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Blizzard Sprite writes...
Hello, Mr. Weisman.
I hope you had a Happy New Year. Here is to 2014 being a year of prosperity and success. I had questions about some lesser known book series.
1. Have you ever read a series of books known collectively as Everworld? They were a set of twelve books written by the author K.A. Applegate and published between 1999 and 2001. If so, did you enjoy reading them and being immersed in the story?
2. Have you ever read a series of books known collectively as Spooksville? They were a set of twenty-four books written by author Christopher Pike and published between 1995 and 1999. If so, did you think they were a good read?
a. Have you seen the television series based off of the Spooksville book series? If so, what is your opinion about the program? And if you have read the books, do you think that they adhere closely to the material in the books or go in a different direction?
Thank you for your time.
Greg responds...
1. Nope.
2. Nope. (Is that Christopher Pike the former Captain of the Enterprise?!)
2a. I haven't seen the TV series either, I'm afraid. But my buddy Jim Krieg and many more of my favorite writers have worked on it. So I'm betting it's great!
Uehara writes...
Have you watched Neon Genesis Evangelion? I was just struck by a lot of similarities Superboy had to the Clone Rei Ayanami, the white outfit, the alien/human hybrid, labeled inferior by others because of his clone status, the manipulation by a equivalent of a father figure to further his goals and the moon motif. But I'm pretty sure Lex still is a better father figure than Gendo Ikari.
Greg responds...
I think I saw the first episode back in the late nineties when I was working at DreamWorks. My memories are extremely vague. If it had any influence on Young Justice and/or Superboy, it would have to be entirely subconscious on my end. Can't speak for other members of the YJ crew, of course.
Anonymous writes...
As a writer, what, in your opinion, is the reason that every child born to a major character in DC comics is killed-off, ret-conned into having different parents or out of existance entirly, or aged?
Think about it. Aquaman's son...dead. Wonder Woman's daugher...ret-conned to not even be hers. Batman's daughter...ret-coned out (albeit braught back, but now from a different reality). Batman's son...killed by his own clone. Arsenal's daughter, who had the potential to become a great character someday...dead. Flash(Wally)'s twins...first dead, then aged. And the list goes on.
Is it supposed to be common practice among comic writers so that they can maintain a static universe where the hero doesn't age over the years & a baby would force the story into progressing?
The main reason I quit reading comics is because it seemed that as soon as any characer was even beginning to progress, a new writer would come along and revert everything back to when they were a fan, including ignoring or killing off any other character that wasnt there back then, including children.
Greg responds...
I think you've basically answered your own question.
One additional factor: I know "writing" a baby or even a toddler or young child is tough. (Teens are relatively easy by comparison.) And weighing a character down with a child who is too young to fend for his or herself is always a challenge. The alternative of giving the lead a spouse or co-parent to help out, creates an entire family unit that imposes additional challenges for the lone wolf superhero archetype to overcome - once you've gotten past the endless "My family is in danger" stuff. So it's a writerly challenge, as well.
Now, that kind of content interests me tremendously. But when faced with pressure to keep heroes static and angsty and troubled, and couple that with the inherent difficulties of writing the character with ongoing familial relationships - and as you noted, the feeling that a new writer or editor might have that they want a shot at writing the character in his or her pristine, unencumbered form, and you can see why the trend exists.
But personally, it's a trend I despair of.
Soraya writes...
Hi! Hope all is well and that Rain of Ghosts is selling well (I'm reading it on my tablet and it's awesome so far!) anyways a question I've wanted to ask for a while now was is the title for The Usual Suspects in season one of Young Justice in reference to the movie?
Thank you!
Greg responds...
If you mean Casablanca, yes. If you mean The Usual Suspects, not really, though of course THAT is also a reference to Casablanca.
Glad you're enjoying Rain. Hopefully now, you're done and have written a review on Amazon? Huh? Huh? ;)
btgr writes...
Something I just want to let you know:
Ever since I've watched the Disney movie Frozen, I can never take any DC Comics ice villains seriously anymore. It's all because of the constant use of ice puns.
Greg responds...
Careful, an Ice Pun can knock you out at twenty paces.
CTD
Harlan Phoenix writes...
I have a few questions about some of your unmade projects that've been mentioned in passing. Hopefully you'll be at liberty to discuss these, but I'd understand if not.
1. On a panel about developing television animation, you'd mentioned that your and Brandon Vietti's Green Lantern development "didn't even have the same lead [character]" as Green Lantern: The Animated Series. Though I'm very happy with how that show turned out, as it was left in very capable hands, I'm curious. Who was the lead in your Green Lantern development?
2. I was also surprised to hear you'd worked on a Space Ghost, as he's my favorite superhero. Though it didn't seem like you developed it for long, what was the general tone you and Vietti were pushing toward with that series?
2b.What was the cast like?
3. You mention working on a Thundercats reboot here (http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=14819). Was it the infamous "rock band" development of the series, or a different one entirely?
4. At Dreamworks, you'd developed Small Soldiers: The Animated Series. Was the show meant to be a series about the continuing battle between the toys or was it going to be a show that used the mythology behind the toys (the battle between the Gorgonites and the Commando Elite) as the basis for its stories?
Greg responds...
