LSZ writes...

1) Did you ever see either the movie or the original stage version of the musical Camelot(there's a lot of difference between the two)?
2) If so, what did you think about it?

LSZ writes...

I recently got the original book version of 'Magic'; it's just as good as the movie. Have you ever read it?

Aris Katsaris writes...

Todd> Such scenarios have their root in reality - whereever a minority is oppressed by a majority, you'll get the individuals who'll fight back hatefully and the individuals who'll want to live in harmony.

In my opinion it's *extremely* silly to think that Gargoyles could be copying the X-men when both were obviously copying the real world...

Now X-Men and the *New Olympians*... well that's a whole other story. :-)

Duncan Devlin writes...

Hi Greg. I was a little curious about Robbins' line about books at the end of "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time".
Who came up with. it.
Were there any specific influences (assuming it didn't come from a source I don't know).
Are there any other drafts of the quote available (if yes, could you post something?)

Amberie writes...

Greetings. I was just wondering if you've ever considered including fairy tale (Snow White, Cinderella, etc)elements into the Gargoyles Universe, especially since you've included mythology and aliens. Thanks!

Aris Katsaris writes...

Greg, what do you think about the place that the "May Day's Decree" has in the Gargoyle Universe? (the murder of a great number of infants so as to destroy Mordred)

I always felt that unlike most other parts of the Arthurian legend (which didn't have so obvious sources) , the "May Day Decree" seemed a complete copycat of Herod's massacre with a bit of Perseus thrown in. As such I felt it was perhaps the part which rung by far the most untrue...

Anyway, others in the comment room have disagreed ofcourse. Do you think it happened in the Gargoyles universe or not?

(And I really hope for something more clear than "All things are true" :-)

puck40 writes...

Hey Greg

Comment about Terry Pratchet. :)
Just find any one of those Discworld books and read the first couple pages. If your not hooked into it by the first or second page... well like thats possible. hee hee
ja!

LSZ writes...

Aaargh..I lose Internet access for a while, and return to find that due to my poorly phrased questions that I was looking forward to finding out the answers of, I have totally messed up the question..oh well.

I'll try a more careful rephrase now..but first, some new questions.

Are or were there any plans to incorporate the legend of Faust into the Gargoyles Universe?

Derek! writes...

Greg-
I think the book club thing over in the comment room is a great idea. But I just finished Postman and already owned Rime,(and it's not even October yet!) so I was wondering if, off the record, you could recommend a few more books. I'm working at a Borders bookstore now and am itching to use my book discount.But, if you want me to just be patient and wait with everyone else, I'll understand, of course. Thanks for your time:)

Aris Katsaris writes...

Quick! We must fill the queue - Greg's caught up! :-)

Anyway, just a nitpick: You said "Odysseus traveled for twenty years."

Well, he was away from home for twenty years. But ten of these years he had been fighting at Troy. His return took him a further ten years, seven of which he spent as a virtual prisoner in Callisto's island.

So, one could say that he spent only *three* years travelling, though it was twenty years that he spent away from home.

If one's nitpicking, anyway. :-)

Punchinello writes...

Hello Mr. Weisman.

It has been a while since I have stopped by here. I've been extremely busy.

I reviewed your most recent responses to your fans, and I took special notice of a response you gave to Aris regarding the weird sisters.

You commented that one was older and one was younger, but not always the same one. (Or words to thqat effect.) That made me curious.

I am not really familiar with the mythology surrounding the sisters. I know that the imagery and concept of the "three women" can be observed in a number of disparate cultures and stories. I never actually took the time to investigate their history , however. I knew that Shakespeare's works played a prominent role, so I just assumed you were importing them from there. I kind of took it for granted.

Anyway, I was interested in your comment because it reminded me of an incarnation of "the three women" that I knew of. Lloyd Alexander's Orwen, Orduu and Orgotch. I specifically remember one of them being upset because they "always had to be Orgotch!" They were bitter because the other two seemed to always appropriate the other two identities. Alexander's Weird sisters were the only ones I had ever observed to display this interchangeable identity. I know that Alexander's sisters were Welsh in origin. His books were inspired by the mythology of that culture. I dont know if the interchangeable identities were also of the same origin, or purely a creation of the author.

I was wondering if your weird sisters were inspired by Alexander's in any capacity, or if the concept behind their identities has other origins.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to answer.

Mr. Pun, Mr. Chin, Mr. Nel and Mr. Lo

Todd Jensen writes...

Just read your "Gargoyle pitch" that you posted a few minutes ago. It's definitely interesting to see the familiar story increasingly taking shape (with some differences still here and there, such as Goliath being an artificial creation or the "Elisa-equivalent" being still considered as descended from the "Princess Katharine-equivalent").

