Gail Simone: From Birds of Prey to Twitter, an Analysis

Buy Birds of Prey by Gail Simone: amzn.to/2T2I75b
Gail Simone is one of the most popular writers in comics today and has been for 20 years. This video takes a look at her history and her writing techniques with a close look at her run on Birds of Prey in particular. Well known for balancing humor, action, and drama, Gail is also recognized for her use of social media. From the website Women in Refrigerators to utilizing Facebook and Twitter to gain jobs and fans, she's remained a top selling writer for a long time.
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[@skott3824]

Your version of Birdemic has better special effects than the real one.

[@T-Jex]

He actually waved that coat hanger into a direction near one of those fake birds

[@manticorephoenix]

The special effects budget got sick from that fish that Sam cooked last year, and died (Upbeat music)

[@sarkastikleader4708]

Facts lmao

[@mariod1547]

I was going to say the same thing

[@gustavoabrita6528]

Agreed

[@sanfordday]

Hi, Chris: When you hit 100K, you should make a compilation of all of your "Oh, hi!" intros

[@MGKiryu]

San D. seconded

[@v-trigger6137]

Oh hi! 😂

[@dasboom7133]

Why? There is no topping this one, just watch it over and over! I got to go, I think I heard a mountain lion.

[@user-nv9vn8fm1d]

100%

[@MrFaceNumeroUno]

Love it!

[@TheBaronBJ]

Chris, what I'd say stands out about your channel and topics compared to most channels is the topics you choose; I think your breakout episode demonstrates that best. Most of the big comic channels on KZbin do nothing but read out the wiki page of a character or give the plot synopsis of a story. That may be interesting for people who want a quick fill-in for a character/event, or just like hearing about comics but not reading them (I like watching Gordon Ramsey, but I can't cook to save myself), but your channel has distinct topics with strong hooks that are based in the history of the comic industry, without being so niche that that they're alienating to a layman. Jack Kirby may be the most famous comic artist of all time, but explaining the history of inking and how audiences see his work is a great concept that people can't just easily find on their own. No other channel is going to find an easily digestible wiki page with everything on it regarding these events that can be condensed and regurgitated into a digestible format. This is where your channel comes in. This would have to be done with research. Same with explaining the Diamond distribution model, or this very episode about Gail Simone. The layman comic fan (who should be your target, I may be deep into the hobby, but targetting people like myself is NOT the path to success, at least not initially) KNOWS OF these things, but only in very loose detail. They're inately interesting topics, that require knowledge and effort that cookie cutter channels can't/won't put in. That is why you are the only dedicated comic channel I'm subscribed to. You're one of the only people out there offering something like this for comics; not just an audiobook version of the marvel wikia. I hope your star continues to rise. Apologies for my grammar, I'm tired and lazy.

[@Isayonelove]

Baron BJ I dont read comics but I love watching comic tropes since chris is so personable and digestably indepth. Great work chris, love seeing you looking well.

[@xanetas]

So true!

[@rudolphaust8295]

Great break down! I hope Chris reads this.

[@v-trigger6137]

Vince Colletta's story itself was very tragic and interesting. it explains that how a naive overconfident person was living a perfect life, and suddenly lost everything, passed away and now has been forgotten from the industry. it's a very influential story imo Lol it gives a bunch of life lesson, and something tells that in the future that video will gonna make millions because of the concept, the story and the quality of the video

[@Jaddaprog]

This is very true. This and cartoonist kayfabe prove that there is a market of people hungry for a look into the history if the comics industry, and more discussion about creators and methodology in comcis.

[@HiperPivociarz]

I think the creator does not have responsibility to control their fans. It's a struggle in vain, people will think and do what they want regardless.

[@Underworlddream]

I would agree but these days I seen alot of stuff happend. I think they atleast have to show that they disapprove of the action. There a number of people I seen who refused to say anything bad about some of there super fan that do anything bad but at the same time would praise them constantly As well as protect them from critisim. There usually lot of wink wink nudge nudge with people who intentionally used there fans to harrassed other people, were those who don't usually and constantly say 'Don't harrassed them or contact them'.

[@HiperPivociarz]

@@Underworlddream I mean, yeah, you should at least say "I do not approve of this" and "Don't harass them".

[@kaminarigaston]

You have to do it, but it's an empty gesture. Harassers gonna harass regardless, and the targets pretend they didn't disencourage and disavow the harassers.

[@zachanikwano]

Underworlddream I mean they should at least not encourage bad behavior and denounce it if their fans do it.

[@briancrocker3377]

You can't control your fans, but you can try NOT to weaponize them, and you can make them know your disapproval of their actions, and take steps to try and minimize their ire and rage over certain things.

[@bipolarewok]

Wow, those ten seconds of birdemic look much better than the actual movie. What prestige film school did you attended?

