A Station Eight Fan Web Site

Gargoyles

The Phoenix Gate

Ask Greg Archives

Gathering 2008

Archive Index


: « First : Displaying #6 - #15 of 56 records. : 10 » : Last » :


Posts Per Page: 1 : 10 : 25 : 50 : All :


Bookmark Link

Greg Bishansky writes...

My Gathering Journal. Part of this was written in the hotel on Thursday night. Part of it at the airport before heading home, and the rest from home. So if it seems a little disjointed, that's why.

My Gathering Journal, Day One.
So, I'm here in Chicago. Operating on no hours of sleep.

At 4am, my roommate, Dustin, drops me off at LAX so I can catch my flight to Chicago. American Airlines. I hate American Airlines. Been spoiled by JetBlue, and honestly, I've never before been nervous about flying. I had a window seat, and the wing looked like it was about to fall off. I couldn't sleep (and already I was up for twenty four hours). The guy behind me was sleeping well... everyone on board heard him. I tried to read, but couldn't concentrate, was just too exhausted.

After a four hour flight that felt more like twelve, we landed. My day began getting much better, my suitcase was one of the first off the plane. That never, ever happened to me before. I caught a car service from O'Hare airport to the Hotel Orrington. My driver took the back roads, because the traffic on the freeway was murder, as the rest of the con staff would soon find out (Feel free to insert a joke about my driving here, Greg ;)). On the way, the driver and I discuss International oil politics and Barack Obama. We also drive through the town where, as he pointed out, Hillary Clinton was born.

Finally, I am dropped off at the hotel, and I immediately run into my fellow staffers, Susan Leonard and Patrick Toman. I check in, bump into Rob, and we catch up. It was fun. I shower, shave and change, because I'm rank from the flight, and greet Jennifer, Seth and Sammy. They check in and we take their bags up stairs. I get to hear all about how their plane was late taking off, and when they landed, they spent half an hour on the tarmac. I was glad I came on a different flight. And then, of course, they got stuck in traffic. Naturally, they were starved when they arrived.

Everyone kept trickling in. Karine Charlebois showed up, and Jen's roommate, Rebok. Eventually, everyone except Nikki was present.

So, we go to dinner. Sushi. There were about fourteen of us. Let's see: Greg Weisman, Jen, Karine, Thom Adcox, Seth, Sammy, Patrick, Rebok, Josh Silver (Hollywood producer and Keith David's agent) and eventually Keith David showed up with his wife and kids. We sat down, ate sushi, had a lot of laughs. Toasted to a wonderful weekend. Hey, any weekend that begins with booze and raw fish is incapable of sucking.

Except for one minor annoyance, this con looks like it's off to a great start. Now... well, we're all off to bed because, well, we're old... and tired. And have a long day tomorrow.

My Gathering Journal, Day Two
Writing from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.

So, I woke up, showered, shaved and joined the staff for breakfast. An apple, coffee and pastries. The staff breakfast meeting is a tradition. Though we're mostly laughing while discussing business. With that over, the art show is set up, and, that minor annoyance from the previous night... got a short but stern talking to.

I'm mostly blanking out about the day, but I saw a lot of people. My roommates, Revel and Spacie arrived. I saw Aaron, Mara, Lynati, Emambu, CKayote, Matt, Mandi, damn... a lot of people.

At 5pm, Opening Ceremonies started. The staff sat in front of the room this year, which has happened previous years, but never when I was on. So, that was kind of cool. Susan introduced us, and the guests. Greg Weisman, Keith David, Josh Silver, Thom Adcox and Karine Charlebois. Then, Jennifer got up and introduced next year's victims... er, I mean, con staff, yeah. I am one of them, so, yeah... staffing another Gathering. I am a masochist.

As usual, Opening Ceremonies consisted of Greg's videos. The original Gargoyles pitch. The press release tape. The New Olympians and Dark Ages pitches. The Bad Guys animatic. And "The Last"... which the fandom is finishing for Greg.

Afterwards, I was starving. So, Aaron, Emambu, Lynati, and... er, two newbies whose names I don't recall went searching for pizza. I wanted to try the Chicago Pizza. I did, and it was good. I liked it. But, I like New York pizza better. I've actually gotten into the pizza debate before with my classmate and director, Bill Castanzo. He never tried NY pizza. I never tried Chicago pizza. But, like Harlan Ellison says, "you're not entitled to an opinion. You are entitled to an informed opinion." Well, now my opinion is informed. ;)

We returned to the hotel room, and were joined by Revel and Spacie. We chatted, chilled, watched Cookie Monster's appearance on "The Colbert Report" and, eventually I plead exhaustion and we kicked everyone out and went to bed.

Heh, reading that last paragraph... the real exhaustion will come on Sunday night/Monday morning. But, not getting ahead of myself ;)

My Gathering Journal, Day Three.
Again, got up early and I want to profess my undying love to something very important to me. Something which, without, I would not have had the same joy working on this con as I have. I am of course referring to coffee. The Con Staffer's best friend. The filmmakers' best friend to, for that matter.

So, after the staff breakfast was over, I spent the beginning of the day doing crowd control for the Radio Play auditions. Which meant getting to converse with people, and meet some new people... with one glaring exception, everyone was cool. Finally, I decided to audition, myself. Not seriously though, considering that I already knew what this year's Radio Play was, I knew I had no chance in hell. So... I decided that I would just have fun, and provide a laugh for Greg, Thom, Keith and Jen. I auditioned for Angela... and sucked... but we all laughed.

Next, I went to Karine's panel on Comic Page Layout. As a long time comic book reader, who has mostly paid attention to the writing aspect, this was very informative. She's a talented artist, and while at one point she got quite envious of Greg Guler's "powers," I am confident that she will get there. Her comic art is getting better with each issue she does, and I say this as someone who has always been a fan of her art.

There was a brief incident during the panel, where someone tried to steal the comics she had on the table. I watched him slowly, and subtly stuff them into his bag. I wasn't going to interrupt Karine's panel to call him out on it, but I had full intention of making him give them back the second the panel was over. But, Karine noticed they were gone, asked who had them, everyone pointed at him, and he gave them back.

Afterwards, I spent time helping out in the Art/Dealers Room. A lot of great art. I bid on pieces Karine brought. An awesome shot of Hunter, and page 3 of "Bash," Thailog and the clones standing over a fallen Goliath trying to hold his guts in, and blood dripping off Thailog's blade. Or, as it was later known... "Keith on Keith right after penetration." ;)

I went to the men's room somewhere around here. Normally, I would not report on this, but, this will be funny at the end of this entry. Trust me. The urinals made this creepy scream that could be heard as the urinals flushed. Again, bear with me.

Finally, it was time for the Radio Play. Issues 7, 8 and 9. Chronological order. The play was terrific. Keith was Goliath and Thailog. Phoenix Talon reprised her role as Elisa from last year. Jen was terrific as Shari. Thom as Lex. Seth did a great job as Amp. Emambu turned on his Scottish as Macbeth. Laurean as Constance... awesome.

The play itself, I liked. But, now I understand why Greg chose to tell the story in the comics the way he did. It just did not work in chronological order. We had several Shari stories in a row. Good thing Jen is great at monologuing. And every time she got up to tell one of Shari's stories... the wind and the rain could be heard. Something supernatural was going on there ;)

Issue 9... wow. Just... wow. I'm not saying another word until it hits the stands.

Once the Radio Play was over, it was time for the staff dinner. Susan bought the staff dinner at Pete Miller's steak house. Damn... best meal I've had in ages. I had a lobster bisque to start. And a medium well Fillet Mignon. The mashed potatoes were awesome, garlic was mashed into them. The scotch was great. It was a good time.

Greg left early to get back to the Blue Mug. Eventually, the rest of us got back, a little drunk, but hey, the Blue Mug is always better when you're drunk. I say we have an open bar at it next time, get everyone to lower their inhibitions. Let's see how naughty the questions are then ;)

Greg left to use the men's room and came back and reported the same thing about the urinals but was able to place that scream. The urinals sound like that scream the Green Goblin's pumpkin bombs make when they explode. Creepy.

Eventually, we went to bed.

My Gathering Journal, Day Four.
You know the drill. Woke up, had breakfast. Talked about the previous night and the day's itinerary.

First up was the "Gargoyles & Bad Guys" Comic Book panel with Greg and Karine. Some news was divulged.

- The future of the comic is uncertain. SLG wants to renew. But, Disney is now starting their own comic book company and might no longer want to license their properties out. Also, if Disney raises the licensing fee, SLG will have to decline. Greg is cautiously optimistic.

- Issue 9 will probably be David Hedgecock's last issue. For no other reason than he has problems meeting deadlines.

