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Ivana writes...

Look Greg I am a huge YJ fan more than you could know I live in abq USA I am a 12 year old girl.i thought every day how would it be like to bust and see you ask you in person some questions.i always thought what it would be like to play on young justice meeting all the voices and being one of them that always comes up in my mind I watched young justice over and over making sure I know everything they say and my best friend marlee she hated young justice until she watched it we now love it we talk all the time we always say stay whelmed to each other if you do get this please text me back iflores081@tanm.us

Greg responds...

I'm sorry, Ivana, but it wouldn't be responsible for me to text a twelve-year-old girl, specifically, or for me to break precedent and begin texting individual fans. I don't have time to have that kind of personal communication with everyone, and it wouldn't be fair for me to play favorites.

On top of that, I'm very nervous about you posting your information here. I wouldn't recommend anyone do that - especially a twelve-year-old. Please know that if anyone texts you and claims to be me, IT IS NOT ME.

If you have questions, you can always reach me here at ASK GREG. I know there's a delay to my responding - I'm currently four and half months behind. But most things can keep that long.

You can also follow me on TWITTER @Greg_Weisman

I'm currently taking a break from social media, but I tweet on rare occasions, and I'll probably come back eventually.

Response recorded on September 21, 2017

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Marvelman writes...

You recently responded to another poster who sent you his review of YJ season 1. Your response made me question what the point of doing something like that might be. I mean... I understand the poster probably wants to feel that his opinion matters, but what kind of response could he or she possibly expect from you? Did he think you were going to agree with him? Was there ever a chance that you were going to say, "You have made some excellent points, and I will take them into account as I am writing season 3"?

So, my question is: does audience feedback or reviews ever effect how you YJ in even a general way?

Greg responds...

Nope. Doesn't mean they don't have the right to express them. But Brandon and I have to follow our passions and instincts. Have to. We can't let either praise or criticism effect our plans. For starters, for every person who likes something, there's bound to be someone who hates it and vice versa. All we can do is write the show we want to see - and pray that enough people like our work to make it successful.

Response recorded on June 15, 2017

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Anonymous writes...

You often say that ideas minus their execution are subject to unfair second guessing and that you've learned this the hard way. Can you share the specifics of this realization? What story did you share that brought this about?

Greg responds...

Lots of Gargoyles stuff. The first thing that comes to mind is Nashville's name. But there were all sorts of things.

Response recorded on June 15, 2017

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Harry writes...

I noticed that there's been a lot of questions being asked on here about LGBT characters, whether they be homophobic or not. Not really a question but i hope you don't feel annoyed by them

Greg responds...

Well, I'm always annoyed by homophobia. Though I don't recall getting much of that here. (Twitter, on the other hand...) But I've got no problem with LGBTQ questions, as long as they're not (a) trying to suggest ideas or (b) asking for spoilers.

Response recorded on June 14, 2017

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zaq writes...

Is there question nobody has asked you yet that you wished somebody would?

Greg responds...

Nope.

Response recorded on March 21, 2017

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Peter writes...

1) Does Bruce Wayne fight crime? I mean economically and socially? Creating workplaces, factories etc? Fighting poverty? He has money after all, and it's a rational thing to do, it prevents people from becoming criminals. YJ!Batman is the most sensible Batman I've ever seen, it would fit his personality. Instead of spending all money on creating more ways to beat people
What is Gotham like? Dirty and rotten like in Batman Begins? Or more like Central City, because I imagine things are pretty good there? Though I think after 11/16 years of Batman things are much better than they were before
2) Love that Batman is a supporting character. No need for conflict for him, Gotham can be a safer place, criminals are locked up in Arkham and not escaping, his relationships with his partners are healthy, maybe he can even be happy. All of this is unlikely to happen when Bruce is a main character, and the last one is impossible. It irritates me sometimes, the guy just can't get a break, I don't care if he is Batman, everyone needs rest. And it's very irritating how he alienates his partners by being a jerk. Come on! It doesn't make sense!
3) Also I don't like when people say that Batman never got over his parents death and in his heart he is still a boy that lost his parents. Clearly not the case in Earth 16, where Bruce is a parental figure to Dick, especially when he says he doesn't want Robin to become Batman
4) Had adoption of Dick made Bruce more happy?
5) Would it be theoretically possible for YJ!Batman to be in a stable lasting relationship? Which is absolutely impossible when he's the main character. Like in the Mask of the Phantasm but without the need to break them up
6) Is he happy? On the one hand he doesn't want Dick to become him. Implies that Bruce doesn't see being Batman as a burden. But I can easily picture him being in a relationship. What do you think?

Greg responds...

I'm sorry, but you're really pushing the five question per post limit here. For starters, you have six numbered questions, and then you ask multiple questions within most of the numbers. Please follow the guidelines. It's only fair.

Response recorded on January 25, 2017

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Hello writes...

Why can't you accept the public's ideas on their newly created superheroes?

Greg responds...

Because I - or the company I work for - could get sued over it. I don't want to take that risk, and the companies I work for FORBID me from taking that risk. For more clarity, check out the introductory page of ASK GREG here:

http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/index.php

(I mean it's clear you skipped over it and asked your question without bothering to read it. Because the answer was spelled out right there.)

Response recorded on October 18, 2016

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GoliathFan223 writes...

Hello, Mr. Weisman. Hope this post finds you happy and well. I love and admire all your work (Gargoyles was a huge part of my childhood and still inspires me to this day).

My question is related to Young Justice:

Would you or have you ever considered doing episode rambles on Young Justice one day?

Thank you for your time (:

Greg responds...

It's been brought up before. But I don't seem to have the time these days. But someday, maybe...

Response recorded on August 08, 2016

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Connor writes...

Hello,
Is asking if you are thinking of or are in the process of creating a new show count as a spoiler?
Thanks

Greg responds...

No. Not if you aren't asking for details.

Response recorded on July 07, 2016

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Kira writes...

I read the are Greg's answers etched in stone question in the FAQ and that got me thinking

#1 Are any answers absolutely set in stone
and
#2 Would you consider Retconing or Altering anything from the series (aside from the Goliath Chronicles)

Greg responds...

1. If you mean here at ASK GREG, then no.

2. Anything canon, like the first 65 episodes or the 18 SLG issues, is fixed. Mistakes exist in there, but we try to just incorporate mistakes into the universe. Is Sevarius' name misspelled on his briefcase? Yes. But we assume that mistake happened "In Universe" and that Sevarius got a discount because of the error. Of course, some things that you think you know from watching the episodes may turn out to be not as they seemed. For example, if you thought the Archmage died at the end of "Long Way to Morning" you were wrong. But not because we contradicted what was in the episode, but because when you see "Avalon, Part Two" you are presented with more information that changes what you thought you saw.

Response recorded on January 19, 2016

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Masterdramon writes...

CONVERGENCE 2014 CON REPORT

DAY 5 AND DAY 6

……………

SUNDAY, JULY 6
11:00 AM CDT

A few things happened in this hour, all of which I tried to get done as quickly as possible to make it in time for most of Greg's first panel of the day: "Protofeminists in Shakespeare."

The main thing was picking up my one successful acquisition from the charity auction: a coffee cup that Chris Jones had used at CONvergence 2013, with the caption…well, I'll just let the image speak for itself:

https://twitter.com/ChrisJonesArt/status/485468921923788800

I had, naturally, bid on the thing as a lark - more or less solely for the reason of being able to say I did. But apparently nobody else at the con shared my particular sens d'humour, because I was the only one who bid. So while I lost out on all the posters and plushies and whatnot that I actually WANTED…Chris Jones' residual DNA was mine.

Which should make the reason for my hurrying clear, I think. Because Chris was doing his final signing of the weekend right at that moment…and if I was gonna be known as the guy who paid $5 for his coffee cup, then I figured I might as well MILK it.

So in addition to getting my "Recruits" print signed, I asked Chris to go ahead and personalize the cup; perhaps, with something that'd commemorate just how crazy I was to pay ANY amount of money for a used coffee cup.

And that is how the cup signed to "Krazy Kevin" that can be seen in the Flickr photos I linked in my first post came to be.

Anyway, with all that out of the way and my farewells said to Chris, I headed back into the Edina room for the aforementioned panel. I'd caught the first ten minutes or so while I was waiting for Chris' line to shorten, and overall I managed not to miss more than about 5-6 minutes, thankfully.

The conversation itself was really quite fascinating - an intelligent, scintillating discussion on some of my favorite of the Bard's plays and characters. It reminded me of being back in college, actually…y'know, in a good way.

This was also where I first learned, through Greg's discussion of the strong women in Will's life and the influence that might've had in how he wrote female characters, what the premise of "Doc Shakespeare" would've been. I'd heard the name bandied about on Ask Greg for years, but I never knew what it was ABOUT.

But now I do. And I want it to exist so very badly. Damn you, Greg Weisman.

I asked one question myself, though as it was at the tail-end of the panel there wasn't much time to really go into depth with it. My question was whether the backlash that "The Merchant of Venice" receives - rightfully - in the modern day over issues of race diminishes Portia's status as a "protofeminist" character (seriously, she spends pretty much the entirety of the final act making everyone else in the play her bitch). The answer Greg gave was that being a feminist character is not mutually exclusive with being a terrible person…and considering he's written for Demona, Nerissa, and Queen Bee, he certainly can say he knows what he's talking about.

A fun discussion, overall, that gave me a lot to think about - something that's been increasingly rare for me since I graduated last May, unfortunately.

……………

SUNDAY, JULY 6
12:30 PM CDT

The last of the numerous, numerous events dedicated to Gargoyles that weekend was this "Gargoyles Fan Panel," composed of a mix of creators, long-time fans, and newer ones.

This one felt a lot more like the Harry Potter "panel" that'd started my weekend than anything else: an intensely, unabashedly geeky outpouring of gushing about how awesome the show was and still is, except with Greg Weisman happening to also be there.

I mean, Jennifer and Karine were up on the panel as well, but it was clearly in more of the capacity of "promoted fans" than as industry professionals. As Karine's epic Hunter cosplay made evident. :)

Favorite moments, episodes, characters; moments that made us laugh, and moments that made us cry; two decades' worth of stories of people discovering, falling in love with, and continuing to enjoy the series, even years after the last piece of canon material was published. All of it was shared, compared, and squeed upon in short order, in a space that felt perfectly safe to fans of all stripes.

Nothing new really came up, but it didn't have to. After a full weekend of bombshells and revelations, it felt good to kick back with the rest of the fandom and just CELEBRATE this show that has meant so much to all of us.

It's been a fantastic 20 years. And this mini-gathering was a great way to welcome many more to come.

……………

SUNDAY, JULY 6
2:00 PM CDT

This was the last space open for walking around that was really available before the end of the con, and I took advantage of it for one final walk around Artist's Alley and the Dealer's Room. And for the first time since Thursday, I did indeed find some art I felt was worth spending my money on: a couple of prints based on Vinyl Scratch from "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic," and a collage of various villains from the same.

Heading back upstairs, I wandered over for the final Gargoyles-themed signing to make my last rounds. Ironically, despite getting over a dozen items signed across the course of the con by him, I had nothing left for Greg Weisman (indeed, all I ended up getting at that time were Greg Guler's and Frank Paur's autographs to complete my radio play script).

But I said goodbye to all of them, and wished them well on their flights back home. Though ironically, it actually WOULDN'T end up being my last time speaking with one of them that weekend (but I'll leave that little nugget until the end).

Anyway, most of the rest of this time was spent waiting in line for the next panel, as it was taking place on the Main Stage and we wanted to be sure to grab good seats. Which we definitely did.

I spent most of it chatting with Brainiac, Chip, and Bookwyrm on numerous topics, from Yu-Gi-Oh! to classic video games to various anime.

But eventually, it was time for one last chance to grill the Wise Man for details. And oh, did we take advantage it.

……………

SUNDAY, JULY 6
3:30 PM CDT

This was the last actual "panel" of the day, but was certainly a great one to go out on: "Young Justice Q&A," with Greg, Chris, and Marina.

There were lots of details big and small dropped here, though there were just as many spoiler requests denied with the now memetic line. This naturally came full-circle when someone asked if Stephanie Brown would be showing up again; I mean c'mon, dude, what'd you EXPECT in response to that question? ;)

Of course, I got largely the same response when asking about the circumstances of Ocean-Master's disgrace, banking - obviously unsuccessfully - that he might be willing to share more about events that occurred during the timeskip by this point.

Still, he did at least share one little tidbit: that the reason Orm never got an episode to himself to be the Big Bad was because the "Under the Surface…Here There Be Monsters" two-parter from the tie-in comics was originally meant to be the A-plot of "Downtime," but the executives nixed it for some reason.

It worked out well enough, since subbing in Black Manta allowed them to build on that appearance in Season 2. But I still would've loved to hear Roger Craig Smith belting out Ocean-Master's great lines from those issues, which remain my favorite story from the comics run.

Other "SPOILER REQUEST; NO COMMENT" earners included Shining Knight (considering that one version in the original comics was married to Firebrand, AKA Red Inferno) and the aforementioned Steph. After a few of these, Chris was quick to re-term the panel "Young Justice Q, no A."

All kidding aside, though, there were a number of interesting details presented. When asked about the process of selecting the members of the Light, for example, Greg noted that he was tired of villain team-ups that essentially "defeated themselves" through infighting. As such, he wanted the Light's leaders to be characters whose temperaments would allow them to genuinely collude and work together toward a singular vision, without the constant mistrust and backstabbing previous comics/adaptations have taught us to expect.

Well…maybe except Klarion. But he can at least be kept in line with shiny new toys, LOL.

Speaking of Klarion, Greg also mentioned - in response to a very nice cosplayer of the Witch-Boy, stuffed Teekl included - that the reason he chose Klarion as a member of the Light was because he felt the main villains of "Young" Justice really should be composed of at least one kid (in appearance and disposition, if not literally.

Greg also dropped the bomb that he'd slipped a rather major YJ spoiler into the radio play, which he was EXTREMELY surprised nobody had asked him about to that point. Cue us all jumping to our scripts and flipping through without success…proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am selectively blind.

It wasn't until a few days after I'd returned home and reread the script that it became insanely, excruciatingly obvious; the spoiler was clearly in Tigress' line, "I left Roy at home alone watching Lian and J.W." Which I'd noted as a little odd every single time I read it, and then somehow promptly forgot about (several times in a row!) in the midst of all the action.

Not that it would've helped me much, of course, had I figured it out while I was still there. Because if my theory about the identity of "J.W." is accurate, then there is NO WAY IN HELL Greg would ever comment one way or the other on it.

At least, not without some serious pie-making skillz that I, unfortunately, sorely lack. ;)

Marina was (as always) an enormous hoot at this panel, butting into various topics to note that we were "the quietest and best behaved" audience of fans she'd ever seen…as well as that we tended to ask much more intelligent questions than she is used to. As she put it:

"If I get asked 'What's it like to work with Sir Patrick?' one more time…"

She also mentioned, when asked about her thought process in approaching the character of Queen Bee, that when she was initially cast she looked up the wrong reference image and actually thought she'd be playing a…well, a bee-person. So she asked during recording whether they wanted her to add a buzzing sound to her voice. XD

And finally, at one point she ended up going off on a random tangent involving comparing David Xanatos to Donald Trump (context has long since eluded me, though it didn't take much for Marina to go off-topic in the most delightful way). Greg took mock-offense to that, and she quickly noted:

"Of course not. Xanatos is much smarter. And he has better hair."

Since the topic we'd started at was the Light, I then couldn't help but shout from the crowd:

"SO DOES LEX LUTHOR!"

That got a lot of laughs. It was definitely one of my favorite exchanges of the con, and a great way to move toward finally wrapping it up.

……………

SUNDAY, JULY 6
5:00 PM CDT

This was it. The final hurrah. One last celebration of everything this weekend had meant to us, with a chance for the "actors" to take their bows before the "curtains" came down.

After we filtered out of the Main Stage, Chip and his brothers elected to return to the hotel room, while Brainiac and I got back in line to await the Closing Ceremonies.

There really wasn't any more reason to walk around - the artists and dealers were packing up, the panels were over and done with, and we'd run all the errands we needed to (such as grabbing a couple items we'd picked up for Station 8's Algernon, who lives in Ireland and as such couldn't be with us that weekend). So we mostly just stood around and continued to chatter on about video games.

Brainiac was the only one of us who'd attended the Opening Ceremonies (I was busy watching Madoka at the time), so he had a bit more of an idea what to expect than I did.

The festivities started with a sort of elaborate skit involving superheroes, hobbits, and Time Lords…little of which I understood, and almost none of which I found particularly interesting. But there were some good lines here and there, and I certainly didn't begrudge the con's organizers the chance to take a victory lap and enjoy the fruits of their hard work.

