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Anonymous writes...

Are there other sentient races living on the Earth besides fay,halflings,humans and gargoyles?

If so could you name them.?

Greg responds...

Well, Nokkar.

And the New Olympians (though they're a spin-off race of the fae).

Otherwise, no.

Response recorded on June 26, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

A question here about Owen/Puck. In the original legends about Puck, under his "Robin Goodfellow" alias, he's portrayed as a sort of household spirit, helping to look after the home in which he dwells and assisting the humans who live there in the upkeep of their home. Now, it's recently occurred to me that Owen's duties to the Xanatos household could indeed be viewed as almost a mundane equivalent to those of Robin Goodfellow, the way that he similarly looks after Xanatos's home and keeps it running well. Which consequently makes the fact that Owen and Puck are really the same all the more appropriate.

Is this something that you've noticed before, that Owen serves as almost the "mundane equivalent" to a household spirit for Xanatos?

Greg responds...

GREG SAYS:
No. Not really, because, obviously, I'm more familiar with Shakespeare's Robin "Puck" Goodfellow, then the one you refer to.

BENNY SAYS:
I want to say that Mama likes Bigtime and Iggy and I like them, but I shoo them. And I'm sorry about that.

Response recorded on June 25, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

Hmm... more of a comment here. In 'City of Stone' we saw the Weird Sisters take different attires depending on the date - in modern times they wore modern clothes, in medieval times they wore medieval ones...

I rather liked that. A bit like Gaiman's Endless I'd like to see the outside appearance of supernatural entities move with the times. (one of the reasons I especially liked Coyote's modernity - Coyote's quite possibly my favourite fay with Odin coming in second...)

But from the very next episode where the Sisters appeared, their clothing went medieval throughout, whether in Avalon or in the outside world... And well, even though it was such a small detail I found that rather disappointing...

Comments on why this was done?

Greg responds...

Basically, we paid more attention to it in CITY OF STONE, because it was more of a plot point, plus we were trying to define them and their abilities a bit. After that, we figured they had a preferred appearance, which they would alter as needed. (Thus they appear as three Desdemona's in "High Noon".) We didn't see them "in public" after that, so they maintained their preferred appearance. But had we seen them wandering the streets, you would have seen them in modern dress. And their age and species would have again depended on who was looking at them.

Still, I understand your disappointment. For starters, shouldn't Goliath have still seen them as little girls? Either that just got by me, or else I took so much crap for how quote-unquote-confusing the Sisters were in "City" that I just gave in out of exhaustion. I honestly don't remember which was the case.

Response recorded on June 23, 2000

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Chris writes...

A couple of questions

1)How powerful could Alexander become with Puck training him? Could he become as powerful as Puck?

2)Would Alex be a bit of a trickster himself since Puck is the person training him?

Thanks, and once again congrats on such a great cartoon!

Greg responds...

1. Probably not if we're talking pure power. Alexander's only a quarter fae. But Puck isn't Alex's only teacher. Take a quarter of Titania's power, and give it the kind of focus that comes with being a Xanatos or a Renard. What da ya think ya get?

2. Sure. But again, not just because of Puck. Don't forget that Alex's parents are a fox and a coyote at heart.

Response recorded on June 23, 2000

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LSZ writes...

Do any fae have a higher resistance to iron than others? Because when thinking of all the smith-gods of mythology like Hephaistos, it seems odd that they could be harmed by iron..

Greg responds...

I think some do. For example, Oberon was able to recover from being hit with Petros' iron harpoon. (That, I believe, was a flaw that we barely get away with because, well, Oberon is Oberon.) I think a lesser fae would have died. And I think Oberon came closer than he'd ever admit.

Response recorded on June 23, 2000

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Michael Norton writes...

Greg,

In a recent response you said "It was one of the reasons that I made Oberon & Titania's skin Blue and Green. I didn't want to imply that white "godlings" ruled the others."

I think that is very cool. But did you consider making the human guises that Oberon and Titania chose more ethnically ambiguous instead of "white"?

Greg responds...

Not with Titania, since she was Fox's mother.

With Oberon, I could have. Probably should have. Didn't. The decisions were months apart, and I guess I lost track.

I did try to make the human Goliath in "The Mirror" appear with more ethnically African. I'm not sure if that was clear, since his hair looked more European (to match Goliath's hair). But I did this to increase the connection between human Goliath and Elisa. And between human Goliath and Keith David.