I was also intrigued to note that even this early in the development, you'd visualized Goliath fighting the Germans in the air in World War II, the first hint (perhaps) of "M.I.A."

puck<40> writes...

Greg responds...

I once read a Star Wars novel right after the original movie came out. It stank. Kinda turned me off that whole thing.

But you never know.

;-; you read Splinter of the Minds eye? huff. See when I read this trilogy of books it turned me *onto* the other books. Timothy Zahn is really a great writer. And turned me on so much so that I read through so many of the bad ones... including "splinter" <which was released shortly after the movie, pure crap>. Occasionally I try to make my way through another one here and there..... But everything pales. PALES!!!!!! ~taunts all the star wars fans who disagree~ sheep!!!! can't any of these so called hardcore fans see that a BIG MACHINE OF DEATH is kinda boring? book after book.... ;-; so depressing. But This trilogy.... MWAHAHAHH. 9.9; sorry

erhm, heheh. ^.^ anyways.... ~wavies the books in front of Greg~ If I managed to send these.... or not even these. Just the first one to Jen, would you consider reading it? "Heir to the Empire". Made the best seeeelllleeeerrrssss list. =) Hit number oooooonnnneeee. read the reviews online of it if my sales pitch didn't sell it.

and forget about the rest of the books. <a couple short stories are superb here and there but mostly they're blah>

running off now, spanish homework to do.

Vashkoda writes...

1a) You said that Brooklyn would travel to the "Future Tense/2158/?" era both before and after he met Katana. From the perspective of those living during this future period, did Brooklyn's first visit (when he was alone) happen *after* he had already appeared with his family? b) If so, did the people during that time reveal (perhaps accidentally) to Brooklyn that he was going to have a family?

2) You said that Brooklyn keeps "chasing" after the Gate because he wants to get home. Although I'd understand why this would be important to him when he's alone and memories of home are still fresh on his mind, I would think that after 40 years and having the comfort of his family, getting home wouldn't be as critical to him. Am I wrong, or does Brooklyn find a new reason to be motivated to return home to the present?

Wing writes...

Knowing you are an English type teacher (as opposed to Science and what not), is it safe to assume you are familiar with the concept of the HERO'S JOURNEY? (a journey of self-discovery?)

It can be said that Titania went on the HERO'S JOURNEY. She took a trip and came back all the better (simplified). Too, it can be said, that Oberon ordered all fae to complete a HERO'S JOURNEY of sorts. (Loving the capital thing by the way) Oberon himself I belive went briefly on a journey, but only kinda (assumed from previous answers).
My q is, will Oberon ever go on a HERO'S JOURNEY and have a coming of age? Has this already happened, more subtly? Will his character continue to develope?

Emmlei writes...

You were a big comics fan until recently, right? so, i got to ask, did you read Archies?

Todd Jensen writes...

In one of your recent answers to "Shadows of the Past" questions, you called the enormous megalith that Hakon and the Captain of the Guard were using to drain Goliath "the Megalith Dance". Was this name for it (particularly the "Dance" part) inspired or influenced by Geoffrey of Monmouth's name for Stonehenge, the "Giants' Dance"?

Aris Katsaris writes...

Mary Mack <<They specialize in the older versions of legends, so I didn't even realize (should've, because you mentioned that Ancient Greek was closer to Modern Greek than Middle English is to Modern English) that somebody else might know the word in a different context.>>

A small correction - I said that Modern Greek is closer to Ancient Greek than Modern English is to *Celtic*.

I'm not so sure about the analogous place of Middle-English... Perhaps it's similar to Ancient Greek - most of it would be unintelligible, but people would recognize clear connections between words and could perhaps slowly decipher the meaning of a written text?

Aris Katsaris writes...

And since Todd referred to it, I may as well... was "By the dragon!" an Excalibur (the movie) reference, as I had thought it to be?

Todd Jensen writes...

This is another thing that I've meant to post here from time to time, and your recent mention that you've read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings encouraged me to do so at last.

I've sometimes thought that the Eye of Odin has a certain similarity to the One Ring at times (although I think that it's probably coincidental). Both the Eye and the Ring altered the person who used them, and with a sinister undercurrent to it so that practically anybody who used either would become corrupted, and almost used by the magical object in the process rather than using it. But the Eye of Odin in "Eye of the Storm" especially there reminded me of the Ring. Odin comes seeking the Eye because he lost much of his native power when he parted with it, just as Sauron was seeking the Ring because much of his power passed into it when he made it, diminishing him. And Goliath, when he donned the Eye to use against Odin, became subtly corrupted by it until he wound up, while ostensibly fighting Odin to keep his companions safe from him, really doing so to dispose of the competition over the Eye's ownership. This reminds me of how in "The Lord of the Rings", Gandalf pointed out that they couldn't use the Ring to defeat Sauron since it would do the same thing to its user and turn him into a new Sauron. (Indeed, I can't help but feel that if Gandalf *had* claimed the Ring as a weapon against Sauron, his corruption by it would have been much like Goliath's corruption by the Eye in that episode).