- The next spin-off is no longer "Pendragon." Greg has this "Dark Ages" story he needs to tell.

- There was another revelation, but... gotta wait for #9 to come out, folks ;)

Personally, if I had my pick, I'd make "Bad Guys" an on-going book. I am loving everything about it.

Next was the "Spectacular Spider-Man" panel. Greg told the story of Norman Osborn's chauffeur. The worst chauffeur ever. I'll admit, I cringed at first, because he's been making fun of me over this for five years now. But, then I realized, you know what, I am a moron. It's the good kind of poking fun, and it was in an episode of Spider-Man. Laughing with me, not at me. So, I got up, and took a bow...

... later on I told Greg that I received a phone call saying my house blew up, pieces of pumpkin debris were all over the place, and the neighbors reported the sound of a gigantic urinal. ;)

After that was over, I learned that Susan won the bidding war. Thailog and the clones standing over a bleeding Goliath was hers. I did end up going home with the beauty shot of the Eyrie Building from #5. And the page with Thailog's "moi".

After that, I was starving and needed lunch. A large group of us, Aaron, Mara, Revel Spacie, Lynati, Mandi, CKoyote, and Kimberly went to Paneira's for lunch. I then hurried back for the end of the auction and got my comics signed.

My favorite autographs:

"Worst chauffeur ever!"
- Greg Weisman
"But best reference finder ever!
- Karine Charlebois

Finally, it was down to my room to get ready for the banquet. Suit and tie, as always. The food was good, the company was great, and the trivia contest was fun to watch. By the time the thing ended, we were writing up new questions just to get it over with. Greg and I both wrote up the last question which ended the contest. I can't disclose that question here because it ties in with #9.

Afterwards, it was time for the masquerade. Mara, Aaron and Lynati came back to my room with Revel, Spacie and I to change. And then it was back down. We didn't have many costumes this year, but what we had was terrific. D.Taina was the spitting image of Shari; Odin had a fun skit; the Tourist Garg was great; but, my favorite had to be Karine as Hunter. If she were allowed to participate, she would have taken Best in Show in a heartbeat.

After that, it was dancing time. You know it's a nerd con when half the people are dancing, and the other half are in the corner playing video games. Guess which I did? I tried dancing. I have never danced before in my life. But, I figured I'd give it a try. I sucked at it, but I am thankful to Mara, Karine and Spacie for the quick dance lessons. I will do it again, of course.

Aaron did lure me over to the Mugen JEB brought with a challenge. Megatron vs Galvatron. We'd finally settle it. I was Galvatron... and I kicked his ass. Galvatron wins! ;)

Things wound down, people started going to bed. But a very small group of us ended up in Susan Leonard's room where we talked, laughed, drank a little and just enjoyed each other's company until 4am.

Gathering Jounal - The Conclusion
Wow, I was so overdue in finishing this.

So, after staying up till 4am the previous night, once again I was up at 8am. Grabbed a shower, and packed. Today was the last day of the con, and there was much to do.

First I raced upstairs and met up with Jen, Karine, Nikki and Patrick, and we went off in search of breakfast. I had bagels and lox. It was a good breakfast. While eating, the waiter over heard us talking about "Spectacular Spider-Man" and we pointed at Jen and said she worked on the show. After breakfast, it was up the art room to collect the art pieces I won. Two original pages from the comic, and an awesome piece of Hunter. All by Karine. Good stuff.

With all that out of the way, Revel and I searched for a non-existent Fed-Ex Kinkos. When we discovered that it was indeed non-existent, we ran for UPS so I could send a package home and get myself some big envelopes to protect the art I bought. As a result, we were late for the Blue Mug Productions panel.

The Blue Mug Productions panel was a lot of fun. On that panel were, as they've been dubbed, the three angels: Jen, Karine, and Mara. Also, we met Edmund Tsabard. Very fun panel.

Finally, it was time for Closing Ceremonies, which are always bitter sweet. Edmund ducked out, and Greg Weisman returned. Awards were given out. Revel, Karine and Mara cleaned up at the art awards. I won three awards for the two music videos I entered. "Gargoyles Comic Intro" won third place in action, and "Kill David" won both second place in action and third place in comedy. Susan Scoggins' "Demona - 1985" won a well-deserved Best In Show award. Now, I am plotting for the next music video contest. I have two ideas.

Finally, we talked about Gathering 2009, which will be back in my newly adopted city of Los Angeles: http://www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com/g2009/ so everyone register. After that, I made my way around the room saying my good byes. Lots of hugs. But, I had to run. My cab was waiting out front to take me to the airport.

And so, another Gathering come and gone. Well, until next year, anyway.

Greg responds...

FYI, Josh is Keith's manager, not his agent.

Response recorded on September 10, 2008

Bookmark Link

Charisma82 writes...

Hey! The past 2 years I have given a day by day report of what's gone on during the Gathering of the Gargoyles from a non-Gathering point of view. I'm not going to do that this year, seeing as nothing really happened and I don't want to bore anyone. I will say that I did get to do the same exact thing I did during last year's convention, and that was going to Disneyland. So I guess if you can't be at the Gathering, it's the next best thing, right? So, here's my best wishes to all who did go and here's hoping I will get to go next year (I really am going to make an effort to go this time). I'm glad you all had a good time.

Thank you for your time and all that you do.

-Charisma82

Greg responds...

Hey, if you're going to be in the L.A. area next summer, you have no excuse not to come to the Gathering -- beats Disneyland, I swear.

Response recorded on August 25, 2008

Bookmark Link

Revel writes...

Sunday like Saturday started with the Sun coming in very early and of course after 3 days you start getting less sleep and more worn out, but it's all worth it. Breakfast was Donuts at Dunkin Donuts and OJ, because I gots to have my juice in the morning if I can get it. I wanted to hit the the Gargoyles, Bad Guys comic panel, and I can't remember why I missed it, probably was just not keeping track of time.
Said my good mornings and complimented Siryn and Jen, because they are lovely ladies and earned a kiss from Jen (woot!) The first panel I got to was the Gargoyles Biology and I was really interested to hear what Lynati had planned and the questions that would be fielded. A great deal delt with the science of how the eye glow works along with some other points. Was a good panel.

We switched rooms afterwards for the Spider-man panel lead by Greg. While there was not much he could say about up coming stuff, naturally, it was good to discuss what could be discussed about season 1 including the transformation of Eddie Brock to Venom. I had misinterpreted the scene of Eddie and MJ on the bike as something vicious when it was just really Eddie being a dangerous, carless, reckless individual. I really can't wait to get the DVDs and see them again, always catch things you miss the first time round.

Michele convinced me to try the Iron Artist event again this year, it's goofy but really fun. The objective being that you are given a secret supply that you have to incorporate into a general theme. Everyone makes something a little different so it's fun. Some people came up with some very interesting ideas.

This was the first year I think I have skipped out on Banquet, money was tight this year so it was nothing personal against the food or those that set it up. Instead Michele and I went out to an Asian Fusion place called Koi. I had a tuna roll that was kind of disappointing. They substituted some of the tuna for cucumber which tasted good but I wanted just tuna and rice! My main dish was a Mongolian Chicken, big helping, very tasty.
I snuck in to the banquet hall at then end when they were playing trivia just to see what was going on. They soon cleared the room to set up a dance floor for the after dinner party.
Masquerade had some very nice costumes this time round, sadly only just a few. I really would like to rectify that next year and if not walk than at least just do like I did in 02 and just put SOMETHING on just to do so. Now, this should go without saying but I can't dance. I can have a good time and I certainly did, tearing the floor a little with a few different ladies and even Aaron for a bit, heh. We had a good time and a few of us, mostly guys were also distracted by a computer fighter simulator that featured something like 2000 possible fighters. It was insane the number of characters it had.
It was around midnight that I was worn out from moving and talking and the already cold room felt like it was just barely above freezing, crazy cold A/C. Some stayed and continued to chat the night away. It was really awesome how kind the hotel was to us, good service.

Monday

Not much happened on the last day, it is easily the most sad day where people leave and goodbyes are said. I wanted to make sure our bags were secured for later since the checkout was at noon. Gside was kind enough to hold our bags in his room since he was staying another night. Breakfast was once again Dunkin donuts for simplicity and lets be honest, they are pretty darn good. First up was the fanfiction panel with Lynati and Kimberly Towle. I kept most quiet at this one because there were certainly more experienced hands to speak up or give points.
Ran down stairs real quick to check out and grab the one piece of art that was not sold then ran back up to make the Blue Mug productions. Greg's alter ego Edmund and his Angels were the attraction to discuss a pay site that will feature new and original work done by some of the best fan artist and written by Greg W of the more Adult nature. More details on this will pop up later throughout the net.

