Robert Culp R.I.P.

I won't pretend I knew Robert Culp well, but long prior to his work on Gargoyles, I was a fan. I loved him in The Greatest American Hero and LOVED him in I Spy. His unique delivery and humor made both series a joy. And what great partnerships: Culp & Cosby in Spy and Culp & Katt in Hero. He was clearly a generous actor. And a dedicated one. His performances as Halcyon Renard in a handful of episodes of Gargoyles made Renard a completely fascinating character for me. And his exchanges with Peter Scolari as Preston Vogel in the booth were really fun to watch.

Culp will be missed.

Reopening Ask Greg/Amazing Spider-Man 622

Hey gang,

It caught me off guard, but it seems my issue of The Amazing Spider-Man (i.e. #622) is out. So I've asked Gorebash to open Ask Greg to allow comments and questions about it. Normally, we wouldn't reopen this soon, given that I still am about 200 questions behind -- so don't assume it'll stay open long -- but I figured I should give you all the opportunity.

Mecha-Nation

Just got this message from the folks at Ape Entertainment:

Just a heads up to let you know that MECHA-NATION #1 is now available to order from the February edition of the Diamond PREVIEWS catalog!

Tell a friend!

FAIR WARNING

ASK GREG's question-asking function will temporarily go off line at the end of November to allow me to catch up on the over 400 question backlog.

Goliath Sculpt

As promised, here are the photos of myself, Ruben Procopio and the Goliath Sculpt. Note the model sheets everywhere.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29246775@N04/sets/72157622647604288/

May the drooling commence...

Rubén = Ruben with an accent over the "e".

Rubén = Ruben with an accent over the "e".

Electric Tiki, Rubén Procopio, Goliath and Me...

Electric Tiki, Rubén Procopio, Goliath and Me...

I literally just got back to my office after a trip to Rubén Procopio's studio in Burbank. Some of you, I'm sure, met Rubén at this summer's Gathering. Rubén is sculpting Goliath for Electric Tiki, and Tracy Mark Lee of Electric Tiki was at Rubén's studio too.

Rubén's Goliath sculpt -- in its final approval phase before baking, sanding, etc -- just kicks ass!!! Tracy and I had some extremely minor notes, but really, even if it went out exactly as is, I'd be thrilled!

I'm a big fan of the Randy Bowen Goliath that I've currently got sitting on my desk -- which is very much Randy's interpretation of the character. By contrast, what Rubén has done is bring the television show's Goliath to life in 3D. It's totally on-model, and in fact Rubén's workspace is surrounded by actual model sheets of the character from the series. Tracy tells me the sculpt will be available next summer, so if you're a fan of Goliath, Gargoyles or just great sculpts in general, start saving now! I've already reserved my copy!

I have some pictures of Rubén and I with the in-progress sculpt, which I'll figure out how to post or link to or something soon. Stay tuned.

THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN is back!

THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN is back!

Disney XD is bringing "new" second season episodes back starting Wednesday, October 7th. Check local listings for times! Tell your friends, spread the word, watch the episodes (especially if you're a Nielson Family)! It's good stuff, I swear!!

Podcast

Hey gang,

Josh Keaton, the voice of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and I did a podcast with spidermancrawlspace:

http://www.spidermancrawlspace.com/wordpress/2009/09/26/podcast-80-spectacular-spider-man-interview-of-keaton-weisman/

Check it out!

ACCESSIBILITY

So I've been lurking a bit, and I see folks are questioning the accessibility of the Gargoyles comics.

And I know I shouldn't do this, but I'm going to defend my own work here instead of just letting it stand on its own.

I totally reject the notion that the comics aren't accessible to new readers, unfamiliar with the GARGOYLES property. Now, granted Clan-Building, Volume II is pretty inaccessible IF you haven't read Clan-Building, Volume I. But in fairness to me, the Clan-Building arc is published in two volumes for commercial reasons, not creative ones. It's not two six-issue arcs; it's one twelve issue arc. So if you read Clan-Building in it's entirety OR if you read Bad Guys in it's entirety, I think both these arcs are extremely ACCESSIBLE.

And, yes, I've seen the reviews that claim that they're not. But I notice that those reviews are written by people who ARE passingly familiar with the cartoon and are making the ASSUMPTION that the books would be inaccessible to new readers. But I don't buy it. I've been doing this for a LONG time. And I know how to fill in my reader and/or viewer, introduce new concepts, etc.