1. Charlie Vickers. Though pretty much every Earth Lantern you can think of would have gotten in there eventually. (Plus a lot of extra-terrestrial Lanterns, as well.) Hal would have had a prominent role in the pilot.
2. Space Ghost is also a favorite of mine. General tone: action, mystery, fun. Lots of HB action characters, including another of my personal favorites: the Herculoids.
3. So long ago... Might have been a rock band though my one episode didn't feature that as an element. It was for Duane Capizzi, if that helps narrow it down.
4. Even LONGER ago. But both, I think.
Diversity
Diversity in pop culture has always been an issue that concerns me greatly. I've tried to do my share to increase diversity on series like Gargoyles, W.I.T.C.H., The Spectacular Spider-Man and Young Justice.
Now, that I've entered the world of publishing, my sister Robyn brought this article to my attention:
The article asks valid questions, and - yes, to toot my own horn - I'm going to provide at least a piece of the answer with my new books, Rain of the Ghosts and Spirits of Ash and Foam. Both feature protagonists of color. Rain Cacique is Native American, as is her grandfather Sebastian Bohique. Her best friends are Charlie Dauphin, who's African American and Miranda Guerrero, who is Hispanic-American. Many - if not most - of the other characters are also of color. This reflects the Caribbean setting of the novels, i.e. the fictional Ghost Keys and the actual mythology of that region.
The books are available here:
http://www.amazon.com/Rain-Ghosts-Greg-Weisman/dp/1250029791
and here:
I urge you to check them out, and to suggest them at schools and libraries.
Kenny McCormick writes...
Thoughts about Black Spider-Man? Heard anything about him?
Greg responds...
It's all about execution, which I have not seen. So no, no thoughts.
Michael Chabon knows Gargoyles
So in my car, I've been listening to the audio book of Michael Chabon's novel: TELEGRAPH AVENUE, read by the amazing Clarke Peters (of THE WIRE and TREME). I'm a little over halfway through the book, which is set (largely) in a used record store in Oakland in 2008 and revolves around a diverse cast of characters. It's full of all sorts of pop cutlure references, but I was still pretty stunned when suddenly the narrator starts talking about GARGOYLES. Not generic gargoyles, but our GARGOYLES televsion series.
I was going to try to cut and paste the section here, but Amazon won't allow that. So you can check it out yourself here: http://www.amazon.com/Telegraph-Avenue-Novel-Michael-Chabon/dp/006149335X/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=09RDPEC6XPYS8K9E3CQR
Or better yet, buy the book. I haven't finished listening to it yet, but so far it's definitely worth the price of admission.
The GARGOYLES' references begin on or about p. 293. (At least on the Amazon Look Inside function.) It's all pretty cool, and very specific. Though Keith David isn't mentioned by name, Goliath is, and his amazing voice is referenced, along with Goliath's backstory, etc. The character seems to have been part of a significant moment in the life of Julie Jaffe, one of the many protagonists of Chabon's book.
Chabon's written many books, including two particular favorites of mine: THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY and THE YIDDISH POLICEMEN'S UNION. So the fact that our little series registers with him is fairly gratifying.
Anthony Tini writes...
[Dexter Spoilers]
Well Dexter is over and I was very disappointed with the ending. If the series had ended with Dexter driving into the storm, then I would have been fine, but the whole lumberjack scene and the final season, in general, was horrible. I thought the characters acted very out of character. Of course there were exceptions to the rule and I thought Charlotte Rampling did a great job as Evelyn Vogel. Unfortunately, the story/writing was too convoluted for me to really enjoy her character but her acting was some of the best the show has ever seen.
In my opinion, this season didn't do anything to add to the overall story of Dexter, but I can't put all the blame on it. The show hasn't been up to the same caliber it once was. I really loved the first four seasons, but the last four didn't do the show justice. Sadly, it won't be a series I will recommend to anyone.
What did you think of the final season? What are your thoughts of the series as a whole?
Greg responds...
[Dexter Spoilers]
Personally, I enjoyed every season of Dexter to one degree or another, even this last one. It's hard to top the first season and the Lithgow season, of course, but I don't think that any of the other seasons were bad or even weak - except relative to those two stellar seasons.
There was a lot of great stuff in the final season, I thought, but it was highly flawed. And the last episode was, I agree, extremely disappointing. (And the fact that Breaking Bad's last episode was brilliant and perfect, didn't help poor Dexter in comparison.)
The main problem in the last season was the Brain Surgeon. There was good build-up, but he wound up being very uninteresting. Charlotte Rampling was great, as you noted, but her son wound up being bland. And bland is just no good for a series finale.
I also had a huge problem - not so much with Deb's death (though it did seem like too easy an out to me), but with the fairly ridiculous conclusions that Dexter drew from it, and the choices he made following it. Dexter had grown as a person through the seasons, so the backsliding at the end was horribly anti-climactic.
And there were other disappointments too. I had for years felt certain that the original showrunners were building toward the major revelation that Harry was Dexter's biological father. And that Dexter's brother was in fact his half-brother - and that Deb was his half-sister. Even now, I find it impossible to believe that that was not the original plan. So for me, the fact that that thread never played out was infuriating.
But again, I liked Dexter from the first episode to the second to last episode. And I would recommend the series to anyone who likes that sort of thing.
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