CONGRATULATIONS TO PHIL!!!

Phil Bourassa, character designer extraordinare for YOUNG JUSTICE, has one an EMMY AWARD for his work on the series!

Phil's designs are, of course, stunning, and he's truly irreplaceable! All of us here at YJ are thrilled for him.

And, let's be honest, for ourselves as well. Hey, now we're all working on an Emmy-winning show! ;)

Update...

Anyone in the mood for another YJ Update?

101-109 - Aired
110 - Previewed at Comic-Con
111-118 - In the can.
119-121 - In post-production.
122-125 - In animation.
126 - In layout overseas. Final color models going out today.
201-204 - In storyboard.
205 - Recording this tomorrow.
206 - I'm editing the script now.
207 - Waiting for notes on the outline.
208 - Have to write the outline.
209 - Have to read the writer's draft on the outline.
210 - In outline.

As before, we don't have an official pick-up on the back ten episodes of Season Two, but we've been given the go ahead to break the stories:
211-212 - Beat Outlines completed.
213 - We're in the middle of breaking this one on index cards.

Another Rumor to Squash

Back from San Diego Comic-Con and was thrilled to see the outpouring of good wishes and thanks on the internet for us. But...

Someone seems to have spread the idea that our panel went poorly and that the fans who attended were rude to us.

NOTHING could be further from the truth. The panel - to my mind - went EXTREMELY well. The response to episode 10 seemed great, despite the fact that I think many in the room had seen it already, and we had a fun (if brief) Q&A after. Plus Miss Martian (and some other dude) brought us cookies. We then had a fun signing and press interviews. All full of praise.

I'll admit that ASK GREG has occasionally been inundated with a bit of rudeness, but that's at least in part thanks to the relative anonymity of the internet. In person, at the conventions, the fans are just terrific!

So thank you,

STAY YOUNG!

STAY JUST!

San Diego Comic-Con 2011

San Diego Comic-Con 2011

Well, I'm here!

I've so much work backed up from Oregon, ConVergence and being sick that I may spend an unfortunate amount of time holed up in my hotel room, nose to grindstone (grindstone = laptop), but if YOU are here, there are a few places you can find me:

Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 11:30am - 12:30pm, I'll be signing Gargoyles TPBs at the SLG Booth (#1815 - across from the DC Comics booth). Stop by and say hello!

Sunday at 10 am, Brandon Vietti, character designer Phil Bourassa, Danica McKellar (the voice of Miss Martian) and myself will be appearing at a panel for YOUNG JUSTICE in Room 7AB. We'll be screening an episode, followed by a Q&A.

After that, from 11:15am until noon, the four of us will be signing some VERY cool and unique (and even spoilerish) YJ giveaways at the Warner Bros. Booth (#4545). So again, stop by and say hey!

SO WHERE HAVE I BEEN? Updates & Debunks

Hello everyone,

Haven't posted here in a while, and since I did a bit of message board lurking this morning, it seems to have led people to believe all sorts of odd things, so...

Where have I been?

Well, in early June, my family and I went to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon.
We saw seven plays in four days. Six of them (Henry IV, Part Two, The Language Archive, To Kill a Mockingbird, Julius Caesar, Love's Labours Lost and Measure for Measure) were just stellar productions. Everyone was great, but I'd like to particularly single out Susannah Flood in both Language Archive and Mockingbird, Dee Maaske in Mockingbird and Michael Winters as Falstaff in 2HenryIV.

Coming back from that, I was understandably swamped and didn't have time to post.

Next, I went to Minneapolis for the always great ConVergence convention. I did about thirteen panels. Some of which, like Gargoyles and Spider-Man and Young Justice, I felt qualified to be on. And some, like Dexter and Galaxy Quest, my only qualification was being a fan of whatever we were talking about. This was my third ConVergence, and it continues to be the best run convention I've ever attended. And now that the Gathering of the Gargoyles is no more, it has become my FAVORITE convention to attend.

Returning from ConVergence, I then got quite ill. In fact, I'm still home sick today. (Home sick as opposed to homesick, clear?)

So THOSE are the reasons I haven't posted. Nothing nefarious.

Next topic: YOUNG JUSTICE UPDATE.

We have aired episodes 101-109 (i.e. Season One, episodes 1-9).

(Yes, episode 110 accidentally was posted on Cartoon Network's website, but I'm going to pretend that never happened.)

