'Hire This Woman': Writer Mairghread Scott Interview

Tuesday, January 21st, 2014 1:42PM CST

Categories: Comic Book News, People News, Interviews
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Comics and media news website Comics Alliance has published today another installment of its 'Hire this Woman' feature, an initiative to bring out the female talent in the comics world. The latest edition showcases Transformers' own Mairghread Scott, writer of Rage of the Dinobots, Beast Hunters and the upcoming Windblade mini-series! Check out some quotes below, read the whole thing here and don't forget to take a look at the Seibertron.com interview with her here!

In the overwhelmingly male comic book industry, it has been a challenge for some editors and readers to see the ever growing number of talented women currently trying to make a name for themselves. With that in mind, ComicsAlliance offers Hire This Woman, a recurring feature designed for comics readers as well as editors and other professionals, where we shine the spotlight on a female comics pro on the ascendance. Some of these women will be at the very beginning of their careers, while others will be more experienced but not yet “household names.”

This week we’re talking to comics and animation writer Mairghread Scott, who is best known for her work on the Transformerss property both at Hasbro and at IDW Publishing, where she became the first woman to write an official Transformers comic.

ComicsAlliance: Tell us about your process.

Mairghread Scott: I always break out my outlines on paper before I type the actual script in my computer, then I go back to paper, breaking the script back into an outline during my revision process to see if/where I may have strayed from the original plan. Digital writing is wonderfully easy to edit, but the physical act of writing with a pen gives me the time I need when I’m thinking through a story as a whole. Of course, I can also use only one of three pens to write with or nothing works, but that’s another story.

[...]

CA: What projects have you worked on in the past? What are you currently working on?

MS: In television I’ve written for Transformers Prime, Rescue Bots, Kaijudo and several other shows that haven’t aired yet because animation takes so long. In comics I’ve co-written Rage of the Dinobots and Transformers Prime Beast Hunters. I am currently writing Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs for Lion Forge (yes, it is about an intergalactic law enforcement officer on a robotic horse), and the Transformers Windblade miniseries for IDW with the fantastic Sarah Stone. I’m also pitching my first original graphic novel with Sarah and… between you, me and the Internet… it’s awesome!

Credit(s): Comics Alliance

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Re: 'Hire This Woman': Writer Mairghread Scott Interview (1543801)
Posted by Orin_Thomas on January 21st, 2014 @ 5:46pm CST

Would have given this series a shot if I hadn't originally become aware of the series and the author because they attacked another author I'd been reading and enjoying for more than 25 years. For the most part I like to keep politics and comics about a bunch of made up robots separate - but by wrapping the made up robots in the byzantine politics of gender, I've been put off before I've read a single panel.

Re: 'Hire This Woman': Writer Mairghread Scott Interview (1543807)
Posted by Sabrblade on January 21st, 2014 @ 5:52pm CST

Orin_Thomas wrote:Would have given this series a shot if I hadn't originally become aware of the series and the author because they attacked another author I'd been reading and enjoying for more than 25 years. For the most part I like to keep politics and comics about a bunch of made up robots separate - but by wrapping the made up robots in the byzantine politics of gender, I've been put off before I've read a single panel.

Don't know who you're talking about cuz no one attacked no one, save for a TFW user who cherry-picked a post talking about a work of fiction rather than the author who wrote it (and said author then proceeded to act like a child and use someone else's words to make a point that he didn't need to make and made a public scene about it, rather than acting like a civilized adult and simply talking with Ms. Scott privately in the first place). :roll:

Also, if you perhaps watched and enjoyed the Prime cartoon, then you would have seen and enjoyed some of her work.

Re: 'Hire This Woman': Writer Mairghread Scott Interview (1543819)
Posted by Orin_Thomas on January 21st, 2014 @ 6:40pm CST

See - and now you've attacked the same writer, making the author of Wingblade even MORE toxic for me as a reader.

Re: 'Hire This Woman': Writer Mairghread Scott Interview (1543822)
Posted by Sabrblade on January 21st, 2014 @ 6:44pm CST

Orin_Thomas wrote:See - and now you've attacked the same writer, making the author of Wingblade even MORE toxic for me as a reader.

There's a difference between "attacking a person" and "criticizing one's behavior". The latter is what I did. No one did did the former.