And that might be why Oberon wound up Caucasian. Not a great excuse. But subconsciously, we may all have been influence by the fact that Terrance Mann, the voice of Oberon was/is Caucasian.

Response recorded on June 23, 2000

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Kalafarski writes...

You've said many times that you plan to introduce every myth and legend into Gargoyles, or least as many as possible. If and when the show returns (in the same format and present-day time period as the original show), would it take another story arc such as the World Tour to come closer to accomplishing this? I mean, traveling around the world does make it a little more convenient to introduce new characters and situations than hanging around in Manhatten. If the answer to that question is yes, then can you describe what this story arc would be like? Thanks.

Greg responds...

Everything in its time. TIMEDANCER would have been a great outlet for exploring more myths. But we'd have covered more in the main series eventually. Starting, probably, with Mab.

Response recorded on June 21, 2000

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LSZ writes...

Ok, I'll ask this again: Can a fae change a human or a gargoyle into an actual in-reality fae with all fae powers and weaknesses and so on, as big a species change as gargoyle-to-human?

Greg responds...

Erin says: I think you got a point there. I think you are right.

Benny says: I love this candy. [He's eating PEZ.]

Greg says: No. Where would the energy come from unless the fae were permanently relinquishing all his powers.

Response recorded on June 17, 2000

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LSZ writes...

Is there any connection between the Coyote Diamond and Coyote the Kachina Trickster?

Greg responds...

Greg says: <heh, heh, heh>

Erin says: I think they are connected. And you've got a very good point there.

Response recorded on June 17, 2000

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Man Mountain writes...

Heya Greg, here is another question for you. We know there are the 3 races: Gargoyles, Humans, and Fae. We know Gargoyles and Humans can't mate without help and we know Humans and Fae can mate pretty easily. So the obvious question is, can Gargoyles mate with Fae and has that happened in your opinion? I can't even imagine the possibilities of such offspring that would create. At least from a human perspective, Fae/Human offspring is relatively easy to imagine: Normal Humans with a little something different (flaming hair, magic ability, whatever). But a Gargoyle and a Fae... would it work the same way? Mostly Gargoyle with a little something extra? Just wondering, thanks!

Greg responds...

Erin says: I like your question. And it's a good one too. Faes could connect to Gargoyles. And I think you have got something.

Benny, my three year old son, just came home. He says: I want to say that I love you, Daddy.

Greg says: I have great kids. I love them both. Meanwhile, I see no reason why gargs and Fae couldn't have babies together. For that matter, if a Fae was so inclined I see no reason why fae and termites couldn't have babies together.

Response recorded on June 17, 2000

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JEB writes...

Was the inclusion of the Scroll of Thoth in "Grief" a references to the Conan stories/Cthulhu Mythos?

Greg responds...

Not that I know of. Thoth is an Egyptian diety. We were doing an ep set in Egypt.

Response recorded on June 14, 2000

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Todd JensenAnonymous writes...

In the Gargoyles Universe, the fay are vulnerable to cold iron. Now, the obvious reasons for this are: a) they needed some sort of "kryptonite" to keep them from unbalancing things, and b) it's a traditional part of faerie mythology (and I'd read about that problem of theirs with cold iron long before "Gargoyles" came out, and even used it in an Arthurian fantasy novel that I'm still writing). But, did you ever develop a "within-the-story" rationale for why iron has such a drastic effect upon Oberon's Children?Odin got swallowed by the fenrir wolf in Ragnarvak. Can you tell us how he survived?

Greg responds...

dial-72.max1.ken.cyberlynk.netNot right now.

Response recorded on June 13, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

You've indicated that many of the Greek gods (though not all of them) were "New Olympians" - well, before they became *New* Olympians. Now, the Greek gods were particularly noted for their humanlike appearance, especially in contrast with such cases as the animal-headed gods of ancient Egypt (such as Anubis) or the multi-armed gods of India. They all looked like normal humans (if better-looking, with the exception of Hephaestus), and were depicted thus in classical art.

