Not only has she had trouble writing non-fiction since the November election but she’s also had to moderate her use of Twitter. When questioned about how her feelings regarding the current political climate and its impact on her work Gay admitted it’s been difficult. “What about if the Native Americans had won the war and this was still their land? What if Mexico had won the war?” Gay wondered what it says about our imaginations that the only world we can seemingly imagine is one where the Confederacy won the Civil War. The recent announcement of HBO’s new show Confederate, from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Not one to shy away from any one of those topics, she happily acquiesced. Numerous questions were prompted Gay to offer opinions on the latest pop culture successes, failures, and controversies. It was a message that deeply resonated with those in the audience as they nodded their heads in approval. Support and consume what they create and most importantly, give them the room to fail.
She broke into a smile and added, “I don’t care if that movie shits the bed, I’m going to see that movie 20 times.”Īsked to give some pointers on what we can do to help promote more diversity in the comics industry and beyond Gay offered some simple advice. Gay says part of the problem is that these communities are often unaware of where to find the comic book stores in their towns.Īsked about her greatest hopes and fears for Marvel’s upcoming Blank Panther movie Gay said her greatest hope was that people would come and support the movie, but that this was also her greatest fear. Though part of the difficulty for Marvel is in how they choose to market comics to black and gay communities. The good news, she says, is that Marvel is open to seeing more from her. Gay says she absolutely sees a future for them, though she admits their stories may continue under a different banner. She spoke about her experience working with Marvel and the future for Wakanda’s two main characters Ayo and Aneka. Roxane Gay speaks to a packed room at San Diego Comic Con July 22, 2017. The audience laughed at the response, an obvious reference to the ‘ Bury Your Gays’ trope which introduces lesbian, bi, or gay lovers only to tragically kill one or both of them off shortly thereafter. I started to think how am I going to develop a love story between two lesbians and not have them die?” The limitation of space was difficult for the author at first, “but then I just decided to make it work. Gay, who read a lot of Archie as a child but admits hasn’t kept up with comics over the years said she also read Saga and Monstrous to help her prepare.
I read two books on how to write comics, I read the DC book and the Marvel book and you know what? The DC book is better.” Adding, “Marvel continuity became my worst enemy, turns out you can’t rewrite Marvel canon.” Gay, whose work has traditionally been longform says, “I was really worried when I first started writing. Immediately a fan jumped up from their seat and ran to the microphone to ask how she prepared for writing the comic World of Wakanda.
Gay took a seat at the table and announced she’d be spending the hour answering questions. Gay’s previous books include Bad Feminist, Difficult Women and most recently, Hunger.
This was a crowd clearly familiar with her work beyond the comic-world. When Gay entered the room at 10:30, the audience erupted in applause.