[@MrSomebodyStrange]

It's just the magic of the special effects. You see, technology made a huge leap forward since 2010

[@kkaassist]

@@MrSomebodyStrange i wish it was reddit cause r/whoooosh

[@bipolarewok]

@@kkaassist I'm pretty sure the r/wooooshed is you. He's clearly joking as well

[@talkingtoast]

@@bipolarewok Lol.Ciaphhas was serious, destroyah was joking and ur serious. So the r/whooshed is actually 2 out of 3 of you. Lmao

[@bipolarewok]

@@talkingtoast I was seriously joking, destroyah was jokingly being serious and ciaphas is a bot that doesn't understand humor or seriousness

[@dr.masque2903]

I always say, there are no bad characters, just bad writers. Gail proved it wit Secret Six. How Rag Doll became one of my favorite villains. 😎

[@LupineShadowOmega]

You're so right. I say this about so many characters. Good writing, is good writing.

[@RighteousBrother]

Brother Power The Geek?

[@LupineShadowOmega]

@@RighteousBrother Batman The Brave and The Bold already did it.

[@karabearcomics]

@RighteousBrother I personally think he had an interesting version by Rachel Pollack in the Vertigo Visions one-shot that was done. Of course, that was my introduction to the character, and I haven't read anything else involving him (none of which were by Pollack, to my knowledge), so I've never seen him as a bad character, myself. Though I will concede that Pollack did write him as basically an extension of how she wrote Doom Patrol. But I loved her on that title, so of course I'd be fine with more of that weirdness.

[@dr.masque2903]

RighteousBrother hey I am a huge Creeper fan so, why not?

[@eversafter13]

When I was a kid and first getting into comics there was no comics shops in my town. The only place that had comics that I could walk to was the country market that only had a few titles. One of those was Birds of Prey. Gail Simone's run on birds of prey were some of my first comics and for that reason Gail and the birds of prey will always hold a special place in my heart.

[@Taqi616]

Chris, PETA would like to speak with you... you got an award

[@Taqi616]

Also you gotta cover Chuck Dixon at some point

[@ChicaneryBear]

Taqi 616 it’s a pity that he went off the deep end in the past few years

[@truefanforum3273]

Taqi 616 Is that the regular PETA, or the other one: People Eating Tasty Animals?

[@JunkyardKid]

@@truefanforum3273 the first one- the organization that kills animals.

[@truefanforum3273]

@@JunkyardKid Uh, PETA is for animal rights. I don't think they kill animals.

[@TheZooropaBaby]

That intro was way more coherent than the original movie

[@darbypea2223]

I think Gail Simone is a brilliant writer and ive enjoyed everything shes written. Im an artist myself so when i go for comics its usually based on artists that i love but shes one of the few writers whose work ill always pick up

[@TomGallagherSuperboyBeyond]

A few years ago i found one of my old Simpsons comics and was reading it. I found myself chuckling more in that one issue, than i have for the past 10 years of The Simpsons on tv. I wondered why that was. I flipped back to the title page. Written by Gail Simone.

[@Palmieres]

There's a wonderful MST3K episode where they mock a short showing cheerleaders in the 50s doing an awkward dance, and they shout "Look! Look! Look at my crotch!" That's exactly what comes to mind when I see that Ed Benes artwork.

[@timmeyer9191]

I really liked Simone's work on Deadpool, Agent X, and Birds of Prey. I miss Oracle. She was the first disabled super hero in comics (Daredevil doesn't count with his heightened senses). Oracle showed that even though bad things might happen to good people, there is life after tragedy. People can still good things.

[@mathewguglielmi8451]

Chris, another great video analysing comic book writing. A good overview of Gail Simone's writing career. Awesome t-shirt! Good to see the growth of your channel.

[@jamesbell7207]

Can anyone control anyone else? Not realistically, not forever, and not without the risk of becomming a villain. But, talented people can be very INFLUENTIAL. Remember: "With great power comes great responsibility... and a lot of people to care about."

[@mattfritz1]

I think one of the reasons your last video did so well, and why I clicked on it, was the subject of inking, and how an inker can destroy a comic. For people not practicing comic art, they probably clicked on it because they never thought about the importance of inkers and wanted to find out more. For those familiar with inking, they wanted to see how kirby’s art was destroyed, like watching a train wreck.

[@basteagui]

it's a little bit like gail simone's writing destroying most of the comics she makes nowadays

[@SpeedyNoriega]

I'm still waiting for him to be playing with an action figure of himself and hit us with "Oh Hi! You caught me playing with myself!"

[@Lofi_Ethan]

I discovered this channel recently having 0 comic experience or interest whatsoever, but I just loved your enthusiasm and interest in comics. I've been binging your videos since then and planning on going to a comic shop for the first time today! Thanks for your awesome videos.

[@adeirribeiro1704]

Ed Benes is a great artist, he's not a Jim Lee clone

[@redwolfe7049]

Ed Benes art was the main reason why I gotten into Birds of Prey. When I was reading the actual comic, I loved her writing.

[@kiddeath96]

Ed is better than lee in my opinion

[@zacharypreval3186]

Let's be real, being a "Jim Lee clone" make you better than most artists.

[@exarkun3263]

Chris I really think you're one of the best KZbin channels out there, and not just about comics. Your videos are interesting, well-edited, well-researched, articulated, pleasant, funny, educational, and full of commitment and passion. I really hope you get better as you mentioned you were going through some tough times and I genuinely believe that some day you'll be able to make a living out of your channel. Thanks for everything.

