Gathering 2007 - Insta-Journal, Part Seven

SATURDAY, JUNE 23rd, 2007

We held our second set of auditions at 10am. A good turnout, which was lucky, as we had 40 (that's right 40) speaking parts to hand out. We wound up with 37 auditions and -- over lunch at a pancake house -- cast all of them, with a few people doubling up. One of our 36 didn't show up to rehearsal, so we (myself, Thom Adcox and Jennifer Anderson) wound up with a cast of 36 (or 38, if you count me and the two Alex Xanatoses -- more on that later).

At 2pm, I had my mug-a-guest with a small group of fans, which was a lot of fun.

And then at 4pm, we held our rehearsal. The large cast was very intimidating... that many people means that much can go wrong, but wow, what a great group. They all did terrific even in the first (and only) read through. Gave just a few notes -- mostly about projecting to the back of the room -- and then we took a short break before the performance at 5:30pm.

The Radio Play was Chapters 3, 4 & FIVE of Clan-Building. That's right. If you attended the Gathering this year, you got a sneak peak at how the story turns out in Chapter Five. I've sworn everyone (cast & audience) to secrecy until AFTER the book comes out in July. And to reiterate, if someone DOES leak info about issue 5 before then, it will effect what I'll be willing to tease in future radio plays. The good news is that everyone seemed to have a great time, and seemed to really like and feel satisfied by the story. Got some big laughs too. The cast was too huge for me to have it memorized, and I'm down in the lobby -- the only place I can get a signal -- so I don't have it with me, so in a future posting, I'll list the cast. Promise.

A group of us went to dinner across the street. Me, Karine & Samuel, Jennifer, Patrick, Sammy, Seth, Rebekah, Gore, Susan, Tony & Andrea. I had trout. Then while everyone else went off to get tatoos (which they didn't get -- I'm told because there wasn't time), I went back to the lobby to get some Spider-Work done.

Soon enough it was 10pm and time for the Blue Mug-A-Guest. Procedings began on the raunchy side... and were intermittently raunchy throughout, but it wasn't non-stop sleeze. It was pretty funny though. The mug broke up around 1:15am. A few of us stayed in the room until after 2 I think, but I was literally falling asleep in my chair, so Jen sent me to bed. But by that time, I had a headache. Didn't fall asleep until 4am. Woke up at 5:30am. Stayed in bed until 6:30am. Then gave up and got up.

MORE TO COME...

Gathering 2007 - Insta-Journal, Part Six

FRIDAY, JUNE 22nd, 2007

The first real day of the Gathering -- and I spent a TON of it working on Spider-Man, which is more than a little frustrating. The whole morning was Spideyesque. Got my G2007 t-shirt, and toured the art room. Attended a bit of Thom's voice actor panel at 1:30pm, before I had to break off for another Spidey-related business call. Went to lunch with Jennifer, Patrick, Thom, Rebekah, Tony, Andrea and a couple of others. Finally at 3pm we held the first auditions for the Radio Play. Then at 5pm, Opening Ceremonies. A welcome to fans and guests. The Fan Guest of Honor Award went to Karine Charlebois, for years of dedicated (never-miss) Gathering attendance, con-chairing Montreal's Gathering (pregnant no-less) and being such an amazing fan artist that she is now a pro, pencilling Gargoyles #5 and the Bad Guys Mini-series. Susan Leonard, co-conchair of G2008 in Chicago spoke, and sent regrets from her well-but-recently hospitalized co-conchair Ellen Stolfa. Then I got up and did my schpiel, including the old promo's and pitches (for Gargoyles, New Olympians & Dark Ages) and a couple of animatics: Bad Guys and "The Last". Vashkoda has done an amazing job at continuing to put this "episode" together. Then it was mini-golf with Mike and Tracy and Susan. I got the top score on my team, but Sarah the Great on the other team, beat me handily. Then Dinner at Huck Finn's Catfish. I had fried chicken. Good stuff. Back to the hotel to try and get some work done, but the hotel connection, which only works in the lobby kept shutting down. Then Jennifer, Seth, Sammy, Tony, Andrea and myself talked on the balcony overlooking the pool. Then I went back to my room. Should have Spidey'd it up then too, but I was too beat. So I watched some tv and then went to sleep.

MORE TO COME...