The guests would each be individually presented and celebrated at a later point, but as Marina had to catch an early flight she came on shortly after the skit to say her goodbyes. And to my surprise, after seeing her in all her frankness and bluntness (meant only in the best possible way, I assure you!) all throughout that weekend, she was…overwhelmed.

With not even the slightest trace of snark, she thanked us from the bottom of her heart for making her feel so welcome. And she made it clear that, while she wouldn't have considered coming to CONvergence without Greg recommending it, she was extremely glad that she did.

Okay…so there was a LITTLE snark. Namely that when saying goodbye to Connie, she actually started to tear up, and blamed our favorite robotic mascot for making her makeup run. But it was all in good humor, and I won't lie - it warmed my own heart to see it unfold.

Speaking of Connie, I really came to fall in love with that cute little gynoid as the Ceremonies unfolded, as she interrupted the ongoing presentation repeatedly to complain about traffic laws and the DMV; it WAS her Sweet Sixteen, after all. Her material was pretty much all pure gold, and it made me kind of regret not attending Opening Ceremonies, if only to see what she might've come up with.

Anyway, while every Guest of Honor got thanked and applauded by name - complete with Chris Jones-created logos for each one - Greg's was a bit more…involved.

One of the con organizers mentioned that Greg had shattered their record for total numbers of panels sat at a single con, with a whopping 26! A clearly exhausted but excited Greg then took the stage to give a great speech about how grateful he was that CONvergence had so graciously opened itself up to the Gargoyles fandom for our little "con within a con"…going so far as to say that, with the Gatherings retired for the foreseeable future, CONvergence was without question his favorite con to attend.

Then, in what can only be described as a grand exercise in good-natured humiliation, said organizer had Greg play a very weird game to guess the total attendance number for the weekend. Various people were holding up signs with various digits, and Greg had to determine which four to use and what order to put them in.

Obviously, the odds were pretty strongly against him getting it with only one shot, and indeed he did not. But it was certainly entertaining - if more than a little bit strange - to watch him make his best attempt.

And for the most part, that was it. There was lots more applause, both for the guests and for the numerous, wonderful volunteers. There were slide shows and videos from the con, including both the rather unfortunate picture of "the role of Lexington will henceforth be played by PILLAR" and the much nicer one of me "on stage" with Marina. There was more Connie, interviewing various congoers in her uniquely cheerful style.

And finally, there was the announcement of CONvergence 2015's theme, which will apparently be run by Connie's totally trustworthy "little sister" Connie Mk. II on account of good behavior. The maniacal laughter and crowd-chanting of "All hail Mk. II!" that followed were only mildly disconcerting.

I haven't yet made up my mind about whether I'm going to try to attend again; I had an unbelievably amazing time, and 2015's "dystopia" theme is right up my alley ("1984" is my favorite book of all time). But scrounging the money for even this year was difficult enough, so I'm not counting anything as a guarantee yet.

Still…I'm thinking about it. And that definitely means they did SOMETHING right.

……………

SUNDAY, JULY 6
6:00 PM CDT

We were informed during Closing Ceremonies that free pizza would be coming shortly, so Brainiac elected to stick around and wait for that. I, on the other hand, was absolutely starving after four days of eating basically only one meal of substance each, and so decided to return to TGI Friday's and splurge a bit.

This was a mistake.

I'll spare the gory details and just say that I had a wonderful ribeye steak that just so happened to give me severe food poisoning, which took me nearly two weeks to fully recover from.

Not that I realized it at the time, of course. After my dinner, I returned to the con to meet up with the rest of the gang - Chip and Dragonlord having returned due to the promise of pizza. We had a last round of chatting with other congoers and saying goodbye to the Doubletree as we waited, before finally driving back to spend our final evening together.

With all the action over with, we occupied ourselves with more Yu-Gi-Oh!, a few rounds of "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" (all of which I won handily, suck it Brainiac), and general geeking out about our various hauls.

Those still hungry ended up ordering in calzones for delivery, while I headed to the Crowne Plaza's business center so I could check my e-mail and Skype one time before takeoff.

I got most of my packing done once the games were over with - not that I really had all that much to pack - since I would be the one leaving first in the morning. Then at around 1:00 AM, we finally all turned in.

Not that I could fall asleep, myself, given what was beginning to happen with my stomach. Yeah, I'll leave out the details, but…let's just say I didn't end up getting to sleep until a couple hours later.

……………

MONDAY, JULY 7
6:00 AM CDT

Unfortunately, since my flight was at 8:48 AM, I needed to get up fairly early to be sure the hotel shuttle would get me there in time to board. Skimping on sleep didn't exactly do wonders for my already precarious health, and by the end I was pretty much limping out of there, hoping my stomach would hold for the journey ahead.

The trip held no surprises - good or bad - until I finally made it to the gate, where I was extremely shocked to run into Susan and Karine. Both proceeded to point out the Wise Man himself, whom they were dropping off there and whom I had somehow utterly failed to notice, despite sitting only a few meters away.

For in the strange but happy coincidence to end all strange but happy coincidences, we were going to be heading back on the same flight to Los Angeles; only a couple rows apart, in fact.

Despite feeling utterly like death by that point, this one last chance to speak one-on-one with the man gave me the energy to keep going. It was, to be sure, utterly surreal - only a few years ago, meeting Greg Weisman was this mystical, unattainable thing. And now we were just holding a friendly chat as we awaited our (naturally, delayed) plane.

It was, I suppose, one last opportunity to wrangle answers to the countless questions that I hadn't gotten a chance to ask that weekend…though I didn't really take advantage of it. Mostly because I was WAY too out of it to remember any of the questions I still had burning within me, but also because that really wasn't how the encounter "felt."

Instead, we talked about his kids. About his rather grueling con-schedule that summer. About how Rain was doing, with encouragement that I was excited as all hell for Spirits. About "Young Justice: Legacy," Scooby-Doo, and our impressions of how the radio play had gone.

Not nearly for the first time that weekend, I also reiterated my interest in having him as a guest at Kawaii Kon 2015, and he reiterated his interest in coming. So far, not much has come of my attempts to push the organizers I know on the issue, but it's an ongoing process and I hope to have something more concrete to report soon.

It was an extremely low-key conversation, not the least because we were both pretty exhausted (he, Chris, and co. had made a run on Denny's at 3:00 AM the previous night, which "seemed like a good idea at the time, not so much now"). But it was exactly what I needed at the time.

The entire exchange truly underscored what I loved most about that weekend: that Greg and the rest of the Gathering alums had seen fit to really make me feel like one of their own, rewarding all the effort I've tried to put into Ask Greg with kindness and acknowledgement.

I initially volunteered to help out when Todd reached out in the Comment Room because I so appreciated everything that Greg's work, and Ask Greg itself, had done for me over the years. But no matter how grueling dealing with the umpteenth "Where is Season 3?" or angry rant about Wally can be, I absolutely feel that I've gotten ten times more out of it than I've ever put in.

And that means the world to me.

I said as much to Greg, at least to the degree that I had the energy to articulate it. But all good things must come to an end, and eventually the plane arrived and it was time to board.

We wished each other safe travels, and said our farewells.

And with that…CONvergence 2014 truly came to a close.

……………

MONDAY, JULY 7
9:00 AM CDT

I'll be brief here, just to give an idea of what the aftermath of the con was like.

I flew to LA feeling like hell. I had an hour layover there, in which I felt like hell. I had another, longer flight back to Honolulu, if anything feeling worse than hell (since I hadn't eaten anything I'd kept down for well over 24 hours).

Eventually, though, I made it back home and was able to get the long rest and digestible foods I needed. I managed to make it back to work by Wednesday, though I'd be at least mildly off my game for the next couple weeks.

I called the Friday's in question to let them know about my situation, and calmly requested a full or partial refund; they called back at 6:00 AM two days later to tell me their investigation into the matter showed that they "did everything right that night" and so they wouldn't be able to accommodate my request.

I was too sick to really be willing to argue the point, but rest assured that I won't be visiting that particular restaurant again, should I ever return to CONvergence. And I urge any fellow attendees to do the same.

On a more positive note, Spirits arrived just a couple days after I got back, so once I was sufficiently recovered I got to reading. Once again, I'll be putting together a detailed review for Amazon/Ask Greg as soon as this report is finished and edited….but suffice to say, I dug the hell out of it.

Algernon got his package soon after as well, and was very happy with what we'd managed to find (a figure of Irish deity Brigid, a signed "Recruits" print, and a cuddly pink plushie of Cthulhu). And everyone else managed to get home with their own hauls without too much issue, thankfully.

Overall, despite the rather crappy end, I have little but positive things to say about the whole experience. I'm very proud of what I got to do, who I got to meet, and what I got to bring home…and it's definitely something I'd love the chance to do again.

It was my first "Gathering," such as it was, and it exceeded each and every one of my expectations.

Here's hoping it won't be anywhere close to the last.

NEVER THE END!

Greg responds...

For the record: It was Brandon Vietti who wanted Klarion in the Light. Not that I disagreed, but my initial choice had been Wotan. But Brandon pointed out we needed a "kid" on our villain team, and as usual, Brandon was right.

Md - Thanks for this. And for all the work you do, here, at ASK GREG!

Response recorded on January 13, 2016

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone!

I've taken a bit of a break from ASK GREG, but I'm back. I also started a new job this week. (Can't wait to tell you what it is!) This means my schedule is a bit more regular, so I'm hoping to get back to answering questions here on a daily basis. But it may also mean that things may get a little crazy on occasion as I get acclimated, so I may also miss a few days here and there.

So... business as usual, right?


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radiofriendlybox writes...

CTD? check the date?

Greg responds...

Um, probably? Maybe?

What are we referencing?

Response recorded on November 12, 2014

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Shola Akinnuso writes...

Greg, do you have any plans to post ANY of your scripts online? Your writing is clear, and structurally, they're a fantastic resources for writers trying to break into animation. The way you use sfx as action is a illuminating!

Currently, the ONLY way to see one of your scripts is to go all the way to The Writer's Guild in Los Angeles, and even there, you're not allowed to copy the script. Even if you feel uncomfortable showing the whole script ( just an act or two is all we need), posting it as a media resource on the site - perhaps as a .pdf so it is difficult to copy - would give peace of mind? It doesn't matter if the script is from YJ, Gargoyles, or Spider-Man...

Greg responds...

There's no way to post a script here at ASK GREG with the correct formatting. I know. I've tried.

Response recorded on September 30, 2014

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APOLOGIES

Hey gang,

I'd like to apologize for not getting to many of your questions recently. It's really due to all the travel I've been doing this summer - and the need to fit a LOT of work in between the trips.

Some of you have commented that the same excuses don't seem to apply to my Twitter account, and that's true. But the difference is that I can tweet from my phone at odd times and before bed - AND with little thought.

I've tried doing Ask Greg from my phone, but it's just too difficult. I'd rather give considerable thought and have the option of answering questions in depth. But if you want to make quick contact, by all means follow me on twitter at @Greg_Weisman.

The travel isn't over, either. I leave Monday for Ashland, Oregon, for my family's annual trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. For the curious, we're seeing the following eight plays over four days & nights:

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS by William Shakespeare
RICHARD III by William Shakespeare

THE TEMPEST by William Shakespeare
INTO THE WOODS by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine

THE GREAT SOCIETY by Robert Schenkkan
THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA by William Shakespeare

A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L'Engle and Tracy Young
FAMILY ALBUM by Stew and Heidi Rodewald

We're really looking forward to it.

Anyway, then I'm back for half a week, before the family takes another trip - this one to (a) drop my daughter off at college for her junior year and (b) take a road trip to look at five different colleges in five different cities with my son before he enters his senior year of high school. The entire trip will take eleven days, bringing me to the end of August.

But in September, my current plan is NO TRAVEL. (Stop #6 on the Gargoyles 20th Anniversary Tour is Long Beach Comic Con, which is driving distance. http://longbeachcomiccon.com ) So I should be back to answering a few questions every weekday regularly. Thank you for your patience.


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Masterdramon writes...

ASK GREG LIVE! - WONDERCON 2013 REPORT

First, a little background. I'm going to quote a section from the introduction I made to to Station 8 Comment Room, waaaaaay back in July 2010:

"Given that I was three when Season 1 of 'Gargoyles' first began airing, I was obviously quite outside the target audience at that point, and if I watched any of the episodes on first airing I definitely don't remember them. Rather, my first clear memories of 'Gargoyles' were watching it during the late 90s when Toon Disney was first starting up. This produced some interesting experiences; for example, I never saw and indeed never even had a clue that 'Deadly Force' existed until Toon Disney started airing it again in 2002 or so.

At the time that I first was watching this show voraciously it was amongst a litany of dozens of other cartoons, some well-written ('Batman: The Animated Series,' 'Darkwing Duck,' etc.) and some...well, not so much (here's looking at you, 'Captain Planet'). To an eight year-old, there was little differentiation between the relative qualities of these shows, and it was not until a few years on that I really began to appreciate what a true gem 'Gargoyles' was.

I'm not entirely sure when my perspective changed, though it might have had something to do with the aforementioned first viewing of 'Deadly Force.' By this point I was a pre-teen, and old enough to understand the basics of S+P...so to see one of the protagonists shoot another one in the chest accidentally, nearly causing her to die was an absolute revelation to me. Around this time I began watching the entire series with new eyes, and what I saw astounded me.

The depth, the complexity, the characterization was unlike anything else I had ever seen on the small screen, live-action or animated. The little things that escaped me on the first, second, or even tenth viewing (yes, I watched a LOT of Toon Disney) suddenly rared to life and showed me how amazing this show was, is, and always will be. Everything from the sheer emotion that Tony Shalhoub brought to the show's single greatest cameo role to the little nuances about Lexington that made me think, 'Oh, of course!' when I learned that Greg considered him to be homosexual all became clear to me, and clearer and clearer with each viewing.

'Gargoyles' did much for me over the years. To take a particular example, when I first began really reading Shakespeare during mandatory reading times in high school, I went with 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' then 'Macbeth,' and then, after the obvious 'Hamlet,' moving to 'Othello.' It shouldn't take too many guesses to figure out what attracted me to those plays specifically.

I have many obsessions in my life, some that have faded and some that have stayed with me forever. 'Gargoyles' stayed with me forever, and by the time I was about 13 or so it overtook virtually all of my other obsessions to become forefront in my fiction-dominated mind. I began searching around the internet for various little tidbits and behind-the-scenes stuff, and was blown away when I first discovered Greg's Master Plan. That someone could have so intricately designed such a massive and complex fictional universe intrigued me to no end...particularly 'Bad Guys,' since Dingo was at the time my favorite character.

On one of my frequent revisitings of the Master Plan in 2004, I ended up clicking around some links that brought me to the FAQ...and consequently to AskGreg. If the Master Plan had blown me away, then this site caused my mind to spontaneously combust. So many hints and clues to what the future might hold for the series, should Disney allow it to somehow continue...straight from the mouth of the creator himself! In all the years since that I've been up and around the world wide web, never have I again seen such a direct, easy-to-access method of communication to the artist behind such a masterful work.

Over the years, I have read virtually every single post in the AskGreg archives, some of them several dozen times. It is one of the websites that I frequent several times a day without fail, and I have gained an uncountable amount of enrichment from reading it constantly. It was through this site that I first learned of the DVDs and comics, all of which I purchased as soon as I could possibly get my hands on them, and of the Gathering, the scope of which shocked and awed me.

One of my greatest regrets is that I was never able to attend one of these amazing events; convincing your parents to let you fly out of Hawaii to the mainland for a convention on a 90s cartoon isn't the easiest thing in the world. And although I WAS actually in town for the final one, Gathering 2009 happened to fall on the EXACT same weekend as my college orientation. If the Gathering had been just one week later, or my introduction to Pomona College just one week sooner...but I guess it's pointless to deal with hypotheticals.

In any event, my praise goes out to all of you unbelievably dedicated individuals who kept it alive for so long. If ever you are able to arrange some sort of smaller event in the future, you have my word that I will attend.

AskGreg also gave the chance to really get to know Greg Weisman (or at least, as much as this is possible without real-world contact), and he is currently one of my absolute greatest heroes in all of entertainment. I am not using hyperbole when I declare him to be the single most talented writer in animation history, and in my mind absolutely anything he touches turns to solid gold. I avidly watched 'W.I.T.C.H.,' 'The Spectacular Spider-Man,' and the various episodes he freelanced for favorite shows of mine like 'The Batman,' 'Kim Possible,' and 'Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!'...many of which turned out to be some of the best in their respective series. And I wait with bated breath (and fanboyish panting) for 'Young Justice.' Spider-Man is my favorite Marvel superhero and DC is my favorite comic book universe...so to have Greg interpret both with his usual flair for complex, multi-layered story arcs and deeply involved character development has left me positively salivating."