[@squangleproductions1382]

1:20 I swear I thought you were calling Gail Simone a cow until I heard the farm part, I busted out laughing

[@earthwormjerry8422]

@@yousefkaldany2779 waaaah

[@grzegorzbaranowski7148]

Fight choreography in Birds of Prey was actually done by the same guy as John Wick so the resemblence is justified. And it was damn escellent.

[@a_l_e_x_26]

I'm so happy that you're finally getting the exposure you deserve Chris :) Keep doing what you're doing, buddy!

[@corporealaegis9634]

Congrats on the channel growth. Been here for about a year now and really been enjoying your content.

[@kencoleman5007]

"Sensei and the Student" is still one of my favorite DC stories, and the Simone Black Canary II one of my favorite characters. Didn't "Sensei" also include the casework of Dinah Laurel's mother?

[@xavier6486]

So close to 100k! Godspeed Chris!

[@thoforn]

Love the history behind comics and inker's,writer's,artist,s shape of history,handling in them..you deserve all the growth on the channel :)

[@TJRex01]

Chris, you are the comics KZbin creator I’ve been looking for. You’re deeply knowledgeable about the medium and it’s history, you have a clear and deep love not just for superheroes but comics creators, and although you do occasionally take on bad or disappointing comics you spend most of your time elevating stories, writers, and artists that deserve it. This channel has helped me rediscover the sheer joy comics used to bring me, and I thank you for that.

[@peterburman5193]

*watches intro* "I understood that reference!" Love your videos Chris! Keep it up!

[@nvlvs5937]

Yt recommended me to your channel, rly glad they did bc i got the chance to know about bratpack and other cool comic stuff, thanks!

[@MattDraper]

Great video! Loved your blended focus here, it makes for a very unique and dynamic piece.

[@jeff_superscript]

I stumbled upon your channel recently and liked what I saw and went back and watched many of your older videos. Keep doing EXACTLY what you’re doing!

[@TheGreatDevlin]

I've been watching old ComicTropes videos all week. To see how far the channel has come is awesome... But where's your bowling shirt? Lol

[@rockbertrexington2592]

Congrats on the channel growth! You've more than earned it!

[@MrGreyWolfAlpha]

Been binging you for over a week. I have no doubt your channel will continue to grow

[@moseslovesk]

I'm really glad I found this. This is one of my new favorite things. Also, I'm pumped that there is a lot of back library to watch.

[@optillian4182]

Best intro, hands down.

[@Girthon1]

You know it.

[@crackedupmonk]

Or up if there are birds

[@JayRNaylor]

Instinctively, humans feel more distress over a woman's peril than a man's. This is why writer's often go to women in trouble or being killed as a quick emotional shot to a story. It's a little bit of evolved inequality that leans in women's favor, honestly, that murdered men aren't as upsetting to us.

[@jamesstewart8500]

Great episode Chris! I'm so happy that the channel continues to grow. Keep up the excellent work

[@Frankenstein077]

Great to see/hear how well the channel is doing, Chris. You absolutely deserve it.

[@rodfetsch3486]

I am one of your subscribers that found you by the Vince Colletta video and I have gone back and watched many of your videos. I love what you do and what draws me to your work is 1) Your perspective. It's obvious how much you love the comics industry but you remain objective in your view. 2) You are a good historian for the industry. I have learned A TON about the history of the medium through your videos and as someone who has grown up reading and loving comic books, your videos are a gift. It's what I loved about the Vince Colletta and the Vampirella videos. You have a knack for taking the history of comics and telling it as a story. 3) You have a good sense of humor. So in conclusion, please keep doing what you are doing. Now I am going to go read Secret Six because I had never heard of it but I really enjoyed Gail Simone's work on Birds of Prey.

[@miguelthedrawtist]

Nice bad movie reference in that intro. The Birds. Lol Edit: Apparently, Birdemic is the correct title for the movie, I'm referring to. Thanks, @Angelgorm for pointing that out. 👍🏽

[@TheRealNormanBates]

Miguel The Drawtist funny.... I thought it was Little Women.

[@angelgorm8230]

The Birds is a movie from 1963 which was well received and if I remember correctly it was also met with critical acclaim. What you're thinking about is Birdemic which was released in 2010. That movie was a total shitshow. Currently it is considered a "so bad, it's good movie" I think. I don't like Birdemic, but I do like The Birds.

[@miguelthedrawtist]

@@angelgorm8230 Yes, you're totally right! My bad

[@angelgorm8230]

@@miguelthedrawtist Don't sweat it bro! At least you have a potential movie to watch if you ever get bored.

[@LittleDogTobi]

I've so been looking forward to this, Chris! Thank you!

[@Suazman2]

Keep up the great work, your videos are awesome! I’ve told many of my friends about your channel... and will continue to do so . So congrats on your success.

[@fishstix6976]

Can you do an analysis of Milestone comics and what it did for the industry

[@joshmason1460]

Fish Stix just saw a 2 part video highlighting them and it was very interesting

[@Robo-Hector]

I think you should've gone into more details about why she was fired from Batgirl in the first place and why it's wrong for her to have used social media to get her job back.