Of course, "Eye of the Storm" didn't feel like a Tolkien copycat, since its concerns were more those of the Gargoyles Universe (and in particular, the correct way of solving the problem with the Eye turned out to be to give it back to Odin - a definite difference from the case of the Ring and Sauron), but I did feel that there was a certain similarity there. I just thought that you might be interested to read this.

Todd Jensen writes...

One last post.

You revealed in your last batch of answers that Gabriel is the leader of the Avalon clan. I will confess that this revelation amuses me a bit because of a slight echo here with "Paradise Lost" (which might be coincidental, of course, but which I'll mention anyway).

In Milton's epic poem, the original Gabriel (the Archangel) is portrayed as the leader of a squadron of angels stationed in the Garden of Eden to guard it (and who clashes briefly with Satan at the end of Book Four). Both the Garden of Eden and Avalon are earthly paradises; both are also associated with apples (although the general consensus of biblical scholars is that the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden wasn't an apple after all). And now both have as the leaders of their guardians a figure named Gabriel. I must confess that I rather like this touch, even if you didn't have Milton in mind when you came up with it.

Aris Katsaris writes...

Tana> Well JRR Tolkien didn't exactly say that what he was writing was fact. More that (like Greg) he seemed to not be inventing, but rather delving into a subcreation - a universe that had some reality of its own, so that instead of inventing he just had to wait until he could see what had 'really' happened...

Tljack2001@aol.com writes...

I'm doing a report in class and I'm having a hard time I'm compering your cartoon "Gargoyles" to Edith Hamilton"s book Mythology could you tell me how you originated the characters in comparison to characters in Mythology, and why you changed the way Gargoyles live compared to Gorgons you know blah blah blah. It's a comparison and contrast report and i'm having a very hard time with it I know I'm on to something please help! Compare and contrast how you used stuff from "mythology" I have to have a source from you and this is all i found please help!! Plus I'm a girl so I have to do well on this because everyone says I don't know what I'm talking about and this is a "boy's" cartoon. Thankyou sooo much

Matthew Smith writes...

hey Greg, what's up? Well, this isn't really a Gargoyle related question, it's more about one of the movies you mention being one of your favorites: Ghostbusters. That is one of my all time favorite movies. I see you didn't seem to like the sequel. I rather enjoyed GB2, heck I bought both movies last weekend, but I guess i can see why you didn't like it. I mean walking Statue of Liberty, "Mood Slime" that responded to good/bad vibes...ect...
My passion for Ghostbusters goes back to my when I was 5. Oh I remember religiously watching "The Real Ghostbusters" every day before kindergarten. Me and my brother used to dress up in old pyjammas, which our mother altered to have the Ghostbuster logo on the shoulders, and would run around the neighbourhood pretending to "bust" ghosts.
Anyway, back to the movie. My mother must have hated that movie with a passion, simply because it was the only thing we'd rent whenever we'd go to our grand-parents house (who had a VCR when we didn't) must have seen the movie like 60 times back then, and that was before I could appreaciate the witty humor, let alone understand the plot.
Last year, I watched the movie for the first time in about 10 years. I never realized excactly how clever of a movie it was. It was hillarious, yet not off the wall not to be taken seriously. Even the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man provided a serious enough threat.
Come to think of it, this actually is a Gargoyles question. Gozer's Terror Dogs, the one's who possessed Dana and Louis reminded me an awful lot of Bronx. Did this in anyway inspire you to create the Gargoyle Beasts? Also, the Terror Dogs came to life by breaking out out of it's stone shell, much like the way Gargoyles do. Is this simply a coincidence? I remember you stating that your inspirations for Gargoyles were Gummi Bears, actual stone gargoyles, Hill Street Blues. But is it possible that Ghostbusters is among one of the inspirations for Gargoyles? Or am I just making wild speculations in hoping that one of my favorite movies helped inspire one of my favorite animated shows?

Todd Jensen writes...

This is a comment inspired by your recent answers to the "Tempest" question. While you never did manage to get "The Tempest" into Gargoyles outright (and I found that a pity, for my own part), I've sometimes thought that Angela does resemble Miranda a little (in the same way that, to me, Thailog resembles Edmund in "King Lear" and Demona Shylock) - there's the same general concept there of a sweet, innocent girl being brought up on a mysterious magical island and filled with wonder at the outside world (Miranda's "brave new world" lines strike me as being just as suitable for Angela as they were for the original speaker). I just thought that you might be interested.