Now, as you can probably tell from these words, this was a moment I've been waiting on for nearly 10 years. So as you might expect, I was...anxious. Despite my personal contact with Greg over the past couple years due to my moderating duties here, as well as friends who had met him previously who assured me that he was a really nice guy in-person, I was still a little worried I'd screw this up somehow.

Thankfully, ASK GREG LIVE! turned out to be a great experience, and truly the highlight of the weekend. There was somewhere between 15-20 guests in attendance, including myself, my girlfriend, and Blaise (whom it was awesome to meet in person). Kudos to Matthew for holding up the event sign for over an hour, and to whoever it was that cosplayed as Batgirl.

We pretty much just jumped straight into an hour-and-a-half of questions, which I hope I didn't hog too many of. A few highlights from the revelations presented therein:

- Following the Season 1 finale, Vandal immediately called up Hugo Strange and told him, "Open all the doors." Which explains a lot. Now, Greg W. ALSO said that by Team Year Five, Belle Reve was fairly full again...but at least it explains why so many imprisoned villains were walking the streets again in Season 2.

- The Joker was originally considered to appear in "Auld Acquaintance," controlling the Justice League. But for a variety of reasons (mainly budgetary; they needed Klarion anyway for the "magic stuff"), they switched him out for Klarion.

- Greg also responded to my question about whether the Joker of Earth-16 knows he's in a cartoon show by saying, "I think he's crazy enough to believe that, even if he's NOT."

- Lieutenant and Sergeant Marvel were originally considered to be on the Team in Season 2. But with only 20 episodes, several intended arcs were cut or reworked to have occurred during the Time Skip: a Marvel Family arc, a Red Tornado arc, and a Zatanna arc. With nothing to do anymore, Mary and Freddy were slotted into the Time Skip.

- He hinted pretty damn strongly that we'll be hearing more about "poor, disgraced Ocean-Master." Presumably in "Legacy," which I am personally excited as all hell for.

- Clone!Roy, post-"Satisfaction," is a stay-at-home-dad. For the most part. He and Cheshire are "trying to make it work," to the degree that people like them can.

- I asked if working on YJ had made him give more thought to who the 16 Sixteens in the Illuminati are. He basically said, "not really," while adding that he's got most of the major players in the Illuminati pretty well figured out, and has for a while. Which isn't to say he doesn't leave a fair few slots open for moments of epiphany.

- Darkseid has been the Light's silent partner since Season 1. Which most of us had assumed, but it's nice to have firm confirmation.

- Victor Cook did a fly-by. No time for questions, just said hi and name-dropped "Mecha-Nation." But still...really cool.

- He described Jason Spisak's last recording with them. Jason came up afterward and said that it was rare for an actor to be able to end his role on such a great, final note, "instead of just flying off into the sunset, with no one having any idea if you survive or not." Having now seen "Dark Matter," Greg believes that may have been coded snark.

- Oh, and surprising no one with a head on their shoulders...Greg disproved the rumor that DC wanted Wally killed off because of the New 52. Though it WAS amusing to hear him call those rumors, and I quote: "Complete horse"...baloney.

- He said he's deliberately keeping mum on "Rain of the Ghosts" until he knows if his publisher is doing any advertising. If they don't, he may start teasing some plot tidbits on Ask Greg.

- He talked a bit about availability issues...about how it came to be that Wentworth, Kittie, and George were replaced toward the end of the season. Just a whole lot of REALLY bad luck regarding other projects. But he also revealed the replacement that almost was...if it wasn't for the fact that no one on Earth could do an impression that did justice to him.

That's right...they once almost lost Tim Curry.

He was shooting something or another toward the middle of the season. They simply could not get him before the episodes had to ship. So what they did...was Greg recorded the lines. Taaaaaaaaalking liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis sooooooooooo thaaaaaaaaat theeeeeeeey cooooooould AAAAAAADR iiiiiiiiiiiit aaaaaaaaafteeeeeeer theeeeeeey reeeeeetuuuuuuurned froooooooom ooooooverseeeeeeeeeeas.

Which they would NEVER do otherwise. For no one but Tim Curry. Greg had to do a bunch of takes, because Jamie kept having to stop him and shout, "SLOWER!" Needed the mouth movements SO exaggerated that no one would notice it was ADR'ed. Which I don't think anyone did.

- I think those are all the big revelations, but there was lots of real fun little stuff on Greg's writing process, the backroom thinking that went into Darkseid's cameo, and Greg's hopes for the future. As he said at one point, "I still haven't given up on Gargoyles, and that's going on 20 years at this point! Why would I give up on a series that ended THIS month?"

Beyond that, it was just an incredible experience to be in the presence of the guy - to hear him speak, to ask questions (even utterly silly ones) directly answered to our faces, to shake hands, and to be personally thanked for my years of hard work on Ask Greg...which, needless to say, was incredibly gratifying.

The atmosphere was great - casual, friendly, and with no pressure on either the askers or on Greg. We chatted, we laughed, and we got to hear Greg at his absolute "frankest." Which is to say, a little...off-color. And oh it was glorious.

At my request, we also did an impromptu signing at the end; I got my Clan-Building Volume 1 trade, my SpecSpidey Season 1 DVD, my Young Justice Volume 1 trade, a Captain Atom comic, and the essay I wrote for Contemporary Political Theory last semester (and submitted to Ask Greg afterward) signed, and pretty much geekgasmed into the floor. SOOOOO utterly wonderful.

[If you want to see pics of said signed stuff and/or other stuff I snagged at the Con, you can go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/94547312@N04/sets/72157633137324644/with/8608204054/].

We also got to chat a bit privately, which was of course very good fun. And he even indulged my stupid, silly, obsessive request...to pose with my Fluttershy toy and say, "Fluttershy is best pony." His response was golden, too.

Greg: I have no idea what that means.

Me: I didn't expect you to.

Greg: Nah, what I mean is, am I saying something that will get a thousand angry bronies coming after me?

Me: No, most bronies tend to agree that Fluttershy is best pony, anyway.

Unfortunately, my girlfriend's phone appears to have recorded only the first second of the line. But I still posted it to YouTube because the image is gold:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qVVtIsNeb4

Overall, my first in-person meeting with Greg Weisman proved to be everything I was hoping for it to be, and more. He's a massively cool guy who doesn't operate on any pretense; he is what he is, and what he is is a genius at writing/interpreting fiction.

It was truly an honor to spend that time with him, and I very much hope it won't be the last.

Greg Weisman, you rock (woo-hoo!). Don't let anybody tell you different. Because this kind of treatment of your fans makes me truly proud to be involved with helping out here.

Thank you for ASK GREG LIVE!

Thank you for all the wonderful shows you've brought us over the years.

And thank you for never giving up hope. I await "Rain of the Ghosts" with bated breath, and I can't wait to here the announcement when you get your next television gig.

Because it's coming. And I look forward to watching the hell out of that show, whenever it comes.

Greg responds...

Wow. Dude, do you really want to stoke my ego THAT MUCH?

Anyway, it was great meeting you too. You're contribution to Ask Greg has been invaluable.

I hope you're thinking about coming to ConVergence this July for the Gargoyles Reunion convention within a convention. More details on that should be forthcoming this month.

Response recorded on January 06, 2014

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A Flash Fan writes...

Terribly sorry to ask a few more questions Greg...

1. In the Arctic was it an oversight that the Team, particularly Artemis and Nightwing, were not wearing warmer clothes than their regular costumes? Even for a short time it must have been freezing I think, and they were in warmer costumes in the simulated mission in Failsafe.

2. At the beginning of the Season 2 we learned Superboy did not change externally but internally, however we never heard about it again toward the end. Does he still age in this fashion? Was it just mentioned to add some info or is there something else?

3. Does Superboy not like mirrors because it reminded him too much of how he is yet isn't like Superman, and does he use mirrors in Season2 or eventually?

4. Before you answer the oldest posts do you on occasion look at the latest questions of askGreg? I ask because I understand everyone is expressing their love for Wally, or wants to know
about Darkseid, or some other stuff, but they don't follow the
guidlines to not repeat questions. Do you ever plan onn giving a single post to just stop these ongoinv qustion into one?

Thanks

Greg responds...

1. There wasn't time to change.

2. Why would it have changed?

3a. Pretty much. Though I don't think he would have articulated it that way.

3b. Don't think he cares much about mirrors one way or another.

4. I don't. I have moderators for a reason, i.e. to protect me legally. It would defeat the purpose if I went ahead and read unmoderated posts.

Response recorded on November 13, 2013

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Cowboy_Garlicbreath writes...

Greg-

I loved the show; thanks to all of you for doing a great job- I'm going to miss it(and GL)allot.

1. Do you have any irons in the fire for any more older-audience DC superhero animated shows,like GL and/or YJ?

2.How do you deal with the fan-crazy and headcanonry without popping a blood vessel in your brain? I admire your tolerance, sir!

To the next project(raises glass)!

Greg responds...

1. Not me. (Though I did write one episode of Beware the Batman.) Not that I wouldn't love to, but it's not my sandbox and no one at DC or WB seems too interested in having me work on these characters right now.

2. I do pop the occasional vessel, but mostly it's rewarding and worth the time.

Response recorded on October 09, 2013

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Mark writes...

Not much of a question but a comment.

I find some of your responses to be highly condescending, being called "Ask Greg" leaves yourself open to a multitude of questions being answered - yes people should be very aware of your rules and they should be respected, but I believe the questions that get through your moderators and you feel you can't answer adequately should just be ignored rather than given a snarky remark.

I respect your work and the shows you make have brought many people joy, but sarcastic comments like "aren't you glad you asked" following you belittling someones curiosity is rude. Some of these questions are being asked by young children and while I do believe that your time is valuable, I think you're wasting more of it by being, for a lack of a better word, a "jerk".

Again your rules are clearly stated and should be adhered to, but be the bigger person and be cordial - some don't believe that they're "breaking the rules/guidelines" (some may, but putting intent behind action that you understand is immature) so I believe that each person deserves some of the comments you give, maybe you're being frank, but frankly I read it as being annoyed and insensitive.

tl;dr - You deserve respect, but so do the readers/fans of "Ask Greg". Great shows and great work.

Greg responds...

Mark, you have a VERY good point. And I will strive to be more patient.

But, dude, it's REALLY hard sometimes. REALLY hard.

For example, I had a knee-jerk negative reaction to your comment, because it still smacks of entitlement to me. That somehow just because they post something here, fans have a right to my patience. As opposed to the reverse notion, which is no one MADE them post here, and posting opens THEM up to whatever response they get.

But I made an effort to step back, and I do see that you're basically right.

So I'll try to do better. The negativity and snark may sneak out sometimes, but I will make an effort. And the occasional reminder to keep me honest is a good thing.

(Of course, the fact that I know CERTAIN fans LIKE my snarky responses doesn't help. Still, I shouldn't be playing to THAT audience, I know.)

Response recorded on August 29, 2013

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Twitter vs. ASK GREG - To the Death!!!

Twitter vs. ASK GREG - To the Death!!!

So for the first time in nearly a month, I lurked on a few sites and someone was bitchin' (that's right, I said it) about the fact that I was tweeting a lot but hadn't spent much time here at ASK GREG.

Mostly, the responses that person received from other fans were dead obvious, but they bear repeating:

1. Twitter is a lot more convenient. I can tweet with my phone during downtime. (I tend to do it while I'm doing my isometric neck exercises.) I can also do Ask Greg with my phone during downtime (as I did yesterday when I was stuck at an airport), but (a) it's much more difficult because the screen is so small and (b) I have no access to the materials that some questions require. So Ask Greg answers done on the phone tend toward the short and unsatisfying.

2. Stop acting so entitled. Greg Weisman has NO obligation, explicit or implicit, to answer any questions on ASK GREG ever. Let me repeat that: Greg Weisman has NO obligation, explicit or implicit, to answer any questions on ASK GREG ever. I do it because I enjoy doing it (most of the time). But if for any reason I take a break for however long, that's life. I will not be made to feel guilty about it.

Those are the two main points, but there are a couple others:

3. I've been traveling A LOT. Since the end of May, I've taken four trips up north to Lucasfilm, one trip to Denver Comic Con, one trip to Oregon for their Shakespeare Festival and a family trip to EUROPE. I still have both San Diego Comic Con and New Orleans MechaCon (http://www.mechacon.com/) coming up in the next couple months, plus at least one more trip to San Francisco for Lucasfilm. When I travel, internet is a dicey prospect at best, and that's on top of the fact that the reasons for the trip tend to preclude me having the free time to post on ASK GREG.

4. I've been SWAMPED with work. That's a good thing. (In fact, these are all good things.) I have tight deadlines on Star Wars Rebels, a looming deadline on the second book in the Rain of the Ghosts series, plus a few other random freelance things that I'll mention (perhaps) when they're finished. Lots of work means less free time to post at Ask Greg.

As for Twitter, I'll admit I might be a little addicted, but the bald-faced truth of the matter is simply that I was basically coerced into joining Twitter by my book publisher, my agent/manager and my family. I am making an extremely conscious attempt to raise my profile there (and gain followers) for the sake of RAIN OF THE GHOSTS. I make no bones about that. I'm not trying to hide the fact AT ALL. I want/need the book to do well, and Ask Greg just was NOT reaching enough people. Hence Twitter.

Having said that, I have no interest in using or allowing Twitter to replace ASK GREG. Folks have asked me questions on Twitter, which I've either ignored or used as an excuse to nudge the askers over here. It's a tad difficult, since the ASK GREG Question Asking Function here is currently down until I catch up, but whatchagonnado? ASK GREG still matters to me, and Twitter hasn't changed that at all.

So really, the title of this ramble is a sham. The two resources are not in conflict at all. I'm hoping Twitter brings MORE people to Ask Greg and maybe, vice versa. (And maybe that's the real reason for this post. Heh heh heh.)


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Kyle M. writes...

Hi there! Greg I have a little request more than a question for you...and since you could easily answer me that you could but won't do it, I would like you to see it as a challenge;
Could you describe how would it be the last scene of the last episode of Hello, Megan? Please??? And thank you :)

Greg responds...

No, I'm sorry. But I don't know it off the top of my head. So I'd have to figure it out, and I don't figure out that kind of stuff lightly. So it would take time. And I don't have that time. And, as I've said here before, I'm not looking for Ask Greg posters to come up with CHALLENGES for me. It's incredibly presumptuous, for starters, and it puts me in the awkward position of having to write up something like THIS, which makes me look like a jerk for not rising to your challenge. Thanks.

Response recorded on May 13, 2013

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Alan writes...

I know you dont like hypotheticals, and if I asked who would win if Lobo, Despero, & Mongul were put into a three-way cage match I would get a response about a fight between Hulk & the Thing. Now, I never read Marvel, but that response seems spot on & thought through...it makes me wonder why you dont answer the actual questions with that kind of simple but logical reasoning, that doesnt give a definative conclusion, but still offers a clear comparison of each's strengths/weaknesses in relation to one another.
I understand that any fight is situational, and if Despro was wearing a patch on his third eye, or Lobo was caught unarmed (as if), or Mongul had the flu, any one of those thigs would offer vastly different outcomes...but none of those things were part of the question, so there is really no reason to consider them in the answer. For example, your Hulk/Thing response itself would be rendered illogical by any number of "what ifs"...like, "what if the Thing was being mind controlled" would negate him keeping any kind of wits about him...but that was obviously not part of the imagionary question, so the point is moot.

And I know your not going to tell a story on this forum...but the Hulk/Thing example answers such a question (if it were ever actually asked) without telling a story.

So my question is...did you come up with the auto response of the Hulk/Thing, or did you get it from somewhere else?

Greg responds...

You write that you know I don't like hypotheticals, and yet then you try to make an argument for why that shouldn't matter to me.

I'VE SAID IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN. These "Who would win?" questions flat-out do not interest me. And if it doesn't interest me, why would I bother answering? Simply because someone asked? Entitled, much?

As for where the Hulk/Thing thing came from, it's simply the classic version of the question going back fifty years or so. It's evolved here at Ask Greg as a stock response, like "SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT." or "ASKED AND ANSWERED".

Response recorded on May 01, 2013

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Anonymous writes...

If each member of the Team on Young Justice were to be replaced with a character from Marvel Comics (regardless of which universe they are from) who would act as their potential equivalents (in terms of similar skills/abilities), who would they be and why (in one sentence per character)?

Greg responds...

Why are you asking me this?

If this is an exercise that interests you, go for it. But I have no inside information on something so arbitrary.

Guys, please, I appreciate that you want to have fun with these kinds of things, but that's not what ASK GREG is for. Creating make-work for me - because, I can only assume, you think I'll enjoy it - is not going to get a positive response here. And all it really does is clog the queue.