[@markuscriticus8278]

We don't actualyl knwo what happened. Simone and DC give stories On one hand, a person, even when trying to be honest, naturally tends to pick the most sympathetic interepretation. On the other hand, DC have lied before and after that and treat their creators like dogshit, especially female ones (they went out of their way to keep known sex harassers on staff). So.

[@DarkLordFluffee]

I'm new to your channel but I've already binged like half of it lol. you have such a pleasant and balanced approach to subject matter that's making me want to get into reading comics regularly again

[@Principles_of_Psychology]

Close to 100,000 subs! This channel totally deserves this milestone. It is incredibly well-informed and well-structured. So on to a million subs!

[@VuotoPneumaNN]

Simone also wrote one of the best JLU episodes, Double Date.

[@thephantomoftheparadise5666]

That episode was awesome!

[@JW666]

She did? Awesome, one of my favorite episodes! =D

[@spawnfyre]

And the somewhat controversial The Mask of Matches Malone! from Batman: Brave and the Bold. :)

[@Rob_Gibson]

With a Tommy Monaghan shout out too...even if he's rumored dead.

[@21swords76]

spawnfyre why was that controversial tho?

[@euansmith3699]

Secret Six is so much a better premise than the Suicide Squad. A top comic.

[@Udgrasil13]

It is one of my favorite comics. I really like her complete reimagination of Catman. It was my gateway in to the wonderful writing of Gail Simone.

[@LRM23936]

@giftofgab247 Ostrander is still the gold standard for Suicide Squad.

[@mayssm]

Love your channel, been subscribed for a while now, and really look forward to each new video. I feel like I'm going to a college class on a favorite subject and awesome professor every time a new video comes out.

[@theamericanwordsmith2670]

We love you, Chris! Thanks for all of the amazing videos!

[@agoodun]

Always found it funny that Benes was the artist for Simone here

[@scottgg74]

I think it has backfired on her now. She went completely bonkers last week over the dismal Birds of Prey box office results blaming it on sexist men. Also, what good is 100k+ followers if they don't actually buy your comics and you alienate tens of thousands of actual buyers by calling them a a bunch of "- ists" (pick your favorite one). Sales of her comics now are often below 10k an issue and even below 5k on some. Lion Forge is lucky to sell 1,500 copies of any of their titles if they even put a book each month.

[@JianCB2]

Been a while, I'm glad there's a new video

[@chaosmatic404]

You deserve all the success you have and a lot more, I am sure your channel will continue to grow in the coming months. I am not even a big comic book reader and I still watch all of your videos and truly enjoy them.

[@thelunaist2014]

"oh hi" you caught me staring longingly at my Silver Play Button.

[@firewolf99]

Great video. Will definitely be trying some Gail Simone comics based on your recommendations- she sounds awesome!

[@user-nv9vn8fm1d]

Don't do New52 stuff. Lol All the writers including her on Batgirl got screwed over by events (more than usual).

[@earthwormjim91]

Her stories are pretty good just avoid her Twitter shes a petty bully and liar.

[@devonmckenna7588]

Congrats on 100k followers!! Your ultimatum video showed up in my recommendations and I binged most of your videos all day yesterday. Love your attitude and interesting topics!

[@kenbanhdaz1516]

Glad to see your channel grow Chris. Been watching your channel since you went by skunkape. Your videos are always a joy to watch and I love that you go in depth in both comic history and a comic writer/artist’s tropes.

[@rudesthazard5769]

I like Gail's writing a lot. Oracle was among my favorite characters. When gail is on point she's a legend. But, in saying that, Gail is both the best and worst thing to happen to Barbara Gordon. I dunno. I think social media warped her pretty bad. I think the whole "women in fridges" thing taught her that there was power in being a bully, as long as you appeared to be a bully for the right cause. Her writing can still be good or even top notch, but sometimes you see these weird immersion breaking jabs at real people, topics, and so on. Like that the whole "he skinned my family for the lulz" ordeal as some kind of jab for people disagreeing with her on social media lol.

[@CAL112100]

I still don't understand "fridging" as a bad thing. Isn't death and desire always motivators in life? Also, does this mean that the likes of Uncle Ben, Thomas and Martha Wayne, and the entire planet of Krypton fall under the trope of "Fridging"?

[@xanetas]

Secret Six and Welcome to Tranquility are my favourite Simone's comics. Congratulations on all those new subscribers. Comic Tropes its the best comics channel on KZbin hands down. One request only: more european comics! Thanks a lot, Chris!

[@terrythomas7451]

Loved the episode. Glad to see you enthusiastic and happy!

[@RevanMartinez]

This channel is so informative and interesting. Keep it up Comic Tropes! 👍🏽

[@randallbourque1321]

Thanks for filling me in on Gail's work throughout the years. But her work was not portrayed in BOP the movie. The good thing it wasn't a movie made for me so I didn't waste money on it. Was much happier taking my son to see Sonic. Being toxic on twitter even if other people are toxic doesn't help your case it makes you look like the people you complain about.

[@dr.masque2903]

As far as Twitter goes, people forget the saying “if you have nothing good to say, don’t say anything”. A lot of discussions degrade into personal attacks, and end up just dragging everyone down.

