Thread by @GailSimone

Okay, a million cool things happened at @NY_Comic_Con so far, so many that if I list them, I am afraid it will just seem weird and boastful. But people here are LOVELY and it reminded me of why I love New Yorkers so much. But here is a quick story of awesomeness... 1/

First, it has been an impossibly busy con, I had meetings and appointments and interviews and stuff and was barely able to get to my table at times (sorry!) and then we were experiencing this SEVEN DAYS phenomenon, which was mind-blowing...then I get a message...2/

...from @jurneesmollett, who is playing Canary in the Birds of Prey movie. Now, I am a fan. I love her as Canary. LOVE. She doesn’t use Twitter a lot but she dmed and asked if I would be at @NY_Comic_Con, and I said yes, and that was it, didn’t think any more about it. 3/

Now, a bit of history.

I was a fan of Birds of Prey from the minute I first saw it. It was created by Jordan Gorfinkle and mostly written by Chuck Dixon, and later Terry Moore and Gilbert Hernandez, all people whose work I loved. It was a female lead book that was DIFFERENT. 4/

In that it had beautiful, powerful women, but that wasn’t the only focus. They were smart. They loved each other. At that time in comics, there just weren’t any books like it. Often imitated, never equaled, BIRDS OF PREY was a trailblazer. I loved it. 5/

I never thought I would write what was at the time my favorite book. I had just started in comics, and all I had written had been heavily-slanted towards humor. So I was already being typecast that way, and I was fine with that. Deadpool, Killer Princesses, Simpsons...6/

I was becoming the lady who writes funny comics, and that was purely okay because, holy crap, I was amazed to be writing comics at all. Who gets their dream career unexpectedly like that? I would have happily stayed in that niche. Then San Diego Comicon happened. 8/

I messed up the numbering! There is no 7! /9

My entire @DCComics career comes down to two guys. Two guys who saw something in my work that even I didn’t see yet, Geoff Johns and Jeph Loeb. I owe them forever. 10/

It was my first con, I was a guest of Marvel, and I was terrified. I didn’t know what cons were about or how you were supposed to behave. The signings and panels were freaking me out. I had only had a few issues of Deadpool come out and the response was huge. But I was shy. 10/

I had had two lovely editors on Deadpool, but they got promoted, partly because of our success, and the new guy was HORRIBLE, he stood behind the Marvel table making fun of the appearance of each fan in the signing line, loud enough to hear. Ugh. 11/

No one else could stand him, either, so it was clear it was not going to work with me staying on the book despite us raising it up in sales and critical and fan acclaim. So it was a weird spot and I thought my career was over as it was just beginning. 12/

I just didn;t want to make comics with people like that. I would rather do hair. So I was in this weird spot, fantastic response from readers and pros kept coming by to say they enjoyed the books, but working on the actual book was increasingly difficult. 13/

So I thought, here I am at the biggest con there is, living my dream, and if I quit, I will probably never get to work in comics again. It was ridiculously emotional, the dream came true and was ending on day two, somehow. 14/

Then Jeph Loeb came to the Marvel table. And I was a HUGE fan of his Challengers of the Unknown book, I think it’s a forgotten classic. And he was all business. He was a Dc guy at the time, and this was a Marvel table. He didn’t care. 15/

He said, you need to write for DC. Right now. He said, you can write scary. You need to go speak to Karen Berger at Vertigo. Right now. Do it. I’ve told her you’re coming. It was intense!

I had no idea what to do. Marvel brought me, I didn’t know you COULD talk to DC. 16/

There’s no rule book to study on any of this stuff. :)

So I went to the DC booth to talk to Karen. She was swamped. ‘Uh...I write Deadpool and Jeph Loeb said I should talk to you?’ I was a dorkus and she politely handed me her card but clearly it was just perfunctory. 16/

This story is getting long, sorry, and it’s a little inside baseball but I promise it ties in with Bop shortly! Or just mute this conversation, and I apologize for going on. :) 17/

Then Geoff Johns came by. Now again, I didn’t know you could go to a Marvel table and recruit for DC. But he said something that meant so much to me, he said that I wrote great action scenes, that a lot of even experienced writers just write the same action scene repeatedly. 18/

And he demanded I go speak to Lysa Hawkins, the editor of Birds of Prey. I said, thanks, I was completely shocked. But after the thing with Karen, I felt like such a goofus, I knew I wasn’t going to go bother another editor who had no idea who I was. 19/

But Geoff wasn’t kidding. He specifically came to my next signing the next day, and he brought Jeph Loeb with him, and they literally pulled me to the DC booth to meet Lysa, who was lovely and already knew my stuff and basically hired me on the spot. 20/

But if it hadn’t been for Geoff Johns and Jeph Loeb, who were hugely busy and important in comics, deliberately raiding me up, and forcing me to assert myself, I would still be doing hair right now.
21/

But instead, holy shit, I was now the writer of Birds of Prey.

BIRDS

OF

PREY.

21/

But there were a couple issues...first the book had had a steep decline in sales, and was going to be cancelled. But the editor didn’t give up, she believed in the book.