Lastly was Closing Ceremonies. Awards to give away, a Pitch for next year in LA and general well wishes of a safe journey home. I won several ribbons including Best in Show for the painting which is sooooo freaking awesome and I really appreciate the compliments it received.
The only thing left to do then was hang out till the bus was suppose to arrive at 4:30pm. I however got a call from the shuttle company about 3pm that the bus they were going to send had a flat and they were not sending another… joy. They did however set up a cab and a flat rate of pay so that it would just be us going to the airport. My other have of the trip that was on my card was refunded later.
Made it to the airport in plenty of time, no real delays getting out and on the ground home right when we should have.

I had a wonderful time and hopefully all things will work out to come out to LA in 09!

Greg responds...

Dude, it wouldn't be the Gathering without you guys!

Response recorded on August 22, 2008

Bookmark Link

JEB writes...

Gathering 2008 Journal - Day Four and Four Plus One

Monday, June 30, 2008

Didn't have much motive to get moving earlier, so I didn't set out for the con areas until close to noon. I headed for the con suite with my card game, intending to try and demo it regardless of interest, but I found it was already closed up. So I picked up my Steel Clan figure and started asking around about the Navy Pier trip, with little in the way of definitive answers. I ran into Dracandros, Ed and Vince after the Blue Mug Productions panel wrapped up, brought my stuff back to my room, then went to their room to demo the card game to them. I wasn't able to drum up much interest, so we mostly watched episodes of Invader Zim instead.

Headed to the Closing Ceremonies, which went rather quickly - about 15 minutes - and mostly consisted of various awards which I am sure some other source will cover. I went to sign up for G2K8 (even if I don't go, they can use the money), only to find I was short on cash, so I went and retrieved my additional funds from the room safe. After paying, I hung out with Sarah the Great for a while and chatted, assuming the decent number of people hanging out in the Closing Ceremonies room were eventually going to the Navy Pier. I said bye to Aaron and to Emambu, and talked more with Sarah until a large group left, apparently for the airport. Sarah, a few others and I stuck around for a bit until heading for the lobby (Hobdemona's stuff was left there, but we made sure to tell him to grab it).

Hanging around the lobby, I saw Dracandros, Ed and Vince off to, I assumed, the Taste of Chicago, met up with Rob, and saw Phil off. Phil informed us that the Navy Pier trip was basically cancelled due to lack of interest, so everyone was going off and doing their own things. (One group went to the Field Museum, which would have been a rather good idea; Greg W. went somewhere with Patrick and Susan Leonard). So it was up to me and Rob to figure out how to use our now empty evening. We made one last run to the ninth, finding only one guy who was only there to retrieve his sunglasses. Rob and I resolved to meet later, probably for MUGEN, and in the meantime I updated my notes, did some Web sufing, took some pictures from the ninth floor (including the empty but still disorganized con rooms).

I ultimately met up with Rob for dinner, and we ate at a pizza place near the Hotel. Decent pizza, but a bit overpriced and with indifferent crust. We parted on our return (Rob had a cigar to smoke), but I later alerted Rob when I decided to hit Borders (figuring it'd be a good way to kill time until Dracandros and company returned - I was expecting to see a film with them, and the theatre was right across from Borders). He eventually met me there, and we talked a bit with each other and a young anime/manga fangirl before I bought a few items and we walked back.

I said goodbye to Rob, intending to spend the rest of the evening packing and sleeping. However, Dracandros and company finally returned, and they persuaded me to go see WALL-E against my better judgment. It was quite a good movie, but I was also correct in my suspicion that I'd return late enough to lose some sleep (I had to get up around 7 am to have time to catch my shuttle back to O'Hare). Regardless, I finished packing, spent a bit too long online, and eventually settled to sleep.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Got up, finished the last bit of packing, and got checked out and to the lobby with plenty of time. By total coincidence, I wound up returning on the Airport Express shuttle with Gside, and we chatted about various matters until we arrived. From that point, it's all airport stuff and plane stuff of little real interest until I returned...

Greg responds...

Sleep always seems to take a backseat... in my life at least.

Response recorded on August 22, 2008

Bookmark Link

JEB writes...

Gathering 2008 Journal - Day Three

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Forced myself out of bed a bit earlier so I could be sure to get to the Gargoyles and Bad Guys comic panel. Notable information:
- Bad Guys #4 is complete and will be out very soon. Bad Guys #5 is 3/4 inked, 1/4 still needing work, according to Karine. Bad Guys #6 was just over half scripted before Greg came to the con.
- Gargoyles #9 will be Hedgecock's final issue as artist; he simply can't keep up with the pace. Gargoyles #10 is being drawn at this time. Gargoyles #11 will be scripted after Greg finishes with Red Tornado #2. Greg doesn't know who will be doing the art for #11 or #12.
- Now that Disney has its own comic company ("Kingdom Comics", apparently), they may be reluctant to allow SLG to keep their license. Even if they let SLG keep it, they may increase the fee, in which case Dan Vado might have to drop it. (Although Gargoyles is SLG's best-selling title, the cost of the license fee cuts into those profits quite a bit already.)
- Although Greg originally planned otherwise, the next spin-off title after Bad Guys will be Dark Ages. There's a story for that that keeps poking him in the head, so he's placed it ahead of Pendragon. (The story wants told so urgently that he joked he might have to do it in some form even if he can't do it as a comic.) Unlike Bad Guys, Dark Ages will not be a series pilot of sorts, but rather a story that covers a substantial span of time. It will include the Children of Oberon; Othello, Desdemona, and Iago; and Hippolyta. Greg first conceived of the idea three years ago.
- Bad Guys is black-and-white for purely economic reasons, but both Karine and Greg think the story works well that way.
- There is every intention to release Bad Guys and the second six issues of Gargoyles as trade paperbacks. Bad Guys will remain in black-and-white when it becomes a trade.
- Dan Vado's main interest is in the primary Gargoyles title, so after Bad Guys is done, they will need to sit back and assess if doing a spin-off is worthwhile. If no more spin-offs are forthcoming, Greg may integrate elements from them into the main title.
- The new spin-off schedule is six issues of Dark Ages, then six issues of Pendragon, then six issues of Timedancer.
- Greg still has a second story arc in mind for Bad Guys.
- After Gargoyles #12, story arcs will be six issues long.
- Disney has been rather hands-off with Gargoyles, except for some issues with, of all things, grammar. They critiqued Hudson's accent in issue #1 (apparently not remembering that Hudson spoke that way in the series, too), and they though Shari's "The story is told..." introductions were too awkward. Greg won both times.
- The benefit that Coyote 5.0 receives from the Coyote Diamond is an enhanced A.I. (Coyote 5.0's mental processes are light-based, and the Diamond speeds them up.)
- No Children of Oberon will appear in the next few issues.
- Bad Guys is set around January 1997; the end of the Clan-Building arc in Gargoyles will catch it up to around that time.
- Greg decided Thailog was an Illuminatus after the series ended but a while back - maybe 1999. There's a story there that Greg would like to tell someday, but not in the immediate future.
- Oberon and Titania were consciously designed to be not white (as in, Caucasian).
- Sevarius isn't really worried about danger from Thailog, as he has more options for employment out there. Besides, Thailog isn't likely to harm Sevarius as long as he's useful. But Sevarius is just arrogant enough to overestimate his value.
- Greg noted how he and Neil Gaiman seem to write about a lot of the same stuff. He doesn't think it's likely they would collaborate on anything, because Neil either doesn't know him or might even think ill of him (after disapproving of Greg's use of Death of the Endless in a Captain Atom comic).
- The comic version of "The Journey" replaces the televised version, so all 13 episodes of The Goliath Chronicles are officially non-canon.

