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Anonymous writes...

Two Questions In Regards To Earth-16 Black Canary:

#1. Is her full name Dinah Laurel Lance?

#2. Does she have a sister (Sara Lance) like her Arrowverse counterpart?

Greg responds...

1. Not committing to that.

2. I doubt it. I don't think that fits our history for her. But I'm not committing to this either.

In general, though, I'd avoid looking to other media versions of these heroes as reference points. Each series or movie generally goes its own way.

Response recorded on September 16, 2022

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Jen writes...

How do you feel about DC comics adapting your original characters or your interpretations of minor characters?

For instance, how would you feel if Artemis Crock was made Cheshire's sister on Earth-Prime? Would you take it as a compliment to your choices? Or dislike someone else using your story beats?

You've also made clear that Kaldur'ahm and Jackson Hyde are two different characters to you. Is that because there are too many differences between the two? Or because only the Earth-16 Kaldur will ever be seen the character in your eyes?

Greg responds...

I'm hesitant to address ideas without taking the execution of those ideas into account, but generally (and hypothetically)...

1. I think that'd be cool, again, depending on how it was handled. I like them as sisters.

2. I think there are too many differences between Jackson and Kaldur. I have other behind-the-scene resentments, as well, which are not politic for me to comment on in any more detail.

Response recorded on May 20, 2022

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Borris writes...

Hi Greg.

1: Has Lois won a pulitzer in universe?

2: How proud of you about the continued success of Kaldur'ahm? DC's Aquaman: The Becoming shows that he's become a mainstay of the DC universe

Greg responds...

1. Hm. Not sure. I'd want to discuss that with Brandon.

2. I know I should just say, "It's great!" But iIs it fair to say I have mixed feelings? On the one hand, I feel like the Jake that's soon to star in his own show is two iterations removed from Kaldur (via Jackson), and that Brandon, Phil and I don't get the proper credit for creating what was the basis for the character. On the other hand, I'm glad that his reach is expanding on any level. It's a conundrum.

Response recorded on May 19, 2022

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Brie writes...

Hey Greg!
I have seen people say that Wallace West (the second) and Emiko Queens relationship in the comics is Spitfire 2.0
An archer and a Kid Flash being in a relationship alone is enough to draw parallels, but they also started off fighting/being sarcastic before eventually opening up to each other and starting to date.
My question is:
1) What do you think about people calling them spitfire 2.0?
2) what do you think about Emiko Queen in general?
3) what do you think about Wallace West (the second) in general?
Thanks for taking the time to answer this! I'm loving season four so far!

Greg responds...

1. It feels like a tribute, so I guess it's a smile. But this question is the first time I've heard of this.

2. She's interesting.

3. Also interesting.

Thanks!

Response recorded on October 29, 2021

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Thanks So Much For Season 4, Have A Great Day writes...

1. Why does Barry have Blue eyes as flash in season 3 but green Eyes as a civilian, is he wearing contacts as the Flash and if not then what's the reason?
2. This questions has been asked once before but you weren't sure if it has happened, in True Colors Tim wears a stealth suit But Dick has never needed it so why did Tim wear it was it because he is nervous?
3. What do you consider the cut off point for till the point you know about the DC mythos cause I recall you saying you weren't familiar with new stuff like how you didn't know about new stuff like Chris Kent.

Greg responds...

1. Color questions to the colorblind guy seem somewhat fruitless.

2. Again, I'd have to check and confirm.

3. I have gaps. I'm pretty damn familiar with a lot of DC Comics between 1938-1979, though there's plenty I haven't read. On the other hand, I read nearly everything from 1980 through 1996. 1996 is where my big gaps start. I stopped reading then. I came back in 2009, reading a bit here and a bit there, so I'm semi-familiar with a lot of stuff between 2009 and New 52. But I missed ALL of the New 52 before Rebirth, and quite a bit before New 52, as well. I've read everything from Rebirth through 2019. For 2020 and 2021, I'm still reading everything now, but there's a lot, so I'm a bit behind on some series.

Response recorded on October 25, 2021

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Marvelman writes...

Sorry to put you on the spot but...

Roy Thomas alleges here, https://www.bleedingcool.com/2019/04/18/an-open-letter-to-dc-comics-from-roy-thomas-on-paying-and-crediting-whats-due/ that DC Entertainment has not paid him royalties for their use of Artemis who he created. How do you feel about this?

Did DC ask you to change Artemis' name to Tigress or was it just a story/character decision?

Greg responds...

DC did not ask us to change Artemis' name to Tigress. That was a purely story-driven decision. (And her name is still Artemis Crock.) Besides, to my thinking Roy created BOTH Artemis and Tigress (i.e. the Tigress version of Paula Brooks).

I worked as Roy's assistant editor at DC in the mid-80s. He was very good to me. And, of course, I personally think he deserves royalties on the Artemis character, no matter what she's called.