Episodes 110-115 are in the can, i.e. they are completed and ready to air.

Episode 116 awaits only the final on-line, i.e. the final review of the episode. This has been delayed ONLY because I've been out sick this week.

Episode 117 will have it's sound mix on Friday. (I hope to be back at work by then.)

Episode 118 has been edited and work progresses on scoring and sound effects.

Episode 119 is ready to begin post-production.

Episodes 120-123 are being animated in Korea.

Episodes 124-126 are in layout in Korea, while we finish the final color models here in the States.

Episodes 201-202 (i.e. Season Two, Episodes one and two) - Are fully recorded and are in storyboard. (201 was written by me. 202 by Nicole Dubuc.)

Episode 203, written by Kevin Hopps, is almost fully recorded. We have one actor left to pick up, who has been out of town. It is also in storyboard.

Episode 204, written by me, will record this week. It is also in storyboard.

Episode 205 - Brandon Vietti, has turned in his draft of the script. I have to read and edit it.

Episode 206 - The outline, written by Peter David and edited by me, went out Monday for notes, which are due tomorrow.

Episode 207 - Kevin Hopps turned in his outline, which I need to read and edit.

Episode 208 - I'm writing this one. I'll start the outline, after I've edited the outline to 207.

Episode 209 - Jon Weisman turned in his outline, which I need to read and edit.

Episode 210 - Kevin Hopps is working on his outline.

We do NOT yet have a pick-up beyond episode 210, but our bosses have told us to start blocking out episodes 211-220 in anticipation of one.

Episode 211 - We've broken this story. I still need to find time to write up the Beat Outline, though I have it all on index cards.

Episode 212 - We've got the basics of this one down, but we (i.e. myself, Brandon and Kevin) still need to finish breaking the story.

Episodes 213-220 - We've got a very clear sense of the arc and what things need to happen, but we haven't started on these yet.

NEXT TOPIC: DEBUNKING YJ RUMORS

False Rumor #1: YJ IS A GREG WEISMAN PRODUCTION
Everywhere on the Internet, all I see is that YJ is Greg Weisman's show. That's just blatantly false. This is a VIETTI/WEISMAN production. Just as Spectacular Spider-Man was a COOK/WEISMAN production and Gargoyles was a PAUR/WEISMAN production. I am not, nor have I ever been, a one-man show on ANY project I've EVER worked on. EVER. And in particular, on YJ, it's extremely unfair to Brandon to leave him out of consideration. Brandon is heavily involved in every aspect of production, INCLUDING SERIES DEVELOPMENT AND STORY. He's been right there with myself and Kevin Hopps breaking every single episode. It's been a team effort from day one. Many of the series' best ideas came/come from Brandon. And this is aside from the fact, that of course, Brandon can write - but I cannot draw, which arguably makes him MORE important to the production than I. I am exceedingly proud of this series and my own work on it - though certain very vocal fans seem to think I shouldn't be - but that doesn't change the fact that Brandon and I are a team.

False Rumor #2: YJ WAS RUSHED INTO PRODUCTION
Another blatant misconception. Look, Brandon and I are both perfectionists. Neither of us would deny that we'd LOVE to have more time on each and every episode. But that's not the same as being rushed. Let's make a comparison: on Spectacular Spider-Man, I basically had one week to develop both the series and the entire first season. Then Vic Cook came aboard, and we raced to get into production in less than two months. Brandon and I had seven months to develop the series, break the first season (which granted had twice as many episodes as the first season of Spidey) and head into production. The show isn't and never has been rushed. That's not to say the schedule isn't tight. But we haven't aired a single episode that wasn't ready to air. And we won't.

False Rumor #3: YJ ISN'T AIRING NOW BECAUSE WE'RE REWORKING EPISODES BASED ON INTERNET CRITICISM
This is my favorite. I love it the most because the first person I saw who posted this rumor also said that I'd deny it. So here I am denying it, which of course serves to PROVE that he or she was correct, see? Let's be clear: for better or worse, this series is COMPLETELY unaffected by internet criticism BECAUSE of schedule. Everything of any significance was set and DONE before even the pilot movie aired last November, so we couldn't address fan concerns even if we wanted to. And, honestly, we don't want to. We don't in part because there is way less consensus than some people seem to think. For example, for every post I see expressing hatred for "Hello, Megan!", I see a post that likes it. And personally, I like it. Brandon likes it. So why would we change it, even if we could? In fact, even Season Two is moving forward more or less disregarding "fan" criticism. Brandon and I always had very clear ideas for what we wanted to do in Season Two (and even Season Three, should we get one) and those ideas haven't changed. As with every series I've co-helmed, all we can ever do is write and produce to OUR OWN passions - and then just cross our fingers and hope enough people share our passions to make it a success. Anything else is doomed to failure, because if we're not passionate about it, it'll show in the work, and then no one will like it. And just to make it clear: WE LIKE OUR SHOW!! Doesn't mean you have to - but don't try to tell me I don't.

