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Matthew writes...

I have two questions on Green Arrow in Young Justice:

1, I noticed that you went with the Green Arrow look with the hood from the Mike Grell series. I always liked that look . I also believe he was using a long bow. What made you decide on the hooded look?

2, I've recently read Green Arrow: The Long Bow Hunters and the first for issues of GA's first series. Have you read Mike Grell's GA comics and what did you think of them?

Greg responds...

1. It looked cool and provided us with a nice contrast from Speedy's hat.

2. I didn't read them. I'm sure it sounds petty, but Grell's G.A. was the reason my Black Canary mini-series never went forward. So there seemed no upside to me reading them. If they were great, I'd be envious. If they were awful, I'd be frustrated. (Yes, I'm a heavily flawed individual, but at least I admit it.)

Response recorded on February 09, 2011

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John Derrick writes...

I hate to say it, but I was extremely disappointed in the Young Justice premiere. Don't get me wrong--the animation was gorgeous, the dialogue entertaining, the story intriguing. But the gender imbalance was a huge turn-off for me.

Why was it that the women of the Justice League were only shown in the last five minutes of a two-part pilot? Why did the male sidekicks get to go on a rebellious adventure and force the League to accept them as a team of their own, while the first girl is only added to "Young Justice" at the very end, introduced by her uncle and guardian like some sort of token?

I expect that the women will have a lot more to do in the episodes to come, but I still find it profoundly problematic to introduce the characters in such an unequal manner. I believe there are too many men in the world as it is who see women as mere supporting players in their stories. Why reinforce this stereotype for a whole new generation of superhero cartoon fans?

Greg responds...

It's a legitimate gripe. And I doubt my answer will satisfy you, but it came down to a couple factors that we at least found important: (1) practicality and to a lesser extent - but intertwined with - (2) tradition.

Let's start with practicality.

You asked why there were no female Leaguers until the end. But where would they have fit? There are no female Leaguers with traditional first generation sidekicks. So Batman, Green Arrow, Aquaman and Flash could not be replaced by Wonder Woman, Black Canary or Hawkwoman. That leaves the four Leaguers introduced at the Hall of Justice. I needed Martian Manhunter to be there to set up Miss Martian. I needed Red Tornado there to set up his interest in the teens. I needed Superman there to set up Superboy. That leaves only Zatara. He was certainly replaceable. But then I would have had to hire another voice actress to read ONE LINE. I couldn't afford to do that. We have budgets. (And you'll notice that Red Tornado never speaks in the episode. Couldn't afford giving him a line either. None of which had anything to do with gender.)

There was NEVER any intent to introduce Artemis this early in the season for story reasons. Wouldn't make sense for her character. And I think the reasons why will become clear as the season progresses.

As for Miss Martian, yes, in theory, we could have introduced her sooner. Manhunter COULD have brought her along at the beginning. But then I'd have had FOUR characters running around the first half hour and FIVE in the second. That steals screen time and characterization from everyone. I think the entire production would have been weaker for adding another character -- ANY other character (gender notwithstanding).

Of course, that begs the obvious question - why not ditch one of the boys in favor of her to create a little balance.

But it seemed to us that would create balance at a cost.

There are FOUR TRADITIONAL sidekicks: Robin, Speedy, Aqualad and Kid Flash. To leave one out seemed wrong to us. Which brings in the Tradition argument, which I'll admit is somewhat feeble, but as an old comic book geek, I'll also admit it matters to me and to everyone else here.

The very first Teen Titans story ever in Brave and the Bold featured only THREE heroes: Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash. Wonder Girl did not join until their second adventure. So we felt there was a precedent for beginning with Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash and saving the real introduction of Miss Martian (beyond hellos) for OUR second adventure.

For what it's worth, if you give the series another chance, starting with episode three (i.e. the one immediately following the pilot "movie"), I think you'll see that female characters including Miss Martian, Black Canary, Artemis, Wonder Woman and MANY others will be playing ESSENTIAL roles in the show as we progress. I think the balance - and then some - is absolutely present in the first season when viewed in its entirety.