I considered going to the gargoyle biology panel, but instead I opted to return a call I'd received from my mom during the prior panel and recharge my phone. While waiting for my next panel I got a few more supplies from CVS, and read the last of my purchases from Comix Revolution. Returned for the Spectacular Spider-Man panel, with the following highlights:
- Season 2 is being animated, but Greg isn't sure when they're airing. Season 3 is hoped for but not confirmed.
- The basis of the series is the classic Lee-Ditko-Romita stories, although they are also using elements from other canon.
- Although Greg first interviewed to work on the series in February 2006, Greg only learned he had the job - more or less accidentally - in December 2006 (he'd assumed a fellow named Chris won it). He started in January 2007, and brought Vic Cook in to help.
- Greg's goal for the series was to make a Spider-Man series as definitive for the character as Batman: The Animated Series was for Batman.
- The staff followed four C's when making the show: Contemporary, Cohesive, Coherent, and Classic (Iconic). The overall theme was "The Education of Peter Parker."
- Season 1 takes place in September to November of Peter's junior year. Season 2 takes place in December to March of his junior year.
- When using characters who appeared later than Peter's high school years in the comic (such as Gwen), the staff tried to extrapolate them backwards to what they would have been like in high school.
- The chauffeur story Harry Osborn was telling in (I believe) the episode "Competition" was a reference to an incident with Greg W. and Greg B. following the 2003 Gathering.
- There are DVDs of the first season on the way, but each of the four blocks of episodes will be edited together into sort-of movies. The upside is that each "movie" will contain footage not aired on TV. Greg and Vic Cook want to record a commentary track, but they haven't. If a proper season set is released, it's unclear if the additional footage will be included.
- The opening theme was originally intended to be an update to the 1960s cartoon's theme, but the rights were too expensive. So a theme song with the same sort of energy was sought out instead. Greg sent out potential lyrics to all the prospective musicians, but the final musicians didn't use them. There were actually four finalists, and they wanted to put the ones that didn't win on the DVDs, but they weren't allowed.
- Greg would have liked Keith David to stay on as the Big Man, but he had a play to do instead (A Midsummer Night's Dream - he played Oberon).
- Season 2 will be 13 episodes long. There have been some issues with story length in this season. Black Cat will return in Season 2, as will Harry Osborn. One episode will deal with questions about how Peter gets his photos. The Tinkerer (played by Thom Adcox) will appear in episode #14.
- Greg and company can use anything from the Spider-Man corner of the Marvel Universe, but nothing outside it. This is why Kingpin wasn't used in Season 1. Although Greg would like to use the Kingpin, he can't really complain about getting an interesting character out of the Big Man.
- The new Eddie Brock was constructed as a dark mirror of Peter Parker, as Venom is a dark mirror of Spider-Man. So, Eddie lost his parents in the same way as Peter, but had no Aunt May or Uncle Ben; while Peter learned to appreciate life, Eddie learned to appreciate death. Eddie is reckless and flirts with death; the scene in "Group Therapy" where he appeared to be threatening Mary Jane was intended to show this recklessness (as well as his anger towards Peter), and not intended as Eddie being vicious towards her.
- Greg hasn't heard any confirmation of Season 3, and he's worried he might have to move on to another job before they decide to make it. (He'd happily do another decade's worth of seasons.) Season 3 would include Hobgoblin.
- Greg thinks J. Jonah Jameson was once like Peter, which is why JJJ can be nice (more or less) towards him at times.
- Greg first saw the voice actress for Aunt May when she played the nurse in Romeo and Juliet.

At one point, Keith told a funny joke about a fellow and his mechanical arm, albeit one rather Blue for an all-ages panel. Following the conclusion of the panel, I quickly went to get a light Burger King lunch and immediately returned for the auction. Even on low-bidding items, Gorebash and Seth Jackson kept things entertaining; Keith David also popped in a few times to spice things up. The big bids were $160 (Keith David, for the Goliath electronic talking bank), $275 (Leo (and others by proxy), for the set of six Applause figures (Goliath, the Trio, Hudson and a Demona with hair corrected to red), $95 (Hobdemona, for all four character mugs (Goliath and the Trio), beating out both Keith David and Thom Adcox), and $400 (Seth Jackson, for a rare lithograph image of Goliath). For my part, I was outbid on a Gargoyles stamp, and won a 200(-plus) piece Gargoyles puzzle for $8.

After retrieving my stuff and chatting with D. Taina, I hung out with Ed for a bit while he guarded his brother Leo's acquisitions. I dropped off my auction items, then returned to my room until the banquet. I was at "Table #7", which included Dracandros, Ed, Lacey and her sister Krystl, Gside and Phil. I tried to stir up conversation a few times, with mixed results; Keith David also briefly stopped by to see how we were doing and patted me and Dracandros on the back. (Perhaps he was trying to compensate for our lack of guest representation?) As for the food, I thought the main course was pretty good, but I find myself beginning to question whether I'm getting enough bang for my buck as far as Gathering banquets. After the trivia game started, I helped guide our table to near-victory, advising our spokespeople as needed. We were finally stumped by a question on something that had only popped up at the Radio Play (and is a spoiler at this time) - in other words, information that was about 24 hours old.

On the way back to my room (we took our chosen elevator to the ninth, as it skipped our floor) I talked briefly with Josh Silver. I returned a call to Dad, then updated my notes before going back to the Masquerade. Along the way, I shared an elevator with Karine-as-Hunter (who, no offense meant to the participants, had the best costume of the night). I won't cover the Masquerade itself much, as I'm sure others can detail the costumes and such better than I, but I will note that I was seated with King Cobra and Vid the Kid before prize deliberations began. Afterwards, they left, and were replaced by Lacey and Krystl. I talked at length with Lacey during and after the prize deliberations about previous Gatherings and general fandom matters, among other things, before they had to leave to walk back to their hotel (they were staying elsewhere).

Now on my own, I initiated my master plan. In previous Masquerades, I usually waited around awkwardly, not doing much, until things closed down or I'd had enough of nothing. This time, I brought my own entertainment - a laptop equipped with MUGEN, a downloadable 2-D fighting game engine with tons of characters (many from existing media) available for download. I walked over to Gside, who was also largely unoccupied, and asked if he wanted to try it out - but beforehand, I chatted with Emambu. Despite the increasing noise levels, we managed to catch up. (He also commented that if I'd wanted to show off my card game with its Gargoyles characters, I would have been well served to have advertised it beforehand. He had a point.) I eventually invited him along with Gside and King Cobra to check out MUGEN.

Once I set it up in the corner, the alternate activity attracted a respectable amount of attention - slightly fewer tried it out, but it appeared I had chosen well to bring it. Greg B. and Aaron attempted to settle a running debate on the merits of Galvatron vs. Megatron using MUGEN, which went somewhat unfairly in Greg (Galvatron)'s favor (he had played MUGEN before we left for the 2007 Gathering; Aaron was unfamiliar with fighting games in general). In the meantime, there continued to be increasingly themed dancing in the center. As we approached 1 am, people began to burn out on MUGEN, so (with company from Rob) I packed it up and left. (I was amazed the hotel let the dance run so late!)

I returned to my room for the night.

Greg responds...

We now know that Spider-Man Season Two will premier in March 2009.

Response recorded on August 22, 2008

Bookmark Link

JEB writes...

Gathering 2008 Journal - Day Two

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Woke up around 9ish, but lazed around until around 10. Surfed the Web for another hour before finally getting on my way. I headed up to the ninth floor to look for Dracandros and Ed, as well as to take a look around the other con rooms. Talked a bit with Greg B., looked at the dealer's room (a lot of T-shirts but not much else that appealed) and the con suite (honestly, not nearly casual enough for my tastes). After running into Dracandros and Ed, we took a walk through the art festival outside the hotel - some neat stuff on display, but a lot of it was too expensive (not to mention the difficulties involved in shipping it home). Did snag some tasty funnel cake, although the heavy dose of sugar (on top of a sugary breakfast) gave me a bit of a headache later.

I returned in time for the Combat and Weapons panel. Flanker, the fellow running this panel (a veteran of the Canadian Army who served in Afghanistan), wanted to use the conference room's TV screen, but it turned out the hotel charged for the cords to hook it to his laptop. So, he passed it around the audience instead. A fellow by the name of Phil was in the audience - when it was revealed he was with the U.S. Navy, Flanker encouraged some well-deserved applause. (We also learned a bit later Phil had served in Iraq.) Topics covered included:
- The difference between small and long arms, between other guns and carbines, between machine and submachine guns, and how some guns blur the lines between those distinctions.
- An explanation of how bullets work (interestingly, cops can use deadlier hollow-point ammunition, but soldiers can't).
- The mechanics of guns, including how automatic weapons work and how sniper rifles do, in fact, make noise.
- The tongue-in-cheek Rules of Gunfighting (i.e. #1 - Don't get in a gun fight).
- The problems with energy and electromagnetic weapons - primarily, that the high energy demands require heavy and immobile (or at least, impractical-to-move) power generation machinery.
- That under duress, people default to their training level - which, for many, is basically zero. This is why repetitive training is so useful.
- Non-lethal ammunition, such as rubber ball and beanbag rounds for shotguns.
- Weapon modification, such as sawed-off barrels (which spread the shot) and sawed-off stocks (more concealable, but more awkward to use).
- Which gun is the best gun (it's whichever is best for a given purpose and situation, and whichever caliber the gun's user is most comfortable with).
- Good gun research sites (Wikipedia isn't bad, and is particularly useful when you want to know what a character from a given organization in a given nation might use; word.guns.ru is also a very good and detailed resource).
- Experimental weapons such as flechette and gauss.
- The "bullpup" design, with the ammo and loading mechanism in the back of the gun (many weapons in Gargoyles resemble this design).
- The best ways to aim well (handguns are less accurate than rifles, and dual-wield anything is highly inaccurate).
- The best position for a holster (use your strong side, i.e. the same as your gun hand; a holster on the opposite side requires more motion to draw and use, although they are admittedly easier to conceal and more comfortable).