So why aren't we airing new episodes now? That's a fair question that I don't have an answer for. After all, we have six unaired episodes in the can, with four more on the verge of completion. It's a Cartoon Network decision. Some fans have argued that they shouldn't have started airing ANY episodes until ALL episodes were in the can. But that too is a decision above my pay grade.

My best guess - and that's all it is - is that CN will air new episodes - starting with 110 ("Targets") - in September. The good news is that the later they wait, the more weeks they can go uninterrupted by reruns. I do know that Season Two (i.e. "Young Justice: Invasion") will begin airing as part of DC NATION in March of 2012. And by then ALL of Season One will have aired. So do the math.

People have asked me if I'm bummed about losing momentum by this delay. But the thing is we've ALREADY lost all momentum. So as long as they PROMOTE us whenever they finally do start airing us again, then pragmatically I'm good. Yes, I'll admit to a certain level of frustration in that I want our stuff to get out there, but if CN has a plan to make the most of the episodes, then more power to them.

Anyway, I think that's it for now. I'll get back to answering questions on ASK GREG as soon as I can find the time. (But keep in mind that San Diego Comic-Con is fast approaching. Note: Young Justice has a panel scheduled for Sunday, July 24th at 10am, with a signing to follow. I'll also be signing Gargoyles comics (and whatever else anyone might want) at the SLG Booth from 11:30am to 12:30pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (July 21, 22, 23).

YJ Update

Seems like a good day for an update on production...

Episodes 101-109 have aired.

Episodes 110-111 are in the can, ready to air in June.

Episode 112 is in post-production. We do the Sound Mix tomorrow.

Episode 113 is in post-production. We should be locking the edit later today.

Episodes 114-119 are in Korea being animated.

Episodes 120-124 are in Korea in layout, while final models are being completed here.

Episode 125's storyboard is in checking and track. It's slightly too long. Brandon and I will be cutting slivers out of it before it ships.

Episode 126's storyboard is in revision.

Episode 201 is in script.

Episode 202's outline is waiting for notes that should come in today.

Episode 203's outline is being edited by me this week.

Episodes 204-210 are in outline.

By the way, in case it isn't obvious: NO, WE HAVE NOT DONE OVER TWO HUNDRED EPISODES. The first digit refers to the season. The second two digits refer to the episode number for that season. So, for example: episode 111 is the eleventh episode of the first season and episode 203 is the third episode of the second season.

GargWiki

We're back, baby!

That's right. The official GargWiki has been down for quite some time with server issues. But Gorebash, our host here at Station 8 has provided a new home for us. So check out: http://gargwiki.net/Main_Page

Most of what you might want to ask me (and thus needlessly crowd the queue here at ASK GREG) about Gargoyles is already easily available in this very smart-looking and user-friendly wiki.

I myself participate in keeping it honest and utilize it as a resource all the time.

Again, that's:

http://gargwiki.net/Main_Page

Worth the look.

ASK GREG

Finally, a word about Ask Greg.

I've asked Gorebash to shut down the question asking function until either (a) I catch up with the huge backlog of questions currently in the queue or (b) we have a new episode airing (whichever comes FIRST).

In the meantime, I'm going to try as usual to wade through the backlog. I'll admit, the questions lately have made me a bit cranky, and I want to avoid that, so I'm breaking down three categories of questions that get on my nerves and will from now on ONLY receive stock answers, both to keep me sane and to speed up the process.

1. Questions that have been asked before are really bogging down the queue. It would be MUCH appreciated if folks would follow the guidelines before posting and try (1) checking the Ask Greg Archives to see if their question has already been answered, (2) check the unanswered questions already in the queue to see if the question has been asked already and will get answered before I get to theirs and (3) try asking the question in the Station 8 Comment Room (http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/comment/). The fans there are VERY knowledgeable and may be able to get you an answer LONG before I reach your question. Any question that falls into this category will simply be answered with the following: "ASKED AND ANSWERED."

