MechaCon 2013

I'll be attending Mecha-Con from August 23-25th, 2013, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

http://www.mechacon.com/

Here's my schedule:

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2013
Acting, Writing, Directing and Producing Animation 03:00pm - 04:00pm
Secondary Events/1st Floor
w/New Generation Pictures' Jonathan Klein and Hynden Walsh, the voice of Princess Bubblegum and Starfire, among many others.

Opening Ceremonies and Formal/Semi-Formal Dinner 05:30pm - 08:00pm
Main Events/1st Floor

Dolldelight FashionShow 07:00pm - 08:00pm
Main Events/1st Floor

GoldPass Meet-n-Greet 08:00pm - 09:30pm
Tertiary Events/1st Floor

SATURDAY, AUGUST 24, 2013
Voice Acting and the Industry 01:00pm - 02:00pm
Panel Room 1/3rd Floor
w/Jonathan Klein, Hynden Walsh and Tommy Yune of Robotech fame, etc.

Voice Directing for TV Animation, Anime and Video Games 03:00pm - 04:00pm
Panel Room 3/3rd Floor
w/Jonathan Klein

Signing 04:00pm - 05:00pm
Signing Room

*5 of the Best Anime English Dubs You've Probably Never Heard of
Panel Room 1/3rd Floor
Presented by Jonathan Klein
*I might be at this one. Might not.

Star Wars Rebels 07:00pm - 08:00pm
Panel Room 1/3rd Floor

Gargoyles 19th Anniversary: Stone by Day, Warriors by Night 09:00pm - 10:00pm
Panel Room 1/3rd Floor

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013
Young Justice: Combating the Light 10:00am - 11:00am
Panel Room 3/3rd Floor

The Animation of Disney, DC, Marvel and Beyond 11:00am - 12:00pm
Panel Room 1/3rd Floor
w/Hynden Walsh

Charity Auction 01:00pm - 04:00pm
Main Events/1st Floor

Anyway, if you're around New Orleans, stop by. I think it's going to be a great con. And if you're AT the con, stop by and say hello. I'm much nicer in person than I am here at ASK GREG. Everyone thinks so.

"Don't Lick the Torah"

A serialized story in tweets. Part One. In my family, we have a saying: "Don't lick the Torah."
"Don't lick the Torah!" Part Two: This expression originated on the eve of my daughter's Bat Mitzvah. She was very anxious...
"Don't lick the Torah!" Part Three: I said to @BandgeekErin "What's the worst that could happen? You could lick the Torah." She replied...
"Don't lick the Torah!" Part Four: @BandgeekErin replied, "I'd never do that!" So I said, "Then what are you worried about?"...
"Don't lick the Torah!" Part Five: So in our family, that became our recurring metaphor for "Don't worry about it." Then tonight...
"Don't lick the Torah!" Part Six: Tonight, @BandgeekErin was saying her boyfriend was nervous about meeting me. (He doesn't know that...
"Don't lick the Torah!" Part Seven: @BandgeekErin 's nervous boyfriend doesn't know I already like him.) I told her to tell him...
"Don't lick the Torah!" Part Eight: Told @BandgeekErin to tell him not to lick the Torah. THEN my wife says that today at the pre-school...
"Don't lick the Torah!" Part Nine: Today at the Jewish pre-school where my wife works, she took out the Torah for Shabbat, and one of...
"Don't lick the Torah!" Part Ten: My wife took out the Torah, and one of her two-year-old students licked it. The End.

Here, at ASK GREG, I have the room to embellish this story. But, really... what more do you need to know?

Maybe this: I'll be meeting @BandgeekErin's nervous boyfriend for the first time at MechaCON, where I'll be a guest, doing multiple panels and at least one signing!!

http://www.mechacon.com/

More details shortly!!

San Diego ComicCon 2013

My schedule for San Diego ComicCon 2013 is pretty lean, actually. I hope you guys visiting the con will stop by and say hello!

THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013
02:30pm - 04:00pm - Signing at the SLG Booth

FRIDAY, JULY 19, 2013
04:00pm - 05:30pm - Signing at the SLG Booth

SATURDAY, JULY 20, 2013
11:00am - Unofficial/Official Young Justice Meet-up* behind the convention center.
02:30pm - 04:00pm - Signing at the SLG Booth

*There's a map here: https://twitter.com/BrandonVietti/status/355962489235718144/photo/1
Both Brandon Vietti and myself will be there. And we're also rallying as many members of the cast and crew to come as we can find in San Diego.
Hoping for a big YJ fan turnout - especially those cos-playing as YJ characters!!
Think of it as ASK GREG LIVE plus ASK BRANDON and ASK ARTEMIS (Stephanie Lemelin) and many, many more...

