Greg responds...

1-12 & 15. Man, "Illuminator", bad timing. I just promised "Xanatos" I
wouldn't give out any Duval clues in this post. Ask me again later, and I'll
try to be a little more forthcoming.
13. He's a civil servant.
14. No.
16. Did I say that they had a son? Was that the word I used?
17. I believe in most everything, up to a point. But if the Illuminati (or
something like it) does exist, then I'm not too impressed with the results.
18. The first time I was at Tintagel was during the summer of 1981. I had
just graduated from high school here in Los Angeles. I went to France and
England with my Dad, Mom, my younger sister Robyn and my younger brother
Jon. I was really into King Arthur in those days and had gotten my father
interested as well, so our trip through England was something of an
ArthurQuest. Of course, we went to Tintagel. I remember I was wearing my
high school sweatshirt, you know the kind... big, over-sized, grey thing with
a hood. There was a light, very fine rain, so my hood was up. Tintagel is
impressive: it's location, it's scope, the ruins themselves. I climbed over
every inch of that thing. I intentionally moved off away from the rest of my
family, so that it would take some time to find me if they wanted to head
out. I climbed to the top of the cliff, overlooking the castle ruins. The
light rain continued above me, but the surf pounded below. And looking off
to sea, I could see that a major storm was literally sitting just off shore.
Lightning. Thunder. High winds. Rolling seas. Torrential Rain. The
works. And just in case that wasn't awe-inspiring enough, something else
happened. The black clouds parted directly in front of me, and the sun shone
down. Like a spotlight on the water. So I stood there, in the light rain,
and watched the sun shining down through the midst of a lightning storm. I'm
not sure how to describe what I was feeling. But "religious awe" is probably
the best I can do. It seemed to prove the existence of God to me. I removed
my hood and stood there. Then I knelt and touched the ground. I felt like
it was charged with some kind of power. Eventually, the storm died down and
the sun went away. And it was just another cloudy day in England. I walked
down the hill.
It would be easy for me to be cynical about this experience. Neither my
parents nor my siblings recall any weather phenomena that equates with what
I've just described. They weren't standing with me, but they were all on the
cliffside. It's certainly possible that I've exaggerated the whole thing
over the years. But in my mind, I saw the hand of God at work. I don't see
any reason to question that, even if I don't quite know what to do with it.
In 1992, I returned to Tintagel with my wife Beth. We stayed in a Bed &
Breakfast overnight so I went to the castle twice. First with Beth, and
then again by myself the next morning. I figured it wouldn't live up to my
memory of the place. But it did. I didn't see the big show-stopper again,
but I felt the same rush I had felt eleven years before. I also had the
opportunity to go through "Merlin's Cave" under the cliff, which I hadn't
been able to do in '81 because of the tide.
I'm told that every year, erosion removes a little bit more of Tintagel. I'm
told that Arthur could not have been born there. I'm told a lot. But I know
what I felt. For me, it's a place of power. There's only one feeling in my
life that has ever topped it: the love I feel for my wife and two children.
If Tintagel wasn't enough, than the fact that I found her and had them, is
all the proof I'll ever need of God's existence.
Now, are you sorry you asked? (GDW/12-8-97)

Greg responds...

1. Nothing I'm ready to talk about yet. Nothing that will definitely happen.
2. Yeah, I watch Seinfeld.
3. A lot.
4. You don't have to apologize. No, I don't watch B5. I did see the pilot,
and it didn't grab me. Later, a number of people recommended it to me, but
by the time I tuned in, I couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on.
Frankly, it made me nervous that GARGOYLES would have the same effect on a
new viewer.
5. I think I've pretty much given his identity away already, but I won't
give any clues in this post, I promise.
6. No. But there are a lot of subsets within Oberon's Children.
7. I wanted to open things up, bring more magic and mystery into things.
Create the opportunities for more stories, and more myths and legends to
reinterpret.
8. You don't want to hear about Duval, but you don't mind me revealing the
identities of Demona's last two great loves? That's too selective for one
post. :) (GDW/12-8-97)

Greg responds...