The New Olympians, on the other hand, nearly all seem to have a not-fully-human appearance, fitting more into the category of the animal/human hybrids such as minotaurs, centaurs, sphinxes, echidnae, and other such beings of the Greek myths. The only one of them that looked human all the way was Proteus in his regular form. So, were the Greek gods of Olympus less anthropomorphic in the Gargoyles Universe than the artistic depictions of them by Phidias and the rest claim? Or are there more "human-appearing" New Olympians out there that we didn't get to see during the episode? (Given that the New Olympians only showed up in one episode of the series, that does seem quite possible, I'll admit; there wouldn't have been that much time to introduce them).

Greg responds...

Jove is very humanesque. And aside from the flaming 'do, so is Helios. And except for the wings, so is Boreas. It's a pretty big mix.

But also, I never said ALL of the Greek gods were pre-New New Olympians. Some of them were Children of Mab.

Response recorded on April 07, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

You'd said that Oberon does have siblings... A brother, a sister or both? And would he/she/they be characters from mythology or original characters?

Btw, do you plan to add any member of the third race which hasn't be seen in Mythology/Shakespeare/literature, but who is fully your own creation?

Greg responds...

I'm certainly not beyond creating original characters. But that would be a second choice. If the goal is to include all that's out there, I've still got a lot of "characters" to cover before I need to start adding my own.

Response recorded on March 26, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

You recently said that you believed that most of the events in Norse mythology took place before Oberon passed his non-intervention edict. Actually, I can't help wondering myself, as something of a Norse mythology buff, how much difference that the edict would have made where the traditional events in the Aesir's lives were concerned, since most of the stories about them don't portray them as interacting with mortals, but rather with their traditional frost giant enemies (especially in the case of Thor) and the frost giants' monster-allies such as the Fenris-wolf and the Midgard Serpent. Odin's the only one of the Norse gods who really struck me as much of a "meddler" in mortal affairs (as in his deciding which side would win a battle, and often having the better warriors lose so that they would go to Valhalla and he could have them in his army come Ragnarok). So would Oberon's Law have really put that much of a cramp in the Aesir's legendary deeds?

Greg responds...

Maybe not. As usual, I'd have to take things case-by-case.

Response recorded on March 22, 2000

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WereFoX writes...

Greg, did Oberon erase every obvious trace of his presence in New York during the Gathering. I imagine he would show up on a few video surviellance cameras or in real time photos from overhead satellites.

Greg responds...

No. I doubt he bothered.

Response recorded on March 21, 2000

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Donald writes...

In "Ill Met By Moonlight" Oberon mentioned that he too spent the millennium with the mortals. Since I'm sure a question about what he did would be one of those "novel length responses", was anything he did significant with regard to the master plan (i.e. something we would have seen eventually)?

Greg responds...

Yes.

Response recorded on March 21, 2000

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Ya MotHer writes...

Whats the deal with the aging thingy for children of oberon, like gargoyles, it takes them twice as long than a human or something like that. so like how many years would it take for oberons children to grow up to be like a teanager maybe?

Greg responds...

Since they have complete control over their appearance, discussing their "age" is rather moot.

Response recorded on March 21, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

Is there 'prophecy' in the Gargoyles universe? So far all the pieces of prophecy we've seen are either related to time-travel (Archmage, etc), or are ambiguous in nature (Weird Sisters in 'City of Stone', Puck in 'Future Tense').

Were the Weird Sisters (for example) making a true prophecy concerning Macbeth and Duncan, or simply saying something and then manipulating events so that it took place?

And was Puck aware that parts of his 'dream' would indeed take place (other than Alex's name ofcourse which he could have been informed of as Owen)?

Greg responds...

Uh...

Paragraph one, I don't understand.

Paragraph two, both.

Paragraph three, both.

Response recorded on March 21, 2000

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Guardian writes...

If you had enough episodes, would you have eventually have written in The Jewish-Christian God? If so, how would you have explained how Annibus was lord of the dead. (He would be a false god, according to Christians and Jews)

Greg responds...

I honestly don't know. But keep in mind, Anubis never claimed to be a god.

And I'd tend to leave the big G above the fray. He works in mysterious ways after all.

Response recorded on March 21, 2000

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Michael Norton writes...

Is there any logical reason that Owen did not include a giant iron bell in the castle defenses? I know this would have ruined the drama of the battle. But it is hard to accept the fact that it never occured to any of the defenders during the battle with Oberon.

Greg responds...

I'm not sure that the bell solution is that obvious to Owen. I think it was very clever of Titania to come up with something that generally a fae would have little interest in exploring.