[@CatWithAHat2HD]

There is way more reasons why twitter is a toxic hellhole. Firstly it encourages short messages to be the norm which obviously makes nuance hard - the fact it's using writing as the main medium doesn't help either, becasue it's rather difficult to include the same ammount of nuance in a written sentence as compared to the same spoken sentence. Secondly it's a platform that allows total strangers with no investment in one another (or indeed in their own reputation as the platform allows for anonimity) to interact. That means there is remarkably little incentive to actually resolve differences and find common ground. If you make your neighbor think you're a dick, there may be unforseen consequences. If you make some rando on another continent upset, what is he gonna do? Unless you're 'checkmark' he doesnt even know who you are. It literally doesn't matter! Thirdly we live in a world of low attention spans and that plays very nastily with the previous points. We're talking about a platform that makes nuance inherently difficult, takes time to use (typing is slow - yes ppl can type faster than they can speak, but the speech is richer in information so I'd argue it's actually speech that allows, all in all, for more efficient communication, especially if you take into account the fact you may take hours between making responses on twitter, so your mind isn't necessairly fully in it, certainly not to the point it is during a face to face conversation) and gives you no incentive to be civil or indeed seek any resolution to any potential conflict. So we end up with a method of communication that is slow, encourages simplistic messages and that interfaces you with ppl you don't actually care about. I'd honestly argue it's literally parasocial. It makes you *think* you are engaged in a type of interaction that you are used to and that your brain has evolved to handle (a conversation), when in reality it presents you with a totally different type of interaction: one that tricks you (to some extent) into entering into public conflicts that can then be picked up by bystanders so as to create a spiral of 'drama'. Twitter gets users through that drama so it has a direct incentive to foster it as a feature of its platform too. (Not that I think any of this was designed by the ppl who work for Twitter by any means, but I think they've stumbled upon it and that is very much where their success has come from.) TL;DR: Twitter is literally evil, dont use it.

[@dr.masque2903]

CatWithAHat2HD a lot of valid points. I will slightly disagree on one thing. I started using Twitter about a year ago, after much hesitation. I am into board games and the overall community is small and people know each other, I find these people to be helpful, friendly, and encouraging. And if anyone does something I don’t like, I just cut them loose and move on. Life’s too short for that kind of nonsense. Your overall assessment is correct, Twitter is mostly a cesspool.

[@usagiwerd6664]

Cool new episode, THANK you for always being constant and posted lots of content you derserve so much love thanks best comic information

[@usagiwerd6664]

Yee cant control your fans individuals are themselves

[@toytripperv8488]

That inker episode came up on my recommended list a few times. I tried to give it a watch, and I was darn entertained and educated!!! I subscribed immediately. KZbin does give out some good algorithms once in a while.

[@mikedeck8381]

I don't know why EVS left DC or all the politics behind it. Having said that he likely made the right move at the right time. You just mention him being blacklisted but from what I can see the guy is having the time of his life. Its hard working with people you can't stand. That's the basic gist that I get from him. Unfortunately he is into drama. As far as social media goes, while it does help creators interact with fans, it also seems to be a distraction that maybe takes time away from their creative endeavors. Considering the current state of the print comic industry anything that hurts the quality of the product isn't good. The rise of creators having a presence on social media correlates with industries decline all though I'm not sure if there is an actual correlation. Now, as to the question you asked, I think the real problem is people take social media too seriously. I've never even really been on Twitter. Certainly you couldn't share your thoughts like in this video on such a format. You might provide a link to the video I suppose. No do social media leaders have a responsibility to rein in followers? Certainly they should never advocate for violence or harassment. Beyond that you really start getting into grey areas that are too complicated to go into but yes social media leaders should have at least a modicum of self restraint.

[@TheWhmaxwell]

Chris, I have to say "eh", her older stuff is good, in the last X years, she appears to have gone in a strange direction both personally and professionally. I would love to see more Secret Six kind of stuff but I think she is one of those writers that needs editorial overall. Later dude.

[@darkcoeficient]

I feel like she was destined to decline considering how she started in comics. As an activist.

[@ChaosoneX]

You want to talk about "strange direction." There's a Twitter thread of Gail Simone going Azula-level psychocrazy over what I assume had to involve either Comicsgate, the Birds of Prey movie flopping, or possibly both. It's such a level of batshit no-chill insanity that I'm thinking, I don't know what EVS said about her, but, um.... that might be legit truth.

[@jeffhabib6673]

ChaosoneX I believe she lost her mind and did that thread with all the Ugly Dolls because of BoP flopping. I don’t think it was a CG thing. It was kind of funny because while she was doing that, Rob Liefield was trolling the hell out of BoP defenders, so it appeared as though Rob caused her to lash out.

[@jezzuh9120]

I'm one of those new subscribers from the last two weeks and now I've watched most of your videos. I think you're awesome.

[@TheDecatonkeil]

You deserve the following. Honestly, you know how to diversify while still keeping it one of the most informative and painstakingly researched shows about the medium, making it cater to another type of hardcore fanbase (not your typical Marvel VS DC fanboys, but actual fans of the wider medium), good editing and production and your wholesome peronality that transpires through it. Keep up the good work!

[@MrSafior]

He's a sea of tranquillity in this of over zealous politic charger whinner that plage the youtube side of the comics.