Response recorded on April 16, 2013

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SHAZAM! writes...

1. Where did you come up with the idea for a Green Beetle? DId he exist previously?
2. Is the reach responsible for the fall of the martian civilization?
3. Who is the black beetle? Wasn't he Jaime's friend Paco in the comics, is there a reason he isn't?
4. Is the Green Beetle a red, white, or green martian?
5. Why is lex trying to help the reach conquer earth? In the comics he honestly beleives he's trying saving the planet, not doom it...

Greg responds...

1. ASKED AND ANSWERED.

2. Assumes facts not in evidence.

3. I think it's pretty clear from the show who Black Beetle is. Why in the world would you think it's Paco?

4. Green.

5. Okay, I'm aware that you wrote up these questions before the end of the series, so I have a question for you: WHY DID YOU WRITE UP THESE QUESTIONS BEFORE THE END OF THE SERIES? What was your hope here, exactly? That I'd get to it before all was revealed and answer "SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT" Or that I'd get to it (more or less) now and simply refer you back to the episodes themselves.

Look, SHAZAM!, I don't mean to single you out, but this is symptomatic of an on-going problem here at ASK GREG. All you've really succeeded in doing is CLOG UP THE QUEUE.

Please, everyone, THINK before posting.

Response recorded on April 11, 2013

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ASK GREG LIVE - Correcting the web

So, I still maintain that ASK GREG LIVE was a great success, but I've seen a few posts on the interwebs that... undercut that success a bit.

With the best intentions, I'm sure, people have attempted to relate what I said, and although they got a lot right, they also got a bunch of stuff wrong. They either misheard me or mistyped or related the information second-hand or whatever, but I'm going to try to set some of the misconceptions straight.

Myth #1: "Greg categorically stated that Wally West is dead and will never come back."

I did not. Surprisingly, I was not even asked this question and thus never responded to it at all. Now, let me be clear. I also have not stated categorically that Wally West is not dead will definitely come back. And I'm not going to do either. Let me illustrate why with an example:

You've seen memorial holograms for Jason Todd/Robin and Tula/Aquagirl. There are four potential scenarios for those two characters coming back:

Scenario A) Both are going to come back.

Scenario B) Jason is going to come back, but Tula is staying dead.

Scenario C) Tula is going to come back, but Jason is staying dead.

Scenario D) Both are staying dead.

Break it down like this, and it becomes clear why I won't answer any questions about either character in this regard. Assume, just as a hypothetical example, our plan was Scenario C. Then someone asks me about Jason. They say, the show is over; if he's really dead, why not tell us. This sounds logical (in the moment), so I state that Jason is staying dead. No harm, no foul. I've only confirmed something that the show itself already stated. No big deal. That is, until someone else asked me about Tula. I don't want to answer this one, of course, because I want her resurrection to be a surprise. But I also don't want to lie. So I go for my standard "SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT." But then someone realizes that I was willing to be clear about Jason, but not about Tula. Ipso facto, Tula must be coming back. And I've just spoiled my own show. Which, as I'm sure you know, I am quite LOATHE to do. Clear?

Myth #2: "Greg stated that they killed off Wally instead of Barry because Barry's death would be too telegraphed."

That's almost exactly the OPPOSITE of what I said. Rather, in response to comments I've seen that Wally's death was out of the blue, I said I found those comments to be ironic, because Brandon and I spent the whole season afraid we were telegraphing WALLY's death too much. We cut lines of dialogue from and about Wally because we thought it would send too obvious a signal that Wally was going to buy it at the end. (And this is NOT meant as a statement with regards to Myth #1 above. As far as Season Two is concerned, Wally is considered dead. What that may bode for the future, is something that I won't respond to for the reasons outlined above.)

We did - at the very beginning of the season's development - briefly consider taking out Barry instead of Wally. But we decided that Barry was too much of a minor character, and that his death would have no resonance for our audience, would exact no cost. I suppose, as some have argued, we could have spent the entire season bulking up Barry's part to make sure his end had resonance, but we didn't have either the screen time or, frankly, the desire to do that. Wally mattered to our audience. Even with relatively little screen time in Season Two, he MATTERED. And I think the proof that we made the correct choice is obvious in how it's torn fans apart over his demise. It hurts. It hurt us too. I still well up watching that scene - and I've seen it dozens of times by now. It is sad. It's supposed to be sad when a hero that we love dies. Given that, I don't have any regrets.

Myth #3: "Greg stated that Ocean-Master will have a huge roll in Young Justice: Legacy."

No, I didn't say anything of the sort. You guys have seen the villains who are participating in Legacy. You already KNOW he's not in there.

Myth #4: "Greg stated that Troia will have a huge roll in Legacy."

No, I did not. You already know the heroes participating in Legacy - except for the these-are-just-for-fun-and-don't-count-toward-the-canon-story characters. You already KNOW she's not participating in the story.

Myth #5: "Greg stated that Mary Batson is Lieutenant Marvel."

No, I did not. First off, I've never once mentioned anyone named Mary Batson. I have mentioned Mary Bromfield. But she is NOT Lieutenant Marvel. I did give a small spoiler about the Marvel Family at ASK GREG LIVE, but I'm going to leave it as a prize for those who attended in person.

Myth #6: "Greg stated that the plan from day one was to use Donna in Season One and Cassie in Season Two."

This is more of a half-truth. EARLY, early on, Donna was one of our leading candidates for Season One. This was before we had even narrowed things down very much. And BEFORE any true decisions were made, we were informed by our DC Liasons that both Wonder Girls were off-limits for legal reasons that were never explained to us. (So don't ask me.) So neither Wonder Girl was seriously considered. Then Geoff Johns came aboard and made both Wonder Girls available. Unfortunately, by that time, it was flat out too late to include Donna. So we decided we'd put Cassie in Season Two. And have Donna be one of the characters who joined and left the Team during the timeskip, and cameo her in Season Two. Unfortunately, for reasons reported fairly accurately from ASK GREG LIVE, we were unable to cameo either Troia or Mary at Rocket's bridal shower because there just wasn't time for Phil Bourassa to design FOUR new characters, i.e. the two girls in both their civilian and super-hero costumes. Had they appeared in "Satisfaction", then they would have also had cameos in "Endgame", since their designs would already have been completed. But since they didn't appear in the earlier episode, we weren't able to get them at all. This is a sadness to me. But there are realities of production that we're all subject to.

Myth #7: "Greg stated that rumors about DC wanting Wally killed off were 'complete horses#!t.'"

I NEVER used the term "Horses#!t" and never would. I clearly said "complete bulls#!t."


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WONDERCON & ASK GREG LIVE

I'm declaring ASK GREG LIVE at WonderCon a success!!

We had about twenty or so people show up (including Masterdramon and Blaise). It was informal, fun (for me, at least) and, hopefully, informative. As expected, we mostly talked about YOUNG JUSTICE, but there were also questions about GARGOYLES and THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN and how to break into the business, etc. So it was a nice Ask Greg-ish mix.

Someone said they were waiting for me to say "SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT." And I really did mean to say it, but I'm not sure that I ever really did. I don't think I spoiled very much, but I definitely revealed a couple things that I'm fairly confident I would not have revealed here on the website. I guess seeing the in-person faces of the fans melts me - at least a little.

I wasn't sure how many people would show up, so I had no idea how long it would run, but I had figured on about an hour. But we stood there - no sitting allowed in the Anaheim Convention Center Lobby - for over an hour and a half, and the time just raced by. (Special thanks to Matthew for holding up the ASK GREG LIVE sign for nearly the entire event.) At the end, we took a few photos, and I did an impromptu signing for anyone who had something they wanted signed. (Hadn't planned on that either, so I didn't have a pen. So thanks also to those who loaned me their sharpies!)

If you were there, I invite you to post about it here at ASK GREG tomorrow (i.e. Sunday, March 31st, 2013) or at the Station 8 Comment Room anytime next week. (I'll be stopping by to see what folks thought.) It's something I'd like to think about doing again. Perhaps at Denver Comic-Con or maybe even at San Diego Comic-Con (though that venue would present some MAJOR challenges). So even if you weren't able to attend, let me know if you'd like to see it happen again.


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Back to answering questions...

As I'm about to start answering questions here on ASK GREG - post "Endgame" - I want to first reiterate what I've already posted here:

http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=1026

I will NOT suddenly be SPOILING stuff left and right.

The YJ questions that have the best chance of being answered are ones about process and decision making regarding the television episodes and comic book issues that have already aired or been released. Asking for additional content is not at all likely to be rewarded. NOT. AT. ALL.

And again, if you want to know why, read this:

http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=1026


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WONDERCON ANAHEIM - ASK GREG LIVE

WONDERCON ANAHEIM - Who'd like to meet up?

My daughter Erin and I will be attending WonderCon on Friday, March 29th:

http://www.comic-con.org/wca

I'm not on a panel or anything official. I'm just going to look around, hang out, etc. But ASK GREG moderator Masterdramon is also going, and we thought it might be fun to organize a semi-impromptu ASK GREG LIVE event. I assume most folks would want to talk about Young Justice, which is great. But we can also discuss Gargoyles or the weather or whatever. Chris Jones and I did something similar a few weeks ago at a Doctor Who convention, and we had fun. I think about twenty or so fans showed, which was a nice number. We might wind up with a few more or less. Or, heck, maybe it'll just be me, Erin and Masterdramon, which is okay too. EIther way, we want to try to keep the thing unofficial, informal, casual, etc.

The main question I have is exactly when and where should we meet up? Has to be Friday the 29th, and because (a) I'm driving down there from Los Angeles and (b) it's the first day of the con, it probably shouldn't be too early. Likewise, I'm not staying overnight, and I have the drive home, so not too late either. So an afternoon meet-up, I'm guessing. Or maybe lunch? An early dinner? Linner?

And where do we meet? How do we find each other? (I'm not familiar enough with the Anaheim Convention Center to know exactly where a good spot might be.)

I'm definitely open to suggestions. I'm posting this here at ASK GREG, but also in the Station 8 Comment Room, which I'll be checking periodically between now and the con. If you have any thoughts on where we could meet, please post them there:

http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/comment/index.php

It'll also help us gauge interest in how many people might actually be, well... interested in this sort of thing. So even if you have no suggestions but you plan on joining us, post anyway, so that we can begin to approximate a head count. It may influence where we meet up.

The week before the convention, I'll post the final specifics on where and when at ASK GREG and at Station 8.

Hope to see at least a few of you soon.


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The Coming Deluge - Yet More Ask Greg Guidelines

The Coming Deluge - Yet More Ask Greg Guidelines

So, I truly hope I'm wrong, but I have to admit I'm anticipating a deluge of questions asking for SPOILERS after the airing of this Saturday's YOUNG JUSTICE: INVASION finale. I understand the impulse: "The television and comic book series are over, so there's no reason for him to hold back anymore! It means anything and everything are now fair game! He can never say 'SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT.' again"

But, see, that's not how I feel about it. So here's why, and here's how that should guide your future questions at ASK GREG:

1. Let's start here: OBJECTIVELY we're not over. YOUNG JUSTICE: LEGACY is due out in the fall, and it will contain new content - a SUBSTANTIAL amount of new CANON story content, based on ideas suggested to Little Orbit by Brandon Vietti and myself, and all vetted after the fact by us, as well, to make sure everything from dialogue to timestamps is consistent with the property as a whole. Now, LEGACY is set during the five-year-gap. So I'm not going to be inclined to answer questions that require me to reveal things that happened during our time skip. And not just Legacy related stuff either, because if I answer some questions about the gap but refuse to answer others, I'll be de facto spoiling. That I will not do, so please refrain from asking questions about the missing five years.

2. If I've learned anything from the long haul on GARGOYLES, it's that things sometimes DO come back. So SUBJECTIVELY I don't feel like we're over either. I still have hopes - however slim - of returning to Earth-16 one day. So there are secrets that I still may want to keep. Particularly about "Season Three". I'm not saying I'll never reveal anything. Sometimes a tidbit here or there helps keep fan interest alive. But I'm not going to wholesale give away the plans that Brandon and I came up with for what happens next. In general, I'm much more inclined to clarify what's already been shown then reveal what hasn't been shown. So try focusing your questions on what's aired or seen print and try to refrain from asking What Happens Next questions. When I feel like revealing something, I will.

3. ASK GREG is NOT a good format for me to tell creative stories. Any question, wherein the answer could fill an entire issue of a comic book or an entire episode of a television series or MORE will not be answered, because I will not short-change a story with a quick response, and I will not tell a story here at ASK GREG. So try to refrain from asking questions that would take an entire issue or episode to answer.

4. Brandon and I have many, many ideas for what happened before Season One, a few still left for what happened during Season One, many for what happened between seasons (including but not limited to Legacy), many ideas for stuff that happened off-camera during Season Two, tons of ideas for Season Three, and many, many, many ideas for beyond Season Three. BUT... ideas minus execution are subject to tremendous second-guessing. So I'm not inclined to give you new content. If I had told you before Season One that Red Arrow was the mole, minus how we executed that plot, it might have seemed quite weak. It's the execution that demonstrates whether or not an idea shines. And frankly, I don't need the second guessing and, well, nastiness that the internet encourages. So that's just another reason to refrain from asking what else we might have planned.

5. I will not lie to you here at ASK GREG, per this post: http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=982 . But I also will not state things that I believe to be true if stating those things will pretty much guarantee that I won't ever work in this town again. I have a mortgage to pay and kids to feed and clothe, etc. So you will not see me bad-mouthing companies in this public space. So please refrain from asking questions that would force me to do that. The best you'll get is no response.

6. Keep in mind, I answer questions because I like to be in touch with the fans, and I think it's fun for us all. But that doesn't mean I somehow OWE you an answer. The more entitled you think you are to the answer, (I can all but guarantee) the less inclined I'll be to respond in any useful way. Maybe that's me being needlessly contrary, but I'm just going to admit up front that it rubs me the wrong way. So tonally, try to avoid a sense of entitlement in your questions.

All this is IN ADDITION to the FOURTEEN guidelines already posted here: http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/ask.php I'll admit that these six new guidelines are perhaps even more subjective than the previous fourteen, but I guarantee you that we'll all be happier if you stick to them. And the happier I am, the more likely that I'll drop the occasional surprise here and there. Whereas, the more assaulted I feel, the more likely I am to get annoyed and clam up about everything. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Otherwise... thanks for stopping by. Seriously. The dark days at ASK GREG seem to have passed for the most part, and most days I enjoy doing it again. I just want to keep it that way. Thanks.


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Anonymous writes...

When you say, "i'll leave it up to your imagination", does that usually mean yes?

Greg responds...

No. It means "I'll leave it up to your imagination."

Response recorded on March 06, 2013

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J writes...

I was just reading through the recently answered questions, and something struck me as a little odd. You seem to be interested in the specifics of things that are activly shown on-screen (eg. a charactors background in gymnastics as opposed to acrobatics, and how that difference is portrayed), yet there is an "Ask Greg helper" who answers questions for you with your quote "I'm not personally intetested in those type of specifics" which was your answer to a comoletley different kind of question (probably something like "what is Superboy's favorite type of pie")....my question is:
How much discression do you give your helpers to answer questions with responses that a) conveys your personal opinion AND b) you have not already answered and was never revealed in the show?
Specifically, I am refering to a question about how much water Aqualad's pack holds...how does your helper know your not intetested in that? Was there a meeting in which this topic was discussed?
The reason your stories are so good is because you pay so much attention to the details of things on-screen (in my opinion, anyway), and that seemed like a perfectly legitimate question to something regularly appearing on-screen, and given that, would most likley intetest you, at least a little (ie. I would think that you would write Aqualad keeping in mind there cold only possibly be a finite amount of water in his pack).

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

[A NOTE FROM AN ASK GREG HELPER: You are operating under a false assumption. We will only answer a question if Greg has answered that same question in the past. This was the case with the question about Aqualad's Water-Bearers. Here is the full context.]

DC Hero writes...

"How much liter's can Aqualad's water bearers hold."

Greg responds...

"I'm personally not interested in being that specific."

[Response recorded on March 29, 2011.]

http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=13155

http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=17885

Response recorded on March 03, 2013

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YOUNG JUSTICE: INVASION: EPISODE: 212: "True Colors": Premieres!

YOUNG JUSTICE: INVASION: EPISODE: 212: "True Colors": Premieres!

A new mission! A new Teammate! And a new player in the game!! You won't want to miss our newest episode of Young Justice, premiering on DC NATION this Saturday (and Sunday), January 19th (and 20th) along with a new GREEN LANTERN and more new DC NATION super-hero shorts! Check local listings for times.

And also Saturday night on the SyFy Channel, check out this new original movie: TASMANIAN DEVILS, starring our own Miss Martian, Danica McKellar. That's right, the live-action Danica is kicking some Tasmanian ass and taking some Tasmanian names!!