Every issue in sequence introduces all the necessary information to a new reader that said reader would need. Does a reader benefit if they know all the backstory? Of course. But they don't have to know that backstory to enjoy the comic.

Let me take a specific example -- one that a reviewer specifically brought up. At the very end of issue #2 of Bad Guys, Sevarius appears. The reviewer (who knew exactly who Sevarius was) thought that I was blowing off new readers, because I gave NO backstory or introduction to Sevarius in that issue. But I'd argue that no introduction was necessary at that point. We've seen a mysterious figure descend into the Labyrinth, taser a guard, shed a disguise and confront Fang, claiming to know his real name and stating that he is Fang's "maker". That's ALL you need to know at that point as a new reader. It's perfectly okay if you DON'T know who this guy is. It's intriguing enough on that level. And in the very next issue (or chapter if you're reading the trade) Hunter gives all the backstory on Sevarius that you need to appreciate his role in issues/chapters #3 and #4. Yes, a hardcore fan is going to get extra juice when Sevarius pulls off his disguise because they'll recognize him. But even if Sevarius had been a brand new character, I wouldn't have handled his introduction any differently.

Look at Tasmanian Tiger. He is a new character. I hope he's at least a little bit intriguing. But is a new reader lost because they DON'T know that this is his first appearance? Readers, whether they are hardcore Garg fans or complete newbies, know as much about TT as they need to know -- and no more.

Yes, there are resources on the web -- BUT I don't count on those AT ALL, with one exception. And that exception is if people wonder why I'm ignoring Goliath Chronicles. And a new reader isn't even going to KNOW about Goliath Chronicles, so it's NOT an exception to him or her.

Otherwise, I use the tools I have within the book to explain what an audience needs to know. Someone familiar with the property may THINK the reader needs to know more, but I flat-out think they're wrong. My proof is anecdotal but it exists. I know people who've read the books and enjoyed them even though they never saw the show. Has it interested them in finding out more about the original series? Yes. And that's good and fine. But there's a difference between a new reader being intrigued and WANTING to learn more and a new reader being confused and NEEDING to know more to get what's going on.

You don't need to KNOW Brooklyn's entire history to know he's hurting because he can't get a date, to know he's pining for Angela and to know he's trying to get away from Angela and Broadway before chapter 10 of Clan-Building comes along -- and he's thrust into the past. Everything you NEED to know about him is present in issues 1-9. One benefits from knowing more, but that doesn't make it necessary to know more.

Of course, the greatest blockade to accessibility is the non-linear structure of chapters 7-9. But that's not property-based or familiarity-based, that's me using a non-traditional structure, which I might have done on an issue of, say, Captain Atom or Spider-Man or whatever. Hopefully, if a reader has read the first six chapters, they're intrigued enough to want to follow along despite the difficult structure.

Remember, issues 1 & 2 are designed to introduce you to the world of Gargoyles and any relevant information about said world. I got slammed by one reviewer for opening the comic book series with that adaptation of "The Journey", but I thought it was essential for new readers. One could argue fairly that each succeeding issue isn't as accessible as those first two, but complications and characters were added gradually through those first six issues. Anyone reading the book in order would not have been lost for a minute. If we hadn't been plagued by delays and late deliveries (which I had no control over and did not anticipate) it wouldn't have been the same kind of problem.

Any comic book or animated series that employs serialization and continuity is subject to these difficulties. And the middle chapter of any story (including a twelve-part story like Clan-Building or a six-part story like Redemption) can be tough to follow without having read the first few chapters. But just as I feel you can enjoy, say, "Leader of the Pack" without ever having seen any episodes from Season One of Gargoyles, I think Clan-Building can be enjoyed without having seen ANY of the Gargoyles TV series. Is the same true for "Avalon, Part Two" or "Avalon, Part Three"? No. But I think it IS true for "Avalon, Part One" and/or the three-part "Avalon" series when considered as a single unit.

My point is, I'm very familiar with the dilemma, and I know how to compensate. Or in any case, I'm VERY aware of the need to compensate. One can argue that I failed, I suppose. It does become subjective at some point. But nothing I did was done without very conscious thought on my part vis-a-vis the needs of a new reader. So any reviewer who claims that I didn't care or didn't try to make the book accessible is just -- well, wrong. And I think they are making assumptions based on THEIR knowledge of the richness of the property. They get all these resonances and call-backs, etc., and ASSUME a new reader would be lost without them. But you know what they say about the word "ASSUME". The resonances and call-backs are gravy. (And if you don't know they exist you won't know you're missing anything.) The meat, in my opinion, is all right there on the page.