Gathering 2007 - Insta-Journal, Part Five

THURSDAY, JUNE 21st, 2007

Travel day. Beth and I got up early, packed, checked out and finally had a breakfast at our bed and breakfast. (Eggs Benedict.) Then we drove to Boston, where Beth dropped me off at Logan Airport before heading back to Nantucket to join the kids and her folks. I bought a Dunkin Donut at the airport, reviewed the outline for the 11th episode of Spidey, listened to audio for the second and third episodes, began the Kandell book and flew to Washington Dulles, where I ate a bag of my Cape Cod chips. Got on the plane to Knoxville, and slept uncomfortably through most of the flight. Landed in Knoxville, where I was picked up by Kathy Pogge, who drove me to Pigeon Forge. Got to the Grand Hotel and into my room. NO INTERNET SIGNAL in the room. Crap. (I'm currently down in the lobby typing this.) Had to spend a lot of time on the phone long distance to Spidey folk, which held up the staff dinner. (Apologies.) Finally, I made it downstairs, and fifteen of us... (me, Kathy, Jennifer, Nikki, Karine, Thom, Samuel, Susan, Patrick, Tony, Andrea, Jenn, Lynati and... and... ugh, forgetting, sorry) went across the street to the Japanese (bennihana-esque) restaurant. Great food. Sushi, steak, shrimp, lobster, veggies, salad, soup.) Fun. Yep, the Gathering has *un*officially started! Back to the hotel. I'd love to just hang out, but I have so much work still to do this week.

MORE TO COME...

Gathering 2007 - Insta-Journal, Part FourQ. .

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20th, 2007

Went to bed late after finishing an edit on the sixth outline of the Spectacular Spider-Man -- and then woke up early again for no good reason. Beth and I drove to Hyannis to tour the Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory. On the way, I finally got that haircut I've been desperately needing. Today it rained, the first lousy weather day since we arrived in New England. The weather's been universally great. After the Potato Chip factory, we went to a mall so that I could buy a book. Bought a couple mysteries, the latest Cece Caruso by our friend Susan Kandell, and what I think is the first Michael Connelly Hieronymous Bosch mystery, which I've heard is great. We had lunch, and then went to see Knocked Up. Then back to Eastham. Relaxed for a bit, then went out to dinner at the Marconi Beach Bar-B-Q. Some good pulled pork.

More to come...

Gathering 2007 - Insta-Journal, Part Three

TUESDAY, JUNE 19th, 2007
Beth and I slept through the "Breakfast part of "Bed & Breakfast". Got up at a leisurely pace and went to Dunkin Donuts instead. Then we drove down to Provincetown. We parked and walked up the hill to the Provincetown Museum and to the Pilgrim Monument, which we climbed. Then we walked back into town, had really bad pizza, and walked around Commercial Street, which is aptly named. Drove back to the room, and I worked a bit. Then we went out to dinner -- good food at the Wellfleet Restaurant & Bookstore (though I was disappointed to find the bookstore part closed), clam chowder, steamed mussles. We went to see Ocean's 13 and then Ben & Jerry'd our evening away.

More to come...

Gathering 2007 - Insta-Journal, Part Two

MONDAY, JUNE 17th, 2007
Worked on episode six of Spidey, then went to bed about 2am (which is good for me). But I WOKE up for some reason at 6am. Had bacon and eggs for breakfast. And read the outline for episode ten of Spidey. (I've been working up a storm. Joe Dedicated, that's me.) Later, Beth and I went for a walk and met my father-in-law and my kids at a bike store, where bikes were rented for the kids. Erin, Benny, Beth and I had pizza and smoothies for lunch, then we returned to the house.

Beth and I picked up our luggage, and -- after saying goodbye to my kids and mother-in-law -- my father-in-law dropped us off at the ferry to Hyanis for a few days of husband/wife time. We took the ferry to the Cape, rented our car and drove to Eastham, where we checked into a lovely room at the Penny House Inn. We napped a bit, and then went out to dinner at the Lobster Pool, where we had excellent and cheap lobsters. Then Ben & Jerry's. Then mini-golf. Then we saw the movie Waitress, which I enjoyed. (Beth, not so much.) Then back to the room...

More later...

Gathering 2007 - Insta-Journal

As always, I'm hoping that all of you who attend the Gathering this coming week in Pigeon Forge, TN, will post Gathering Journals (of any length) here at ASK GREG. This is useful, as it provides one location for me to refer various PTB types when they want to learn more about the Gathering. The more journals we get here, the more FAN PRESENCE we seem to have. One of these days, I'd like to see 100% journalling, but then again one of these days I'd like to see a Gathering attended by thousands of people...

Anyway, can't ask you to do what I'm not willing to do myself. ASK GREG will open for submissions the day before the Gathering and stay open at minimum through the end of July. But in the meantime, I'll be posting about my own trip...

FRIDAY, JUNE 15th, 2007
Got up early, because I had a VERY busy day ahead of me. First off, a "The Spectacular Spider-Man" voice recording. We had to quickly finish off Spidey's lines for our second episode (which had largely recorded the week before), because we had an editing session that afternoon. When that was done, we had to record nearly all of our third episode with most of our cast. We started out by getting the actors who only had a few lines each (less than ten) out of the way. Then we brought in the rest of the cast for the bulk of the episode. We had done a couple of the actors the day before, and nevertheless we still nearly ran out of time. ARRGGHH. We just made it in under the wire. But I'm hoping that starting with our fourth episode (after I get back) things'll be less crazy, and we'll start recording one complete episode at one session and NOT run out of time.

