Switched

One of the few successful "mainstream" female comic writers in the United States, Gail Simone (pictured, below) is the author of DC's 'Birds of Prey,' 'Welcome to Tranquility,' All-New Atom, and will soon take the reigns of 'Wonder Woman.' Her most recent work is for the GameTap network, which commissioned Simone to create an episode for its 'Re\Visioned: Tomb Raider Animated Series,' a 10-part animated series in which different guest animators, writers, and actors have been asked to re-imagine the backstories of a series of well-known video game characters. The first season is focused on Tomb Raider's heroine Lara Croft. Simone's contribution is "Pre-Teen Raider," which is all about a young Ms. Lara Croft (pictured, above) -- before the movie deals, before the buried treasure, before the paparazzi -- which is available now at Gametap.com. We spoke with Ms. Simone about reinterpreting one of the most illustrious icons in the video game world.


Lara Croft has become something of a sex symbol for the gamer generation. How does that fit into your portrayal of her?

It's a bit odd, in a way, because I have to confess I wasn't quite aware of how huge a sex symbol she was for the gaming community. I mean, she was always beautiful, but I always thought of her more as an adventurer and a vaguely aristocratic action heroine, than a glamour girl or pin-up babe. I think, if that's all someone sees in Lara, they're missing what makes her so entertaining. The beauty and sexiness is great, but I like the other elements in there as well. Without them, it's just another babe, which is fine, but not as interesting or complex.

Are you a gamer? Did you play much Tomb Raider?

Yeah, I'm sort of addicted to buying game systems. We have everything from the 2600 to the Vectrex to the Virtual Boy to all the next gen consoles and portables. Most are in storage but the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii get the most play in our house. That might change as the PlayStation 3 library expand, but I did actually play the last Tomb Raider all the way to the end. It was really compelling to me, as I almost never do that (with a couple exceptions--I finished Kingdom Hearts II and have no idea what happened). Fun story, great challenges, great villain. I really dug it, and that was well before I got this gig!


Give me some adjectives that you think describe Ms. Croft...

Um...this is a loaded question if ever I heard one! Okay, I'm game. Tough, haughty, agile, strong, deadly, committed, beautiful, smart, cunning, and yes, I agree, she's a hot babe.



Please tell us some things about Lara that you discovered (or made up) along the way...

Well, our story (brilliantly animated by studio Six Point Harness) takes place when she's just 12, before she really comes to her full power. But I do like to think of her as someone with a powerful sense of mischief and fun. I felt that was something lacking a bit in her films...I think she'd make some smart, snarky comments sometimes.


Lara wouldn't be much of a gamer, would she?

Oh, I wouldn't say that. Games are vastly more interactive and challenging today than they used to be, and hugely more mind-empowering than sitting back and watching television. Lara always needs to be doing something. I can see her playin' video games quite easily.


Your style is very distinctive...

I write comic books mostly, and some animation. I have written everything from very mature comics to comics specifically for very young children. I like to work on a variety of projects, which is why this appealed to me.


How long did it take to create your episode? How many people were involved?

Hmm. I'm not totally sure on that second bit...it's a small piece, really, so the long part of the job was getting approval. I had story ideas ranging from Lara in the Jurassic era to a transvestite Lara at a gaming convention. Once we got the story right, it was actually a pretty fast process.


Do you enjoy this sort of short-form, remix, web-based content? Does much of your work these days fall into this category?

Very much. I'm not doing a lot of Web-based content, but I think even the most foolish person can see that that's where we're all headed. I love the fact that so many people now can make a movie in their basement and distribute it all over the Web by that night. I think that's astonishing, and a lot of creators will benefit from having no middle-men between their work and their viewers. That's tremendously exciting.



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