Meanwhile, for those who have been wondering why I haven't answered many questions recently, here at ASK GREG, it's because I've (a) been out of town on a much needed vacation and (b) been swamped since I got back. I'll try to get back on the horse next week.


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CAUGHT UP

Well, I've finally caught up and cleaned out the ASK GREG queue. We'll plan to reopen the site- at least briefly - when Young Justice: Invasion #23 hits the stands later this month. Then again, when DC Nation starts up with new Young Justice: Invasion episodes on January 5th, 2013.

I'm looking forward to reading your responses to the new issues and episodes - and to Black Manta's Celebrity Hot Tub. (If there seems to be a demand, I might be tempted to write more of the latter for this site.)

But right now... I'm going to take a short break.


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gargoyles fan writes...

Hey Greg I have been meaning to ask this for a while, and I did check the archives but couldn't find anything on this, but I was wondering why do you answer fan questions? Its not a complaint I was just curious. Thanks for your time.

Greg responds...

I've answered this often, most recently here: http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=17563

Response recorded on December 17, 2012

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Nicole writes...

Troll means to purposely do something mean for your own enjoyment. When people on this site call you a troll, they pretty much mean that they love the emotional roller coster you put them in when they watch Young Justice. I noticed on some responses that you became frustrated wen people called you a troll. Just wanted you to know that you're amazing and thank you for bringing us Young Justice. Congrats to you and your team! :)

Greg responds...

Hmmm. I thought to troll meant to try to create strife - which I do NOT think that I do. I also don't think I'm ever trying to be mean, certainly not with the show and not even on this site. I can get mischievous. I can be a smartass. And, God knows, I can get annoyed as hell. But I still don't see how any of that rises to the level of trolling. So thanks for the kind words, but I still object to the term being applied to me.

Response recorded on December 13, 2012

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Irritated writes...

Some people who ask questions are so RUDE! They demand, they want to tell you how to answer, how to run your own blog, they whine...They claim to be fans but act with no respect. Greg, why/how do you put up with it?

Greg responds...

Some people say to me: "You have the patience of a saint." But anyone who knows me, knows THAT'S not true. The ugly truth is probably closer to this: "He has the ego and insecurities of a petty dictator." Generally, ASK GREG helps feed that ego and assuage some of those insecurities. Most of the time, anyway.

Response recorded on December 11, 2012

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Olga writes...

Hello Greg!
I was wondering what's Mal Duncan role on the Team? Thanks for amazing series, it keeps getting better and better!

Greg responds...

It's stated in "Happy New Year". STATED. OUT LOUD. Not to mention, SHOWN (DEMONSTRATED, CLEARLY REVEALED), as well.

Olga, I don't mean to pick on you per se, but FOLKS, please do not come here to ask questions that the show has ALREADY objectively answered. You're just clogging up the queue and slowing things down for everyone.

And apropos of nothing, I've also noticed that sometimes the questions asked seem only to be asked for the sake of having something to ask. Like people are stopping by the site and TRYING to come up with a question that no one else has asked - even if they have no real interest in the answer - just so they can participate in the... "fun". Even if NOBODY could possibly have any real interest in the answer. Please do not do this.

Response recorded on December 05, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Okay who is moderating these? Perfectly normal questions I've asked get deleted and then I see ridiculous grammatical monstrosities approved...?

Greg responds...

Incorrect grammar is not (currently) a criteria for deletion. Plenty of other things are. And you can and should (a) review the rules to see if one of your questions broke one or more of them, or if that provides no clarity, you can (b) go to the Station 8 Comment Room and ASK one of the moderators why your questions were deleted. Be polite, please.

[FYI, if incorrect grammar WAS a criteria for deletion, I could kick this question too, which has multiple grammatical errors in it.]

Response recorded on December 04, 2012

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CGYJ writes...

Hello Mr. Greg Weisman,

Today's posting is in regards to the closing moments of the episode "Alienated." The episode had shown us just exactly what the missing six members of the Justice League did on the Planet Rimbor. On January 26, 2016, these six members intended to go to Rimbor to stand trial for their actions while under The Light's control. Accompanying them are Icon, who is knowledgeable in intergalactic trial law (as stated by Wonder Woman), and Hawkman, who wants to accompany Hawkwoman for obvious personal reasons.

I'm sure you understand that the decision for these eight Justice League members to leave for Rimbor was probably not without causing complications. While it is shown that some heroes like Miss Martian and Superboy are covering for members like Superman and Martian Manhunter as best as possible, there is also another problem. I'm sure you know that we, the fans of the show and comic, understand that most, if not all, of the eight Justice League members have secret identities. The problem with these eight members is that with them leaving for another world, and given enough time, the public would probably ask questions like "Where is Clark Kent?" or "Where is Bruce Wayne?"

While I'm sure that each of the eight Justice League members probably DID have a plan to handle this unique situation before they left for Rimbor, can you please tell us in some detail just what EXACTLY each Justice League member (the ones who left for Rimbor) did to cover for the "disappearances" of their secret identities/alter egos so that the public would not become suspicious enough to believe that they vanished off the face of the Earth? I'm hoping my question doesn't confuse you. Your response might shed some light as how the eight Justice League members resolved this problem before leaving off-world.

Thanks,
CGYJ

PS. I did two postings on 9/29/12. One was about Darkseid, and the other was about Jason Todd. That night, I noticed both postings were approved, but on this day, they appeared to have been removed. What happened? Did I do something wrong or something else?

Greg responds...

You basically answered your own question. They each had time to prepare and did there best to cover. I'm not going to go into any further detail: at best it's a spoiler request.

As for why your questions were deleted, I have no idea. I never saw them. But you could ask the moderators at the Station 8 Comment Room.

Response recorded on November 28, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Why do you love to troll us?
Greg, if I didn't like you so much, I would hate you! Bye and good job Master of Trolldom!

Greg responds...

When have I EVER trolled anyone?

Maybe I'm confused, but are you sure you're using the term "troll" correctly?

Cuz by the definition I know, I'm not even sure if it's possible for me to troll on MY OWN DAMN WEBSITE.

Response recorded on November 15, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

has anyone who worked with you called you a troll? and have you ever intentionally decided to troll fans?

Greg responds...

1. Not that I know of.

2. No. (Unless a "smart-ass response" here and there counts as trolling.)

Response recorded on November 09, 2012

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J31 writes...

Have you ever coinsidred making another blog?(this one is kinda backed up.
Is it a nightmare when you see all the questions in the unanswered section,or does it make you feel nice knowing you have so many loyal fans?

Greg responds...

1. How would THAT help?!

2. Not a nightmare. Occasionally overwhelming. And it is nice (most of the time) to see that folks are watching/reading/giving a damn.

Response recorded on November 06, 2012

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Reverse Flash writes...

I love that you keep such an open dialog with your fans.

Greg responds...

Thanks. When it works, I love it too.

Response recorded on November 06, 2012

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The Truth about Ask Greg

Here is my manifesto:

I will not lie to you on ASK GREG.

Except by omission. I have, do and will continue to lie to you by omission whenever the need arises, I find it's politically expedient or I'm just in that kind of mood.

I will cheerfully - even gleefully - misdirect you, i.e. while technically telling the truth, I may consciously play to known biases and lead you down your own garden path. I may then lurk on other sites and chortle if I see my misdirection has been effective. I may also then get annoyed.

I will - hopefully not too often - answer sarcastically. I will make smartass responses, which are technically NOT true, but which I believe from context are obviously false, and thus should not be regarded as untruths in that any reasonable person will know that I was pulling legs. I will be the only arbiter of whether or not I am lying or kidding, in these cases.

I will, of course, be mistaken on occasion. Flat-out incorrect or wrong, even. If alerted to my errors I will endeavor to correct them. Obviously, I don't see being mistaken as willfully lying.

But with all the above caveats as givens, I promise that I will not intentionally make any untrue statements here on this website. I WILL NOT LIE TO YOU DIRECTLY.

Except on April Fool's Day. On April 1st, I'll lie my ass off.


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Feedback writes...

Can you edit the site so there are different sections for questions? One for "Gargoyles", another for "Young Justice", another for "Spectacular Spiderman", another for "Young Justice: Invasion" and a final one for "Other questions"?

Like that, you could answer the questions in a more organized manner. Plus, you could answer the types of questions you want to answer whenever you want (i.e. You're sick of YJ questions, so you'll start answering Spiderman ones)

Overall, I think you should implement this or a similar system so the archives and unanswered questions can be easier to navigate for you, for the mods and for the fans.

Greg responds...

The archives are ALREADY broken up exactly that wayr. What other 'organized manner' is required? First come/first serve seems fair to me. And I don't have any particular preference as to which show I'm answering about.

Basically, I am not having any navigation problems. Neither are the moderators. And if you've spent even five minutes looking at the site, neither would you or any other fan. Navigation was never the issue.

Response recorded on October 03, 2012

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Rich... writes...

Hey Greg, Not a question but a comment... You and your team are amazing with what you did with Young Justice so far, and I cant wait to see what tricks you guys pull out of your bags next. Also, you "Ask Greg" forum is funny as hell! I love the way you punk people off when they ask you stupid @$$ questions!

Thanks, and may Young Justice live for years to come! Rock on, homie!

Greg responds...

Thanks. I'm not sure I'm trying to 'punk' anyone though - no matter how frustrated I might sometimes get.

Response recorded on October 01, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

I just want to apologize for all the rude comments you are getting from some of the Young Justice fans. Just reading some of these comments makes me embarrassed. I enjoyed the first episode to season two. It was great and exciting and I can’t wait to find out what is awaiting us. Sorry again on behalf of the YJ fandom.

Greg responds...

I'm not seeing a lot of rude comments these days. I don't know if the ruder ones got deleted by the moderators, or if the new rules (and vague threats) I posted have kept them at bay.

Response recorded on September 20, 2012

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Bashir Bin Ali writes...

Wow. Reading through the unanswered questions, no wonder you've gotten so angry over people constantly asking for spoilers.

Good job with the opening for season 2. I heard something about a time skip but didn't expect it that far into the future. It seems like an odd choice but I have faith in you and the others to keep it glorious. Well, I guess y'all already have been, the season opener was real good.

1.) What was this site before it became AskGreg? Was it just another Gargoyles fansite or something like that?

Greg responds...

1. ASK GREG has - since its inception - been part of the larger Station 8 site. I believe S8 began as a more general fan site, but I'm afraid Gargoyles slowly but surely took it over. But really that's a question for Gorebash, who has graciously allowed me to park here on HIS PROPERTY and rant for over a decade now.

Response recorded on September 19, 2012

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J writes...

Not so much a question as food for thouht...I'm still doing my research and reading through every past Q&A (tangent here...cant anybody do something about all the repeated posts? There are far too many "askef & answered"s...but leave the "spoiler requests" - they actually give some information sometimes) & I've noticed that you are obviously one of a large number of people who dont like "spoilers" - and you tend to berate those who activly post/seek them out. Now I realize this is your forum, so basically what you say goes...but are you aware (or even care) that there are just as many people out there, like myself, whose enjoyment of most media precludes our knowing how it turns out? Ill give you an example...I will wait YEARS before watching a critcally acclaimed Hollywood blockbuster until I know for sure its worth investing even two short hours (ie. I refuse to watch a movie where the main character/animal dies senselessly at the end... as its a waist of my time and insulting - and the "sometimes death is senseless" argument doesnt work for me...reality IS senseless enough, thats why I like my fiction to make some sense at least...its called "escape" and nit "the eavening news" for a reason).
understand that you definatly would not agree with me, but is it really that hard to understand why some people would get more enjoyment out of your work if they had more to look forward to than the old (an eternally frustrating"just watch and see"? - I cant even tell you how many times Ive up and left the room when everybody else has seen the movie and nobody will answer a simple yes or no question because they didnt want to "ruin it" for me, when in fact they just did.
Basically what im getting at is, could you please not villify those who hust want to know a little more than your giving...Im not asking you to give more, but just because someone doent think like you, doesnt mean they are thoughtless.
Thank you for your time and talent.

Greg responds...

I think "villify" is an awfully strong word from what I've done. I'm often stunned by the desire for spoilers and appalled by those who SPOIL without any thought to those who don't want things spoiled and/or to the CREATORS who put in so much effort to create some surprise in their work. But it hardly rises to the level of hate speech.

And, no, I can't understand it. If you want a 100% guarantee out of your entertainment before you see it by knowing all that's coming... than we have very little in common.

That doesn't mean you're a bad person or that you're "thoughtless" for wanting the spoilers you want. But your thought processes defy my understanding. DEFY. MY. UNDERSTANDING.

But those differences are what makes the world go 'round, right?

Response recorded on September 19, 2012

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JAC writes...

Mr. Greg,

I was just wondering...where do you draw the line between "speculaton", "story ideas", and "spoiler reqests".
It seems to me like this is a pretty vauge gray area (even a spoiler reqest could be either of the former in question form)...almost any question/comment that does not pertain to precicley what has already happened could potentially be labled "story idea" or "spoiler request". But seriously, who watches/reads anything without wondering what the circumstamses surrounding the events on screen/panel

Greg responds...

Ultimately, it doesn't matter too much. Spoiler requests won't be met. Story ideas are forbidden. So that just leaves speculation, but this isn't really the forum for speculation. That's better suited to a discussion forum like this one: http://www.toonzone.net/forums/showthread.php?297208-quot-Young-Justice-quot-News-amp-Discussion-Thread-Part-20-(Spoilers)

Response recorded on September 18, 2012

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ern writes...

I'm sure that you must be frustrated with fans and might even want to shut this website down. But if you do shut it down, I hope that despite that you will still post updates on the progress of any of your works. Whether Young Justice or any future show. It'll still be more than enough =) Thanks for the updates. Nice to know how any of your show's progress is =)

Greg responds...

Thanks. I've backed away from thoughts of shutting the site down for now.

Response recorded on September 12, 2012

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Tomato writes...

So, this is not really a question, so much as a statement, one that a lot of people may not like me for, but whatever. As someone who has been reading Ask Greg, who currently has his own question in the queue, and who loves pretty much every show you've made: If this section has become an unnecessary burden on you, if it no longer holds any value or fun, you need to stop. I'm not saying you need to close the section down or anything, but if it comes down to a choice between you taking a step back for a month or so or letting things get so out of hand here that you shut it down permanently, then take a step back. Those of us who are loyal, truly loyal, to you and your shows will wait, and those that aren't can go off and whine elsewhere.

Truthfully, I don't think I've ever seen a creator involved with his or her fan base to this extent. It says a lot not only that you take the time to answer our questions, but that you WON'T answer all of them. It shows that you care enough to let us experience the narrative the way it's supposed to be experienced, even if we'd rather worm our way around it.

So yeah, if you need to, let the moderators handle things for the time being. They might have to skip over a few questions here and there, but they've already proven capable of typing "SPOILER REQUEST, NO COMMENT" and really, that's 90% of the answers you give right now anyway >P

Greg responds...

Thanks for the support. I think - generally - we've found a happy medium. The plan is to reopen the site's posting function toward the end of the month when our new episode (#208 "Satisfaction") premieres. Unfortunately, there's little chance I'll have gotten through the remaining 673 questions by then - so the backlog will increase. But whatchagonnado, right?

Response recorded on September 10, 2012

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Matthew writes...

Not a question just a comment. I found those long posts with tons of questions annoying as get all so I was glad about your decision to ban more then ten questions. Often, half the questions were things that you already answered (not that I haven't repeated a question once or twice.) So not everyone is disgruntled about this.

Greg responds...

Thanks.

Response recorded on September 10, 2012

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Derek writes...

Really more a comment than a question. As a reader of this site I prefer a smaller amount of questions per entry anyway. It makes them easier to search if a question has been asked previously about a character or storyline. It also makes the archives more pointed towards a particular topic.

Greg responds...

Agreed.

Response recorded on September 04, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Hi greg! why you sometimes write in ALL CAPS? do you know that on the internet that means shouting?

I love yj!!!!1

Greg responds...

I don't feel like I write in ALL CAPS, except for emphasis or - sometimes - for titles.

Response recorded on August 30, 2012

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CGYJ writes...

Mr. Greg Weisman,

Your response to one of my questions from my first posting (which was posted by me on March 3rd, 2012) stated that you are not familiar with the Smallville interpretation of Krypton’s destruction. The circumstances behind Krypton’s destruction were made clear within an animated series related to Smallville (but also which is not shown on TV) called “Kara and the Chronicles of Krypton.”

The website, http://smallville.wikia.com/wiki/Kara_and_the_Chronicles_of_Krypton, should hopefully be able to help out in some way to help you understand.

If you want to know more about Smallville’s interpretation of Krypton, here is this website, http://smallville.wikia.com/wiki/Krypton.