After the recording, Supervising Director and Producer Vic Cook -- a former Gathering attendee -- and I crossed the street for our edit session. Terry, our editor, had quickly cut in the lines we had recorded that morning, and we completed our natural pause edit with him, often tightening and overlapping lines to make the dialogue play both more naturally -- thus NATURAL pause -- and punchier.

All this took much longer than I had hoped. I was really hoping to get a haircut on Friday, but didn't get the chance. I might try to get one on Cape Cod, but if not, I may be looking pretty scruffy at the Gathering.

I also got a bit of scheduling news on the project that meant that I basically will have to work through my entire vacation. It's a bit of a bummer, as only a day before I was told I didn't have to. But that's life, when you're the"boss" on a show that has a lot of bosses over the "boss". I'm thrilled to have the gig, but it can definitely be exhausting sometimes.

Went home. Checked e-mail as quickly as I could, as I had been at the recording studio all day and not at the office. Packed. Had a grilled cheese sandwich. Raced to Larchmont Village to deposit my paycheck and throw some bills in a mailbox. Raced home. Got in the car with Beth, Erin and Benny and headed for the airport.

We arrived in plenty of time, which is a relief. We all had carry-on baggage only, so that saved us a step too. The kids and I got smoothies, and we waited.

Red-Eye to Boston. Slept some -- through Wild Hogs apparently. Read the revised writer's outline to the seventh episode of Spider-Man. Watched what seemed to be a heavily edited version of "Shooter" and a very funny "The Office" episode. Landed in Boston.

SATURDAY, JUNE 16th, 2007
Ate breakfast at Johnny Rockets. Boarded our flight to Nantucket. Read the revised writer's outline to the eight episode of Spider-Man. Landed in Nantucket. Beth's father picked us up at the airport and drove us to my in-laws' home. Unpacked. Went for a little walk with Beth, the kids and Beth's mom. Had lunch. And took a six hour nap. Got up for dinner. Skirt steak, salad, corn, homemade Banana ice cream (made by my father-in-law and the kids while I slept). Then went to work, checking e-mail again... and editing the Record Draft for the fourth episode of Spidey. Was going to start editing the outline to the sixth episode, but I was sleepy, so I went to bed at midnight, which is stunning for me --- even if you DON'T take into account that by L.A. standards it was really only 9pm. Since I've routinely been going to bed over the last few weeks between 4 and 6 am, this was amazing.

SUNDAY, JUNE 17th, 2007
Woke up early -- also amazing for me -- had a bit of breakfast. Read the outline for the ninth episode of Spidey. So far all these outlines have been in pretty darn good shape, which is always nice. Benny and I went for a walk into town. Came back, and I napped for about an hour. Got up for a Father's day brunch, with Beth, the kids and my in-laws. Had a wonderful Lobster Salad and Lobster Bisque. (Can you tell I'm in New England?) Came back to the house and opened father's day cards. Also called my own dad to wish him a happy father's day. He and my mom had only just returned from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I'm jealous, but there's no time this year. Hope to take the kids next year. Took ANOTHER nap. I think weeks of averaging three hours of sleep a night, plus all the walking and the fresh air -- the weather is gorgeous -- are wiping me out. But this is a good time to sleep.

We got up for a 4pm concert -- a choral performance by the Nantucket Choir. It was lovely. I was familiar with quite a few of the songs, as my son's choir sang them... at Carnegie Hall last month. From there, Beth and the kids and I went to dinner at the Brotherhood of Thieves. Burger and Clam Chowder. Then Ice Cream at the Juice Bar: one scoop of Crantucket with hot fudge. We walked some more and then went home.

More to come...

JUNE 25

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

June 25th...

1999
Lexington goes into business.

JUNE 23

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

June 23rd...

2006
Obsidiana comes to the United States.

JUNE 22

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

June 22nd...

2001
A crisis brings together representatives of four clans.

2007
Lexington continues his journey.

JUNE 19

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

June 19th...

1996
The travelers find themselves aboard the skiff on a beautiful lake.

JUNE 18

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

June 18th...

1040
Hardicanute, the son of Canute and Emma, succeeds to the throne of England, replacing his late half-brother Harold Harefoot.

1996
The Mazas attempt to inform the Tribal Police about the soil carving but are again confronted by the Trickster - who is quickly captured by Coyote 4.0. The gargoyles attempt to rescue the Trickster, but it is Peter who fools Coyote 4.0 into releasing his namesake. The Trickster then tricks the robot into destroying itself. Xanatos is forced to flee. That morning, Peter visits the grave of his father Carlos. That evening, the four travelers again return to Avalon and immediately turn around and depart again to avoid the imminent Avalonian sunrise.

JUNE 17

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

June 17th...

