Todd Jensen writes...

In your Gargoyles/Spectacular Spider-Man crossover Radio Play, the Spear of Destiny's head was buried beneath Ravencroft Institute. While this obviously suited the needs of the story, was this also intended as an in-joke reference to Trevor Ravencroft, who wrote one of the best-known books about the Spear?

David B. Jacobs writes...

Hey Greg! I loved the Radio Play - thanks for posting it!
Now, I know that it is not canon with either series, but I still have to ask: do the ideas present in the crossover indicate your ideas for either series in any way? Now, I know that it isn't very likely for them to REALLY team up, but, for example, are the reactions of all the Spidey characters to the Peter/Liz break-up indicate of what may actually happen, or did you just invent entirely new material?

GargFan writes...

Having, read your 2009 radio play for Gargoyles/SSM, I have to ask, but did Demona briefly become an avatar of Christ like Jackal and the Emir with Anubis and Goliath with Odin?

Todd Jensen writes...

Thanks for the final act of the Radio Play, Greg.

The ending, with the Illuminati getting their hands on the Spear and the Crown of Thorns, surprised me. Well, apart from the fact that a part of me thought that, in light of the Illuminati's links to the Holy Grail, it would be appropriate if they eventually got the Spear of Destiny, which turns up in the medieval Grail romances a number of times (in the role of the spear that crippled the Fisher King). And so Tombstone's an Illuminatus as well - pity that it can't be canon.

I was also surprised at Dominic Dracon's death - killing off a canonical character in a non-canonical script!

A few other highlights: more people telling Margot to "give it a rest", the "Casablanca" quote at the end, and Demona stuck at Ravencroft - though I doubt that she'll be there long.

Thanks for such a delightful piece, Greg.

Todd Jensen writes...

Thanks for the second act of "A Handful of Thorns". I enjoyed it, especially all the in-jokes (Brooklyn's spin-off remarks, the Green Goblin thinking of calling up Disney about the gargoyles, Elisa repeating her "street pizza" line from "Awakening Part One", Demona's remark about the stage being crowded enough, etc.). You must really have had a blast writing it.

So how good would a couple of gargoyle beasts be at looking after an egg? (At least nobody is going to try stealing it with Bronx and Fu-Dog on guard duty!)

On the more serious note, I liked your exploring of the impact of Brooklyn's Timedancing adventures upon the trio.

A great cliffhanger ending (I hope it won't offend any of the readers). I'll admit that I would expect the Spear of Destiny to be in a different location in the Gargoyles Universe - I won't say where, because it would break the "no original ideas" - but I've read enough about the medieval legends concerning that same spear to guess.

Looking forward to Act Three (I hope the weekend won't seem too slow).

Todd Jensen writes...

In Act One of "Religious Studies 101: A Handful of Thorns", when Jameson's handing out assignments to everyone at the Daily Bugle, he sends Foswell to investigate the Dominic Dracon part of the story with the words "You know that world!" Now, while I'm not an expert on Spider-Man, I picked up from the discussions of "The Spectacular Spider-Man" in the Station 8 comment room that in the comics, Foswell had apparently lived a double life as a reporter and a crime boss. Was Jameson's line an in-joke about that?

Todd Jensen writes...

I read Act One of the Radio Play and enjoyed it (it might be second-best to actually hearing the voice actors reprise their roles, but I could still imagine their voices while reading it). I enjoyed the way you wove the two universes together. A few moments that especially stood out to me:

1. Peter's mention of the "Cliff Notes version" of "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

2. Dominique reminiscing about the founder of Ravencroft (these kinds of speeches by spectacularly long-lived characters are generally a lot of fun).

3. The portrayal of Dominic Dracon as still crushed by the denouement of "The Silver Falcon". (I know that this isn't canon, but I think this is exactly the way he'd have gone after the marbles disappointment.)