[@Unnlikable]

Your intro is now canon to the Birdemic cinematic universe

[@HiperPivociarz]

I'm glad that nowadays the term Fridging is applied to both male and female characters. Like, the example I can think off of the top of my head, is Jason Grace from the recent Rick Riordan book, who got killed just to expand the main character and his ex-girlfriend as characters.

[@user-nv9vn8fm1d]

Lol true. I think it's because male and female characters appear at similar rates now though. Back then there weren't as many strong female characters so it was extra cringy when one would just be written to be slaughtered. Now we have variety.

[@HiperPivociarz]

@@user-nv9vn8fm1d Yes, you are indeed right. I'm glad that has changed. Also, I think Fridging is much more offensive when it happens to a character who wasn't made just to die. It's worse when it happens to a character who had their own history and fans. They are basically stripped of all that identity and become just an accessory for another character.

[@HiperPivociarz]

@Qwerty Fridging is a very specific type of character death. I think TV Tropes describes it better than I ever could: tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StuffedIntoTheFridge

[@MrFaceNumeroUno]

Another 10/10 as always! Great ep! Keep up the fantastic work!

[@thebubonicj]

I was recommended your Vince video and ultimately subscribed. I'd never ran across your channel before so I think the KZbin gods shined upon you as well as the mysterious algorithm.

[@CatWithAHat2HD]

Here's a proposed rule of thumb for public personalities when they're on their soapboxes: don't make personal attacks, at all. If you make personal attacks against someone, when in that position, you are using your influence to convince people at large that they should also dislike someone you dislike, based on what is effectivley your subjective feelings about their character. That is, in official academic language, a dick move. Do feel free to criticize any and all work the person has ever done. If your fans pester them because you've managed to convince them that the person's work is bad, well, you have dumb fans, but that's it. Every public personality will have those. In essence: the hate the sin, not the sinner idea. S'an old, but good one. Conversly, ppl should stop taking social media so seriously... Companies routinely overreact to demands or complaints or w/e made on social media, and the truth is, most of the ppl acting all outraged on twitter will not actually change their purchasing habits based on said outrage.

[@qty1315]

I think that "People should stop taking social media so seriously," can be akin to someone saying "Hey, don't take your job too seriously." In the case of public personalities and businesses, yes, they do need to take social media very seriously. That's their livelihood. Their career could live or die based entirely on what is posted to Twitter and KZbin.

[@cruddddddddddddddd]

Gerald Weir That’s the problem op is pointing out. Social media/twitter outrage is garbage. I want to read good comics written and drawn by talented people. Most comic book fans do not care what Twitter thinks about how many marginalized people should be writing X-Men comics... or whatever the new outrage is next week. They want talented writers and artists making stories for their favorite comic books. If a few of those talented creators are part of some minority group, then great... as long as the book is quality, then who cares. The twitter outrage/social justice mobs are killing good art and storytelling in comics.

[@qty1315]

@@cruddddddddddddddd I think that people just like being angry online because, well, being angry online results in being countered with some text that you can ignore. Being angry in real life results in real life fights, real injuries, and broken possessions. Also, people are always looking for ways to profit off of people's positive and negative emotions.

[@CatWithAHat2HD]

​@@qty1315 I should have been more clear. COMPANIES should take social media less seriously because, as of today, they take it as way more representative of their actual market share than it actually is and thus you can lose your job because you made someone angry on twitter. It's not irrational behavior of them to be cautious in the face of something they don't understand (no one does, social media is new) but I think it is rather clear they are over all overreacting right now. A FEATURE of sites like twitter is that you get to talk to ppl you don't care about with 0 consequence (because of your anonimity) and , surprise surprise, most ppl that support *anything* on twitter don't actually care about it either way. Retweeting is risk free, low effort simmulation of a social interaction (something humans have an inbuilt drive to pursue). But it's also on a platform that strongly encourages lack of nuance and allows you to talk to anonymous randos while also being an anonymous rando. All in all this means that it encourages conflict (or at the very least does not encourage conflict resolution becuase you have no investment in the other party nor will you reap the consequemces for remaining in conflict with them). In other words: most of the ppl that tell you mean things on twitter don't *CARE* about you or what you're selling to begin with, so their opinion can and should be ignored. Not just from an art critic perspective (which is obvious) but also from a marketing perspective - the numbers are not atually representing sales, they represent bored ppl who probably don't care about your product regardless. In most cases an outraged twitterian it's a potential sale that now you are even less likely to get then before, but they were never a part of your target demo to begin with... This is twitter: they are a rando with nothing better to do. They don't *matter* for your sales figures UNLESS the content of their outrage is valid criticism. But to discern that you need way more effort (and wisdom) from your maketing department, working in tandem with other departments (as the marketing department has no idea about the validity of any criticism of the product) - so inter department cooperation - you can see how that's not exactly something that most corporate environments are designed to handle. So most marketing departments just go with the easy solution of responding to any outrage as if it were serious - it's less work for them that way and they don't have to go to any exec to try to explain to him that, even though this is a marketing decision through and through, they must talk to ppl from other departments before actually sugesting a MO, which will almost certainly ammount to them looking incompetnent in the eyes of the exec in question. So instead of doing that they jsut tell the exec to fire someone 'cause that is easy to do and provides everyone with a convenient scapegoat. It's not just morally reprehensible. It. Is. Bad. Business.

