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VELATIONS 2013-04 (Apr)

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K writes...

I was ridiculously excited when I realized that Tye was based on Apache Chief, and I'm even more ridiculously glad to see a whole episode based around him and the other runaways. I remember people wishing Static would appear in the show since episode one, and I was definitely one of them. The whole crew is so endearing. Everyone I've talked to about the show has a favorite among this group, and not all of them are Virgil. It makes the cancellation of Young Justice all the more tragic, because these characters really deserve the chance to grow like the season one team did.

But, for questions.

1) Why was the "Samurai" stand-in chosen to be gender-flipped? Speaking as a girl myself, I'm thrilled there's a girl at all, but was there any specific reason or did she just win the coin toss?

2) Young Justice has used several characters more famous for being created by previous animated adaptations, like Wendy & Marvin or Mercy Graves. Did these three in specific come to mind immediately for their roles, or only after you exhausted the characters created in the comics?

I'm kind of amused that Mercy's appeared in several episodes, but the character who paved the way for her creation, Harley Quinn, has only appeared as a Halloween costume. That and the fact that Joker and Poison Ivy appeared together in an episode without her. I like to imagine her breaking them out of Arkham or Belle Reve or wherever they ended up. There's no question here; just a random thought.

And to finish up, thank you. Thank you for helping to nurture one of the most diverse cartoons I have ever seen. The fact that Young Justice appears to gone out of its way (I don't know if it actually is OUT of the way, but compared to other shows...) to have multiple women, multiple people of most minorities, and many in fleshed-out, starring roles, is really that amazing. The fact that we're going to lose all this in five more episodes is heartbreaking, but we ARE grateful.

I admit, I was one of the people who was concerned by the fact that it took YJ five episodes just to pass the Bechdel Test (getting two female characters to have a single conversation about something besides boys, and "Schooled" passed on one exchange between Miss Martian and Black Canary). While I still think YJ *could* have done better on that front, I believe that it wasn't for lack of trying. I really am devastated to see the show go, and I hope there's a chance for revival in the future.

Greg responds...

1. There's no science to this. It just felt right.

2. We haven't come close to exhausting the characters from the comics. That's not really the point at all. But we have a fondness for these characters too. Both Brandon and I wanted Wendy & Marvin. I think using Mercy and doing our versions of Apache Chief, El Dorado, Samurai and Black Vulcan was Brandon's idea, though I signed on right away. And I seem to recall it was my idea to combine our version of Black Vulcan with our version of Static and to eventually give him Black Lightning as a mentor. And here's a spoiler: we also have very specific ideas for our version of the Wonder Twins, Zan & Jayna, for Season Three.

3. As for our "slow start", I make no apologies. Miss Martian and Artemis are the stronger in the series as a whole for how - and when - they were introduced. We were building a series based on existing characters, many of whom were created in the days when nearly every hero was white and male. Diversity was a priority for us from moment one, and I think that shows in the final analysis, as your post indicates. But we wanted that diversity to be organic, not contrived. And I believe we succeeded on that front too.

Response recorded on April 29, 2013

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YJ Fan writes...

(On a Flash topic) I know that Barry and Bart are faster than Wally and Jay, but what is the order of speedsters--in this universe--from fastest to slowest? Would it be:
1) Barry
2) Bart
3) Wally
4) Jay
Or would it be some other variation?

Greg responds...

You have the order correct - as of "Endgame".

Response recorded on April 29, 2013

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RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapter Fourteen

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapter Fourteen:

In my on-going shameless attempt to maintain buzz about my new novel, RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, due out in stores and on-line on December 3rd, 2013 (but available for pre-order NOW on Amazon, etc.), I've decided to countdown my progress on writing the SECOND book in the Rain franchise.

I just finished writing Chapter Fourteen.

This was one of the harder ones. Though I thought I knew the subject matter cold, I found myself revisiting my research. But the other issue was how to present it. There was a day or two there, where I was somewhat stumped and actually found myself procrastinating. Now, generally, I'm big on procrastination, but it hasn't really been a problem writing this book, because honestly, I've been enjoying the process so much. Anyway, I finally sort of cracked it open for myself. And now I'm pretty darn happy with how it turned out.