If you want to know about the DCAU interpretation of Krypton and how its destruction came about (which you claimed to some difficulty remembering), here’s the website, http://dcanimated.wikia.com/wiki/Krypton.

Does this information appear to help in any way to let you understand the nature of my question from the first posting (which I believe was question #5)? I feel that that these sources are well-informative, so please let me know how it all works out.

PS. I would also like to let you know that two days ago (from the date of this posting), around nighttime, I noticed in the unanswered questions archive that an anonymous person posted a very offensive and insulting message towards me; which also accused me of posting too much. Whoever’s posting it belonged to was deleted by whoever is in charge of the approval of the postings, so I don't remember the anonymous person's exact words. If you feel that I AM posting too often, I sincerely apologize and wish to be advised as to how to avoid the problem. Otherwise, I will not post anything from this point forward unless I feel that I need to ask something important regarding Young Justice.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this posting.

Greg responds...

I appreciate you posting these links, but I don't have the time or inclination to check them out. Sorry.

But I don't think you're posting too often. The moderators obviously have NO problem with your posts - since they've remained in the queue for me to respond to - while the post made by your attacker - which I haven't seen - was deleted. So I think it's obvious who belongs here and who doesn't.

Response recorded on August 28, 2012

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B writes...

"What exactly are you asking here? Whether or not I'm going to give a free pass to people who phrase the request sneakily? Or whether folks will stop asking when I make it clear that it's not going to work? "

The latter, of course. You constantly refuse to give spoilers and yet they keep trying that "in your opinion" thing as if it's not a spoiler request.

Greg responds...

Okay... so. Is there still a question here?

Response recorded on August 28, 2012

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ASK GREG UPDATE - VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

There is a NEWLY revised intro page at ASK GREG, and more importantly, a newly revised "GUIDELINES FOR ASKING A QUESTION" page. What's on it is SO important, I'm going to copy it below. But first a WARNING. In ONE WEEK'S TIME, I am going to authorize the moderators to go through the EXISTING QUEUE and retroactively apply these guidelines, DELETING any and every post that breaks even one of the guidelines. That's right, RETROACTIVELY.

I can justify this for a number of reasons:
1. NONE of these guidelines are actually new. This is the first time they've been gathered together on the question asking page, but I've been pleading for people to follow all of these guidelines for OVER A YEAR. So by now, anyone who spends even a little time at the site should be aware of them.
2. I'm giving folks a FULL WEEK to retrieve their non-guideline posts and RE-POST them PER THE GUIDELINES. Our biggest problem recently seems to be with folks who are hit and run posters, more interested in being able to post questions then in actually getting timely answers of any substance. Those folks may return in a few months (or whatever) to find their posts deleted, but anyone who's a regular here has plenty of time to correct their mistakes.
3. The queue currently has over a thousand questions and is still growing. No one's going to get ANY timely answers if something isn't done.

Please, keep in mind that (a) I take no pleasure in being this draconian and (b) this is WAY less draconian than it might be. Heck, their are fans advocating that I SHUT THE SITE DOWN entirely, which, frankly, is still an option on the table.

So please, read the following guidelines CAREFULLY. Reread your existing posts - or any new posts you might make - and confirm for yourself whether or not ANY ASPECT of your post busts a guideline. Because if even one little rule is broken, your ENTIRE post will be deleted mercilessly. (Feel free to ask for advice from the moderators at the Station 8 Comment Room, as to whether or not your post is within the guidelines and/or what you can do to get it guideline-safe.) Repost your question, if necessary. I realize that if you're near the front of the queue with a semi-non-legit post, it'll be frustrating to have to go to the back of the line, but keep in mind that in one week, the line is about to get WAY SHORTER, because nearly EVERY post breaks one or more guidelines.

GUIDELINES FOR ASKING A QUESTION
1. DO NOT REQUEST SPOILERS! All requests for spoilers will be met with "SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT." or DELETION. Prefacing your spoiler request question by saying, "I hope this doesn't trigger a spoiler alert" or the like doesn't help. Think before you post. If you're asking for information about what is to come on a show, it's a spoiler. And Greg flat out will not answer. So all you're doing is clogging the queue.

2. Search the archives to make sure your question hasn't already been answered. Any question already answered will receive an "ASKED AND ANSWERED" response or be DELETED. Again, this only serves to clog the queue.

3. Check the unanswered questions queue before posting your question. It may not yet be answered, but if you can see that someone's already asked the question, then there's no point in asking it again. All you'll receive is another "ASKED AND ANSWERED" response or the post will be DELETED.

4. Consider asking your question from knowledgeable fans before posting it. For example, the folks at http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/comment/ are very knowledgeable and can usually answer questions much faster than Ask Greg. The Gargoyles Wiki, the Young Justice Wiki, and the Station Eight FAQ are excellent sources of information as well and may contain the answers to your questions.

5. Please refrain from asking questions - even non-spoiler questions - that it seems obvious will be answered by the end of the season. One of the reasons the queue is so long is because it's filled with questions that have already been answered by subsequent episodes, even questions that one would reasonably assume would be answered by subsequent episodes. If at the end of the season, your questions still aren't answered, THAT is the time to ask them. Until then, your post risks DELETION.

6. If you are asking multiple questions in one post, please number your questions. And if you're asking more than five questions then create a separate post. But please, do NOT flood the queue. Show restraint or risk DELETION.

7. Please do not submit any original ideas, notions, concepts, or drawings of original characters. No stories, no fanfic, no teleplays, nothing. Anything like this will automatically be DELETED.

8. No original ideas masquerading as questions. Asking what Demona did during World War II is fine. Asking if Demona tried to assassinate Hitler during World War II is an idea masquerading as a question and is not all right. Again: automatic DELETION.

9. No requests for employment. If you want to ask generally about how one might break into the business, Greg will try to give his perspective, but this is not an appropriate forum for personal pleas for work and as such will be DELETED.

10. Please make separate posts for each topic you want to address or ask questions about. If you have 3 or so questions about one topic (for example, Oberon) you may post them together. But if you wish to ask about multiple topics (for example, Oberon AND Goliath and Elisa's relationship) please make separate posts for each topic or risk DELETION.

11. Please keep the language clean. This is more or less a PG website. Anything beyond the occasional 'damn' will result in your entire post being DELETED.

12. Rudeness is not appreciated. You don't have to like Greg's stuff. And negative comments are perfectly legitimate and will not be deleted simply for being negative. But that can be done without being rude or abusive. Keep it civil or risk DELETION.

13. Please do not bother making comments worded in such a way that they, in essence, CHALLENGE Greg to acknowledge how right those comments are about their criticisms of the program. Here’s the thing...you do NOT have to agree with Greg's creative choices, but aside from a few objective mistakes that he has ALWAYS been willing to acknowledge, you have to understand that if Greg and his creative partners put something in the series, the odds are THEY LIKE IT. YOU are NOT going to convince GREG 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 him 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 at best be answered with a: “WE LIKE OUR SHOW.” and in fact risks DELETION.

*PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW ALL GUIDELINES CAREFULLY*
Breaking any of these guidelines may result in DELETION. This means, for example, that if you ask four legitimate questions, but your fifth question does not follow even one of the guidelines, your ENTIRE POST may be DELETED. (Are you sensing a theme?)

Once a post is deleted, there is no cache where it is saved. There is no appeal. You can go to the S8 Comment Room and ask a moderator WHY the post was deleted FOR FUTURE REFERENCE, i.e. so that future posts will better observe the guidelines and hopefully not be deleted. But the moderator cannot reinstate your post. Also, keep in mind that sometimes the moderators delete posts. Sometimes Greg does, in which case the moderator may not be able to explain the decision. The moderators are merely following Greg's guidelines. Greg can delete a post on a whim.

In case it isn't clear, I'm not actually (let alone actively) trying to alienate fans. I wouldn't do ASK GREG at all if that were the case. But the system has been so terribly abused, that I feel it's this or we shut it down.


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Anonymous writes...

Paraphrased Antiyonder's appeal from the Comment Room:

"The Young Justice Wiki (http://youngjustice.wikia.com) incorporates info from Ask Greg, such as the often repeated age questions. So if you're (just talking to folks in general who tend to do so) going to ask for an age, look at the character articles on the wiki to see if it's there."

Greg responds...

Good plan.

Response recorded on April 24, 2012

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Disgruntled

TODAY, a disgruntled fan posted at the Station 8 Comment room: http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/comment/index.php.

Here's the post in full, and my response will be below it:

I posted this message on AskGreg but it was censored. I guess only sucking-up messages are allowed. Here it is:

Dear Greg Weisman,

I would just like to express my deepest outrage for what happened today (April 17). I'm talking about, off course, the new 5-questions-per-post limit you've pulled out of thin air with complete disregard for your most loyal followers. Yes, I realize AskGreg is not a right, but a privilege, like Greg Bishansky so well put it on the comments room (though he goes out of his way to kiss your ass on every turn), but WE are fans. YOURS, no less.

Basically, up until today the rule regarding the quantity of questions per post one could ask was TEN (http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=925). Changing it after one month worth of answers seems like foul play. And this new limit comes off as a rather draconian and disproportionate edict, because there's no direct correlation between the number of questions and the required time to answer them. Say there is a post with 30 yes-or-no questions and another with only one that demands a more in-depth response. The former doesn't comply with the 5-questions limit, whilst the latter does. However, would the former really take up the same time to answer as the latter? How do reviews and rambles (that sometimes only prompt a three or five worded answer from you) get precluded from this? Don't they consume more of your time than answering 10, or even 20 short questions?

Also, it seems that forcing posters to spread their questions won't solve the problem, but only add to it, because instead of making one big post with 30 questions, they will make six. This will simply increase the influx of posts.

While I believe this to be illogical, logistically speaking, I understand it may seem like a good solution in theory (though I think I've just disproved it) and you feel the need to try something out. But what's really unfair is to enforce this rule as a blanket for all the approved 10-questions-posts that predate it. Those actually complied with your initially established 10 questions limit. How is this fair or even rational? Some posters ask stupid, shallow questions, but others actually take their time to think and write insightful queries, and, not unlike essays, those take time, and throwing them with such careless disregard is very disrespectful. Particularly so when those conformed to the policy, have been stewing for ONE MONTH and now have to be distributed into different posts and take the back seat at the end of a two months' waiting (or longer) queue. Wouldn't it be more logical to close the queue as you've done before so that you can clear it?

I do realize that this very post can be axed under the auspices of some new made up rule to cut down the number of questions, even after and if it gets approved. In case this does get through, I'm sure you won't see it until the next couple of months, and when you do, I'm sure you'll write some well composed answer making me come off as an ungrateful and obnoxious douche, and you'll have the last word, because I won't have a chance for a timely reply. But I felt like I needed to share my disenchantment for what seems to be a gross disrespect of your FANS. You know, the people who watch your shows, buy your merchandise and keep you on a payroll.

Sincerely,
Disgruntled
A disgruntled (former) fan.
posted @ Fri, Apr 20, 2012 12:46:02 pm EDT

MY RESPONSE:

Dear disgruntled (former) fan,

I agree with some of what you've written. Among other things, this post should NOT have been deleted by the moderators. And I'll make sure they know it. Comments, positive or negative, are fair game here. Always were and always will be.

And it's true, of course, that sometimes a post with many questions can be answered more quickly than a post with a single in-depth question, but I have NEVER wanted the moderators to judge or try to guess in advance the length of my response to anything, let alone gauge the time it takes me. Setting a question limit seems like a reasonable way to make things manageable.

I also, as I've stated before, see the unfairness in me reducing the limit from ten to five without warning and applying the rule retroactively to posts that contained 6-10 questions. As I've admitted, I screwed up there. I thought I had said five in the past, and instructed the moderators to erase all posts with more than five. By the time it was pointed out to me that I had said ten in the past, it was too late to recover those questions. TOO LATE. We don't keep a record of disallowed questions, so that's it. I screwed up and admitted it, but it's done. So from here on out, the max is five. And some posts were lost unfairly. And that does suck. And I do sincerely sympathize with your frustrations and disgruntlement, up to a point.

But here's that point: you don't seem to get or acknowledge (or perhaps care) that I'm currently on the verge of shutting down the site entirely. ENTIRELY. You don't have to praise me, my work or Ask Greg, but I'm trying to take measures to make me want to keep doing this AT ALL. Some of these measures, are indeed, as you've noted, 'draconian', forcing you to - horrors - repost your questions and wait even longer for the answers you do seem to feel entitled to. But again, the alternative is you NEVER get your answers. EVER. Now if this response, makes you "come off as an ungrateful and obnoxious douche" - well, I don't know how else you would expect me to respond. But this doesn't have to be the "last word". Normally, I only occasionally stop by the S8 comment room, but I promise for the next week or so, I'll stop by there every weekday and at least once on the weekend, which should give you "a chance for a timely reply". Any post there (like this one) that seems relevant to the current conversation will get pushed right to the front of the line and be published here at ASK GREG in a ramble (like this one).

That's my compromise. It's probably less-than-satisfactory, but it's the best I can offer at this time.

[I also want to state, that you've NOT been privy to the discussions between myself, Gorebash, Masterdramon and Todd. I have RESISTED taking even more draconian measures suggested by them and/or by others at Station 8, because as much as possible, I'd like ASK GREG to remain the open free-flowing forum it has been for like a decade or more now. The measures we are taking, draconian as they may seem, are still less draconian than they might be. But if I am forced to truly make the site rigid, then the fun will go out of it for me in the other direction, and I'll still wind up shutting it down anyway.]

Obviously, I'm not in the business of taking fans and making them "disgruntled (former) fan[s]", but I'm hoping you're a fan of THE WORK I do, more than a fan of me anyway. I mean, face it, you don't know me. I could be an axe-murderer. But if you like Gargoyles or W.I.T.C.H. or Spectacular Spider-Man or Young Justice (or whatever), then the work is the work is the work, and I'd hope you'd remain a fan of that work whether I'm a big of a jerk or not, whether Ask Greg existed or not and certainly whether or not I get to the answers to your questions in one month or six. I mean there have been times when I've been TWO YEARS (or more) behind in answering questions. This lag is nothing in comparison to that. But somehow the discourse associated with the whole thing seems... meaner. And I'm really, truly trying to keep my desire to maintain this site below the boil-over point.


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More Ask Greg Angst

Okay, I clearly messed up. Previously, I posted a guideline mandating a ten question max per post, and yesterday in my mind I changed it to five - and guilty of what I accuse others of - I did not check to confirm. So I'm here to (a) admit my mistake and (b) live with it - as we all will have to from here on out.

If in my head, the number shrank from ten to five, it's most likely because my patience has ebbed since I posted the ten question limit. Ten seems like a huge amount now - though lower than the twenty-questions-in-one-post that triggered the current guideline change. Frankly, FIVE seems like more than plenty per post, but I realize it's silly to require multiple posts on the same topic when questions are closely related, and five (or thereabouts) seems like a reasonable number.

So I do apologize for the error. But I'm not changing the new policy.

I have talked to Gorebash and our two moderators about updating the rules/guidelines on the front page, and that should be done in the next couple days.


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ASK GREG angst

I just posted the following on the Station 8 Comment Room Page, and thought I should post it here too:

Just to be clear, there's NO point in being angry with the ASK GREG moderators. They are simply doing what I asked them to do. So be mad at me, not them. And, frankly, please don't be mad at me either. Try to remember that I'm doing the best I can dealing with an increasingly difficult situation.

And by the way, I have said MULTIPLE TIMES, including RIGHT BEFORE we reopened the queue to new questions, that I didn't want more than five questions per post. There's simply no way anyone could have posted any questions in the current queue before I stated this guideline. I'll admit that this is not listed on the rules on the front page - and we should probably update that when Gorebash has the time - but it has been stated by me over and over again. And I have asked people to check the archives before posting, so it seems to me, that this guideline was available. So maybe I should feel more sympathy, but I just don't.

I'll admit one reason I'm getting harsher on this - and feel less sympathetic towards even folks who are attempting (but failing) to obey the rules and guidelines - is as an alternative to something worse. Yes, all this is due to the abuse of the system by some people, and, yes, there's no doubt that all are suffering for the abuse of some. But there are worse alternatives, I would think. As I find myself getting more and more frustrated and more inclined to shut ASK GREG down entirely, I feel like being a bit more draconian about the rules and guidelines is the lesser of two evils.

And I have NOT outlawed the age questions. But I don't want lists of them. It's EXTREMELY time consuming, because I have to look it up, since I don't keep that information in my head. I can't just answer off the cuff in my free time. I get the value of the question, and I've tried to answer them. But someone posting a list of TWENTY characters and asking for ALL their ages is abusing the system, in my opinion. And ultimately, on ASK GREG, everyone needs to get used to the idea that my opinion matters. I don't have to do this. I used to enjoy doing it, and at times I still do. But the whole thing feels like it's gotten out of control, and I begrudge it more and more these days. So unless the goal is to TRY to push me over the edge, i.e. to try to exercise the power of the internet to force me to SHUT the site down, then everyone needs to live with the ups and downs of the thing, even as I am struggling to do the same.