One fellow, who I will leave unidentified, asked an awful lot of the questions, making a not-so-favorable impression on the audience (he'd be regarded even more poorly following his behavior at other events).

I returned to my room to transcribe my panel notes, then went back to look at the silent auction items, placing a bid on a Steel Clan action figure. I also talked to Greg B. and looked at the art gallery. Returning to my room again (I was disinclined to hang out in the con suite), I killed some time before the Radio Play by reading the first two stories in the Items of Enchantment anthology.

The Radio Play was entertaining - an adaptation of Gargoyles issues 7-9 in chronological order. Greg Weisman was concerned that it came off poorly, but actually I thought it seemed to work rather well (excepting a rather unwieldly chunk of Shari monologuing). Apparently a rather substantial storm struck outside during it - the noise threatened to drown out some of the dialogue, and parts of the art festival suffered during it. Of course, I can't discuss any spoilers at this time...

Dinner was at Al's Italian Beef with Dracandros and Ed. Although I'd heard good things about the place, I found it good but not very exceptional. We followed dinner with a trip to Comix Revolution, which was an adequate store; picked up a few things. On the way back, we passed by a rather large group being led somewhere - dinner, I'm assuming - by Greg W. I told Dracandros and Ed I'd bring MUGEN down to their room to play, which I did after skimming my comic purchases. However, when I got there, I received no response to my knocking. Since there was also a "Do not disturb" sign on the door, I presumed they were either absent or busy, and left. (Turned out they simply hadn't heard me over the TV. Ah well.)

Trying to kill time before the Blue Mug, I took a trip to the ninth, and found everything closed up. Returning to my room, I read my newly acquired Invincible trade paperback, chatted with Jack, updated my convention notes, and surfed the Web. (Repeated opinion: A con suite open at this time would have been much appreciated.)

Finally, I headed to the Blue Mug. Greg was there first; Keith, then Thom, arrived later (they wanted to be a bit more tipsy before arriving). (Josh Silver also arrived with Keith.) Some notable revelations included:
- Greg has no idea of the what or where of Marvel's Gargoyles #12.
- "The Price" took the idea of a stone gargoyle replacing a sleeping gargoyle from a Disney Adventures strip.
- Greg said the Stone of Destiny wouldn't agree that it's a magical item.
- The Eyrie Building is so tall because Xanatos is looking for all sorts of immortality.
- Keith thinks Goliath simply isn't the sort to drink alcohol.
- Greg thinks gargoyles are less susceptible to the sort of chemical imbalances that lead to psychological disorders in humans, but that psychologically damaging traumas affect them the same way.
- In response to a question about Shari and Thailog's relationship: Keith opined that if he was in a hot tub playing chess with a willing woman by his side... more than his chess piece would be moving.
- Keith was asked about the famous fight scene between him and Roddy Piper in They Live - he confirmed that it was not a real beating, as rumored. He traced the origin of the rumor to an accidental real punch to Piper's face immediately following his reassuring Entertainment Tonight interviewers that the fight scenes were safe. (Keith also liked the South Park parody of the fight.)
- Greg said that if Gargoyles was parodied on Robot Chicken, he'd appreciate the recognition even if he didn't like the actual content of the parody.
- Broadway and Angela have not yet had sex at this point in the comic.
- Greg (jokingly?) sees The Spectacular Spider-Man as a show about sexual repression.
- Keith considers Goliath a fairly straightforward sort who wouldn't have any sexual festishes. Greg concurred.
- Writing the Stone of Destiny arc in the Gargoyles comic has been liberating for Greg - it helped free him from a TV mindset. He thinks Bad Guys has benefitted from this mindset-shift.
- Greg considers bushido (as seen in "Bushido") an example of gargoyles influencing human culture.
- Gargoyles are not attuned to human reproductive cycles.
- Greg has issues with how television has removed every "base" except for first and home in terms of sex. (In his younger years, he and some friends also calculated there were many more than four "bases" - he figured about 22.)
- We will see a bonding ceremony for Goliath and Elisa.
- Keith opined that although humans and gargoyles may be bound in some ways by their biology, they can learn new behavior - and that in some ways, Demona's behavior is becoming more humanlike.
- Gargoyles never really had a need to develop independent science and technology - by the time humans began to out-tech them, survival became a higher priority. However, Greg opined that gargoyles like Lexington and Amp may start to create their own innovations based on human technology. He also reminded of the Lexington-Xanatos Corporation.
- Greg doesn't see why gargoyles would develop issues with homosexuality. He also doesn't think there would be pressure for homosexual gargoyles to take a mate in low-population clans - if the situation was that desperate, a single additional egg would hardly matter anyway.
- The new Wyvern Clan will be a clan of gargoyles intentionally going back to the traditional gargoyle ways as a rejection of increasing cultural assimilation.
- The entire Manhattan Clan believed they were a species going extinct prior to the Avalon world tour. The revelation that they weren't the last was especially major for Hudson.
- Gargoyles did not have a hand in creating humans or the Children of Oberon.
- The idea that more humanoid gargoyles could have an evolutionary advantage was proposed - that is, looking more human might make humans slightly more reluctant to hate them. Greg seemed to think it was interesting, but he also pointed out it could work in reverse, so he didn't really agree with the premise.
- The fact that gargoyle beasts were more frightening to humans coud be a reason why there are fewer of them.
- Some gargoyles may have ruled over some humans at some point.
- Greg liked the analogy that learning mortal magic is like learning quantum physics - sure, anyone can learn it, but it'll be much harder or easier for certain people.
- Immigrant assimilation might be one of the metaphors in Gargoyles.
- There was no Demona-Macbeth romance in evidence in "City of Stone" IV.
- Greg doesn't know if female gargoyles are capable of laying unfertilized eggs.
- The first Magus was the first to combine the Eye of Odin, Grimorum Arcanorum and Phoenix Gate.
- Greg chose Manhattan for Gargoyles, rather than another city like Los Angeles (not a good gargoyle town, in Greg's opinion), because it provided the best contrast between modern and ancient. It also worked well, as an island as a protectorate was something Goliath could get his head around at that early stage. (Goliath is only now starting to widen his perspective even further.)
- Greg considers Demona one of his deeper creations, and thinks that Xanatos has defined a trope all his own.
- The original Gargoyles pitch used four different artists. Goliath's original design included jewelery, and Lex originally had four arms.
- Wolf's more wolfish transformation in "Upgrade" didn't get repeated because it spawned too many animation errors.
- Greg likes the idea of Thailog having a Xanatos-esque goatee, but he's reluctant to use it because it could weaken his stance against using fan original ideas, which could in turn be used against him at some point.
- Greg had about four or five more stories for the Avalon world tour, but it was cut short due to several factors, including frustration by one member of the crew (he said who, but I forget), the problem of not having the Trio appear for so long, and that mixing the arc with reruns was making it seem awfully over-long. Three of the "lost" stories included the Himalayas story (ultimately recycled in Gargoyles #6), a Korea story, and a China story.
- Greg comnmented that Goliath seems to be less of a fulcrum in the comic series than he was in the original animated series.
- The Avalon arc didn't sit so well with Thom, simply because Lexington wasn't in it and he wasn't getting paid! (Which caused some financial issues.)
- Greg was a bit put out that the toilets on the ninth floor made a sound like the Green Goblin's pumpkin bombs when they flushed.
- Greg said Bruce Wayne was more of an inspiration for David Xanatos than Tony Stark, and that Lex Luthor wasn't at all (because Greg's Luthor is the Silver Age mad scientist, not the modern businessman).
- In Iron Man, Greg took issue with Tony Stark's choosing Burger King for his cheeseburger after returning from Afghanistan. He also thought Stane's motives were kinda weak. He also opined that Marvel should have held back the release of The Incredible Hulk until later in the year, as now there'll be a big gap until the next Marvel Studios movie.

One thing that was interesting to me is how often Keith David had his own opinions on how Goliath and gargoyles worked, sometimes in mild conflict with Greg Weisman's POV. One wonders how often an actor playing a role puts such levels of thought into the world of their characters.

After the Blue Mug, it was pretty much straight to bed for me.

Greg responds...

Blue Mug's are always fun and eclectic -- even when they're not all that blue.