And where would Goliath and Angela found a big iron bell?

Response recorded on March 19, 2000

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Michael Norton writes...

In Walkabout, would Titania have revealed herself and magically intervened if Goliath and Dingo had failed to reason with Matrix?

Greg responds...

What could Titania have done against Matrix?

Response recorded on March 19, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

I started to wonder about the 'Future Tense' episode...

1. What would have happened if Goliath had indeed given Puck the gate? After all he was dreaming the whole thing - would the real-life gate have just disappeared and been taken by Puck or something? Goliath waking up and finding it missing?

2. That thing about Puck not being able to take the gate, he having to be given it - is that again a law of Oberon's or something inherent in the nature of the Gate and/or fae?

3. And if the former, why when in other cases the fae could use just any flimsy excuse to bend Oberon's law, this one was so strictly interpreted that even 'Here you have it, take the gate' wasn't sufficient for Puck to take it?

Greg responds...

1. Goliath would have physically taken the Gate from his pouch, held it out and let go. Puck would appear to take it. All very real. But it didn't happen.

2. It's a law, but I don't know if it's Oberon's law.

3. I'm not sure that their excuses were that flimsy. We always made an effort to bend the laws with a real rationale.

Response recorded on March 19, 2000

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Ambrosia writes...

I was thinking about the Weird Sisters- I know artistic lisence is used all the time with characters, so I was wondering about these Three... In City of Stone, they come off as gentle guiders in Demona's life and remind Goliath of his own ideals... but in Avalon, they are nearly as bad as Demona in their thirst for vengeance. Though not nearly as violent, they make a pact with a sorceror (something they initially swore they wouldn't do) only in order to have revenge against the Magus and the others. This sounds a little contradictory of their characters. What I was wondering is: which is their real personality? Are they more like the Fates of Greek mythology who spin, measure and cut the thread of mortals' lives, or was their power exaggerated by human myth and, in fact, they're only typical, magical beings like Puck or Odin are? I suppose I'm asking how much power they really have...
I also wanted to say how much I love the show and hope that it'll come back some day... in any form. With the maddening popularity of shows like Mutant Turtles, it's refreshing to have an intelligent series like gargoyles to obsess over!

Greg responds...

The Sisters are complex and have many aspects, not all of which have been revealed or conflated yet.

They're not quite as powerful (and/or powerless) as the mythological fates, but they have that aspect.

There was obvioulsy an ulterior motive to their actions in CITY OF STONE. But there may have also been an ulterior motive to their actions in AVALON as well.

Response recorded on March 18, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

A fresh effort to do the eight Arthurian survivors correctly.

1. King Arthur
2. Merlin
3. The Lady of the Lake
4. Sir Percival
5. Blanchfleur
6. Morgan le Fay
7. Nimue
8. The Green Knight (the one whom Gawain had that encounter with)

Greg responds...

Eight points.

Thank you. Come again.

No, wait! Eight points. Eight out of eight. FINALLY, A WINNER! And Todd, I have to admit, I'm kinda glad it's you, since you've been the most dedicated to exploring the Arthurian angle here in ASK GREG.

As to the speculation of how they survived, well, I was gonna make another contest out of it, but I realized it would violate my NO IDEAS policy, so...

1. King Arthur Pendragon. Slept under a spell in the Hollow Hill.

2. Merlin. Son of Oberon by a mortal woman. Imprisoned in the Crystal Cave.

3. The Lady of the Lake. One of the Oberati.

4. Sir Percival. The Fisher King. Mr. Duval. Founder of the Illuminati. Spends a lot of time in Castle Carbonek, a sort of mini-traveling-Avalon, where time passes differently. Also uses the Holy Grail to maintain his youth, though at a very real physical cost, due to his, shall we say, sins.

5. Lady Blanchefleur. Percival's wife. Queen of Castle Carbonek. She lives there and uses the Grail. The only cost being her estrangement from Percival.

6. Morgana le Fay. A changling in the old-fashioned sense.

7. Nimue. A sorceress with connections to Merlin, the Oberati and Morgana. (Think about it.)

8. The Green Knight. An Oberati.

Anyway, the above revelations are a gift I'm giving all of you on Todd's behalf. Thank him. Todd, to claim your prize, have Gore or DemonaCrzy forward your e-mail address to me.

Response recorded on March 18, 2000


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