1996
Peter and Beth make bail in the morning and return to Beth's apartment, where they find Elisa waiting. That evening, the gargoyles awaken and are introduced to Elisa's family. Together the Mazas and the gargoyles again attempt to find out what Xanatos is up to. Goliath and Angela discover the soil carving but are captured by Coyote 4.0. Xanatos prepares to destroy the two gargoyles and the soil carving as bait to lure the Trickster. Meanwhile, Bronx and the Mazas capture the mysterious security guard, who turns out to be the Trickster himself. He has taken on the appearance of the young Peter Maza, with whom Coyote once formed a bond during a kachina dance. Bronx and the Mazas rescue Goliath and Angela (with a little help from Coyote).

JUNE 16

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

June 16th...

1996
Peter Maza arrives in Arizona to investigate Xanatos with his daughter Beth. That evening, Goliath, Elisa, Angela and Bronx depart Avalon and arrive in Flagstaff, where Beth goes to college. Fearing that her sister might be in trouble, Elisa takes the gargoyles to Beth's apartment. Meanwhile, Xanatos finally decides to bulldoze the mystic soil carving on the land he has leased from the local tribe. Almost immediately, the Coyote Trickster magically vandalizes the building site in order to stop Xanatos. Minutes later, Peter and Beth are allowed entry onto the Xanatos construction site by a mysterious "security guard". Xanatos has them arrested for trespassing.

JUNE 15

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

June 15th...

1996
Just before dawn, reporters gather outside to see Taro's "real gargoyles". Elisa and Constable Hiroshi break into the theme park and help Goliath and the other gargoyles escape. Realizing that he had been duped, Yama battles Taro, and leaves him to face the reporters alone. With no evidence of gargoyles, Taro is humiliated. Elisa returns to Ishimura after sunrise and departs for Avalon, taking the sleeping Goliath, Angela and Bronx along. It is night when they arrive, and the gargoyles soon wake up. That evening in Ishimura, the gargoyles hold a council meeting with their human neighbors. Yama is banished until his honor can be restored. And the gargoyles and humans agree to resume the study of Bushido.

JUNE 14

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

June 14th...

1996
The travelers leave Avalon and arrive in Ishimura, Japan. There they meet the Ishimura Clan of Gargoyles who have lived in peace with their human neighbors for generations. At sunrise, Goliath, Angela and Bronx turn to stone alongside their new cousins. But minutes later, their human guardians are attacked by ninjas hired by Taro, a Japanese businessman who grew up in Ishimura. All the gargoyles are stolen. They awaken inside a Gargoyle Theme Park that Taro has built. Yama, second-in-command to Kai, the leader of the Ishimura Clan, tries to convince everyone to stay in the park. Goliath, Angela and Bronx attempt to leave, but are gassed and imprisoned by Taro. Beth Maza calls her father Peter and asks him to come to Arizona to investigate the local Xanatos Construction project.

JUNE 11

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

June 11th...

1996
Nokkar captures Bronx and Angela. Meanwhile, Elisa is found by Lydia Duane and Arthur Morwood-Smyth. They take her back to their hotel, where she is examined by Doctor Arnada. Goliath finds her, but when Elisa fails to recognize him, Goliath is forced to kidnap her. Nokkar intervenes again, capturing Goliath and explaining his interpretation of events to Elisa. Nevertheless, Elisa (though still without her memories) comes to believe in Goliath. She helps rescue the gargoyles from Nokkar and is eventually able to convince him that her friends are not servants of the Space Spawn. She also encourages Nokkar to befriend Duane, Morwood-Smyth and Arnada. The travelers depart Easter Island, and Goliath just manages to cast the spell that will send them back to Avalon before the sun rises. When they arrive on the mystic island, it is already night. Nevertheless, it takes a few hours before Goliath, Angela and Bronx awaken. During this time, Elisa's memory returns.

JUNE 10

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

June 10th...

1996
Elisa, who had been working throughout the Avalonian day to help Jade and Turquesa transplant the rain forest's flora, rejoins Goliath, Angela and Bronx on the skiff. They depart Avalon again and Elisa falls asleep en route to their new landing: Easter Island. While Goliath and Angela explore, Elisa is taken into custody by Nokkar, an alien sentinel based on Easter Island, who has mistaken the gargoyles for a hostile alien invasion force. When Elisa tries to explain that the gargoyles are her friends, Nokkar assumes Elisa has been brainwashed. He wipes her mind clean, temporarily giving her amnesia. Then he sets her free.

JUNE 9

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

June 9th...

597
St. Columba dies at Iona.

JUNE 8

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

June 6th...

1042
Hardicanute dies suddenly at a wedding, perhaps due to poison. He is succeeded by his half-brother, Edward the Confessor, son of Aethelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, as King of England. Edward locks his mother Emma (Princess Katharine's aunt) up in a nunnery.