4. Jonah Jameson getting Travis Marshall on the phone.

5. The meeting between Captain Stacy and Captain Chavez, especially Chavez's "Twilight Zone" remark.

6. The echo of "The Mirror" when Demona's smuggler delivers part of the Spear of Longinus to her home.

7. Demona's meta-reference to the first act at the end.

I look forward to the next instalment tomorrow.

MARVEL-FAN writes...

Wow, I just read the first act of the Spectacular Spider-Man Radio Play. And it was very good, I really cant want for act 2. But I was wondering, if season 3 is a yes, will you make this into a stright to dvd movie? I'll buy it, if it come on dvd.

Todd Jensen writes...

Did you find it spooky that Disney bought Marvel so soon after you wrote and put on the Gargoyles/Spectacular Spider-Man crossover Radio Play for the Gathering? I know that it was just a coincidence, but I still found the timing a bit eerie.

Greg Bishansky writes...

The Gathering 2009 - Con Journal - Part Five...

Woke up on Monday to find one of my roommates was in the shower. I had the staff breakfast to get to, but I wanted a shower. So I waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. When I was fifteen minutes late, I took off for breakfast. After waiting forty-five minutes for the shower. Aw well. I got one after breakfast.

Breakfast was short and fun, I forget what I ate, but I remember we called Laurean and sang Happy Birthday to her. I guess we owe someone some royalties for that song ;)

After that, I helped clean up the art room a bit before attending the "Gargoyles" and "Bad Guys" comic book panel. We got some cool question in there. Greg confirmed there was indeed a connection between Duval and Brother Valmont, but wouldn't confirm or deny if they were one and the same. Also, on the subject of Duval, the topic of his identity came up, since the presence of Peredur fab Ragnal seems to have thrown us all for a loop. Still, Greg refused to comment on whether Duval is or isn't Percival. Now, at the moment, I do have a very strong theory on who Duval really is. If Blanchefleur is one of the two people Peredur loves most in the world, who would logically be the other? Chew on that for a while.

Among the topics, Greg said that Dan Vado and SLG are still our best bets. But who knows what will happen with Disney buying Marvel. Speaking of, funny how that happens days after that Radio Play. Guess Greg could make that canon if he wanted to. LOL!

After that, it was the Biology panel, which I've never attended before. To quote Greg, I am a writer, not a biologist. There was a lot of interesting stuff discussed there as well, but I will admit, a lot of it went over my head. Math and science were never my strongest subjects in school. English, history, and art were. I was called out early, but I forget the reason why.

I did get a phone call from my brother, who couldn't make it. So, I briefly put Thom Adcox on the phone with him. While they're talking, Thom motions me to come closer and then he lightly slaps me. My brother asked him to. LOL!

Finally it was time for Closing Ceremonies. And, well... let's just say it was one of the most emotional hours of my life. I'm just glad it managed to be bittersweet and not just bitter. Prizes were handed out. People got up and shared memories. I wanted to, but I was too busy trying to keep it together, I don't think I could have spoken without breaking. There were a lot of tearful good-byes.

Once that was over, we tore down the art room. Karine had a comic book page there, and I told her that if I had the money, I'd take it off her hands. But then she turned around and gave it to me. It was from #5 of "Gargoyles" where Goliath and Elisa kiss and declare their love... thank you Karine. That was awesome.

We eventually retired to the staff suite where Chris bought the entire staff pizza. That was very generous. We all laughed, and enjoyed ourselves. Eventually Greg had to leave, and we all hugged him good-bye. Well for some of us, it was more of a see you later, but I'll get to that in a bit.

So, we partied. Jenn-Bob showed up on her webcam since she couldn't attend the convention. Bra-clad boobs were involved.

Later on, we all took a walk up to City Walk, where Cat and I shared some fries. Flanker and I talked about his time in Afghanistan. Eventually Thom Adcox came to pick Flanker up so they could go hang out, and we all piled into Thom's car... just to mess with him. We all got out, and said our laters to Thom as well.

Then we went back to the suite and just hung out until it was time to say good night.

