The Joker has played a huge part in Barbara Gordon's life when referring to the important pieces of history. After all, it was the Joker who shot Babs and left her paralyzed. While much of Barbara's history remains unrevealed, this September a new story promises to reveal some of it and in October, the Joker is going to be appearing in Batgirl. Newsarama talked with writer Gail Simone about what we can expect in the series.
Newsarama: Gail, it feels as if there's a lot of coordination between the Batman books lately, particularly coming off the "Night of the Owls" event and heading toward "Death of the Family." I know you've had editorial differences on other titles. But how would you characterize the experience of working in the Batman office post-New 52, and how has it contributed to your work as a writer on Batgirl?
Gail Simone: Well, this is something I welcome because it's idea-based, all the writers and editors working on things that are cool at their core, rather than saying, "We need a crossover, here, who has an idea," which is really backwards, and clearly has been the case for some books in the past. I'm glad to see this, it was something I really missed in the first few months of the New 52, where we were trying to establish each book individually. It made sense, but I missed the tapestry, I missed connecting the threads.
We're now finding much more organic and lovely connections between books, which is where my heart is and a big part of the fun of a shared universe. With something like "Night of the Owls," Scott Snyder had a brilliant idea that just fired up everyone's imagination, I absolutely loved that, and everyone from writers to editors to artists contributed and shared ideas. Genuinely one of the nicest crossover processes I've been part of, and it shows. The books were scary and funny and a little bit infernal, and that's a joy for me. But, you know, I'm the girl who actually wants to make sense of Marvel Bunny and Jonah Hex and the Legion of Super-Heroes all being in the same universe. That's what made me fall in love with DC in the first place. Really, I would write that team-up in a heartbeat.
Newsarama: Her emotions over the events of The Killing Joke still don't feel completely resolved, because she hasn't had to deal with the Joker again. Since we've heard about the return of Joker in "Death of the Family" in the Batman title, and DC has implied it will touch other members of the Batman family, will Barbara be confronted more directly by the villain in your title?
Gail Simone: "Resolved" is kind of a tough word, here. There's definitely a feeling out there regarding this stuff that someone is fixed or not fixed, like an on/off switch. It's not that binary, but she is facing this stuff head on. And I am pretty sure a Joker/Batgirl story is inevitable, but I can't say more than that. Think of two trains on the same track facing towards each other…there's nowhere for either of them to go but towards collision.
Newsarama: And that collision occurs in your "Death of the Family" tie-in to Scott's Batman story?
Gail Simone: Yes. It is the once-and-for-all confrontation between the Batgirl and the man who shot and paralyzed her. It does not go as he expected. This story starts in issue #14, and I have to say, it's pretty shocking. That's all I'll say right now, however.
Newsarama: We've seen the solicitation for Batgirl #0, and it appears that you'll be revealing more about Batgirl's time between her attack by Joker and her surgery. Can you describe the issue and what we'll learn about Batgirl?
Gail Simone: Batgirl #0 is actually not about that, it's about before that…a story that hasn't yet been told. I'm excited about it, and it looks amazing, with art by Ed Benes, doing some of his most emotional work ever. I'm loathe to give too much away, but this is about Barbara's choice to become Batgirl.
For the entire interview, including talk about Knightfall and the Talon, head over to Newsarama. Batgirl #11 is in stores this week.
Posted by Dustin Fritschel