Response recorded on August 21, 2008

Bookmark Link

JEB writes...

Gathering 2008 Journal - Day One

Friday, June 27, 2008

I started waking up around 7 am or so, but kept going back to sleep until I finally decided to officially wake up around 9ish. Then I loungted a bit, watched TV and added more to my con notes before getting out of bed for real around 10ish.

My first priority was more supplies from CVS - a crate of bottled water and a few Diet Pepsis. Dracandros left a message inviting me to go to the Taste of Chicago festival that day (the original idea having been for Monday after Closing Ceremonies). By the time I'd called him back, the plan had changed - instead, he wanted to go downtown and see the Sears Tower. I agreed, but went to go pick up my registration first (and briefly meeting with Merlin Missy, who I last recall meeting at my very first Gathering in 1998). I also chatted a bit with Harvester of Eyes (Rob) and King Cobra before going with Drac and Ed.

The three of us met with three more - Leo, Doppleganger, and dtaina (D. Taina) - and we set off, taking the L (Chicago's elevated train system) from Davis on the Purple Line to Chicago/State on the Red Line. Along the way, we chatted, and also met a fellow in a Zelda shirt who offered some tips (such as not obviously using maps, as it's a clear sign of being a tourist). Before Sears, however, we went for the slightly shorter John Hancock Center and its Observatory, taking in some sights along the way (such as the Chicago Water Tower, one of the few buildings in the area to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871). The view from Hancock was pretty nice, and I took far too many pics while we were up there. (It also bragged of having a hyper-fast elevator that moved upwards at 20 mph - made your ears pop.)

After Hancock, we took a trolley to the Sears Tower, but before we went there we decided to get a late lunch/dinner at Giordano's, a well-regarded Chicago pizza parlor. Delicious stuff, and surprisingly filling - we got two pizzas for six people, but the first one was more than enough! (The second pizza had mushrooms, so I wasn't too distressed.) Dracandros brought the leftovers with us, leading to some envious looks from people in the Sears! At the Tower, we watched a neat intro movie and then saw even more great views (and again, I took too many pics). However, time was running out before Opening Ceremonies, so we needed to leave after only a short visit.

(Observation from my time downtown - Chicago architects really, really like revolving doors. Think we had enough of those for a lifetime.)

Unfortunately, our return trip - taking the Purple Line express from Quincy (a neat station restored to a vintage state) back to Davis took about 50 minutes, so we all returned about an hour after Opening Ceremonies was supposed to start. I wasn't too troubled, as I've seen most of the material many times by now, so I took the time to return to my room and clean up, as well as typing up more notes about the downtown trip before I started forgetting things. By the time I headed there, it was after 6:30 pm.

I initially checked the ninth floor for the opening ceremonies, only to find a succession of dark and empty rooms, but a member of the hotel staff kindly pointed me to the second floor. I arrived just in time to see most of the Bad Guys leica reel. When Greg (Weisman) renewed his review of Gargoyles production and fandom history, he mentioned something I'd never heard of before - a "proto-Gathering" in 1996 at an animation art gallery in Queens, with Keith David and Greg in attendance. Greg wrapped up after that, only to realize at the last moment that he'd forgotten to show "The Last", the Gargoyles-linked episode of the cancelled Team Atlantis series. It's fortunate he remembered, as the episode - gradually being completed by fans - added a lot of new material, with many new scenes added or improved. Turning out rather nice, it is! (While it played, I believe Keith David returned from... somewhere.)

With ceremonies genuinely finished, I talked a bit with Dracandros and Ed, and said quick hellos to Jennifer "CrzyDemona" Anderson and Mandolin as they passed by. I talked of hanging with Drac and Ed later, and meant to go back in to the emptying Opening Ceremonies room, but instead I wandered into the business center looking for a trash can. While I was there (and looking at the oddball picture of floating men in hats), I figured it'd be better to follow up on the phone calls I received and silenced during the ceremonies, so I caught up with Jack and Randy. By the time I was finished, everyone was gone (except a group that was doing some camera work - later, I learned they were working on some sort of documentary). I did talk a little bit with A Fan, though.

With not many con-goers obviously around (a problem that repeated itself several times during this Gathering - a late-running con suite would have been much appreciated at several points), I went to the terrace to take some pics, only to have my camera start running low on power. So I made another supply run to CVS, noticing that they were setting up some sort of festival on the nearby streets. (On the way out, I believe I also walked by Josh Silver, but I'm not positive.) Returned to my room, and updated my notes again.

Later still, I was invited to dessert with Dracandros and Ed, and we ate at Cold Stone (after some trouble finding it). (I would expect a fair number of us Gathering-goers to stop at a place called Cold Stone, but I dunno if that was the case. Good stuff, though!) On the way back, they hit CVS and I parted ways again, checking out the ninth floor again and seeing some group up there (not sure if they were with the con, though). The terrace was locked, and although I figured out it could be opened, it seemed like a bad idea to go against the hotel's intentions - so no night-time pics. I gave the workout room a try with fairly ineffective results, and after a little more wandering (and running into Thom), I returned to my room for the night. Did a bit of web surfing, organized stuff for my card game (not that I got much mileage from it in the end), then went to sleep.

Greg responds...

Didn't even get into Chicago this trip, myself. Glad you managed it.

Response recorded on August 21, 2008

Bookmark Link

JEB writes...

Gathering 2008 Journal - Day Minus One

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Woke up around 9:30 am, after staying up too late preparing some stuff for the con (that, ironically, I barely used). Quickly got ready to go and made some last-minute checks, before my folks picked me up for the airport around 10:30. I asked them to take me to a sidetrip to Weis, so I could pick up a few last-minute items, and they helpfully got me a Wendy's lunch in the meantime.

After I got to BWI, things seemed to be moving smoothly, until I attempted to take my shaving kit on board as a carry-on - not thinking that would run afoul of the TSA's security limits on liquids and gels. So I had to go back, take the shaving kit in its carry-on bag and check it as luggage. (The clerk was kind enough not to make me pay the fee for a second bag, at least.)

Once I was through security (again), I purchased an overpriced pair of headphones (Weis didn't have those) and headed right for the gate. And waited. I tried the wireless, but it cost money. I tried to play a bit of Advance Wars Dual Strike, but couldn't get into it (and I also realized I'd left my DS power cable back at home; guess it's required to forget something on these trips). So I settled for reading.

The flight was pretty straightforward and uneventful, although I lamented my lack of a good view to the outside. Even so, I got a look at Chicago from the air - very wide, very flat, excepting downtown, which appeared as a clump of tall buildings near Lake Michigan. Arrival in O'Hare was pretty basic, too (did you know they don't have a Baggage Claim #13?). By coincidence, I wound up sharing the Airport Express van with Gside, and we mostly talked about video games and such (as well as playing a brief download-play game of Jump Ultimate Stars). After the driver stopped for gas, however, the three of us had a heavier conversation about the geopolitics of oil and various tangents from that issue.

After arrival at the Hotel Orrington, Gside and I parted ways. The room I got was fairly nice, although a bit smaller than I expected for the price tag. The safe was good to have (considering the rather heavy amount of electronics I had with me), but I wasn't happy that the only refrigerator was a locked wet bar fridge. And the free wireless I'd heard about actually only appeared on the 9th (conference) floor and the lobby, although a free ethernet line was provided in the room, so I couldn't really complain.

After getting comfy and lounging for a bit (I toyed with taking a nap, but I figured that'd be a waste), I took a stroll through the ninth floor (and admired the view from the terrace near the Hinman Auditorium), the second, and then the first, then I took a quick walk around the block to see what was nearby. Being unambitious, I snagged a Burger King dinner, and as I returned, I bumped into Greg Bishansky. I ate while we talked while he was waiting for the rest of the con staff and guests (who were stuck in Chicago traffic). Said hi to Leo, then Dracandros and Ed, who were headed to dinner themselves. They invited me to see The Incredible Hulk at a nearby theater - since I had already seen it, I was ambiguous in my response. Gside also came by talking about getting food, but I'd already eaten and Greg B. still had to wait; and shortly after that, the staff and guests arrived, so I went back to my room.

My next couple hours weren't too busy - I tested to see if I could still get the 9th-floor wireless from my 8th-floor room (nope), started up my notes for this very journal, and went to get some supplies from CVS (but I was limited by my assumption I couldn't use a fridge). Dracandros and Ed asked me again about Hulk, and I agreed, enjoying my second viewing (although I was a bit disappointed I didn't notice much new). On the way back, we briefly ran into King Cobra and vidthekid, then we went back to Dracandros and Ed's room, where Dracandros gifted me with two T-shirts. (Unfortunately, I had no reciprocal gift.)