[@qty1315]

@@CatWithAHat2HD "I should have been more clear. COMPANIES should take social media less seriously because, as of today, they take it as way more representative of their actual market share than it actually is and thus you can lose your job because you made someone angry on twitter. " I think that you don't understand how important PR is for companies, especially in the creative industries.

[@wadewilson7000]

Social media, especially Twitter had not been good for the quality of Simone her work. Neither has her personna online in general.

[@jamesalexhowlett]

Hey man, I just want to let you know that I respect your content, and you your show makes me happy to watch. Keep up the good work!

[@NelsonStJames]

Your channel's success is well deserved. It's one of the few KZbin channels about comics that show up on my feed where I am 100% sure the content creator actually likes comics.

[@darklinkosmar]

I never considered Benes as a clone of Jim Lee, the real clones are While Portacio, Andy Kubert and Rob Liefeld.

[@Cincinnatijames]

Nah, I had never seen Benes work until this video and the first thing I thought was Jim Lee. The 3 you named are very different

[@RighteousBrother]

I can see similarities with Andy Kubert, but not enough to call him a Jim Lee clone.

[@DementedDistraction]

I would say Portacio was definitely a Jim Lee clone early on in his career (particularly during his Uncanny X-Men run), though his style has evolved quite a bit since then - though with that said I can't say it's evolved for the better, in my opinion. I've always thought Andy Kubert tried to emulate his style after Jim Lee's, and in my mind he was deliberately chosen to take the reigns on X-Men after Lee left in the 90s because of his similar style. I was never much of a fan of his work though, his art just looked like messy Jim Lee artwork to my eyes. Liefeld...is something else - I do think he tried to style his art in a similar vein to Jim Lee back in the day, but Liefeld is just so awful his artwork has become its own style unto itself...it's odd.

[@darklinkosmar]

@@DementedDistraction liefeld artwork it is worse than bad, it is a bad copy that is why i will never buy any comic of him, i like Kubert work it is not as good as Lee but it iz beautiful to watch.

[@darklinkosmar]

@@Cincinnatijames i would recomend justice league of america's run of brad meltzer, Benes artwork is really great

[@JW666]

I like Barbara Gordon but having her "cured" from her paralysis feels exaggerated and not believable at all! Also, DC took away a character with a handicap/disability, they never thought that Oracle could have inspired readers who also has a disability and are wheelchair bound. Some of them must have been really disappointed when she was no longer handicap and she could walk again. I doubt they even used this disability "cure" ever again in another story! Or have they? I can buy that a character can come back from the dead, but having a character "cured" from its paralysis is just far fetched! Today it doesn't matter anymore and Barbara Gordon being Batgirl again is not a bad thing, it's just the idea that I don't agree with. But New 52 is a thing in the past and so far I have no problem with Rebirth.

[@JW666]

Milo Naranjo Hey, no prob. Was only posting an opinion and if a great character with a disability can inspire someone who also has that disability, that's great! I don't have a disability myself, but if I did and there's a character with a disability, but who is still strong and great, that would really inspire me and giving me some hope! And hearing about a character being "cured" from its disability just like that would have broken my heart! You're not unhappy because of selfish reasons, but you're unhappy that they took away that made that character so special, they took away the message the character was giving - *Despite your disabilty, you can still achieve in life. You can still find a way to make it work despite your disability.* It may not make sense in what I have been written, but I hope the point what I am trying to say does make sense.

[@JW666]

And yeah, you're right about the comics industry, Gail Simone and DC. You also take care of yourself and peace out! =)

[@JW666]

;) =)

[@LilWhitePrivileged]

That's so stupid. Enough with the Social Justice garbage.

[@LilWhitePrivileged]

@@JW666 Yeah, I'm sure people with MS or Down Syndrome will go out and fight the gangsters in Southside chicago.

[@kristinaneuner7058]

Glad to hear about all the new subscribers Chris. Hope the channel continues to thrive in 2020.

[@Brilchan]

YOU are so awesome great episode glad you stock to your guns and that the channel is seeing the success you deserved it for all the hard work you put into those fun and informative videos

[@taylorpechter5422]

Great episode. I love Gail's run on Brids of Prey, even though I feel the art gets very inconsistent in the middle section. An omnibus of her Wonder Woman run comes out soon and I can't wait for that. I've read The Circle and really enjoyed it. I've been wanting to read her full Wonder Woman run for a while now. Maybe you could cover that around the time Wonder Woman 1984 comes out. Covering Greg Rucka's runs would also be cool. PS: I am also a huge fan of Secret Six.

[@unlimited-edge]

This video may have swayed me into looking into her work, I have this weird thing where I respect her for the things she’s done but on social media I find her absolutely insufferable

[@tatzooism]

It's always good to "look at the art and not the artist" once in a while, specially when it involves storytelling. Specially since you can find said art floating around in the internet nowadays.

