracle concept so powerful in the first place.

Simone retells and updates the Frank Miller Year One story, dealing with Barbara's brother descending into madness, but flipping the perspective and point of view. Gordon Jr. and Barbara are figures that emerge from the same city; they are two sides of the same coin. It's no coincidence that classic stories are so essential. The Gordon and Bruce framings are all you need to understand Gotham. Simone pays homage while also arguing for a reclamation of that framing. And then again, isn't reclamation and reframing what the New 52 was supposed to be about anyway? Can you imagine doing that and still being quintessential DC Batman comics at the same time? You don’t need to look any further.

This is unfortunately the time where I leave not with a link for the Omnibus but with a message of REPRINT THIS RIGHT NOW DC!

Wonder Woman

This is another case of “I think I won't like this.” I always kind of bought into the perspective that Wonder Woman comics would be boring and on the nose, and the Gods stuff was never really my thing. This, again, just proves that being fun is the number one rule to beat preconceived notions. 

The first arc here, The Circle, made me a Wonder Woman fan. The lore is rich and complex, and Diana presents herself as determined not because of some god-appointed strength, but because of her unshakable belief in triumph. And that’s different from never questioning things or never facing obstacles. It’s far from boring. In fact, the first act is all about how easy it is to let faith in your beliefs outweigh your sense of humanity, and of course, that’s something goddesses might not understand. But someone like Diana, willing to walk the path of a world beyond her paradise island, would fiercely fight against that.

There's an invasion of actual Nazis into Themyscira, but the corruption Simone portrays is really about how idyllic paradises can so easily hide their ugly truths behind cages. And maybe there's atonement even for that ugliness, though the hope for it can become a repeating cycle in itself. Diana is a symbol of love that transforms hearts, after all. But that doesn't mean she won't kick your ass and make you face the truth hiding in your own soul before you dare to tell others who they're meant to be.

A big chunk of Gail's time with the character is in the newly released DC Finest: Wonder Woman: Origins & Omens TP with the future following volume picking up the remaining issues. There's also an Omnibus version begging for a reprint. 

Secret Six

I don't want to turn this article into a “Gail Simone always proves me wrong” thing, but that kind of is my thing with her. And for a certified internet troll, that tracks pretty well.
Do we really need another team of ragtag villains we end up loving in the end? Isn’t Suicide Squad and Thunderbolts enough? Nah, man, this is fun!

This was originally a Infinite Crisis tie-in minisseries but it was popular enough to spin-off and carve its own corner of the DC Universe. I think why it works comes down to two specific things: Simone’s reverence for the true core of Ostrander’s work in Suicide Squad, and her soft spot for no-good hunky men. And those are two very specific things to love. That unapologetic love spreads into the pages until you’re living in a world where Catman is also your favorite DC character, and you’re arguing that Batman should leave Rag Doll alone a bit.

There’s a beauty in dealing with characters the publisher doesn’t care about, and this is the bible for that concept. These goofballs get tortured around the clock and then crack jokes five minutes later. They promise each other everything, then stab you in the back. And everyone else too, for that matter. To make it even more worthy, we forever thank Gail for shirtless Catman. No wonder this is selling like hotcakes.

• Secret Six By Gail Simone Omnibus HC Vol 01
• Secret Six By Gail Simone Omnibus Vol. 2 HC 

Uncanny X-Men with David Marquez

Following the Krakoa-era X-Men sounded like a nightmare of a job. To that, Gail responds, “Nah, this is a dream job, imma have the time of my life.” Finally making Rogue the team leader was a sign we were heading in a good direction. This is the best this character has ever been written, in my humble (high horse) opinion.

The first issue sells you on the love and heartbreak surrounding this character. And much like Dinah and Barbs, Gail gives her time to weep, gather herself, and smile again. Then she gifts her, and us, with a shirtless Gambit.

Jokes aside, this is the best this character has been drawn in a long while. Simone's strength is her words, but Marquez gives them shape in what feels like a marriage waiting to happen. Everyone looks cool and distinct, including very visual characters like Jubilee and Nightcrawler.

The strength of this duo also comes with some of the coolest new mutants we've had in a while: Calico, Deathdream, Jitter, and Ransom. Their powers are creative, fresh, and just plain cool, with (speaking of horses) even cooler, distinctive visuals to match. It's a swift reminder that Uncanny X-Men was always the title for character introductions and fresh perspectives, and that's what made it so good in the first place. X-Men fans can sometimes be too attached to what they love, but it's in its newness and uncharted paths that the franchise shines. By mixing the spotlight on fan favorites with challenges from new faces, Gail makes a strong case for the From the Ashes era.

• Uncanny X-Men By Gail Simone Vol. 1: Red Wave TP
• X-Men: Raid On Graymalkin TP
• Uncanny X-Men By Gail Simone Vol. 2: The Dark Atery TP

The Variants with Phil Noto

My very underrated pick is this Jessica Jones minisseries The Variants. The character always felt like a Bendis thing, and this makes the case for a life after he left Marvel. I know you’re all tired of multiverses at this point, but this is exactly the kind of story that made me fall in love with the concept. It’s used not as a gimmick but as a resource for the story they want to tell. And they do that by playing around with the noir detective style that made Jessica so famous. But not in a way that just copies Alias greatest beats, instead making it flow into their strengths. Jessica seems tailor-made for Gail’s brand of humour, and how she’s not doing an ongoing is beyond me. But as someone irritated that we barely get enough Jessica at all, I’m not complaining. We at least have this short and sweet, fun swing to cherish.