The Wonder Woman Earth One That Could Have Been

dcwomenkickingass:

Grant Morrison recently confirmed in an interview that he is working on a Wonder Woman project. Yanick Paquettete is rumored to be the artist and he recently kind of confirmed it or at least that it wasn’t a “Year One” project. But on yesterday’s “3 Chicks Review Comics” it was revealed it is a Earth One project and that it originally had another team. In an interview writer Greg Rucka said:

I, at one point, was supposed to write Wonder Woman Earth One like they did with Superman and Batman. JH [Williams] was going to draw it.

So what happened?

I was told I was not going to do it. Dan Didio called me and told me he was giving it to someone else. And I said if you take that away from me I can no longer work for you because I have taken many a job for you, sir, on the promise of doing this and now you’re taking it away and I can no longer accept your promises any more. He had his reasons for doing it; this is not me throwing stones. This is just the way things shook out.

He did know that the “someone else” was Grant Morrison.…

Crying forever.

Greg Rucka on writing women

dcwomenkickingass:

On Tuesday I shared with you some of the thoughts Greg Rucka had about Hollywood, comics and women. Today he’s has an essay on io9 where he talks about writing female characters.

Here’s a sample:

Gender isn’t simply a biological trait; it’s a societal one. The female experience is different from that of the male, and if, as a male writer, you cannot accept that basic premise, then you will never, ever, be able to write women well. A man walking alone through Midtown Manhattan at three in the morning may have concerns for his safety, but I promise you, it’s a very different experience for a woman taking the same walk, and it’s different again for a man wearing a dress. Think about it. That’s a societal factor, and it’s a gendered one, and this is not and can not be subject to debate. If you’re looking to argue that sexism is a thing of the past, that the world is gender-blind, you’re not only wrong, you’re lying to yourself.

I recommend you go read the rest.

I remember elements of Greg Rucka’s advice about characterisation, whenever I’m trying to create a character with a significantly different life experience from me. He really is a great writer.

Toughest Comics Question Ever…

gailsimone:

For International Women’s Day, I am asking everyone to name their ONE favorite female-identifying character each for DC or Marvel. This is your all-time favorite from each publisher, and no cheating is allowed.

Who do you choose?

That IS tough! Erm…it’s difficult with the reboot because it’s changed how I view some characters. I can’t choose between the batgirls. I think I’m going to have to be really unoriginal and go for Wonder Woman for DC, both due her characterisation in the books I’ve read by Gail Simone and Greg Rucka, and for what she’s meant as a symbol to so many women. I’ve not very clued up on Marvel, but I’ve always liked Rogue.

Greg Rucka On How To Write A Strong Female Character

I’ve already reblogged a part of this interview but I feel the need to quote some more, and then go re-read Batwoman: Elegy. 

One does not write a “female” character any more than one writes a “male” character. One writes character, and character is derived from many, many different components, gender being just one of them. Education, background, childhood, religion, sexual orientation and experience, unique history - all of these things influence character, and the writer’s job is to present the whole package in the form of an individual. The problem isn’t that writers forget they’re writing one gender or another, it’s that they do so without due consideration for the factors. To write any character, one must inhabit their life, evaluate it, and then see both through their character’s bias, and objectively.