So tomorrow, I'll start writing the new Chapter Fifteen.


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Jon Weisman's 100 Things Dodger Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die - Revised and Updated Edition

While I'm in the mode of pimping books, I'd like to pimp the recently released book by my brother, Jon Weisman, which I ordered on Amazon and received today:

100 Things Dodger Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die - Revised and Updated Edition

If you love baseball, the Dodgers and/or history, this is a great, fascinating and massively informative book, now revised and updated since its previous release. You can find it here.

http://www.amazon.com/Things-Dodgers-Should-Before-Things-Fans/dp/1600788041/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367099692&sr=1-3&keywords=jon+weisman

In addition to writing about the Dodgers and baseball in this book and on his blog - http://www.dodgerthoughts.com/ - Jon also wrote multiple episodes of Young Justice, W.I.T.C.H., So Weird and others. He's a very good read.


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Anonymous writes...

Which episode is the one when Robin turns 14 and throws a birthday party?
Sorry for the stupid question...

Greg responds...

It was in our companion comic books, over issues 20-25.

Response recorded on April 26, 2013

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Sheena writes...

What colour are Tye's eyes, exactly? In "Beneath", they were brown, but "The Runaways", they were either blue or grey- I couldn't tell which.
By the way, I think Virgil, Tye, Eduardo Jr and Asami deserve their own show, Never have I loved supporting characters so much in my life- I think the excellent voice actors chosen for them helped big time.
While we're on the topic of voice actors, I can't say how happy I am to see Janice Kawaye in an American cartoon again after goodness-knows-how-many years. I've been a big fan of her since Captain Planet, and when I recognised her voice coming out of Asami's mouth I couldn't help but let out a silly little squeal.

Greg responds...

1. I don't know.

2. I'd love to do a show around these or any of the Earth-16 characters. Heck, I'd do a Professor Ojo show if they'd let me.

3. I agree the voice talent on the runaways, Janice included, was top-notch!

Response recorded on April 26, 2013

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Annie writes...

Greg, I love the show and the fact that you're trying to make it racially diverse is awesome. But as someone majoring in Japanese, I hope you'll pardon my rudeness when I say that Asami's use of the language in the latest episode was seriously off.

For one thing, "sumimasen", which is usually used as an apology, is used here to indicate Asami basically having no idea as to what the boys were talking about. The context really didn't mesh well, and it bothered me. While "sorry" can be used as questioning manner in English, the same doesn't exactly apply in Japanese. I think, given her situation, a simple "Nani?" (what?) would have sufficed.

Another thing that annoyed me was when she told the boys "Ja issho ni ikuwayo!". I assume you wanted her to say "Let's go!", but what you really got was "We're going!"
and it's a slight mismatch considering what Virgil, Tye and Eduardo were saying earlier (By the way, the correct phrasing is "Ja issho ni ikimashou!").

I hope I didn't sound bossy or anything. This was just a small blotch on an otherwise excellent episode, and whatever problems I may have with Asami's Japanese, as a person, I like her already.

Greg responds...

She uses it as an apology more than once.

Anyway, as previously stated we had at least two people involved who spoke fluent Japanese. One is a native of Japan, who consulted for us on the writing. The other was the actress who played the roll and is fluent in Japanese.

That doesn't mean we got it right, but I don't know how we could have done any more to insure it.

Response recorded on April 26, 2013

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Jane-Doe writes...

Great job on the latest episode! A few questions:
1) When did Barry Allen (Flash) marry Iris West?
2) Are Jonathan and (presumably) Martha Kent related to Clark and, by extension, Conner? I noticed in the episode "True Colors" that Jonathan referred to Superboy as his "son" (or some other family-ish relation, I can't quite remember); but then I thought Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van were still alive in this universe (making it so Martha and Jonathan couldn't be Clark's adoptive parents), so...confusion.

Greg responds...