Re: 'Hire This Woman': Writer Mairghread Scott Interview (1543826)
Posted by PrymeStriker on January 21st, 2014 @ 7:26pm CST

Oh, look, it's 24% of the writing staff for Prime.

You'd need the season 3 DVD to get that reference

Re: 'Hire This Woman': Writer Mairghread Scott Interview (1543830)
Posted by SW's SilverHammer on January 21st, 2014 @ 7:32pm CST

Sabrblade wrote:
Orin_Thomas wrote:See - and now you've attacked the same writer, making the author of Wingblade even MORE toxic for me as a reader.
There's a difference between "attacking a person" and "criticizing one's behavior". The latter is what I did. No one did did the former.

That's a fair point and a fact from Sabrblade; The sun rises in the east, the astros will never win the series, and "that author" made a scene when he didn't have to.

Re: 'Hire This Woman': Writer Mairghread Scott Interview (1543967)
Posted by cybercat on January 22nd, 2014 @ 8:29am CST

I don't think she 'attacked' Furman, and I certainly find Furman's response to be entirely ridiculous, but I just want to say to BOTH of them: it's not cool to say negative things about a coworker's work. If you heard your coworker ragging on something you did, years ago, you'd probably be pretty pissed off, too, even if what he/she was saying was entirely accurate.

The fan was stirring for trouble by asking the question to begin with, but there's a classier way to answer it than Scott did. And yes, her implication that her magical girl's origin would 'erase' all the problems with Arcee's is patently offensive. It's like saying 'oh this one girl got raped, but here's this other girl who didn't get raped and therefore, rape isn't a problem'.' It's appalling.

And of course, Furman's response. I just...lack words at how ridiculous that was. Both behaved badly. We can argue who behaved WORSE, I suppose, but it's bad manners for her to have said anything. And this isn't a gender thing: if she were a guy and she'd said the same thing, I'd be just as NOPE. Especially since the need to do it smacks of 'anxiety of influence'. Just, as a writer, write us a kick ass story that's good in its own merits, not because of how you think it 'fixes' someone else's artistic vision.

CC, leave gender theory to the professionals.

Re: 'Hire This Woman': Writer Mairghread Scott Interview (1543991)
Posted by Sabrblade on January 22nd, 2014 @ 10:26am CST

cybercat wrote:I don't think she 'attacked' Furman, and I certainly find Furman's response to be entirely ridiculous, but I just want to say to BOTH of them: it's not cool to say negative things about a coworker's work. If you heard your coworker ragging on something you did, years ago, you'd probably be pretty pissed off, too, even if what he/she was saying was entirely accurate.

They're not "coworkers", per se. Furman hasn't worked on the IGW G1 comics since "Maximum Dinobots" back in 2008-2009. Ms. Scott has only just recently joined up with working on the main IDW G1 comics after having previously worked on Transformers: Prime and Rescue Bots at Hasbro Studios, and the Prime/FOC-related IDW comics. Furman's current work on Regeneration One is a separate project from this, so it's not like the two actually work together in this.

Also, how is criticizing the work of a "coworker" any different than critics and fans doing the same with works that they're officially unaffiliated with? Or, when students in a classroom criticize each other's papers in school? We live in a critical world. People aren't going to agree about every idea, so those ideas that seem the most controversial are going to be the subject of criticism by anyone who sees them, regardless of who they are.

cybercat wrote:The fan was stirring for trouble by asking the question to begin with, but there's a classier way to answer it than Scott did.

I don't see how when her response went out of its way to avoid targeting Furman himself and even noted how differently it would be received in a vacuum vs. reality. Thing is, though, it doesn't exist in a vacuum.

And even back before he published Spotlight: Arcee, Furman knew that what he had written was going to spark controversy and publicly admitted it before it came out.

Whether he intended for it or not, Spotlight: Arcee does contain implications that are considered offensive towards women, and he needs to move on and just accept that it does.

cybercat wrote:And yes, her implication that her magical girl's origin would 'erase' all the problems with Arcee's is patently offensive. It's like saying 'oh this one girl got raped, but here's this other girl who didn't get raped and therefore, rape isn't a problem'.' It's appalling.

She didn't say that the origin of Windblade (and probably Chromia and Nautica) would "erase" or "fix" the issues with Arcee's origin. All she said was that the new origin would not "contradict" with Arcee's. Arcee's origin and all its issues will remain as they are.