In the Bleeding Cool article linked above, he's wrong on only one point: when he says that virtually every other character in YJ has creators listed. Unfortunately, that's not true. No matter how many creators he sees credited on our show, the vast majority of characters still do not receive creator credits - or only include some but not all of their creators. How they decide who does and doesn't receive that credit (and the royalties that go with) is a complete mystery to me. I have been pushing back against this from Day One... to no avail.

Now, I might honestly get in trouble for posting this. And it won't change anything, anyway. So a big part of me is hoping that Ask Greg doesn't have much of a reach.

Or that I'm politically smart enough to delete this post.

But I'm not.

Response recorded on July 26, 2021

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Luthor writes...

I remember reading your mini run with The Amazing Spider-man.

Would you be open to doing a one off comic. I'd love to see you do something with Superman and Batman in the comics, like a fun one off. Like Max Landis does

Greg responds...

"mini run"? I wrote half of one issue. That's VERY mini.

I'd love to do more comics work for the big two. I haven't been invited.

Response recorded on June 28, 2021

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Warren writes...

In honor of their upcoming 50th anniversary

Why do you think the Duo of Hawk and Dove have struggled so hard in the Modern incarnations -post 2005, Dawn/Holly and Dawn/Hank Redux- compared to Hank/Don and Hank/Dawn 1.0 which are more fondly remembered?

Greg responds...

I can't answer that, honestly, as I have nearly no familiarity with the more recent versions.

Of course, Don and Hank were designed to be emblematic of the Sixties. And it can be tough to contemporize characters so locked to a specific time period. But I liked the Chaos/Order configuration they eventually laid across the characters. And it seems like a fun way to keep the concept going in theory.

Response recorded on October 29, 2020

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Steven writes...

Hey Greg, there has been some fairly new explanations to the Speed Force in the comics that might make more sense to you at why there is a force that makes people fast, but not strong, etc. - Basically, the Speed Force is a force, similar to gravity, except that instead of keeping us grounded to the earth, it's the force that moves time and space forward. The reasoning for it granting people powers is because as it moves time forward, it builds up excess energy that needs to be released, which happens when speedsters run and give off lightning. Basically, the speedsters are the Speed Force's "release valve". Without them to expend the energy, time would not function properly. I hope this makes sense to you and I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks!

Greg responds...

Well...

<sigh>

Sure.

Except in the last year or so I've read comics that talk about the "Still Force" and the "Strength Force", etc. To me, and again, this is just my opinion - it's overly complicated overthink of something that made enough sense already. And keep in mind, this is coming from a guy who on YJ does everything in his power to ground his super-heroes and their powers in reality. GROUNDING stuff is one of YJ's prime directives.

So, the release valve thing seems to make some sense, I suppose. We did something similar at the end of Season Two. But when you start talking about people disappearing into it or other forces for stillness and strength, I start to glaze over a bit.

But I've tried not to close my mind to the whole thing.

I didn't much care for all the multi-colored lanterns either. But by the time I had finished watching the Green Lantern Animated Series with Razor, I was on board.

Too be clear, none of the above is meant as a spoiler of any kind in any direction for YJ. We're just talkin' theory here and how certain ideas strike me, at least initially.

Response recorded on February 27, 2019

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ANONYMOUS writes...

Hey Greg,

Wondering how you broke into the comic book industry? I know you were an editor at DC at one time. What was that process like?

Thanks for your time!

Greg responds...

I think my story is probably a bit atypical...

In 1983, Marvel announced a search for new talent. I calculated that they'd be inundated with submissions. But I also calculated that DC would soon initiate their own talent search. So instead of prepping a Marvel submission, I prepped one for DC.

Sure enough, a month later, DC announced its own search for new talent. I immediately sent in my submission. Years later, I found the log book for these submissions, and mine was literally the second one they received. They logged the submission into the book with my name and address - and then lost the actual submission, which I also found years later at the bottom of a file cabinet where it had clearly slipped down between two hanging folders.

Because 75% of the submissions they received were from artists, they gambled that mine was an artist submission as well. They sent me a packet for new artists. But of course, I was one of the 25% who had made a writing submission. And I was outraged, OUTRAGED! Outraged in a way that only a know-nothing 19-year-old can be.

So I wrote DC Executive Editor Dick Giordano an OUTRAGED Letter. And then I figured that would be the end of it.

But for whatever reason, Dick was impressed with (or more likely amused by) my letter. He called me. On the phone. He invited me to come to the DC offices at 666 5th Avenue.

After I graduated from college, Dick hired me as an Editorial Assistant (i.e. as a Xerox Boy), and later promoted me to Assistant Editor and then Associate Editor. He was a true mentor to me. A great guy.

Response recorded on May 18, 2016