[@unlimited-edge]

Aurélio Souza I try to do that as much as possible because there’s plenty of stuff that I like, but then found out the person behind it is... not great lol

[@joshmason1460]

UnlimitedEdge yeah, her recent tirade on Twitter makes her look more than insufferable, she seems completely unprofessional, childish, and borderline unhinged!! She doesn’t seem like anyone I’d want to be involved with anything I care about. Hopefully she’s just having a bad week!!

[@shuntaro2408]

@@joshmason1460 Well birds of prey did pretty bad in cinemas. And she's pretty mad about that. Who would have known that bad trailers and tell white men that they weren't needed and that the movie wasn't for them would result in people not watching the movie. I mean more men than women read comics and watch comic books.

[@daniel-zh9nj6yn6y]

@@shuntaro2408 Birds of Prey still had a 54% male audience.

[@carolineetim3236]

Excellent video! Also I need this T-shirt you're wearing! :D

[@alexjames7670]

Spot on video send-up as usual, Chris. Oh yeah - - love that Batman shirt!

[@wadewilson7000]

The editor had tried to contact her several times and she seems to not have responded at all. She just used her online pressence to basically coerce DC to rehire her

[@ryanmadej6694]

Lmao that birdemic reference 😂😂

[@morriscolautti9822]

Another great episode. Keep up the good work Chris.

[@msunardi]

I really enjoyed your videos. I'm kinda amazed of all the knowledge you have about the details and backstory of the comic book artists/writers etc. I also like your analysis and your sense of humor. Congrats on reaching 100K! I just subscribed and looking forward to your future videos!

[@GrendelsWish]

Hey! Before Peter Parker lost Gwen Stacy, he lost Uncle Ben!

[@AscendantStoic]

Congrats for hitting the 100K subs, you earned it ;) Now let's get down to business, the whole fridge trope thing looks at the issue with a very narrow feminist lense, ignoring the hundreds of male mentor characters who also get killed to motivate the main character and almost always can't continue in the story due to being more capable than the hero, there also many older brother characters who meet the same fate (Big Hero 6 is an example), parents also do meet a similar fate with countless dead fathers (and mothers, it applies to both sexes equally). So Gail trying to pretend it's only an issue female characters face is very disingenuous .. and considering the latest Twitter meltdown by Gail (in relation to the failure of Birds of Prey movie) i'd say that's expected, and the movie failed for a multitude of reasons which could have all been easily avoided, we agree on terrible marketing, then there is the R-rating, inserting Harley into the Birds of Prey instead of the heart of the team which is Barbara Gordon, changing so much about the characters including their outfits and even ethnicity for no good reason whatsoever, talking down to the male audience and claiming the movie is made to lecture men about everyday misogyny, because we all know that's why people go dress up, pay to get to the cinema and pay for the tickets, to get lectured by a bunch of hollywood elites XD

[@jeffh8094]

Congrats on your 100 thousand subscribers! Love all you do on the channel. Keep 'em coming.

[@JefeDeJefes8484]

Congrats Chris on over 100k subs! Here's to 200k next. Thank you for breaking this down so thorough and accurately. Social media helped her 100%! No doubt about it! Also thank you for bringing up the EVS and Gail story. Now, she just started her own KZbin channel today and it's a train wreck!

[@shuntaro2408]

Well her recent Twitter rant make me think that Gail Simone should take a vacation. As social media can open doors they can also shut them.

[@illwill1991]

What happened?

[@shuntaro2408]

@@illwill1991 she went on a rant blaming white males for not being open minded and not seeing the movie basically. This after the campaign said: this is a chick flick. Males are welcome but the movie isn't made for you.

[@Kolbjornelenano]

@@illwill1991 she made a series of tweets with pics of weird dolls with human teeth and wrote on all caps stereotypical things that "nice guys" say on the internet. For some reasons people feel attacked and claimed that it was because the Birds of Prey movie didn't do well but she never mentioned the movie on the tweets. It was Just her usual, weird, a little bit cringy sence of humor

[@illwill1991]

@@Kolbjornelenano lmao yup! There we go! That's what I figured happened. So it's sort of like how every time Brie Larson coughs a bunch of emotionally stunted man-babies lose their minds!

[@RichardKurbis]

The problem with online social media, specifically Twitter, is it's a echo-chamber. It is NOT a true representation of the social fabric of the world. Back in the old-days, the crazy-person lived in the back alley shouting their weird out-of-touch antics, and everyone pointed and laughed. There was maybe 3-10 of these weirdos per small city... hundreds in the large metropolises. TODAY, those crazies are able to come online and congregate, probably 30,000 worldwide with online access. These crazies flood in outrage packs and actually "appear" to be flooding twitter feeds in these echo-chambers, changing policies and forcing their antics on "society". Resulting in weird situations where popular and successful tactics in selling are torn down due to social-re-engineering and therefore, creating FAILURES in the REAL markets. With recent crowdfunding, we can see Sciver and Meyer OUTSELLING real comic book markets. Their styles are more popular with REAL world markets, and DC/Marvel are declining due to their social-choices.

[@aderemiporsche]

30 000? Try a few million plus.

[@andersonic]

BEST. BIRDEMIC. EVER. And I'm so delighted to hear your take on Gail Simone.

[@Girthon1]

Another great video Chris. And that t-shirt...just beautiful.