Second, my first pitch was utter garbage. It was amateurish and dull. No spark at all.

22/

I knew it needed tension, it needed a conflicting POV. I wanted Canary and Oracle to be friends, but that meant there was no rough edge.

So I wrote the editor with what turned out to be the KEY.

“Lysa, can we add the Huntress?”

22/

She said, ‘we’re about to be cancelled, we can do anything we want.’

So Helena Bertinelli comes to the rescue and suddenly, we knew we had something special, it felt like we had been waiting for her. Dc was thrilled, they loved the scripts. 23/

And it became something special. Gorgeous art by Ed Benes and more, it went way up in sales, but more than that, it stayed steady no matter what. Other books fluctuated, but our readership was a ROCK. 24/

And more than that, it became THE gateway book for DC. When people were trying to get their female friends and girlfriends and wives to read comics, they would give them Birds of Prey. It became the first comic for huge numbers of now lifelong readers. 25/

Above everything, I am more proud of that than anything else I have done in comics. I know there are a bunch of readers, mostly but not all female, who came to love comics because of Oracle, Canary and Huntress kicking ass. 26/

And a lot of THOSE women went on to become creators and retailers. I know because they tell me by the dozens at every convention.

Nothing makes me happier. Those three ladies kicking arse every issue, never arguing about boyfriends, always supporting each other. Love! 27/

So when I think of Birds of Prey to this day, it’s special to me. No other book gives me such a warm feeling. Gupport from guys has always been enthusiastic and genuine. They totally got it. It makes me happy just to say the title. 29/

Man, I am bad at numbering these things.

30/

So, anyway, that is why I am a little overprotective of the Birds. Done well, it’s one of the best things on the stands. But it takes a special chemistry. When it’s there, it’s my favorite book. 31/

So I felt like Bop launched my career and what I feel for those three characters is actually beyond gratitude. It’s love and awe. It feels like they aren’t entirely fictional, it feels like they are watching over me sometimes.

This is me, sounding weird, I’m sure. 31/

Okay, finally, flash forward. Birds of Prey movie is announced. I get excited. I have all the same concerns some of you have mentioned, no Barbara apparently, Harley prominence, all that stuff.

BUT.

I LIKE that there are different interpretations. Always have. 32/

And above all, something about Jurnee as Canary just feels so RIGHT to me, she just has such an amazing look and spirit and poise and badassery. I just felt from the first moment that this was going to be special.

33/

So yesterday, I am having a lovely business breakfast with a brilliant literary agent, and I get this email from an exec friend at DC.

The Birds of Prey have requested to meet you, can you come to the DC booth at 5:15?

What?

34/

Why, yes, I believe I can make time to meet the real-life versions of my favorite comic book ever. :). 35/

So I get to the DC booth, there is a massive line, and they grab me and escort me through the crowd to meet the cast. It’s Canary, Harley, Cassandra, and Renée. I can hear people in the crowd saying my name as I go through...what is happening? 36/

And I can’t help thinking, looking at the huge Birds of Prey banner and all these people...the book was going to be cancelled when we took it over. I was part of this train. It almost didn’t happen for a bunch of reasons, but it did, and now all THIS. 37/

So they came out, and let me tell you, that is one gorgeous crew. Beautiful and kind and smiling and just who you hope would be the Birds.

38/

Jurnee was first and she cried out GAIL! And grabbed my hands and I just love her, you guys. We talked about Canary, and she just absolutely gets it. We talked about comics, and she just radiates love for the character. And my heart is happy for DINAH! 41/

Then I am talking with Margo and Jurnee about the film, and they are hoping to make more and THAT is nice to hear. And Margot is incredibly kind and patient and holy moley, she looks like Harley in my brain now. 42/

I met Ella Jay and Rosie both, both absolutely lovely. Rosie is teensy enough you could put her in your pocket and still have room for gum.

43/

I am going to make two predictions about this movie.

1) Jurnee’s Canary is going to steal every scene she is in. Mark my words.

2) Rosie Perez is the stealth bomber of this film. You will he surprised.

44/

I have a funny capper to this story. But the key of it is, I love these actresses, these artists, and I would love for this movie to be part of that amazing chain of events that the book has been, to get people to accept female lead action in a fun, smart way. 45/

I think it will be.

Thank you, Birds of Prey, it was lovely to see you come to life!

47/

And here’s the bit that made me laugh...the cast all signed a poster for me, for my son (he can’t wait for this movie).

So I walk off the little staging area, I get two feet away, and a guy says, “I’ll give you $150 for that poster.”

And another said, “$200.”

HA!

47/

Sorry for the length of this thread, sorry for the misnumbering, but all my Birds Of Prey feelings are on overload right now and I had to put it somewhere!

Love you all, love @NY_Comic_Con, but mostly?

I love DINAH, Helena and Barbara for making me dreams come to life!

End!

THE ONE AND ONLY BIRDSMOF PREY!

This thread is typo heaven!

I AM TYPING IN A HURRY, YOU. :)

I LOVE MY GIRLS