JUNE 6

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

June 6th...

1832
The Revolution of the Barricades fails.

JUNE 5

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

June 5th...

1832
In Paris, the Revolution of the Barricades begins.

MAY 27

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

May 27th...

1996
In order to flush out the Coyote Trickster, Xanatos Construction begins work on the Arizona property it has leased from a local Native American Tribe. The new Coyote 4.0 robot is on hand to capture the Trickster. But because Xanatos has, at this time, no real intention of destroying the Trickster's soil carving, the true Coyote does not show up.

MAY 26

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

May 26th...

1996
Broadway and Lex defeat Hyena and take custody of the Amulet, leaving Hyena for the cops. And in Guatemala, the gargoyles and Elisa battle Jackal. At sunrise, Jackal briefly believes he has the upper hand when Obsidiana turns to stone. But in reality, she had merely lost her pendant. Bronx recovers it, and he, Zafiro, Jade and Turquesa dispatch Jackal. As a result, Vogel decides to cancel Cyberbiotics' rain forest operation. After sundown, the travelers depart. But they bring Jade and Turquesa along to transplant samples of the rain forest flora in Avalon. They arrive on the mystic island at dawn and Goliath, Angela and Bronx sleep through the Avalonian day. Elisa introduces Jade and Turquesa to Princess Katharine and the Guardian, and all spend the day scouting Avalon for a good location for the rain forest transplants.

MAY 25

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

May 25th...

1996
At sunrise, Goliath, Angela and Bronx turn to stone. But the Mayan gargoyles wear magic pendants that allow them to remain flesh, thanks to a missing Mayan Sun Amulet. During the day, Elisa watches Zafiro scare farmers away from the forest. Meanwhile, Hyena heads for New York in order to break into a museum and destroy the Sun Amulet. She's spotted by Broadway and Lexington.

MAY 24

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

May 24th...

1996
Goliath, Elisa, Angela and Bronx leave Avalon and arrive in the rain forests of Guatemala. There they encounter Zafiro, Obsidiana, Jade and Turquesa, the last surviving gargoyles of the Mayan Clan. Together, they fight off an incursion against the rain forest by Jackal, Hyena and loggers working for Cyberbiotics, under the management of Preston Vogel.

MAY 23

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

May 23rd...

1996
Helios, Kiron, Ekidna and other New Olympians riot over Elisa's presence on their island. Taurus responds by throwing Elisa in jail with the shape-shifting killer Proteus. Goliath attempts to break Elisa out but is instead tricked into releasing Proteus. The shape-shifter imprisons Goliath in his place, then takes on Goliath's form to fool Elisa. They escape together. But when "Goliath" fails to turn to stone at sunrise and reveals his plan to blow up the island, Elisa lures Taurus to Proteus and works with the Security Chief to recapture the shape-shifter. In gratitude for her actions, Boreas releases Elisa. At sundown, the travelers immediately depart for Avalon.

MAY 22

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

May 22nd...

1996
The travelers depart Avalon and land on the hidden island of New Olympus. Taurus, the New Olympian Chief of Security, arrests Elisa - simply for being human. Boreas, the leader of New Olympus, releases Elisa but refuses to allow her to leave the island.

MAY 21

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

May 21st...

1996
Goliath challenges Odin, and the two "gods" do battle. Goliath comes close to killing Odin, Elisa, Angela and Bronx, but comes to his senses at the last moment and removes the Eye. Odin places it back in his empty eye socket, neutralizing the Eye's transformative powers. Reconciled with his former opponent, Odin rides Sleipnir up the Rainbow Bridge at sunrise. The gargoyles and Elisa spend the day in Norway. When the sun sets they return to Avalon.

MAY 20

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

May 20th...

1996
Odin takes the form of a bear and attempts to battle Goliath for the Eye. He fails and so resorts to kidnapping Elisa with the help of his flying horse Sleipnir. With Elisa's life at stake, Goliath reluctantly dons the Eye himself. He is transformed into an Avatar of Odin's power. That power immediately begins to change him into an uber-version of himself. He successfully rescues Elisa and chases Odin away but still refuses to remove the Eye. When the sun rises, he does not turn to stone. He quickly becomes obsessed with protecting his friends. He even generates a storm of his own to trick Elisa, Angela, Bronx and the Sturlusons into fleeing to a nearby cave, where Goliath imprisons them.

CORRECTIONS...

Hey gang,

Just picked up a copy of Gargoyles #4. I'm pretty happy with it, but there were a couple of productions errors that I'm not-so-happy with.

First and foremost, the credits are in error. The interior of the book was pencilled and inked by guest artist Nir Paniry, not by our regular penciller David Hedgecock. I think Nir did a terrific job, and he deserves credit for his work. My apologies go out to both Nir and David.