To be clear, I AM not looking for feedback on this post - even positive feedback. Churlish as it may sound, I'm not looking for a bunch of cheerleaders to say "YOU TELL 'EM, GREG!" Because I'm not taking any pleasure in taking this site into an area of more and more rules. I LIKED that we used to have a few simple guidelines, and that otherwise the thing was more free form. It kills me EVERY TIME I have to add to the restrictions. That's not what I ever wanted Ask Greg to be. But I suppose times have changed, and the site has to change with them.

Finaly, I have NO interest in having a "PREVIOUSLY DELETED QUESTIONS" page. Feels like a legal problem just waiting to happen.

But back to the start, please do not take out your ire on the moderators. They're simply doing what I've asked.


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Alexia writes...

I have questions about Atlanteans.

1) Do Atlanteans eat their seafood raw? I don't see fires being lit underwater unless they have a special way of cooking food underwater.

2) Do all Atlanteans have a set of gills and a pair of lungs to breathe underwater and above the surface?

3) How was Kaldur's first experience breathing surface air? Did he choke/gasp or did he transition smoothly?

Greg responds...

1. I would think for the most part, raw. But they have means of cooking should they want to. (Hot spring type things.)

2. Most do.

3. I'm sure it was a shock to the system, at least a little.

Now, see, this post was great. THREE questions, all on a similar topic. None previously asked or answered. And no request for a spoiler. Perfect.

Response recorded on April 16, 2012

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Nony writes...

1. How old is Wotan?
2. How old is General Eiling?
3. How old is Professor Ojo?
4. How old is Uncle Dudley?
5. How old is Hawkman?
6. How old is Icon?
7. How old is John Stewart?
8. How old is Whisper A'Daire?
9. How old is Lois Lane?
10. How old is Abra Kadabra?
11. How old is Black Adam?
12. How old is Waller?
13. How old is Lucius Fox?
14. How old is Madame Xanadu?
15. How old is Devastation?
16. How old is Ivo?
17. How old is Psimon?
18. How old is Hugo Strange?
19. How old is Sensei?
20. How old is Black Manta?

Greg responds...

Yeah, I'm just going to disallow ALL of this. I've warned before about asking too many questions on one post, with five being the max. In theory, I could answer the first five, but I feel like that would be rewarding you for breaking the rules.

Response recorded on April 16, 2012

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B writes...

In your opinion, will people stop asking you for spoilers and trying to sneak it past you by disingenuously framing it as "in your opinion, will this happen on the show", as if it could be a matter of opinion and not certain knowledge when you are the showrunner?

Greg responds...

What exactly are you asking here? Whether or not I'm going to give a free pass to people who phrase the request sneakily? Or whether folks will stop asking when I make it clear that it's not going to work?

As to the former, I'm not that dense. As to the latter, I wish. But I doubt it. I don't know how I could have made this point any clearer:

I WILL NOT BE SPOILING!!!

And yet...

Response recorded on April 11, 2012

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SPOILER NASTINESS

Hello,

I've given the ASK GREG moderators permission to DELETE any question that refers to or spoils episodes of Young Justice that have NOT YET AIRED in the United States.

Personally, I think it's bad enough folks are spoiling things FOR THEMSELVES, when they will soon be able to see the episodes in English and at a decent quality within a matter of a few short weeks. (And the blame-Cartoon-Network excuse holds ZERO water for me, as these people are still CHOOSING to view episodes ahead of schedule. No one is holding a gun to their heads.) But the fact that they are spoiling things for folks who are trying NOT to get spoiled is just outrageously obnoxious.

I'd like the ASK GREG queue to be a safe place. I NEED people to be able to read the queue to see if someone ahead of them has already asked the question they're intending to ask. In fact, I've pretty much DEMANDED that people check the queue before asking a question, so forcing them to check something that will spoil their enjoyment of the series is flat out unfair.

Thus the deletions.

And this is all beside the fact that asking a question HERE at ASK GREG to get an explanation of something in an episode that wasn't understood because it was not in English is, well, IDIOTIC. At the length of the current queue, it'll be months before I get to these questions, and the episodes will air here in the U.S. in a matter of weeks. So by the time I get to these questions, the answers will no longer be required - so all that is really being accomplished is that folks have found yet another way to bog down the queue. In fact, this practice is SO idiotic, I'm having trouble believing the questions are being asked with any sincerity. It seems more like a demonstration of power. Trolling, pure and simple.

Either way - whether this is due to naivete or trolling - please just STOP. Please.


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Kevin writes...

I just checked the unanswered questions and I want to apologize for asking a question that was already asked. When Ask Greg reopened I thought I would be one of the first ones to post and it was only after I posted did I realize someone else had already asked the question about the Blockbuster formula. So again I am sorry and I hope that this doesn't ruin the experience of Ask Greg.

Greg responds...

It doesn't. But thanks for the apology.

Response recorded on March 05, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

When you answer "SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT." it means that the answer WILL come up later in the show/comics or it MAY.

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"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."

[Response recorded on March 29, 2011.]

Response recorded on March 03, 2012

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ASK GREG is back, MARCH 3, 2012.

So I've finally gotten through the queue. I could definitely feel myself getting cranky again by the end here, so I'm going to take a short break.

Young Justice resumes airing on Saturday, March 3, 2012, and we'll reopen ASK GREG's question/posting function on the same day.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE follow these simple guidelines BEFORE posting.

1. DO NOT REQUEST SPOILERS!! All requests for spoilers will be met with "SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT." Prefacing your spoiler request question by saying, "I hope this doesn't trigger a spoiler alert" or the like doesn't help. THINK BEFORE YOU POST. If you're asking me for information about what is TO COME on a show, it's a SPOILER. And I flat out will not answer. So all you're doing is clogging the queue.

2. CHECK THE ARCHIVES to make sure your question hasn't already been answered. Any question already answered will receive an "ASKED AND ANSWERED" response. Again, this only serves to clog the queue.

3. CHECK the UNANSWERED QUESTION queue before posting your question. I may not have answered it yet, but if you can see that someone's already asked the question, then there's no point in asking it again. All you'll receive is another "ASKED AND ANSWERED" response. Really, the amount of times I was asked Zatanna's age was just preposterous. If I'm taking the time to answer your questions, the least you can do is LOOK to see if your question was already asked before posting and clogging the queue.

4. CONSIDER asking your question from knowledgeable fans BEFORE posting it. For example, the folks at http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/comment/ are very familiar with my work and can usually answer stuff much faster than I can.

5. If you are asking multiple questions in one post, please NUMBER your questions. And if you're asking more than, say... ten... then create a separate post.

6. But please, do NOT flood the queue. Show restraint.

7. Please do not submit any original ideas, notions, concepts, or drawings of original characters. No stories, no fanfic, no teleplays, nothing.

8. No original ideas masquerading as questions. Asking me what Demona did during World War II is fine. Asking me if Demona tried to assassinate Hitler during World War II is an idea masquerading as a question and is not all right. I'm sure you can all see the distinction.

9. No requests for employment. If you want to ask generally about how one might break into the business, I'll try to give my perspective, but this is not an appropriate forum for personal pleas for work.

If these guidelines are followed the results benefit us all:

a. The queue doesn't bog down. I'll get to questions faster.

b. I'll be happier, which means I'm more likely to expand on the questions I can answer, instead of being so fed up that I speed through those too, just to bring down the size of the queue.

I know I must sound like a curmudgeon here. AND THAT'S ONLY BECAUSE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I AM! (ASK ANYONE!) But you can help reduce my curmudgeonliness by following these guidelines.

Thank you

See you in a week(ish).


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Anonymous writes...

Some of these questions, I just look at and think "there's a NO COMMENT...there's another...and more...haven't they clued in by now?!?!?! (no answer necessary for that one) On behalf of the people who actually try to keep from triggering those, I apologize.

Greg responds...

Thanks. But at this point, I've gotten a LOT of these sympathy posts too. And so now they are ALSO cluttering up the queue. I don't want to seem churlish, since you're trying to be nice. But it would just be better if we ALL stuck to business, so to speak, in order to keep ASK GREG manageable.

Response recorded on February 23, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Hey Greg,

I need to ask you some things in regards to the answering of questions by you about Young Justice.

What topics do you usually allow to be answered in regards to when we ask questions about...
a. what we already know about the show thus far?
b. what we don't know about the show thus far (which doesn't risk exposing any spoilers)?
c. topics that require your opinions/educated guesses (again, which doesn't risk exposing any spoilers)?

On a side note, my other question is in regard to the first rule of your guidelines which you stated in your introduction page. Does the rule imply you reject the notion of "giving the fans of the show what they want"? Is it because ideas for the show stated by fans usually conflicts with the ideas for the show that you (and your team) work with and have already planned?

Thanks for taking the time to read these important question that I have for you.

Greg responds...

a, b and c are all fine assuming, as you noted, spoilers are TRULY not involved.

But the best way to figure out what I will and won't answer is to read through the kind of questions I already HAVE answered.

As to your side note, you're completely missing the point.

I won't look at original ideas because they could get me in trouble LEGALLY. It has NOTHING AT ALL to do with giving or not giving fans "what they [think they] want".

BUT... even if this weren't a legal issue, fans need to keep in mind is that by the time they see enough to comment and make suggestions, we've already locked our stories down, and I couldn't alter course to give fans what they want. This would be true whether or not I agreed that any given fan had a great idea. It's just too late.

Response recorded on February 15, 2012

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Kevin writes...

Do you get frustrated with some questions being asked over and over again. I asked a question about the speed force that you just answered but at the time when I wrote it there was no archived answer. Thank you for your time and making a great show!

Greg responds...

There may not have been an archived answer, but I've asked over and over again that people check the UNANSWERED QUESTION QUEUE before posting the EXACT SAME QUESTION again. If your answer's coming, why ask again?

So, yes, I do get frustrated. I assume EVERYONE is getting frustrated by the constant refrain of "ASKED AND ANSWERED" and "SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT." answers that I give, but it's because folks (including you frankly) aren't following the very simple and reasonable guidelines we've set for the ASK GREG site.

And even THIS question, by the way, has been asked over and over again.

All of which simply bogs down the queue, which is why I keep having to close it off to catch up.

Response recorded on February 10, 2012

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Ace Commander writes...

how come my questions are never answered? they always get deleted

Greg responds...

You must be breaking one of the rules, I guess. If they're deleted I don't see them.

Response recorded on December 28, 2011

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Anonymous writes...

When we post a question we are asked if we've checked the archives first. People just ignore that because they keep asking the same questions over and over. Doesn't the administration here filter these questions? Why don't these repeated question get deleted?

How can you stand answering the same thing over and over again?? Especially when it's "NO COMMENT" or "SPOILER REQUEST"? Do you think fan want to wear you down and you'll spoil away the show?

Greg responds...

It's not the job of "the administration" i.e. Todd to "filter" for these questions. I've asked Todd to do enough just to make sure the rules that I need enforced for legal reasons are being enforced. It's not fair to turn him into an overall Ask Greg Cop. That's NOT what he signed on for.

I'd prefer if posters self-policed anyway.

And by the way THIS issue has been ASKED AND ANSWERED more than once too. So your post, sympathetic as it is, also only added to the problem.

Response recorded on December 28, 2011

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Anonymous writes...

Silly question: where exactly do you type your answers? Do you write them directly in the answer box (I assume it's similar to our question box), or do you write them on Word and then copy paste them here. I'm curious because I don't believe I've even seen any typo or iffy sentence construction from your answers. And typos are normal to slip by. Do you proofread each of your answers before sending them?

Kuddos on your skills.

Greg responds...

I write them right into an answer box. And I do make every effort to proofread and edit my responses thoroughly before I post.

But if you've never seen any typos, etc., here - then you haven't been looking too carefully. (Which I'm cool with, actually.)

Response recorded on December 28, 2011

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Anonymous writes...

If you have gotten this far, I give you virtual cookies and milk. You've been slogging through a lot. They're not as good as real cookies and milk, but I can't send those via Internet yet.

Greg responds...

Uh...thanks?

Response recorded on December 19, 2011

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Gene writes...

Hi Greg. For some reason every time I make a post to send to you it never seems to show up in the unanswered questions tab. Like I would create a post and send it to you, then, a few seconds later, I would check the unanswered questions tab and it wouldn't show up. I did send one post and the "Name" I used was Kat or Kit and that got sent, but when I tried to make another and send it, it wasn't marked in the unanswered questions tab. (and I did follow all the rules on asking a question) By the way I've been sending all of my posts on my iPod but I don't think the iPod is glitched or anything because I'm still able to send emails and other stuff like that, so I dont know what is wrong. Please help if you receive this. Oh and I have one question that i would desperatly want you to answer please.. if you ever get this message anyway.
1. Do you ever receive hand-written mail that's written by fans of young justice (that may include drawings or other things) that is sent directly to you or where you work? If so, I would like to send you a letter and enclose a few drawings of mine that I created. I would really like you, and the rest of the young justice crew to see it, or at least somebody to recognize my artistry.
Besides you and Brandon V. have inspired me to draw these charactors, although I have been drawing for years, I'm only a freshman in high school. Thank you for time and I'm sorry about your dog, and if you can answer my question, it would make my day, and if not, at least I tried.

Greg responds...

I am the least technical guy I know. I can't help you... cuz I have no idea what the problem might be.

1. Occassionally.

Response recorded on December 12, 2011

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TwEaKz writes...

Hey Greg,
I've been meaning to write you about how some people act towards Young Justice. Then I thought to myself, it's really not worth it. So I'm not going to post a huge thing about it. I'm just going to write a little something instead. I find it somewhat annoying how outraged some people get over things that I feel shouldn't even be a problem. For instance, "Hello, Megan!". Heh. That seems to drive some people MAD. Really? That's what makes you nuts about the show and the character? I think it's adorable and I feel it fits Miss Martian perfectly. But, hey, to each their own.

I'm not saying they don't have a right to voice their opinion but come on. I just think some people really need to relax, take the whole show in and let things unfold the way they are meant to. Another thing that people get worked up about is how Superman treats Superboy. Yeahhh... I'm not even going to touch that one. When I see some of the questions and comments that come your way, I just have to laugh it off and say hmm this person must be young. Now I'm NOT saying that all young kids are simple minded or anything and I'm not trying to put down anyone. It's just that some of these complaints come across a little out there to me and they're not seeing the overall big picture.

What I like about you, though, Greg, is you don't let anyone change or dictate your show in any way. You guys love what you do and you put in what you feel works and that's how you keep it. I applaud that one hundred percent. So, yeah, that's all I'm going to say on this matter and now I'm going to try to end this post with a little something more positive.

Greg, I'm 31 and I absolutely love Young Justice. It brings me such joy. I've been a huge fan of your work ever since Gargoyles and I will continue to be a fan for life. For me, YJ keeps getting better and better with each new episode. I also enjoy the comic tie-in immensely. I feel it really expands the universe you guys have created. The latest episode "Terrors" was fantastic. It was very surprising as well. Did not expect that ending with Superboy and Miss Martian. Not this soon at least. But I loved it.

One last thing I would like to mention is that I even got my Father involved with the show. He's 72 years old and he really enjoys all things superheroes. He grew up with the Golden Age of comics and he just has a real passion for the genre. Now the main reason why I told him he should watch this show? Captain Marvel. He's been a life long fan of Captain Marvel and the rest of the Marvel family. He even has a room that is filled with lots and lots of Captain Marvel related memorabilia. It's definitely a sight to see.

When I first heard about YJ, I told my Dad that hey, you really need to catch this show when it premieres. I said to him that I heard Captain Marvel is going to have some kind of role on there. Needless to say, he was VERY excited. Heh. Even though, Captain Marvel has yet to make any real appearance on the show, he's been hooked since the first episode. He loves the animation, enjoys all the stories that are being told. Totally intrigued by "The Light" and where all this could possibly go.

The moral of my post here? Don't let any negativity bring you down. I see you get frustrated sometimes and hey I don't blame you. Just know that there are plenty of people out there of all ages that love the show and is constantly looking forward to the next episode and issue :)

Take care, man.

Greg responds...

I don't think youth necessarily has much to do with it. I'm sure some of my staunchest critics are closer to your age or mine than to their grammar school days.