Yes, the pilot was very boy-centric, but that's not the rubric for the series. Personally, I love writing female characters, and if you're at all familiar with my past work, you'll know I have a history of doing them justice. (At least, I think so.) Gargoyles, for example, is FULL of strong female characters, including Elisa, Demona, Angela, Fox, etc. WITCH was nearly ALL female leads. Even Spider-Man had a strong female supporting cast, in my opinion at least.

If we did "reinforce a stereotype" (which I think is overstating it) then perhaps we've lured in kids that we will reeducate over the course of the season - organically without forcing it.

So I'd beg a little patience, a little indulgence... maybe even a little trust that we'll do right by this issue.

But judge for yourself.

Response recorded on December 21, 2010

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Anonymous writes...

I really dont know how your gonna respond to this you might wanna keep it to yourself so people dont read to much into it, but could you tell us the ages of some of the people on Earth-16?

These are the ones I'd like to know
Black Canary
Zatanna
Jamie Reyes
Static
Zachary Zatara
Supergirl

Yeah those arre the main ones Im curious about

Greg responds...

I'm not going to address ANY characters who have not appeared in the series. Period.

So the only character on your list who HAS appeared is Canary, who is 24.

Response recorded on December 21, 2010

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Grant writes...

From NYCC, the Black Canary is suppose to be the combat trainer for YJ, is this modelled after Gail Simone's take on the character in the Bird of Prey comic of her being one of the most elite martial artist in the DCU on par with Batman?

Greg responds...

I haven't read Birds of Prey, but I've always seen Canary as an elite martial artist.

Though only Batman is Batman.

Response recorded on November 09, 2010

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GA FAN writes...

First off congrats on the new series...
Secondly, I would like to comment on the Green Arrow featurette... It was brilliant, it perfectly showed Green Arrow for what he is... Human (probably the most human of any costumed hero, no powers, not an expert martial artist, or worlds greatest detective, just a guy trying to make a difference) I sincerely thank you for your interpretation. If you were the writer on GA/BC it probably wouldnt have needed a reboot, you seem to really get him, and his relationship to Dinah.
Okay, first question... will the Shorts DVD in November have a longer version on it?

2) Are you personally a fan of either Green Arrow or Black Canary...?

3) How much experience do you have with Green Arrow and Black Canary?

4) I am looking forward to Young Justice, and from reports (here and on other sites)GA & BC seem to have somewhat prominent roles in the young teams mentoring process... Is it too early for you to confirm or deny these reports? If you can please do...

5) and finally, is there a possibility of a sequel to the Green Arrow featurette?
or you writing a featurette for another DC character for future Direct to video release?

Thank you for your time... and best of luck with the new series... me and my kids will be watching...

Greg responds...

I think I've answered all these before AND recently, but briefly...

1. People keep asking me. I didn't know there were two versions.

2. Black Canary is probably my all-time favorite comic book character. Green Arrow's definitely in my top ten.

3. I wrote half of a never-published Black Canary mini-series in the mid-eighties. Both characters appear in Young Justice. And then there's this short.

4. I'll confirm this, because we've already stated that both are in the show. Green Arrow is a mentor to Artemis. Black Canary trains the Team.

5. Not up to me. But I'd love to do either or both.

Response recorded on November 06, 2010

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Grant writes...

1) Why is Black Canary one of your favorite characters?

2) Which version of Black Canary is your favorite? The one from the old multiverse who moved from Earth-2 to Earth-1 or the new version who is the daughter of the original WW2 Black Canary?

Greg responds...

1. There's no one reason. Her skills. Her personality. Her relationship to Ollie (when it's well-written). Her looks help too, of course. And I tend to favor female characters in general. I tend to find them more interesting to write. Etc.

2. They all work for me.

Response recorded on November 02, 2010


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