1. Four years before the start of Season One.

2. I have absolutely no idea why you'd think Jor-El and Lara are alive. They're not. Maybe that's your clever way of getting me to reveal a SPOILER, in which case, you're successful. But the destruction of Krypton and the death of Superman's birth parents is such an essential part of his origin, I don't even consider that to be a true Spoiler. You might as well ask if Thomas and Martha Wayne are dead. (They are.)

Response recorded on April 26, 2013

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A Flash Fan writes...

Hey Greg,

It's me again. Sorry you've been bogged with work, but I'm sure it will come out excellent as it thus far has proven to be. I know by the time you get to this post Young Justice Invasion will most likely be over (I'm predicting you'll answer this around the first week of May...let's see if I'm right :)
Anyway I just wanted to say I feel sorry that Young Justice is not continuing, at least for the time being. You made a really good show along with all your team. Like others' comments you've read, I must say watching this show during some less than perfect times for me, was a great experience. I did have some questions regarding the cancellation...

1. Did CN give you a reason(s) and if so what is/are they if you are able to tell us? Did costs of production have something to do with it?
2. After seeing the series, I've seen a lot of reliance on mind links, which perhaps reduces costs in animation. I think because the animators can keep the image of the character a longer time rather than drawing new frames with moving lips. Was this on purpose or is there another reason?

On Runaways, I don't know if El Dorado originally had a civilian name in Super Friends, but if not is that why you came up with Eduardo because of the close similarity?

In other news, I think I get where you're going, but geez! I have no idea how you're going to wrap up so much in so little time. I read your recent interview http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=43480 and I agree the extra 6 episodes would have helped. So one more question...If you did have those extra episodes would have spaced out the events more, included new characters, or what?

A final comment based on the previous episodes which I began guessing after Cornered, and left me nodding today after Nightwing's comment and eventual occurrence in Runaways...Zeta Tube destruction really isn't very helpful for slow superheroes is it? First Speedy in Satisfaction, Aqualad in Darkest, Despero/L Ron in Cornered, now Red Volcano in Runaways...Flash must get very tired...

Greg responds...

More or less the last week of April, so you were close.

Okay, let's start with this. CN and WBTVA have both gone OUT OF THEIR WAY to state that the show isn't cancelled. It's just not picked-up. It makes no practical difference as far as I can see, but it seems to matter to them, so I'm not just going to accept the terminology your using and slide by it.

1. Not really, no.

1a. The cost of production relative to the income the production was bringing in was definitely a reason. The loss of the toyline was a huge blow. The perception that the ratings on action series in general are not as strong as the ratings on a comedy like Adventure Time was another blow.

2. Mind-links were not a cost-saving measure, no. We had a telepathic Martian on a Team going on covert ops. It just made sense.

3. I think it was Brandon's idea to give him the initials E.D. for El Dorado. But it also worked as Ed Dorado, which sounds like El Dorado. And Ed was short for Eduardo. Which is all to say, it just seemed right.

4. People seem to misinterpret what I said as if we HAD those six episodes and had to take them out. But we NEVER had them. So we never built a 26 episode season. We built a 20 episode season. I have some notions as to what might have been included with more episodes, including more with Zatanna and Red Tornado, plus more screen time for characters like Batgirl, Robin, Wonder Girl and Beast Boy, who got shorter shrift this season. But it's not like we had six specific stories plotted out.

5. I've reread this paragraph four times now, and I'm not really sure what you're saying. Your examples seem to conflict with each other. Obviously, without Zeta Tubes, there are only a handful of heroes who can come from a long distance in a timely manner... unless they already happen to be nearby.

Response recorded on April 26, 2013

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Just a Nerd writes...

Runaways was awesome. Don't know how Red Volcano survived. We all saw him die. Liked the Super Friends character's... Parallels, for lack of a better term. Hoping for some Wonder Twins action later!

Mr. Weisman, I would like to thank you and your team for such a wonderful show. It has intrigued me since Independece Day, through trials and tribulations. It is a tragedy that it must end after only two seasons.

Sorry I'm not as fanboy-ish as usual. I don't feel great right now.

Greg responds...

I hope you feel better by now.

Response recorded on April 26, 2013


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