jaguarin

Interview complete


CATCHING UP WITH GAIL SIMONE & THE BIRDS OF PREY

With issue #75, the status quo for DC’s Birds of Prey changed pretty significantly. (Warning – spoilers ahead for Batman: War Games, Birds of Prey #75, and oh, by the way, Darth Vader is Luke’s father.)

Thanks to the events of the “War Games” crossover in the bat-titles, Oracle’s home and headquarters, Gotham’s Clock Tower was destroyed, when Barbara Gordon herself blew it up forcing Batman to stop his fight with Black Mask who was, surprisingly, handing Batman his ass on a plate.

The destruction was a break of sorts for Gordon, who took the opportunity of being homeless to heart - not to mention the Batman is in another one of his moods where he’s alienated everyone close to him, and that Gotham PD has declared all costumed heroes illegal - and decided to leave Gotham for good. Helping her in departing – Ted Kord, a.k.a. the Blue Beetle, who set her up with a wicked cool jetliner, Aerie One, piloted by one Lady Blackhawk (still in this era, thanks to Zero Hour). Together with Dinah Lance (Black Canary) and Helena Bertinelli (the Huntress), the Birds of Prey have left town and are in the air. First mission, as of issue #75, going after vigilantes who cross the line and kill.

We sat down with Birds of Prey writer Gail Simone to catch up.

Newsarama: The new status quo in Birds of Prey - let’s run it down a little. The team is now mobile, rather than stationed in Gotham. Why the change?

Gail Simone: Well, the book originally had a very global mandate. But I felt it was vital to reestablish a sense of place for the characters, so they hung out in Gotham as a shortcut to any new readers, so that they could quickly learn who the characters are. That was made easier by showing their home bases and off-duty interests. But we've done that, and “War Games” has made Gotham inhospitable to other capes for the time being.

Plus, I have to admit that I love the image of the Birds being raptors, spotting their prey from above and swooping down...swooping makes any comic better.

All the great comics have swoop.

NRAMA: That said though, was the loss of the clock tower something you’d asked for in “War Games as something that you could then use in BoP? That is, had you been wanting to get them out of Gotham for a while now?

GS: No, it was an outgrowth of “War Games.” I think the clock-tower was one of the great hero bases, and it's a terrible shame to lose it. But Birds of Prey is also a book that embraces evolution, I think. If you read Chuck Dixon's issue, there's this great gradual flow to Babs' and Dinah's relationship. We're just trying to continue that.

The No-Capes-In-Gotham-thing did tie in with the plan to return to more global adventures.

NRAMA: Was something just not working with having the Birds in the city? Is there something you can do better now with them out and about?

GS: It's not that it wasn't working...I think it was working very well! But there's something very cool about not knowing what the near future will bring.

We're having a few adventures in places where superheroes don't normally go, both in the US, and in other countries. The vast majority of DC stories take place in Gotham, Metropolis, or, you know, a base on the moon. I think it's very fun to send Huntress to the Oregon backwoods, or send Dinah to rural Kansas. However, after that, they could be in Peru or Keny the next issue. That's great stuff.

NRAMA: Speaking of that next issue, Barbara said she wanted to get more proactive - going after costumed vigilantes who’ve killed people as a start - can you elaborate on that? How does Barbara see the team’s mission now as compared to prior to leaving Gotham?

GS: Barbara has reasons for this particular objective, which run through the five-part “Hero Hunters” arc, but she also has reasons she might not even be aware of. Striking out against superheroes that do whatever they want, no matter what the law says, may be a bit of a rejection of Batman's current methodology. The rest is a secret, but I think people will be very, very surprised.

NRAMA: In accomplishing that – what is their new locale, exactly - are they living on the plane, and constantly on the move, or is it more, at least for Dinah and Helena more of a commuter thing now?

GS: Helena and Dinah are keeping their lives and homes in Gotham. Helena is loving teaching kids again, and Dinah's too stubborn to change her life just because Batman's issued an edict.

But Babs is looking for a brighter horizon right now. She doesn't live on the plane, but her home base hasn't yet been shown.

But I think it's exciting to have world transport at their fingertips, 24/7. The Aerie One has been modified by Kord Industries to outperform anything available to the general public, and we're going to be seeing its secrets over the next few issues. It's a flying Batmobile, really.

NRAMA: And piloting that plane - Lady Blackhawk. Is she just going to be the pilot, or will she be an active member of the team, engaging on missions, etc?

GS: This is an interesting thing to me...The Blackhawks, along with the Spirit, were tremendously important to someone in my family who was very special to me, and that love of those characters really rubbed off on me. Permanently, as it happens. I think the 'Hawks are just incredibly cool. I have to give huge credit not just to the original creators, but also to people like Mark Evanier and Beau Smith, who fully understood how cool leather-clad fighter pilots could be.