Second, the Gargoyles logo and the title of the issue "Clan-Building Chapter Four: Masque" were somehow DROPPED off of page five of the book. (There are two empty black-spaces where they were supposed to go.) It's not as serious an error as the credit snafu, but it's something else that myself and the team regret.

We'll try to make sure that nothing like this happens again.

MAY 17

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

May 17th...

1996
The gargoyles, Mazas and were-panthers converges on the ancient ruins of Kara Digi. There they discover that Fara was largely manipulated by the Spider-Trickster Anansi. All concerned join forces to defeat Anansi. Fara and Tea remain were-panthers but are reconciled and vow to protect the jungle. Just before sunrise, Goliath finally acknowledges Angela as his daughter. After sunrise, Elisa tells her mother everything about her life with the gargoyles. At sunset, Elisa and the gargoyles once more return to Avalon. Diane Maza phones New York, informing her husband of Elisa's situation. Peter Maza contacts Matt Bluestone and Talon. Matt contacts Brooklyn, Lex, Broadway and Hudson.

MAY 15

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

May 15th...

1996
St. Damien's Cathedral is condemned as unsafe.

MAY 14

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

May 14th...

1996
Demona starts Sevarius on a little side project: the creation of the carrier virus, CV-1000.

MAY 13

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

May 13th...

1995
Thailog has reached full gargoyle adolescence. A discoloration of skin and hair is the only side effect of the accelerated growth.

1996
Attracted by multiple reports of gargoyle sightings in Manhattan, the Canmore siblings begin making inquiries and creating the false identities they will need to find Demona there and destroy her.

ANIMECENTRAL

Hey gang,

This coming weekend, May 11-13th, I'll be in Chicago attending AnimeCentral.

Check out their website: http://www.acen.org/

And if you're in the area, please stop by and say hello. It's a big con, but I may get lonely...

Greg

MAY 8

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

May 8th...

1996
Xanatos begins to actively search the globe for Coldstone.

MAY 6

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

May 6th...

1996
Tomas Brod, his men and his hovercraft arrive in Manhattan from Prague and immediately starts a turf war with Tony Dracon's men.

MAY 1

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

May 1st...

1776
Adam Weishaupt founds the Bavarian Illuminati.

1996
Hakon's spirit reaches out across the globe and senses that his descendant Wolf shares his hatred of Goliath. He summons Wolf to Wyvern Hill in Scotland. Meanwhile, Goliath, Elisa, Angela and Bronx depart from Avalon and arrive in Australia. There they encounter the Matrix phenomena created by a pregnant Fox and her mother Anastasia Renard.

APRIL 30

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

April 30th...

1804
Philibert Aspairt's body is found in the Paris catacombs, very close to an exit.

1996
Per Owen's instructions, Iron Clan Robots are stored at strategic locations near the Eyrie Building.

APRIL 29

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

April 29th...

1996
Per Owen's instructions, a working force field is installed at the Eyrie Building.

APRIL 25

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

April 25th...

1058
Canmore is crowned High King of Scotland as Malcolm III.

1996
The Banshee informs Puck that the Gathering is at hand.

APRIL 23

(Whoops... this got by me somehow...)

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

April 23rd...

1016
The English King Aethelred dies, widowing Queen Emma. England is split between the English choice Edmund Ironside and the Danish choice Canute.

APRIL 13

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

April 13th...

1951
The Stone of Destiny is recovered at Arbroath Abbey and returned to Westminster Abbey.

APRIL 7

A new OCCASIONAL feature here at ASK GREG...

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

April 7th...

1786
The curate of the Archbishop of Paris consecrates the Paris catacombs as tombs.

DONE... for now...

Wow. They said it couldn't be done! But I did it! I caught up!!!!!

The ASK GREG queue is empty! I'm going to take a week or so off. Then we will open the queue again in time for the release of issue #3 of the Gargoyles comic book on March 28th. How long we leave it open will depend on how quickly the site floods.

I'll talk about this more when we open, but please question responsibly.

THE BIG BAD GOOD NEWS...

Hey gang,

JUST got back from WONDERCON. Made a few announcements there, that I want to repeat here...

GARGOYLES: BAD GUYS

SLG will be releasing a new spin-off of Gargoyles. GARGOYLES: BAD GUYS. This will be a six issue bi-monthly limited series in black and white. I'm writing the title, with art by Karine Charlebois and tones by Stephanie Lostimolo. Covers (as always) by Greg Guler, colored (yes, colored) by Stephanie.

Gargoyles will remain a bi-monthly book (in color). (More on this in a second.) And Bad Guys will come out bi-monthly on the main title's dark months, so for a year you'll have SOME Garg Universe product coming out every month.

Now, I'm sure you have questions... So I'm going to TRY to preempt some of them here:

1. HOW CAN YOU START A SPIN-OFF WHEN YOU'RE BEHIND SCHEDULE ON THE REGULAR BOOK?

Fair question. But I personally am NOT behind schedule on the regular book. In fact, I'm way ahead of schedule. Here's where things stand.