2. Questions that ask me to SPOIL my own show are exasperating. As I've said over and over, I'm just NOT going to do that. Why would I? Even obvious stuff can't be addressed, because if I acknowledge anything, the stuff I don't comment on is spoiled by default. So please, please, please refrain. Any question that falls into this category will simply be answered: "SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT."

3. Finally, I have NO problem with people commenting on the series. And I get that not everyone is going to like everything (or even anything) that they see. But for some posters, commenting doesn't seem to satisfy. Instead, they phrase their comments in the form of a question, and in essence CHALLENGE me to acknowledge how right they are about their criticisms of the program. But here's the thing... you do NOT have to agree with me, but aside from a few objective mistakes that I'm ALWAYS willing to acknowledge (e.g.. the incorrect timestamps), you have to understand that if Brandon and I put something in the series, the odds are WE LIKE IT. YOU are NOT going to convince ME that, for example, "Hello, Megan!" or Robin's laugh or Superman's response to Superboy or Wally's flirting is bad for the show. Feel free to tell me you don't care for these (or other) things, but stop phrasing these COMMENTS as questions or challenges. It grates. Any question that falls into this category will simply be answered: "WE LIKE OUR SHOW."

Now, I realize that all of the above sounds fairly negative, but that's not the intent. In fact, the intent is to get any and all negativity out of the way HERE, so that the rest of Ask Greg becomes more manageable and pleasant for myself and all of you. I hope that makes sense.

Young Justice Update

Good news and bad news today...

Here's the good news.

Coming out of Cartoon Network's upfronts last week (and Geoff John's comments on it since) there's been some confusion about what's happening on the Young Justice front.

What amuses me a bit is how CONFIDENT some posters on various message boards are about their interpretation of the reports. CONFIDENT and generally wrong.

So here's what's going on:

Young Justice has aired nine episodes of our 26-episode first season. The rest will begin airing after some weeks of reruns. The schedule is Cartoon Network's, and I'm not yet 100% clear on when we're back up and running. Though to be fair to CN, we don't have ANY other episodes in the can as of this moment. We're posting episodes 10 and 11 now.

(I saw some folks protesting why we didn't wait until ALL episodes were in the can before we began airing. All I can do is shrug. It's not up to me, but I do wonder how the fans who were furious that they had to wait until January 2011 for Season One would feel about THAT strategy.)

So the good news: We HAVE INDEED been picked up for a second season. As of now, all CN & WB have ordered is a ten episode mini-series, "YOUNG JUSTICE: INVASION". We're HOPING for more than just ten eps, and I honestly think the odds are fairly good that the order will expand, but as of NOW, all we have is this ten episode order.

We immediately began work on this new season last week, and are breaking approximately (but not quite) one episode per day. The creative team is fundamentally the same as for Season One.

And though, of course, we will be introducing many new characters episodically in Season Two (just as we do episodically in Season One), I don't want to give the impression that this is some spin-off featuring, I dunno, the League or something, in the same Earth-16 setting. Invasion IS the second season of Young Justice and absolutely features our "Team". Episode 26 of Season One is time-stamped "December 31". Episode 1 of Season Two will be time-stamped "January 1", in essence picking up right where we left off.

We anticipate YJ:Invasion premiering in 2012... late first quarter, if I had to guess. Reports suggesting late 2011 are... beyond wishful thinking.

Hmmm... anything else? I feel like I'm forgetting something. But I can't think of any other misconceptions that need correcting right now.

Oh, well...

Still - Season Two. Not too shabby, huh?

Back Issue

I should have posted this long ago...

I received a complimentary copy of Back Issue #46. Inside is an interview of me conducted by John Wells (who incidentally has -- through Peter David -- provided considerable DC Comics related research for us on Young Justice). It's all about the Black Canary mini-series that I wrote a good chunk of for DC Comics back in the 80s before it was cancelled and never published to make way for Mike Grell's Longbow Hunters.

But that's not the only article of interest in the magazine. In fact, one of the reasons I'm so late in referencing this here, is because I took the time to read the magazine cover to cover. Lots of great stuff. I heartily recommend it.