But otherwise, I tend to agree with you. Ultimately, what people post on any other site is really none of my business. I may lurk there and find myself frowning, but that's on me. I've been doing this long enough that I can (generally) let most of it wash off my back. Some of the criticism is valid, of course. Some of it is only valid in the moment. Once the critics sees the bigger picture, they may or may not change their minds. Some of the criticism is, in my opinion, flat-out ridiculous. (But that's just my opinion.) And some of it is flat-out wrong, for example when they criticize us for something we literally didn't do, or criticize us for not doing something that we objectively did do.

But all that's fine.

The only three things that really got to me were:

(a) How rude some people were being here on this site (where I can't escape it). You don't have to like the show, but I'm not sure what the point is of being rude about it to one of the creators behind it. They can challenge our choices, but they can't challenge how hard we're working. So I'm not sure what was gained from being mean about it.

(b) When people wrote their criticisms with some kind of expectation that I'd agree with them and admit we had screwed up. That begins to grate. WE LIKE OUR SHOW. We wouldn't have made the choices we made if we didn't believe in them. And what kind of creator would I be, if a post here at ASK GREG would cause me to disavow the hard and passionate work of the many, many creative people (including myself) that went into the making of Young Justice - a show, of which by the way, I'm quite proud.

(c) Just the repetitive requests for Spoilers and/or for answers to questions already asked and answered, which served no purpose other than to clog the site. This is merely annoying. But cumulatively, alongside points (a) and (b) it began to grind on me.

I DO want to reiterate that this was a WAY bigger problem with the questions that came in between March and July of this year. Since the site opened up again this past September, (a) and (b) have all but gone away, and even (c) has reduced down to a much more manageable level of annoyance. I made a plea for just that, and the fans and even the critics seem to have responded. AND IT IS MUCH APPRECIATED.

In any case, I really appreciate your post. I hope you and your father continue to enjoy what's coming. He'll see in episodes that by now I hope you've seen and in some that have yet to air, that the Big Red Cheese is in fact an extremely important character in the series. And if the comic continues long enough, he'll eventually be even more important there.

Response recorded on December 09, 2011

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Anon writes...

Have you ever considered just throwing out questions that ask for spoilers, or that just ask the same question over and over? After all it's already done with questions that violate the guidelines. It would certainly be a less frustrating approach for you.

Greg responds...

It would, wouldn't it. We have considered other options, but I hate to change the format of this forum. It's worked pretty well for us for like over a decade now. And things have gotten (marginally) better since we reopened in September. If it gets worse again, I may have to change the ASK GREG policy, but for now, Gore and Todd and I are keeping things as is.

Response recorded on October 31, 2011

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ASK GREG & YJ UPDATE

ASK GREG & YJ UPDATE

Gorebash, Todd and I will be opening up Ask Greg for questions and comments again on September 16th, 2011 - i.e. the day that the next new episode of Young Justice airs.

I would, as usual, ask a few favors...

1. Please check the, ASK GREG FAQ, the ASK GREG ARCHIVES AND the questions in the queue ahead of you BEFORE posting. It only slows down the queue for everyone if I get the same question asked over and over again.

2. To save more time, both for you AND for me, consider asking your question FIRST of the knowledgeable fans at the STATION 8 COMMENT ROOM: http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/comment/index.php

3. Resist the urge to ask for spoilers. I'm not going to spoil my own show. So asking only slows down the queue.

4. Please be polite. You don't have to like my work, but you should be able to critique it without being rude. And please REFRAIN FROM ASSUMING that your argument is going to be SO convincing that I will admit that my own work sucks. WE LIKE OUR SHOW. You don't have to, but you're not going to convince me that I don't.

YJ UPDATE
FIRST SEASON
101-109 have all aired.
110 was previewed at Comic-Con and will premiere on Cartoon Network on September 16th.
111-119 are also in the can, i.e. totally completed and ready for airing.
120-123 are all in post-production. Today we previewed the music for 120, and spotted the music for 121.
124-126 are still being animated.

SECOND SEASON
201 is shipping to Korea at the end of the week.
202 is in timing.
203 is in storyboard clean-ups.
204 is waiting for board notes.
205-206 are in storyboard.
207 records tomorrow.
208-210 are all in script.
211-220 have been approved into production. Brandon Vietti, Kevin Hopps and myself spent the last week (including Saturday) breaking the last six episodes (one per day). We are pitching the arc of the season to DC, CN and WB this Wednesday. Assuming that goes well, we'll have our first writer's meeting to assign 211-214 on Thursday. I have beatsheets completed on 211-216. Have to write up the beatsheets for 217-220, but I've got all the beats on index cards, so it's just a matter of finding the time to transcribe them into a document.

That's it for now. See you all on the 16th of September!

gdw


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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).


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The King 171 writes...

OMG i have been reading some of the unanswered questions and i dont understand why people are asking you these questions that they should know your not going to answer... i mean they should know you are not going to spoil the show

so my question is are you able to delete questions instead of answering one that is asking you to spoil the show?

Greg responds...

I can delete any question I want. But that's not policy here. Questions are only deleted if they present original ideas.

I'm considering changing the policy. Haven't decided.

Response recorded on May 26, 2011

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DC Hero writes...

Hey Greg sorry for the spelling mistakes in the past question.

Greg responds...

Uh... okay.

Response recorded on May 26, 2011

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none of my business writes...

OK Greg so I know its none of my business obviously but I was wondering what sort of legal issues could you be talking about when you said Todd Jensen will approve the questions and just who the heck is Todd anyway I just wanna know

Greg responds...

Todd Jensen is a Gargoyles fan, whom I've known on-line for over a decade now and met in person at the 2001 Gathering. He's a VOLUNTEEER, who has kindly agreed to vet questions for me to make sure no one is posting an original idea that I could get sued over. If you want more information on THAT, how about you actually READ the main Introduction page at Ask Greg, which spells all this out in detail:

http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/index.php

You know, instead of cluttering up the queue by asking a question you could have EASILY gotten the answer for faster elsewhere.

Response recorded on May 17, 2011

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None of my business writes...

Hey greg why does Todd Jensen approve a whole bunch of questions if you're just going to say no comment. I guess this question is really meant for both you and Todd, so Todd if you're reading this please approve my post I got to know

Greg responds...

Todd's (VOLUNTEER) job is NOT to edit questions, but to kick out questions that break the rules that protect me legally. I don't think it's fair to Todd to ask him to ALSO make editorial judgments about what questions I will or won't answer.

The "No Comment" responses could almost entirely be avoided if people would post with some degree of common sense. That's on them, not on Todd.

Response recorded on May 17, 2011

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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.


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Erica writes...

I feel sorry for you, having to answer to all those know-it-all smart asses.
Are u never irritated by that?

Keep up the good work!
Kind regards!

Greg responds...

Obviously, I get irritated. I think I've been incredibly incapable of hiding my irritation recently - even with folks who aren't abusing the system and have really done nothing wrong. And, for the record, I regret that. But I'll admit it has been tough, cumulatively, to stay sanguine on my end. I've been doing this (producing cartoon shows AND answering questions about them) for nearly two decades, and though of course I've dealt with the occasional obnoxious poster here at ASK GREG, I've NEVER faced the overall level of rudeness here that I've faced since Young Justice was announced.

I do not mean to group everyone in with that. Plenty of polite folks have posted too, including plenty who don't love what they're seeing on the series (which of course never thrills me, but doesn't make me crazy). But I'm afraid this time out the polite folk are in the minority. And the rude folk are kinda killing my mood and coloring how I read everyone.

Response recorded on April 29, 2011

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Anonymous writes...

Hi Greg. I'm loving Young Justice so far, and was rather surprised with some of the things you've been able to show, especially in the Bane episode. I don't know if the standards have changed recently, but I’m used to seeing grittier subjects being only alluded to. I really like it! I think it makes their circumstances seem more real and dire. Since I’ve already given my favorable impressions in earlier questions, I wanted to mention two things which I have found to be minor annoyances, mostly because they happen so frequently:

The first is Megan’s use of youthful vernacular. It’s awkward. Since you write these kinds of lines naturally for other characters, I imagine it’s intentional to make her seem more alien. I just don’t know if it’s having the intended impact. The strongest example I can think of is after receiving an explanation of something in their plane, Megan responds to herself, “Like, duh, Megan!” Apart from the slightly awkward usage, and her not saying “like,” much, it gives me a negative impression of her when she does that. I tend to associate that kind of speech with bubble-gum, ditz caricatures. This may be contributing to the negative reaction I’ve seen mentioned a lot here towards female portrayal in the first few episodes. Artemis and Black Canary certainly don’t paint any negative pictures about women.

The second thing I've found slightly annoying is Robin picking apart words in every single episode, even if it’s just leaving off a prefix rather than a whole conversation about it. I don't think it would bother me if it happened often rather than always. I look forward to YJ episodes, and never know what kind of story to expect, but I also go in thinking, “Okay, what’s Robin going to say this time?” Since nothing else is so consistent (at least at present), it stands out a lot. It’s not a huge deal, but the frequency it’s used elevates it to catch-phrase notoriety, and it doesn’t seem like the sort of thing I should immediately call to mind when I think of Young Justice (Like Flintstones & “yabadabadoo”). I don’t know how you feel about catch-phrases, though.

I hope this fan feedback is worth something to you, even if you disagree. I’m sure I’m not the only viewer who feels this way. Keep up the good work!

Greg responds...

She never says "Like, duh, Megan!" Never. She says, "Hello, Megan!" Now, you may be shrugging and saying "What's the difference, really?" But there's a big difference. Particularly, since one of your complaints is the "like" which in fact she never says. I think the reason she's saying this is already fairly obvious, but if not, it will be.

And I'll stand by our portrayal of women in this shows (and all my shows) as diverse and not monolithic. You don't have to like everyone of the female characters I write and produce, but I won't be bound or forced to portray them all in the same way in order to avoid any whiff of criticism.

As for Robin, the fact that you're asking yourself "Okay, what's Robin going to say this time?" positively THRILLS me. Catchphrases (assuming these qualify) don't bother me. I like 'em. And they're hardly limited to The Flintstones. Even Gregory House has a catchphrase.

Ultimately, my answer is "WE LIKE OUR SHOW."

By the way, I do appreciate that you were able to write up your criticisms without being rude or obnoxious. I may not agree, but I respect the way you presented your arguments.

Having said that, I am STILL going to ask: DIDN'T YOU SEE THAT BOTH OF THESE THINGS HAD ALREADY BEEN RAISED BY POSTERS BEFORE YOU? Did you add anything to the discussion or just inadvertently hammer me with the same complaints because you didn't follow the guidelines and didn't look to see that others had beat you to it?

Response recorded on April 13, 2011

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charlie writes...

just read YJ #1. can't say i'm a fan of the character design for the "guest star" on the last page. who do we have to blame for that??

Greg responds...

Really, that's how you ask that question? You know just because it's the internet doesn't MANDATE that you HAVE to be rude. It's not like that's a rule or something. I mean think about who you are writing to. One of the creative leads on the show. How did you PICTURE me responding to that characterization. I get that you don't like it. I can even respect your desire to express that, but learn some manners, dude. GROW UP!!

You know I've been doing ASK GREG for over a decade now, and I've had obnoxious posters before on everything from Gargoyles to Spectacular Spider-Man, but I have to say the general rudeness level on Young Justice is just beyond the pale, these days. I don't want to over-generalize. Plenty of folk with manners, too, but the level of some of you is just making me want to stop. The question asking function is closed for now - not for this reason, but to allow me to catch up on the backlog while we're in reruns - but if this general level of rudeness continues when we reopen for questions, I may have to seriously consider changing the rules to this site.

Cuz I'm getting pretty tired of getting annoyed and cranky EVERY TIME I try to answer questions here. And, at this point, if some of you are TRYING to annoy me, cut it out, because (A) it's like shooting fish in a barrel and (B) you're going to ruin things for everyone else.

In any case, what you saw was Mike Norton's interpretation of a Phil Bourassa design. Both of which, I like, by the way. But if you want someone to blame, blame myself and Brandon Vietti, as no design goes through without our approval.

Response recorded on April 08, 2011

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Anonymous writes...

Have you ever gotten addicted to anwsering these questions?
This site is similiar in format to formspring, and I know that can get kind of addicting.
Do you enjoy anwsering these questions? Your responses don't always seem happy.
Why do anwser our questions?

Greg responds...

1. No, I wouldn't characterize it that way.

2. I don't know what "formspring" is.

3. I don't always enjoy answering the questions. I think in recent days that's been remarkably clear. But I enjoy it MOST of the time, or I wouldn't continue, of course.

4. See above.

Response recorded on March 31, 2011

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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.


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Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

Apologies for all the typos in my preceding comment. I could have sworn I read it through more than once.

Greg responds...

Don't sweat it.

Response recorded on March 18, 2011

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Random interrogator writes...

I meant answering these questions sorry XD

Greg responds...

See previous response.

Response recorded on February 25, 2011

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Random interrogator writes...

Hey greg I was just wondering if you get a little overwhelmed asking all these questions?

Greg responds...

Nah. I'm whelmed. (Who didn't know I'd say that.)

I'm used to it. I'll admit, I do wish people would check the archives, would refrain from asking spoiler questions that I'm never going to answer, etc. It can get tiresome, but not overwhelming. And if I get tired, I just stop answering for the time being.

Response recorded on February 25, 2011

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charles.wonsey writes...

also i know since i did not write a question it wont get posted but to the person that sends this to greg please let him get this. its real important to me. thank you again

Greg responds...

Everything comes to me, unless it breaks one of the rules. Doesn't have to be a question.

Response recorded on February 09, 2011

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Rinaldi poet writes...

I would like to know who made this eb site becouse I need a web designer for myself

my email address is viadeicrispolti@hotmail.it

Greg responds...

That would be Gorebash. But I don't know if he's reading this... here. Or if he would be interested.

Response recorded on December 17, 2010

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Emily writes...

Thank you for answering my question about The Lighthouse episode. (I wasn't knocking after school specials in general just the ones that feel force and treats the audience like an idiot.) With the amounts of questions you get I would be surpise if you could answer this, but is there a question you're surpised no one has ever asked and you would like to answer it?

Greg responds...

Nope. I am sometimes surprised that after all this time there are still questions left to be answered at all...

Response recorded on December 10, 2010

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ALL CAUGHT UP

Hey gang,

I'm finally all caught up on the ASK GREG queue. Gonna take a short break, but we'll open the queue again on September 27th, 2010 in preparation for the release of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse which also contains the DC Showcase Green Arrow short that I wrote.

As always, I urge you guys NOT to flood ASK GREG with questions. Check the archives. Check the FAQs. Ask questions of the loyal fans in the Station 8 comment room.

AND, please, THINK BEFORE YOU POST. I am NOT, for example, going to SPOIL "Young Justice" before it airs. I'm not going to SPOIL "Gargoyles" either since I still have hopes of bringing that back. I'm not even going to "SPOIL" Spectacular Spider-Man, because I don't see any real point in revealing future plans and ideas independent of their execution.

Happy to talk process. Happy to talk about what's ALREADY aired or been published. Happy to talk about Mecha-Nation and many other things. But. NOT. GONNA. SPOIL.

Thanks,

gdw


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Greg Bishansky writes...

Any chance of bringing back "This Day in Gargoyles Universe History?" We've had more comics since it ended, and two Gatherings since then?

Greg responds...

Not at this time.

Response recorded on July 28, 2010

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SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 2010 and ASK GREG

Hey gang,

Well, I've finally caught up with the backlog here at ASK GREG. I'm going to take a short Ask Greg vacation, and then we'll be reopening the site soon... i.e. on the Monday (July 26th) AFTER San Diego Comic-Con 2010.

As always, I ask that before you post a question you do your best to make sure it's not a question that's been answered in the archives already AND that it's not a question that someone posted just before you. You can also try asking your question first in the Station 8 Comment Room, as the fans know a LOT of answers already.

We're just trying to avoid flooding the site with so many questions, that I'm immediately backlogged again.

Meanwhile, I will be at Comic-Con next week. Subject to change, here's my current schedule:

THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2010
10 - 11:30am - Mecha-Nation signing at the Kizoic Booth. (We'll be premiering the first issue.)

FRIDAY, JULY 23, 2010
10:30-11:30 am - Brave and the Bold/Young Justice Panel. (We'll be premiering our first Young Justice footage in a mini-panel jam-packed with revelations!)

2 - 4 pm -Mecha-Nation signing at the Kizoic Booth.

SATURDAY, JULY 24, 2010
11:30am - 1pm - Gargoyles signing at the SLG Booth.

3 - 4 pm - DC Showcase panel. (We'll be previewing some footage from the Green Arrow DVD short that I wrote.)

5:30 - 6:30pm - DC Showcase signing. (Location TBD).

SUNDAY, JULY 25, 2010
10-11am - Mecha-Nation signing at the Kizoic Booth.

11am - 12:30pm - Gargoyles signing at the SLG Booth.

Please stop by and say hello!



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