I decided it was about time for me to turn in, but before I did, I followed on Dracandros's comment that the wet bar fridge could be used for non-wet bar drinks and retrieved the key from the front desk, briefly running into King Cobra again along the way. Got ready for bed, watched a bit of Scrubs, then slept.

Greg responds...

"Settled for reading"... so sad... ;)

Response recorded on August 21, 2008

Bookmark Link

Revel writes...

Now Saturday I didn't really want to wake up early but much to all of our surprise, be it that we were on the 8th floor or that the nice flat lake was to the East of us the Sun came through our window as like 6:30 in the morning and I mean like nuclear blast bright.
Slept a bit longer, but finally we managed to get up and get some food. She had spied a place called Einsteins Bagel on the map of food (Which by the way, is an awesome handout and should be used at future cons) I bought two bagels in case I wanted one later, one 4 cheese with cream chese and one poppy seed with peanut butter. when we got back to the con I gave my 4 cheese to Bishansky since he said he was hungry.

First panel I attended was the comic page layout. Came in a little late so hurried up and sat on the floor, I was pleased to see Karine having a good time and with such a full audience. There were some good questions and I stepped in and answered a few even if I was not suppse to ;P sorry I don't keep my mouth shut well at art panels, sometimes I feel like such a highjacker. I stayed and sat in on John "Flanker"'s panel on weapons and ballistics. It was esentially a run down of some of the most common types of weapons one might see in fics and where to get the information. After all a part of good story telling is accuracy.

It was about this time I had a few people inform me that I was in the Radio Play (YAY) I thought about going and getting a snack before the rehersal but somewhere along the lines I forgot, I believe I was giving an art critique to a first time Con atendee. Emambu came and got me, afterall I don't need Jen on my ass ; )

Rehersal was fun, I think it was the first time I've ever read for two characters, though many of us doubled up because of the extensive cast. We had a great turn out at the crowd was once again treated to Convention exclusive presentation, we get new material before anyone else. It was fun and I can't believe that during the actual presentation Greg Weisman stepped on one of my lines!

Dinner was Pizza at Dave's Italian Kitchen, once again Spacie, Gside and myself. We got two large, one chicago style one NY style and both were absolutly great. we brought the rest back to the room and hung out and talked till Blue Mug. I would have put the rest in the Fridge but I misstook the fridge for a safe since it had a lock on it. I only found that out later and it was STUFFED WITH BOOZE. I mean totally STUFFED!

The Blue Mug was fun, I got a few questions answered or at least got the idea out there that had been on my mind for a while. Though it's hard to say that I had more fun than Jen, Susan, and GregX who were all very, very drunk. Everytime I looked back at Jen, who was right behind me kept bursting out laughing and I have to say I enjoyed her playing with me ; )
People slowly began to tucker out, Greg's game with the Blue Mug is to see if he can out last us, it usually ends in a draw, this time a little after 1am.

Greg responds...

Hey, if I wanna step on your line, I'll step! (Sorry.)

And it never ends in a draw. I can ALWAYS outlast you guys.

Response recorded on August 19, 2008

Bookmark Link

David aka "Vid the Kid" writes...

Gathering Journal 2008

[ Tuesday, June 24 ]

Before heading west to Chicago, Ed and I first ventured a few miles east to the outskirts of Columbus. We had to make a few last-minute purchases, grab some cash, and take care of some preventative auto maintainance. It was about late lunch time as we finally hit the road for the long run.

Observations:
* West of Springfield, I-70 is only 2 lanes in each direction, all the way to Indianapolis. Rural I-65 between Indianapolis and the outskirts of Merrilville (Gary / southeast Chicago metro area) is completely rural in character, even moreso than western Ohio. Near the Kankakee River, the smell of manure permeates the air. It's hard to believe the center of this country's third-largest city is only sixty miles away.
* All Chicagoland freeways seem to have a 55-MPH speed limit, which everyone seems to ignore. The prevailing traffic speed (on an uncongested freeway) is 70 MPH, or 60 to 65 in construction zones with 45-MPH limits.
* Chicago's suburbs seem quite sparsely-developed, at least as seen from the Tri-State Tollway.
* The Chicago area has some interesting road signage habits. Sometimes it's hard to know ahead of time exactly what lane to be in. When it comes to lane closures, I definitely prefer the way ODOT does things.

Got to the La Quinta Inn on the northwest side. Best rate I could find besides a Super 8 with a ton of bad reviews. Nice pool, comfortable room, few TV channels.

[ Wednesday, June 25 ]

The continental breakfast reminded me of the Morrill Tower dining hall at OSU. There was no prepared food; the toast and waffles were do-it-yourself, plus fruit, cereal, coffee, juice, etcetera.
We drove to a Park & Ride on the Blue Line to get downtown for sightseeing. I-90 eastbound was really backed up starting around O'Hare, and it probably took us twenty minutes to go the last few miles to the Cumberland station. (Why does the CTA use the term "Kiss & Ride"? I found out later that this refers to commuters who are dropped off, such as by a spouse, to take the train, rather than parking their car there.) So the CTA trains ("The El", though much of the Blue Line is underground) are pretty cool.

We went to the Museum of Contemporary Art first (mid afternoon). There's a lot of interesting stuff there, and I didn't understand it all, but I quite enjoyed the visit. The sculpture exhibits were my favorite. I was expecting to pay admission, but there was nobody at the door selling tickets, so I donated $5 on the way out.

Next we made our way back to the Loop and the Sears Tower Skydeck. Ed couldn't put together the courage to go up, but hey, that saved us a $13 admission ticket. I'll show him the pictures I took later. I was surprised to see Meigs Field Airport was gone. (A Fan told me all about that Sunday night.)

A woman on the Skydeck told me I had to go see that big silver bean thing. It's not visible from there, but she told me where it is. Sort of. Ed and I left the Sears Tower, planning to walk to Millennium Park, home of that silver bean thing. We grabbed some Slurpees on the way. As we finished the Slurpees, we began to reconsider the walking plan. A short trip on the elevated Brown Line saved us several blocks.

So we got to Millenium Park, and walked towards where the woman told me the bean is. Then I spotted a map showing the bean (apparently titled "Cloud Gate") about a block and a half back the way we came. It's pretty cool though, despite the needless excess walking. Observation: Just about everything in Millennium Park has a corporate sponsor.

We entered the CTA system again at about sunset, and it was dark by the time we got back to the Cumberland Kiss 'n' Ride. Ed and I had bought 7-day unlimited visitor passes for $20 each. If we keep riding like we did today, we'll get our money's worth. But I don't think we'll have reason to ride. Still, we really got around today, and it'll be nice to have the option of free rides until we leave town.
A snack run to Meijer and a couple hours of the Discovery Channel rounds out the day.

[ Thursday, June 26 ]

We missed La Quinta's breakfast -- in the sense of being late. Speaking for myself, I didn't particularly miss it in the sense of feeling loss. So we had snack stuff (in my case, Graham crackers) for breakfast, packed up, and checked out.

Since we were planning to pick up A Fan at O'Hare, and he wasn't coming in for a while, Ed and I had some time to kill in the northwest suburbs. We hit Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg. It very much reminded us of a couple of malls in Columbus -- very possibly the same architect -- but it's considerably larger, and with more of a quality I like to call "vertical intrigue". We spent a couple hours just walking around to see what all the stores were, though we did do some actual shopping.

Some may remember that piece of Shinsonic DVD player in the Con Suite last year. Ed and I had brought it from home. This year we packed light, so no DVD player. The new Futurama movie had come out Tuesday, and we'd bought it at Meijer the night before. So then we saw this cheap portable DVD player at Radio Shack, and it wasn't a hard decision for me to buy it. We then picked up a few bargain DVD titles at another store in the mall. Well, we still had time to kill, so we watched Futurama in the mall parking garage. Then we hung around the Oasis on the I-90 tollway before finally parking at the airport to pick up A Fan. Once he joined us, we could finally head for Evanston. Traffic was slow, and we stopped for food along the way, so it took a while. And then I couldn't remember exactly where the hotel was. Anyway, referring to some printed material we had with us quickly resolved that.

A Fan checked us in, and after unloading the car, I did some exploring of the Orrington and its vicinity. I got some ice cream at Ben & Jerry's and went back to the hotel. The three of us then watched Not Another Teen Movie, though since we didn't have the right cable to connect to the TV, we had to watch it on the tiny screen of the portable DVD player.

[ Friday, June 27 ]

I woke up early for registration, shopped for a couple of miscellaneous items, and had Burger King breakfast with A Fan. Then I pretty much took it easy around the hotel (taking a few pictures) until the Greg Mug, then Opening Ceremonies.