Issue #3 is done and has been for weeks. We're simply waiting on Disney to "approve" the issue. There's no mystery or conspiracy here. There's just, I'm guessing, a guy in an office who is swamped with things to approve and isn't making the SLG properties (Gargoyles, Tron, Wonderland, Haunted Mansion) a priority.

Issue #4 is being colored and lettered and should be done within a couple of weeks. Since it doesn't need to go out for two months, that should give Disney plenty of time to approve it.

Issue #5 is being inked.

Issues #6 and #7 have both been scripted and pencilling has started on each.

Issue #1 of Bad Guys has also been scripted.

I will start on issue #8 of Gargoyles next, then #2 of Bad Guys, #9 of Gargoyles and etc.

I'll stay ahead, and hopefully so will everyone else and what that means generally is that barring something totally unforseen, we should be on schedule from here on out.

And, yes, David Hedgecock had delivery issues Gargoyles #2. But this was due to him having to split his time between a day job to pay the bills and his gig on the book. David has now taken the EXTRAORDINARY step of quitting his day job to dedicate his time to Gargoyles. Since we also have fill-in artists on issues #4-6, David is getting right to work on issue #7 and he will no longer be the cause of any delays.

On top of this, Dan Vado has stated that he has every intention of picking up the Gargoyles' license when it comes up for renewal.

I don't want to get complacent, but really this is all good news. It looks like we should be around for a while.

And I actually think that Bad Guys will help us out. We will in essence become a monthly title (at least sort of), which will get readers in the habit of picking up something Gargesque every month. That HABIT should help. At least that's the theory.

2. WHY BAD GUYS? I WANTED TIMEDANCER*! (*Feel free to substitute NEW OLYMPIANS, DARK AGES, PENDRAGON, 2198.)

The main answer is chronology. I have this timeline. And the Bad Guys story I'll be telling in this six issue mini-series is happening in late '96, early '97. This is the story that NEEDS to be told now. I hope you like it. AND I hope you'll support it. Because if this limited series does well, then GARGOYLES: PENDRAGON is next in line. And after that GARGOYLES: TIMEDANCER. (That's as far out as I've allowed myself to think up to this point.) If the limited series doesn't do well, then it'll be the last one... and I'll eventually incorporate events from Pendragon, etc. into the main Gargoyles book. But I'm hopeful that that won't be necessary. And I hope that those of you who've seen the Gargoyles reel at a Gathering can tell those who have never attended one of our great (www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com) conventions just how cool Bad Guys really is.

3. WHEN WILL GARGOYLES: BAD GUYS PREMIERE?

Karine is inking Gargoyles #5 now -- which shows what a trooper she is, since she JUST gave birth a few days ago! As soon as she's done with G#5, she'll start on BG#1. Our hope is that Bad Guys #1 can come out in the dark month between either Gargoyles #6 & #7 or -- at the latest -- between #7 and #8. We certainly plan to tease and pimp Bad Guys at the 2007 Gathering in Pigeon Forge!

So, if all goes well...

Gargoyles #3 - March
Gargoyles #4 - May
Gargoyles #5 - July
Gargoyles #6 - September
Bad Guys #1 - October
Gargoyles #7 - November
Bad Guys #2 - December
Gargoyles #8 - January, 2008
Bad Guys #3 - February, 2008
Gargoyles #9 - March, 2008
Bad Guys #4 - April, 2008
Gargoyles #10 - May, 2008
Bad Guys #5 - June, 2008
Gargoyles #11 - July, 2008
Bad Guys #6 - August, 2008
Gargoyles #12 - September, 2008
Pendragon #1 - October, 2008
etc.

Is there an element of wishful thinking here? Well... duh. But it's not unrealistic either. This is the plan. I mean to do everything in my power to stick to it, and everyone else involved feels the same way. Can't make ABSOLUTE guarantees of course. But I can promise you that I'm passionate about this project, about making it the best it can be both creatively and financially.

4. WHY BLACK AND WHITE?

This is largely an economic decision. Printing in multi-color costs WAY more than printing in B&W, and that reduces greatly SLG's profit margin and ability to put out the titles without over-extending their resources.

Creatively, however, I was completely behind the decision. Though I feel strongly that the main GARGOYLES title should be in color, I think the subject matter of Bad Guys can work terrifically in b&w. Again, if you've seen the Bad Guys reel at the Gathering, you'll have some idea of what this book can be -- even without full color. Plus we will have color covers, so you will get a sense of what our characters look like in color.

5. UH... I CAN'T THINK OF A #5 AT THE MOMENT.

BUT I'M SURE YOU GUYS WILL. The good news is that I'm getting through the ASK GREG back log at a pretty steady pace. I'm hoping to have the site open for questions shortly. And we'll definitely open it up (at least briefly) when issue #3 hits the stores.

