Gail Simone's Domino Discoveries

A new Domino adventure begins today!

Now armed with a leveled-up skill set courtesy of Shang-Chi, Neena Thurman joins her ride-or-dies Outlaw and Diamondback for a mysteriously monstrous journey in DOMINO #7! Written by Gail Simone with art by David Baldeón and Jesus Aburtov, a classic bloodsucking baddie is set to enter the fray...

We sat down with Gail to recap where we've been so far and what we can expect starting with today's new arc.

Marvel.com: Domino is an interesting character because even though she has super luck, she still seems to be somewhat lacking when it comes to a sense of self-worth—in part because of her difficult upbringing. Was that something you wanted to address with your story?

Gail Simone: Absolutely! One of my favorite character types in fiction is the person who gets in their own way. Think about characters like, say, Nova or Zatanna—these characters with massive power levels who often end up on the wrong side of karma simply because they don’t necessarily think the way Iron Man or Thor does. They don’t think of themselves as invulnerable. I like that. I like the heroes who can mess up, who can make mistakes and try to muscle through them.

I think all of us know someone like that, the person who is convinced they are not as valuable as they really are. To me, it’s one of her most endearing traits…other luck-powered characters can be downright obnoxious, but Domino knows there’s a downside.

Marvel.com: Domino also has difficulty trusting people and letting others in. But she begins to allow herself to trust Outlaw and Diamondback. Did you see that as an important part of her character development?

Gail Simone: Again, that is absolutely correct. My feeling about mutants is that trust would come a little bit hard. We see this with people who are different in some way, how even their families can sometimes shun them. Imagine the non-stop propaganda whisper campaign against mutants that would be going on, just endlessly. And no law really protects you. Your protection is essentially a bald guy in a mansion somewhere.

I think, with Domino’s background, trust is tough. But if you’ve ever had that friend, that friend who you know will never let you down, that’s what Diamondback and Outlaw are to her. And that pulls her out of her generic tough-talking lady pose a bit.

Marvel.com: For a time, her luck was taken away from her. What do you think the larger significance of that was for Domino? She's someone who has made a lot of pretty important decisions in her life based on the assumption that her luck would carry her through.

Gail Simone: I think a lot of mutants see it as a trade-off. “Okay, the world shuns and mistreats me, but I can shoot lasers out of my ears,” or whatever. When you take that away, it’s part of who you are. It’s not an easy adjustment ever.

We also wanted to show that she’s no one to screw with even without her powers.

Marvel.com: What did you enjoy most about writing the opening story arc?

Gail Simone: This first one, the joy was just discovering the character. I read a ton of her past stories, and there had been quite a variance in interpretations. So I went with bits from the ones that spoke to me, that made her feel unique, and expanded on them. And now she’s one of my favorites ever. I want to write her forever.

Second, the relationship between the three leads in the Posse is so meaningful to so many people. I always say, there are more kinds of wish fulfilment in comics than just punching. Sometimes reading about a great father figure when you don’t have one, or a love story when you might be feeling lonely, or in this case, having the perfect friends you didn’t know you need; it’s all wonderful to the right reader.

Third, and this probably should be first, is just meeting the readers. Every con, there are more Domino cosplayers, more people who just love the book, it’s an incredible feeling. It’s every kind of person, and they like different aspects, I love it.

Marvel.com: Is there anything you can tease about what's in store for Domino next?

Gail Simone: Yes. MORBIUS. 😊

Seriously, there have been some sexy moments in the first six issues, but David Baldeon and Jesus Aburtov just killed it in these new issues. There are pages I had to print out just to have by my desk. It’s monster-y, in that great Marvel tradition. I am delighted.

After that, we have the ONE most-requested guest character, someone I never thought we’d get to use.

HA! I love this book.

Marvel.com: What has it been like to work with David and Jesus?

Gail Simone: Bar none, one of my favorite teams ever. Not just in terms of talent, although they are amazing. It’s just a perfect, flawless little team. A brilliant, committed artist who draws what’s in my head, except way better, and one of the finest colorists I’ve ever worked with. Almost every day, we write each other fan letters. I write a script, they write effusive notes but they have awesome ideas to add, and then the pages come in and they are SO MUCH BETTER than I could have imagined. Honest, it’s just special.

I talk about this all the time on social media, but editor Chris Robinson blessed me with this team and I will never ever forget it.

Marvel.com: Is there anything else you'd like to mention?

Gail Simone: MORBIUS.

Oh, and also, pick up DOMINO ANNUAL #1 with stories by me, Fabian Nicieza, Leah Williams, and Dennis Hopeless!

GO TEAM DOMINO!

Visit your local comic shop to read DOMINO #7 today!

DOMINO #7 cover by Gang Hyuk Lim.