Having properly connected the portable DVD player to the hotel TV, we watched various movies until late. I should have gotten caught up with my con journal, but I was too tired. (Friday's events were recorded late Saturday night.)

[ Saturday, June 28 ]

Saturday we got up early again, though we didn't have to. We took our time getting ready for the day. The Comic Page Layout panel was interesting and quite informative. Plus, we got a minor, sketchy preview about an upcoming fight sequence, though I wouldn't call it a spoiler. It's like a movie trailer that shows you parts of an action sequence without explaining anything. It doesn't give away any plot points, but makes you want to see the movie -- or in this case, read the comic book -- when it comes out.

So then I attended the Keith David Mug-A-Guest. He's always great to listen to, though sometimes I didn't quite understand some of the acting nuances he talks about. Also, part of the time my mind was on a software tool I might create to help out with the Team Atlantis episode.

After that I took a break, as well as quite a few photos. The street vendor fair going on this weekend, and the high visibility and changing weather made for some interesting shots. Then I snacked in my room until time for the Radio Play.

At five, I headed up to the ninth floor for the Radio Play. Someone was directing the audience towards one entrance, and performers towards the other. Well, the doors to the auditorium were closed, so I thought I was earlier than most everyone else. Thinking I had time to kill (or maybe I was just distracted) I headed out onto the terrace, where there was already another con-goer. Within thirty seconds, it started pouring rain. Before we could get back in the door, there was a clap of thunder. As we were running back inside, neither of us slowed to close the door, so as we came back to take care of that, we found pea-size hail bouncing in the door! After a moment of thinking "wow, hail!", I said, "hey, let's throw it at people!" So then I picked up a few pieces and ran down the hallway, only finding one unsuspecting target -- and I missed. When I came back to reload, a few people were coming out of the auditorium. I said something like "hail fight!" and playfully tossed a few. Then I realized pretty much everyone was already seated for the Radio Play, and Greg was speaking, so I quieted down and found a seat.

The Radio Play was cool, as usual, though it briefly had to compete with the sound of heavy rain. Like last year, the Radio Play was an adaptation of a story from the Gargoyles comic, including an issue not yet released. And the idea of Keith David and Thom Adcox switching roles was quite amusing -- twice.

After the Radio Play, many people headed out to the terrace, as it had stopped raining. We could see a jumbled pile of metal framing heaped together in an intersection on the streets below, in the middle of the street fair. I grabbed my camera from the room, and then headed down to investigate. From the bits I overheard of fair participants giving interviews to the local news, the storm had created some kind of wind vortex -- like a mini tornado -- between the large buildings, which had picked up several street tents, removed their coverings, and mashed the frames together into that mangled pile. Something like six people were injured. I took a few photos of the scene and headed back to the hotel.

In the lobby, A Fan was putting together a group for dinner. After a bit of discussion regarding the type of restaurant we wanted, the group that left the hotel consisted of myself, Ed, A Fan, and four others. Through a few democratic votes, and a couple of blocks of walking, the seven of us found Dave's Italian Kitchen. Oddly, our waiter was Chinese. (OK, maybe not odd given the demographics of the area, but mildly amusing.)

I enjoyed my spaghetti. Another person in the group (I didn't catch her name) had broken glass in her food; that dish was not included on the bill. Ed took home some leftover garlic bread.

After a bit of relaxing in the hotel room, it was time for the Blue Mug. There were quite a few good questions and funny moments. After a couple hours, though, I had to leave, as I was getting tired and I had 3 days worth of con journal to write. At least I managed to catch up through Friday before turning in. Observation: I really hope I can read all this when it's time to type it up...

[ Sunday, June 29 ]

Sunday morning started with the Gargoyles & Bad Guys Comic panel. What sticks out most in my mind was discussion of possible other comics spinoffs. Between the early hour, and the multiple days I've procrastinated between then and the time I'm writing this, my memory's a bit foggy. But I do remember that Greg is quite anxious to tell a Dark Ages story, pending renewal of SLG's license for the franchise.

Next was the Biology & Culture panel. Of course a few of the usual topics were discussed: glowing eyes, stone sleep, the Wind Ceremony. I asked about navigation, and it would seem the canon-in-training report is that gargoyles can sense the Earth's magnetic field. I feel there's probably a bit more to it than that, though a magnetic sense would be a distinct (if incomplete) navigational advantage.

I had planned to attend the Spider-man panel too, but at that time I really didn't feel like sitting through a third consecutive panel. Besides, the new Spider-man series is of more interest to Ed than myself. It was at this time I realized I'd taken several photos of the view *from* the hotel, but none *of* the hotel. So I headed out to snap some shots, got one pic before coming back in to change my camera batteries, waited for housekeeping to finish cleaning the room, swapped the batteries, went back out, got caught in the rain, and finally got the last couple of "establishing shots" I wanted.

So then I took it easy for a while. Since I had nothing else to do, I journaled Saturday's events. Snacks and The Weather Channel filled up the gap before it was time to grab some autographs. When that was done, I sat in on a nice casual conversation group for a while, which also served to recruit for A Fan's annual Anti-Banquet.

So a group of about six of us, including a 2-person documentary crew, headed to a place called Giordano's, or something like that. They're apparently famous for "stuffed" pizza, where there's cheese between two layers of dough -- across the whole pizza, not just the dough. Ed and I ordered a medium (or was it a small?) pepperoni stuffed pizza with a lighter amount of sauce, because I prefer a more cheese-focused pizza and I know Chicago likes to really pour the sauce in.

A couple of folks in the Masquerade used our room to change into their costumes. The masquerade itself was interesting, but I didn't stay long. That room was cold, and I'm not much for dancing or mingling in large groups. On the way back to the room, I ran into Josh Silver, (I think that was him) who told me who the winners of the masquerade contest were. Back in the room, I called a friend of mine back home. While I was talking to him, A Fan and the costumed pair returned. A Fan pretended to be MovieFone's automated voice system for my friend, who found it quite humorous. I knew he'd fit in well with my Columbus friends. Anyway, he and I worked out the next day's travel arrangements while waiting for Ed to return from the Masquerade Dance. When he did, we pretty much all went to bed. (At least, I don't remember doing anything else.)

[ Monday, June 30 ]

In the wee hours of Monday morning, I had a dream that turned bad very quickly. Swarming bees combined with not being able to escape makes just about the worst dream I can possibly have. I woke up screaming. Of course, I woke up Ed and A Fan, too. I calmed down quickly, and we all got a couple more hours of sleep before getting up to pack.

Ed and I hadn't exactly been keeping our stuff neat for the last several days, so it took us a couple of hours to get our stuff packed and out of the room. Still, we got things taken care of in time for me to catch the last half hour of the Fanfiction panel. And then there was the Blue Mug Productions panel. Now that's an interesting project. And I kind of like the name, the in-reference which, if you don't know, you'll just assume it's something random or abstract.

Closing ceremonies were dominated by the art awards. (Karine and Mara practically stole the show in that department.) Personally, I think they should also do a few awards along the lines of "most distance traveled to attend the Gathering". I don't think I'd ever win that particular award, but I still think it would be fun. Anyway, the ceremonies ended without dragging on too long. It was time for Ed, A Fan, and me, to depart the Orrington in my noble '93 Beretta.

We made satisfactory time to O'Hare. A Fan, having packed for convenient air travel, took almost no time at all unloading his stuff from the car and then disappearing into the terminal. A quick wave "goodbye" and Ed and I were off again, though we didn't go too terribly far. At the first Oasis we encountered on the Tri-State Tollway, we stopped for some ice cream sandwiches and chicken nuggets. Also, I picked up a corny Captain Tollway coloring book. I'll show it to the family for some laughs before giving it to my niece and nephew to color.

We stopped again to eat and refuel in Lafayette, Indiana. Quite a distance later, Ed realized he'd left his hat behind at the restaurant. Without a second thought, I decided not to worry. The cost of the gas needed to go back for it would have been ten times the amount we paid for the hat in the first place. As it turns out, we didn't make a single stop between Lafayette and our home on the far far far west side of Columbus. I wasn't done driving, though; Mom and I rushed to Kroger to pick up some groceries before midnight, so I could get my gas discount for July.

I never did get any further use out of, nor find a buyer for, my CTA visitor pass.

[ Notes ]

The events of Sunday and Monday were recorded electronically, at home, a few days after the Gathering. Then the events of the previous Tuesday through Saturday were transcribed from the actual hand-written journal into that same electronic record, with some minor editing and revision. This is the contents of that electronic record, with some spelling corrections.

[ End ]

Greg responds...

Annotated ConJournals. Sweet!

Response recorded on August 19, 2008


: « First : Displaying #6 - #15 of 56 records. : 10 » : Last » :