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.)

GARGOYLES NEWS - DVDS and CONvergence/Gathering

Well, I've been out of the country and OUT OF THE LOOP, but we have some REALLY BIG news on the GARGOYLES front.

Season Two, Volume Two of Gargoyles has been released on DVD as a Disney Movie Club exclusive. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm planning on getting at least a couple copies, as I'm told by reliable fan sources who have already received their disks that these are the uncut and correct versions of the last twenty-six episodes of Season Two, including such fan favorites as "M.I.A.", Future Tense" and all three parts of "Hunter's Moon".

Wish I knew more. I've e-mailed a Disney contact for more info but haven't received a response yet. But you can probably find all the information you need by asking the fans in the comment room:

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

Anyway, as always, I'm not asking you to spend money you don't have. But if you can afford it, please help us prove to Disney that Gargoyles is a viable property with a strong fanbase. You can do that in two important ways. (1) Buy the DVDs, of course. And (2) SPREAD THE WORD! Use Tumbler, Twitter, Pony Express, whatever. Just help us let people know that these DVDs exist and are out there for sale.

AND MORE BIG NEWS...

I was waiting until CONvergence was over on Sunday to announce this, but it seems they've already made the announcement here:

https://twitter.com/GargoylesNews/status/353393780675715074/photo/1

Next summer, one of my favorite conventions, CONVERGENCE in Minneapolis, will be dedicating their annual convention to the theme of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". And a major part of that theme will be the celebration of the TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF GARGOYLES!!! I'm going to be a guest of the convention, and we've already begun discussions to create a Gargoyles convention within the convention. That's right, folks, the GATHERING OF THE GARGOYLES is back!! There will be a RADIO PLAY! There will be a BLUE MUG!! There will be the ROCKY HORROR GARGOYLES SHOW-ING OF THE TRADITIONAL VIDEOS!! There will be ASK GREG LIVE!! And there will be other Gargoyles related guests to be announced!!!

If you came to any one of the thirteen Gatherings that we held between 1997 and 2009, you know how much fun this can be. You'll want to be there again! If you missed the Gatherings and always wished you had had the opportunity, now is your chance! If you've never heard of the Gathering, but like Gargoyles (or any of the other shows I've done or am doing - including W.I.T.C.H., Spectacular Spider-Man, Young Justice, Rain of the Ghosts and/or Star Wars Rebels, etc.) then this is an opportunity to talk with me and other like-minded fans about them. (We'll probably have panels on them all!)

And if you're interested in just attending a great comic book and science fiction and fantasy and genre convention, then Gargoyles aside, you just can't beat CONvergence:

http://convergence-con.org/

The camaraderie of the Gatherings was truly something wonderful, and the closest I've ever come to that outside the Gatherings is CONvergence. I honestly can't think of a better con to merge with, even if it's just for one year. (For starters, the ENTIRE hotel is rented to the convention, and the parties go on all night. No more being told by management that we have to stop talking and/or move to some other location. We can and will continue until we drop!)

Now, let's think. Let's strategize. CONvergence is going on NOW. As I type this. And it will last through the end of this July 4th weekend. Next year's convention is exactly one year away. That's plenty of time to plan, to save up money, make travel and hotel arrangements etc. But mostly, what we've got to do in that year is SPREAD THE WORD!!! I want to see a HUGE GARGOYLE FAN TURNOUT at CONvergence 2014. Let's stun CONvergence, the world and DISNEY by showing them how immensely popular Gargoyles still is. And for sure, I don't want any Gargoyles fan saying, "Gee, I didn't hear about it."

So help me, please. I'm sure there are a lot of old fans out there that long ago stopped reading ASK GREG. Contact them. Contact EVERY Gargoyles fan you know, young and/or old. (Don't assume they must already know.) I want to see all my old friends. And a lot of new ones. So, please. Help me. SPREAD. THE. WORD!!!!!!

GREG'S DENVER COMIC CON 2013 SCHEDULE...