1. I had some imput, but the real credit should go to my partner Frank Paur
who oversaw design for the series. (And of course to whoever designed the
character for "The Mirror". I'd guess that was Greg Guler, but I'm honestly
not sure anymore.)
2. I knew I wanted Coyote to be reminiscent of both James Dean and a young
Peter Maza. Anansi was going to be a giant spider, so that was easy. Raven
had many forms, dictated by the script. Credit for how they actually looked
should go to Frank (and producer Dennis Woodyard and our designers).
3. Sure. But I'm not telling now.
4. I never said I wouldn't write it. In fact, I've almost finished writing
it, but I doubt I'll be able to find a publisher, which is what I said.
(GDW / 12-5-97)

Greg responds...

The best description of my job is Writer-Producer. I'm responsible for story
and script. But I also oversee voice and play a major role in watching
over the entire production. In other words, I produce. I don't direct.
Although you should keep in mind that directing in Animation is very
different from directing in live-action. The end result (and much of the
brainwork) is the same, but the process is very different. (I did voice
direct one episode, but that's not the same as directing.)
I did a lot of reading on myths and legends, cuz the topic fascinates me.
Much of this began in school. I was rarely bored in my English and History
classes in school. I was lucky. I had great teachers almost without
exception in those two subjects. But I also WANTED to learn, even on those
rare occasions when my teachers weren't that great. I don't mean to
lecture, but if you're bored in school, fix it by finding
something you'd like to learn about and pursuing it in a serious and
passionate fashion. Myths and legends are as good a place to start as any.
I think Goliath went through some changes, but they were subtler than the big
obvious changes that, say, Brooklyn or Xanatos went through. But I will
admit that Goliath acted as an anchor for the series. He was a strong,
basically optimistic and capable leader. He didn't require as much change
as some of the others did. Still, I had plenty of plans to continue to
evolve the character. The changes might still have been subtle, but taken
over the run of the series, I think you would have seen a substantial
evolution.
I haven't seen Clerks, and I'm not sure I know who Kevin Smith is... did he
direct Clerks? (I have two very young children. My wife and I don't get
out to movies very often. Am I boring or what?) (GDW / 12-5-97)

Greg responds...

Nope. Sorry. (GDW / 12-5-97)

Greg responds...

1. I'm not saying right now. I didn't plan on revealing Mab right away
either. You're just getting ahead of me.
2. Yes.
3. Mab is more powerful. No one else.
4. Nokkar's race IS one of the other two. (And keep in mind, I said
three races were the main players in the conflict. I never said
there were the only players.)
5. No. There were other events, but they were more cummulative than
defining. Wyvern is still the defining moment. She wasn't genocidal
immediately after Wyvern, because I don't think genocide occured to her. She
was alone (largely) and hunted. I don't think she felt that powerful. Her
brief alliance with Macbeth only confirmed her feelings about humanity. But
it also gave her immortality. The ability to start making some long term
plans. As I said, other things happened. But nothing as devastating as
Wyvern.
6. Samson will be born in 2058. The inciting incident of that
proposed spin-off series was to take place in 2158. I'm sure you can do
the math. (GDW / 12-5-97)

Greg responds...

Puck wanted to devastate Goliath enough that he would be willing to turn over
the Phoenix Gate. Death makes for great devastation (which is why we
included it in the story). Goliath didn't immediately react to Angela's
death, because (frankly) he didn't know he could at first. (GDW / 12-5-97)

Greg responds...

It's a law he must follow which makes him physically unable to become Puck...
unless he can think of a loophole. (GDW / 12-5-97)

Greg responds...

When push came to shove, Puck/Owen cared about Xanatos, Fox and Alex.

Thanks for numbering your questions, although when you only have one, it
isn't that necessary. (GDW/12-5-97)

Greg responds...

Elena got the Gate from her father. The Gate exists, like the protagonist of
Robert Heinlein's "All You Zombies". Goliath, Elisa and the Avalon clan
learned of the link after the death of the Magus and before the good-bye
scene at the beach. The rest of the Manhattan Clan learned of the link when
Goliath and Angela returned to the Tower, sometime after saving Alex from
Oberon. As I've said before, Hudson knew Demona and Macbeth were immortal.
That's obvious. They're not dead. They're really old. He didn't know any
details about the how or why. He didn't know about the link, though their
behavior did suggest a connection of some sort. Why would Hudson know
Brooklyn's future? I'm skipping the Titania question on purpose. Oberon is
Merlin's dad.
In the future, please number your questions. (GDW/12-5-97)