But I honestly felt it would be an uphill climb getting people to love Zinda as much as we Blackhawk fans. That hasn't been the case at all, though. We've been flooded by the response to her joining the team. People already love her, even when they didn't know her previously. It's gratifying. I know this sounds like hype, but we were unprepared for her to be embraced so enthusiastically so soon.

But - Zinda's not an operative. You'd call her support staff, I suppose. But like, say, Alfred Pennyworth, she's perfectly likely to kick your ass if you mess with her charges. So she's injected herself into the story a bit more than just as pilot.

She thinks she's the last real Blackhawk, but she may not know the whole story. We hope to get to that soon. She's just a blast to write.

NRAMA: With “War Games,” and to some extent with Identity Crisis both in the DC zeitgeist, has anything in the book changed tonally for you? After all, the idea of “cleaning our own house for once” sounds relatively ominous coming from Barbara. Is there a bit more serious thing going on with the team now…the loss of home and security (along with Bat-connections) for Babs as almost a loss of innocence?

GS: That's a great question. I've said elsewhere that while there's no doubt that Canary has a lightening effect on Babs and Helena, it's also possible that Helena has a slightly darkening effect on the team, as well.

But on top of that, Babs is, at heart, a bit of a control freak. Not a malignant one, but the kind that desperately want things to be fair and right and good, and plan to make that happen. It's frustrating for her that life's had so many curveballs lately.

But really, who wants superheroes who just sit around and mope? Babs is too heroic for that, and Canary's attention span doesn't allow for it.

NRAMA: So how does the rest of the DCU see the team, or is there even a recognition of them as a “team?”

GS: The people who know about Oracle think she's incredibly formidable, but it's definitely true that they do their best work quietly.

NRAMA: That said, does Babs even want the team to be seen?

GS: Nope - Babs would prefer they were never seen at all, but she's had to make a lot of compromises lately.

NRAMA: Is this new development, leaving Gotham, taking to the air, etc something that you had in the plan from day one, or has the team/book/concept just organically grown to this point?

GS: The partially global theme was always in the plan, but the events of “War Games” were of course a later wrinkle. The idea is always to take an event to an organic and interesting result, if you can. I think the Aerie One, and the secrets of what's going on with Babs, are very entertaining, and should keep readers guessing. That's never bad news.

jaguarin

NRAMA: Well, let’s talk about Babs’ secrets a little – where’s her head at now? She’s been, for lack of a better word, violated by Brainiac, added a total looney to the team in the form of Savant, and her foundation has been taken away. Shouldn’t Dinah and Helena be a tad more worried about her stability, rather than where she’s sending them for their next mission?

GS: Well, for one, Huntress doesn't really know Oracle, but yeah, Dinah senses something's wrong. All I can say is, everyone in the book has an ongoing story. This next arc is going to answer a lot of questions, and the art is just gorgeous. One of my favorite arcs yet.

NRAMA: Hey – we’re not done with Babs just yet - touching on the Brainiac storyline, she has a mild “infection” from her encounter with him/it. Just so everyone reading this is on the same page - what exactly was he/it trying to do with her? He/it doesn't exist as a physical being anymore, and she was his way around that hurdle?

GS: Pretty much. Brainiac hoped to use Babs' body as his corporeal vessel, but Babs - with a bit of help from Dinah, kicked his ass back to the cyber-realm. But this is the thing about these big battles--they tend to leave scars behind as reminders.

For some reason known only to Babs, she hasn't let even Dinah know about the 'infection.'

This is why I'll never be as popular as Bendis. I get to use one of the all-time great supervillains and what do I do?

I make him a big cootie.

NRAMA: Let’s talk about your other cootie - Savant. Explain his relationship with the team - he's in Gotham, but pretty much within a limited area? What was Babs thinking in getting him to join up?

GS: Several things, and again, some of this will be explained in “Hero Hunters.” Part one is, she used him to escape from prison, and Babs is someone who doesn't forget obligations.

But part two is more complicated, mostly idealism. The Birds of Prey aren't the Punisher. They aren't even the Avengers or JLA. They're looking for solutions that go beyond punching someone. We as a nation incarcerate untold thousands of people, at least partially on the hope that they can be reformed. Babs and Dinah are both cops' daughters. They're compassionate, and they're willing to take a chance on someone.

Of course, Dinah found giving that chance to Savant more difficult than she originally imagined. Which is why she kicked the crap out of him recently.

I like Savant. I think there should be a topless Savant mud-wrestling scene, but no one agrees with me, dammit.

NRAMA: You female chauvinist pig. In the last storyline, you brought in Vixen, Gypsy, Agent America, and a load of other characters who were in limbo recently. Do you pretty much have your choice of DC's limbo population to add into the book?