NEXT TOPIC...

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

The following press release came out late last week...

KIDS' WB! ON THE CW NETS NEW SPIDER-MAN
ANIMATED SERIES FOR EARLY 2008 PREMIERE

Culver Entertainment Widens Renowned Marvel Hero's Web from Blockbuster Films
to No. 1 Rated Saturday Morning Broadcast Kids Network

BURBANK, CA (MARCH 1, 2007) - Spider-Man swings back into television action in early 2008 as an animated series from Culver Entertainment to air on Kids' WB! on The CW, it was announced today by Kids' WB! Senior Vice President and General Manager Betsy McGowen and Sony Pictures Television Co-President Zack Van Amburg.

Tentatively titled "The Amazing Spider-Man," the new series is being produced by Culver Entertainment. Greg Weisman ("Gargoyles", "The Batman") is supervising producer, Victor Cook ("Hellboy: Blood and Iron" and "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command") is producer/supervising director. The series will premiere on Kids' WB! on The CW, the No.1 rated Saturday morning kids broadcast slate.

"The addition of 'Spider-Man' bolsters a lineup that has proved to be the Saturday morning destination for kids seeking action and adventure in the most amped-up ways," McGowen said. "We're ecstatic to welcome 'Spider-Man' to our popular cavalcade of super heroes."

"Spider-Man is such an important brand for Sony Pictures and we're thrilled to keep the momentum going by taking it back to television with an animated series on Kids' WB!," Van Amburg said. "It's also an excellent way to launch Culver Entertainment, our newest television company."

Riding the crest of Sony's anticipated summer blockbuster "Spider-Man 3," the new animated series picks up the original web-slinger's mythology at the beginning of his hero's journey - as a not-so-typical 16-year-old entering his junior year of high school. Having spent the summer engaging common criminals with his new-found powers, Peter Parker must conceal his secret identity while engaging a new level of terror - the multi-leveled pressures of teenage life at home and school while combating bigger, badder super-villains in the real world.

"Our goal is to reinterpret these great characters and concepts for our millennium," Weisman said. "We'll have plenty of resonant material for the Spider-Man fan, while engaging the Spider-Man novice with the same thrills we experienced when we were first exposed to the character. Our stories will appeal on multiple levels with plenty of eye-candy, action, humor and colorful characters for the youngest demographic balanced with extensive character development for 'tweens, teens and adults."

Culver Entertainment is a Sony Pictures Television company. Sony Pictures Television is one of the television industry's leading content providers. It produces and distributes programming in every genre, including series, telefilms, theatrical releases and family entertainment for network and cable television, as well as first-run and off-network series for syndication. With more than 25 programs on the air, SPT boasts a program slate that includes the top-rated daytime dramas and game shows, landmark off-network series, original animated series and critically acclaimed primetime dramas, comedies and telefilms. SPT (www.sonypicturestelevision.com) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company.

A leader in children's programming, Kids' WB! continues to be a unique destination for kids. Kids' WB!, now airing on The CW Network, has been the broadcast home for such cornerstone hits as the blockbusters "Pokémon" and "Yu-Gi-Oh!," Emmy® Award-winners "Xiaolin Showdown" and "The Batman," culturally diverse series "Jackie Chan Adventures" and "¡Mucha Lucha! Gigante," and breakout hits "Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get A Clue!" and "Legion of Super Heroes," among other favorites. Kids and their parents can find more information about Kids' WB! programming online at www.KidsWB.com.

We're still in very early days on Spidey, but I'm tremendously excited about the project. I hope you're looking forward to it, as much as I am.

That's it for now,

gdw

WONDER-CON

Hey gang,

I'll be appearing at Wonder-Con this coming weekend, March 2-4, 2006 in San Francisco.

I've got a couple panels on Saturday the 3rd at 3 and 4pm. One's an animation panel moderated by Shan Muir and featuring many animation pros, and the other is a spotlight panel moderated by Dan Vado of SLG.

For more info, check out: http://www.comic-con.org/

If you're in the neighborhood stop by, say hello, introduce yourself, get something signed or whatever!!

Greg

My Apologies...

It's been pointed out to me that one of my recent responses came across as harsh, as if I was trying to blame the fandom for the lack of sales on the DVDs. If so, I apologize. I didn't feel like I was blaming the fandom. I'm sorry if it came off that way. And I'm not saying I think Disney shouldn't have promoted the first two releases more. Of course, I think they should have. But I also can't lie and say they dropped a ball they NEVER intended to carry. I convinced Disney that there was a substantial built in audience for the DVDs. Perhaps I was wrong. I'm not trying to blame the fandom so much as get them to think in terms of more productive solutions. Just sitting around and blaming Disney isn't productive.

But again, if I came across as blaming the fandom, I truly apologize. That was never my intent.

gdw