EPILOGUE

I woke up to all my roommates gone. Grabbed a shower, and then went downstairs to check out. Patrick came down with Karine to take her to the airport, and I hugged Karine in a see you later way.

I refused to say good-bye to anyone. It was all "see you later." Because, as far as I'm concerned, I will. I think a lot of us forged lifelong friendships at these conventions that will continue even if the convention does not.

I then called Revel, because he and Michelle couldn't make it to the con. They had just gotten back from her ultrasound. It's a girl. As I got the news, Jen and Mara came down to drop Mara off at the airport. I briefly handed my phone to Jen so she could congratulate them.

Went upstairs to the suite and hung out with Jen's kids, Fox and Sydney, and we watched a mockumentary on the Weather Channel about a Katrina sized hurricane hitting NYC. I couldn't tell if this was trying to be "The Day After Tomorrow" or not.

Jen came back, and we chilled, finished off the last of the pizza. And when Patrick came back, we all checked out, and loaded up the cars. I hugged Jen and we talked about how if we ever won the lotto we'd have another one. So, she got into her very full car with her kids and took them home. Patrick then dropped me off at the house.

And so the Gathering came to an end... for most. But for me, it continued... because fatigue, stress and friends are a part of it.

Having no time to recover from the convention, I had to pack up my car, and prepare myself for another cross country drive. I had left the hotel at noon on Tuesday. By 4am on Thursday, I was on the road... for a very long drive. But I had twitter and a few texts with Jen on the way to keep me sane. I stopped off to sleep in El Paso.

The next day I hit the road, I had a meeting in San Antonio. Now, I expected to be there at 1:15. But, my GPS didn't account for timezones, so after switching it manually, I had to update the plans. Finally, at 3:15, I arrived at Antarctic Press in San Antonio, and met, for the first time, my last good friend in the fandom I never met in person. Robby Bevard. I got him to sign my copy of Clan Building Vol. 2 and Bad Guys. David Hutchinson, who drew #11 was there, and he signed it too. So, overall, my book is signed by Greg Weisman, Greg Guler, Thom Adcox, Marina Sirtis, Keith David, Robby, and David Hutchinson.

Aaron showed up, he couldn't make the Gathering. But the three of us went for lunch at Chile's. It was fun. A lot of fun. We hung out for five hours before I had to hit the road again. I was off to Conroe, which is forty miles north of Houston.

So, I ended up spending a week at Revel and Michelle's place. They are still working on baby names. We went out and bought a crib with Revel's mom... who threatened to kick Michelle's ass if she doesn't take Revel's last name before the baby is born. LOL, come on, it's the 21st century... wives never take their husband's last names anymore. Look at every married woman in "Gargoyles" ;)

Seriously, it was a lot of fun. We went to this great Tex-Mex place at one point which had, and I kid you not, the best salsa I have ever eaten. I need to get that place's info, and call them for a recipe, or something.

Thursday rolled around, and I left... later than I should have. I drove, and drove, and drove, and then I got caught in terrible traffic in Louisiana. Along the way, I discovered that in Louisiana there is a strip club called "Road Kill."

The traffic was so bad, I stopped to sleep in Mississippi. I didn't cover as much ground as I wanted to. It happened again the next day in Virginia. God... when I drove down to Conroe, two years ago, I did in two days as opposed to three. But then, I had Aaron as my second driver.

So, yesterday, I finally arrived in New York. Only temporarily. I'm heading back to California. My career is out there. A career I would have probably never considered if not for these conventions, and meeting and greeting so many people. And it will happen. This is one of many things that the Gathering has given me, and it will live on in my memories.

And I will say this, if there is ever another one, I will be there. I will staff it. I will help make it happen. Until then... it was a blast. I mean, thirteen conventions... that's not bad for a small fandom dedicated to a series that hasn't had new episodes since Bill Clinton's first term as president.

And out of those thirteen, I attended eleven. After missing 2000, I promised myself I'd never miss another one... and I didn't. I kept that promise. After 2003, I promised myself I'd never staff another one, but that's one promise I am glad I broke.

Never the end...