GREG'S DENVER COMIC CON 2013 SCHEDULE...
Hey, gang! As many of you know, I'm leaving tomorrow morning for Denver Comic Con. At last year's inaugural convention in Denver, I had a ton of fun with Khary "Aqualad" Payton and Greg Guler. They're both coming back this year, but other guests include Young Justice comic book artist Christopher Jones, Phil "Reach Ambassador" LaMarr, Dee Bradley "Desaad" Baker and Kelly "Cheshire" Hu. And, really, that's just the tip of the ol' iceberg. Check out the website here:

http://www.denvercomiccon.com/

Anyway, here's my schedule for the weekend:

FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2013
ASK GREG LIVE 05:00pm - 05:50pm
Room 105, m/p
We had fun doing this more casually at WonderCon, so here we'll make it official

SIGNING 06:00pm - 06:50pm
Floor Table
I was planning to bring stuff to sell and sign, but I've just been so swamped that I didn't get my act together. But I'll sign (FOR FREE) anything you bring over to my table and wave under my nose (politely). Don't know exactly which table is mine yet, but I'll announce it at ASK GREG LIVE and TWEET it.

CARTOON VOICES 07:00pm - 07:50pm
Main Events, m/p
Me wrangling a bunch of talented voice actors!

FOUR COLOR MIXER 09:00pm - 11:30pm
Atrium Alcove Embassy Suites
Downtown Convention Center - 4th Floor
1420 Stout St., Denver, CO 80202

SATURDAY, JUNE 01, 2013
WEB COMICS 11:30am - 12:20pm
Room 104-106, m
I'm just moderating this one, but it should be fun.

STAR WARS ILLUSTRATION 01:00pm - 01:50pm
Room 504, m
The funny thing is, I was asked to moderate this LONG BEFORE I had my current #StarWarsRebels gig.

YOUNG JUSTICE 03:00pm - 03:50pm
Room 108-110, m/p
At minimum, you'll have me and Chris and Khary. But I'll try and pull a few more folks in too.

PHINEAS & FERB 04:00pm - 04:50pm
Stylin' Online Room (501+502), m
Moderating this panel, which includes Greg Guler and Kelly Hu.

THE FUTURE OF STAR WARS 05:00pm - 05:50pm
Hard Rock Café Room (506-507), p
Okay, now, this one I wasn't invited to participate on until AFTER I got my current #StarWarsRebels gig.

WRITING COMICS 06:30pm - 07:20pm
Room 104-106, p
A real all-star group of comics writing professionals. I'm probably the guy on the panel with the LEAST experience.

YJ MEET UP 07:30pm
Room 104
Chris Jones, myself and maybe a few other YJ types will be meeting up with YJ fans and cosplayers just to HANG OUT and SHOOT the $#!+. Chris and I did something similar at the Doctor Who Conventions, and it was a lot of fun.

SUNDAY, JUNE 02, 2013
CARTOON VOICES 10:00am - 10:50am
Room 108-110, m/p
Me wrangling a different group of talented voice actors!

DIVERSITY IN COMICS AND ANIMATION 12:00pm - 12:50pm
Room 504, m
This is a topic near and dear to my heart. Technically, I'm only moderating. But I plan on participating too!

ANIMATION ART 03:00pm - 03:50pm
Hard Rock Café Room (506-507), m
Moderating this panel of talented artists too!

COMICS FOR EVERYONE 04:00pm - 04:50pm
Room 103, m
And I'm moderating this last panel, as well.

NOTES: m = moderator, p = panelist. And I'll probably do more than just the one signing Friday. I'll tweet about that whenever I'm at my table.

So, if you're anywhere near Denver, please stop by! Say hello. If we've met before, I apologize in advance if I don't remember everyone's name. But reintroduce yourself. Eventually, I do catch on! And I want to meet you and say hello!

Denver Comic Con

With WonderCon in my rearview mirror - and April Fool's Day over too - it's time to do a little promotion for my NEXT appearance, i.e. Denver Comic Con.

Here are some details:

DENVER COMIC CON
May 31 - June 2 - Colorado Convention Center - Denver, CO
www.denvercomiccon.com

Other guests include Stan Lee, Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day, George Takei and more! Tickets are on sale now!

If anyone wants to tweet and re-tweet about Denver Comic Con using the registered hashtags, that'd be great:
#DCC2013
#DenverComicCon
#DenverLovesComics

Or share the offical Denver Comic Con event page with other fans & friends:
https://www.facebook.com/events/261237947343786/

Let's help make DCC a great success!

And count on another ASK GREG LIVE event (or some equivalent) there, as well.

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.