GS: No, I don't, poo. That's part of being in a group fiction organization, you want the Creeper and he's being used somewhere. You want Madame Xanadu, but she's off being groped by Plastic Man.

But as I've said before, Birds of Prey is a book at the corner of several DC books, so it's very natural to have these people show, and it's always a delight to bring in some character I love just for an issue or two.

NRAMA: Will any of the recent appearees be joining the ranks for good, after all, Vixen seems to be a good fit – powerful, but maybe needing a little help herself…

GS: In regards of the team’s membership….nah, I like to keep that secret. But wouldn't a Dumb Bunny appearance be great? Or Fastback? Or Jerry Lewis?

NRAMA: I think the “Hey Ladies!” line would be a little…overused. So - the arc that's coming up - "Hero Hunters" - they go, as Babs mentioned, hunting vigilantes that have killed? Spill...

GS: It's easy to forget that Babs is James Gordon's daughter, but it's a fact, and he's a far bigger influence on her life than Batman is. Babs crosses the legal line all the time, but she doesn't put people in coffins, and she's not going to stand by and watch other capes do it, either.

Of course, Huntress has a different opinion.

NRAMA: But do any of them feel the irony in this? Yes, these vigilantes have killed, but isn't that - in a way - just a degree? That is, the vigilante "Harvest" in #77 may kill people, but Batman beats them within an inch of their lives, violating their civil rights in the process. How can Babs and the rest justify/allow one while hunting and forbidding the other?

GS: Absolutely, but to Babs, it's not the same dichotomy. Police might have to beat the hell out of a suspect to subdue them and arrest them for assault. That's not really hypocrisy.

But killing...that's way over the line for Babs.There's no coming back from it.

The DCU used to have tons of great dark corners, but most got gentrified into Vertigo books. Now we're seeing some of that come back, with Bloodhound and Manhunter - both are great, by the way! So I think that's automatically going to conflict with people who don't approve of back alley executions.

First, they face a young girl called Black Alice that we're all crazy about, then Harvest, as you mentioned, and finally, the Birds return to Metropolis for the return of Rose and Thorn!

I love this book. This arc is going to be very surprising, and no Bop reader is going to want to wait for the trade, I don't think.

NRAMA: Going back to the “hunting” aspect - isn't this action, in and of itself, at risk of putting them at odds within their own community? I mean, let's look at Dinah – Ollie killed the guy right in front of her in Longbow Hunters), when an arrow through the leg would've done the same thing, and stopped the attack, but I'm assuming that they're not going to hunt down Green Arrow and haul him into jail soon, are they?

GS: Wouldn't that be a great story? Let's call Judd!

NRAMA: Okay, okay. So - after "Hero Hunters" - where do things head? Care to toss out some oblique references and teases?

GS: Sure - hair, fishnets, hot guys, kicking, crossbows, a bizarre change in Oracle, gorgeous art, three big guests from DC's top team books, a return of one of the most-requested visitors from our run, a very strange bond between a bird and a 'villain,' capes, a costume change, gunshots, some of the wickedest fight scenes the book has ever had, Twelve Brothers In Silk, the disappearance of a regular character, an attraction among two of the cast, mentors returning, boots to the head and fists to the face, an old romance laid to rest, and brother, that's just the start.

This is the most fun book to work on in comics. I feel bad for books with no crossbows or fishnets. Those poor Spiderwriters have my sympathy.

Honestly, I've never been more enthused about what's coming up. I hope people try it.

And once again, a huge fat thank you to all the people who have been supporting this book from the entire Birds of Prey team. We really owe you big, and if we're ever in your area, we'll vacuum for FREE. *

* Offer not valid. We hate vacuuming.

Jesse321

That is one KICK ASS interview !! Thanks for sharing Jaggy

the panther

StevoHazard

Thanx for posting Jag, that was awesome! No wonder we love Gail so much, she's so funny, just like all the crazies in this forum. And the return of Rose And Thorn? Can't wait!
Gail, Bendis is good, but you are right up there with him in my book!
If i had any requests, it would be to see Zatanna and Power Girl guest star.

comicraze22

Thanks for posting the interview of Gail with Newsarama, Jag!

I had fun reading it and the teaser is really making me impatient for the next few issues...

jaguarin

Pleasure boys, the only thing that dont like me was our Clocktower blowed..... snif.. mabe in a year Barbara qould have not a mechanical clock... an electric one...

And broke oracle-Nightwing is DISGUSTING!!!!! I HATE THE IDEA!!!!

Red Mask

Farewell Clocktower.

AND HELLO BLUE SKIES! Yahoo! Feel the wind in your faces, y'all!

yank2324

Great interview. Thanks for sharing...makes me glad I just renewed my subscription to BOP. Sounds like its gonna be very interesting indeed. I have to say I do like the way Gail has written the Birds.