Last Gathering

The announcement has been made that the current Gathering of the Gargoyles (the thirteenth annual) will be the last in this form. I'm saddened by this of course, but even more saddened by some of the vitriol I've seen toward the constaff. So I posted this at Station 8:

Hey folks,

Thought I should speak up. In part to defend my friends, I suppose, but also just to make my position on all this clear.

I'm the person who suggested we end the thing. Me. Frankly, I was simply horrified to discover how much of their own MONEY the con staff was putting toward the convention year after year... with it costing them increasingly more with each succeeding convention and with attendance falling at a steady clip. And that's on top of the incredible amount of hard work that these people put in. There have been other individuals and groups who have run individual Gatherings here and there, but most burn out after one year and don't do it again. This group volunteered their time year after year. Stuck with it when others wouldn't. They deserve praise, not scorn.

Are they my friends? Of course. Are they loyal to me? I think so. I like to think I'm just as loyal to them. Are they cliquish at times. Yeah. I've noticed that too. It happens with any group of people who work very hard together to do something and, frankly, feel largely unappreciated for their efforts. They get tight.

But I don't buy the notion that this is an impenetrable clique -- especially since new members join the group all the time. I've known some of these folks for over a decade. Others, just for a couple years. And even if you aren't admitted to this so-called "Inner Circle", what difference should that make? The Gathering is big enough for multiple cliques. Big enough for you to bring your own clique. The Gathering has interesting and informative events whether or not you're in ANY clique.

When someone asks "Why would I want to give any money to hang out with people who have no interest in including me?" I think the question itself is off point. They're throwing you a convention! They're including you! Does that mean they have to personally enjoy your company? Personally, spend time with you? That's unreasonable. You may be great. You may be annoying. I don't know. But they don't have an obligation to coddle you. Just to put on a great show, which I think they've done year after year.

And you're not paying to spend time with them anyway, you're paying to attend the con. Or not. No one's holding a gun to your head, but then don't complain if the thing isn't somehow able to continue indefinitely on SOMEONE ELSE'S DIME.

Don't get me wrong. No one is going to miss the Gathering more than I. I think there's some real truth to the accusation that the thing became Greg Weisman's annual ego boost. Because without a doubt it is a HUGE ego boost for me personally. Year in and year out, I have a blast. I'm treated VERY well, and I enjoy that treatment. I'd be lying if I said otherwise.

But it's not as simple as that. For starters, the reason that the con has consistently featured me and the various series that I've worked on is because I'm willing to do the work to help put the convention together. Frank Paur, just as an example, is ALWAYS welcome, but he doesn't always choose to come. I ALWAYS want to be there. So it's something of a not-so-vicious circle. I provide the convention with contacts -- and the convention uses those contacts to hold panels on Starship Troopers or WITCH or, this year, The Spectacular Spider-Man. All of which is an attempt to INCREASE the attendance by bringing in other fandoms and exposing them to Gargoyles. It's worked to some degree, but not enough.

I've also provided contacts for shows like Darkwing Duck and TaleSpin and Kim Possible, and we've had panels on those that I wasn't a part of because my involvement on those series was nearly non-existent. But I knew those guys, so I got 'em to come. I'm sure everyone would have loved it if I had gotten, uh, say, the Avatar/Last Air Bender guys to do a panel on that show. Trouble is, I don't know those guys. So no luck.

And, hey, I did create the show that we're theoretically celebrating. I am the guy who's fought to get the DVDs and the comics, etc. It's because of the fandom that I never gave up. But it doesn't change the fact that I'm the guy who never gave up. So maybe it's not SUCH a bad thing that I've been the primary beneficiary of the con. Or maybe it is. I'm not going to worry about it.

What I am going to do is enjoy the last convention. I really think we'll be going out with a bang with a ton of special guests. And, ironically, because of the low attendance the BEST FAN-TO-PRO RATIO you'll find at any convention EVER!!! If you can't afford to come this year, we're very sorry. We'll miss you. Really. But if you can, you should try, because once again, I think it'll be a great show.

But of course I'm biased. ;)

And as Jennifer pointed out, if anyone else wants to have a Gargoyles convention in 2010 or 2011 or 2198, no one's stopping you. I'm still willing to attend, still willing to help. Or willing to stay away, if that would be best. But I'd advise thinking long and hard about both the time commitment and the financial aspect of it before jumping in. Cuz it's tough. Not for me. It's easy for me. But for whomever happens to be the constaff in any given year, it's a lot of work and not cheap.

Now, I suppose for some people, all I've done in this post is prove their point. I'm tight with the constaff. They're tight with me. All true. But they've still put out an open invitation year after year to friends and so-called-foes alike. All they're really saying is that they're done. You think you can do better? Go for it!

Greg Weisman

Oregon Shakespeare Festival 2009

I've been meaning to post this all week.

Last Friday, my family and I headed up to Ashland, Oregon to attend the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The Festival runs for nine months a year, producing 11 different plays. During the summer months, there are nine productions going on in repertory at any given time. We saw five plays in three days, and just had a blast.

We started Friday night with Shakespeare's HENRY VIII, and this was the best production of this play I've EVER seen, including the production I saw in London years ago. Vilma Silva as Katherine and Anthony Heald as Wolsey were both fantastic.

On Saturday, we saw EQUIVOCATION, a new play by Bill Cain that was the highlight of the entire trip (which is saying a lot)! Equivocation is set during the reign of King James I of England (a.k.a. James VI of Scotland). William Shagspeare has been commissioned to write a play about the Gunpowder Plot, and his attempts to tell the truth -- and not get hanged in the process -- are played out. The cast of characters includes his daughter Judith (and for those of you who saw my "Doc Shakespeare" radio play at the 2005 Gathering in Las Vegas, you can imagine how fascinated I was by this), the King, SIr Robert Cecil, Guy Fawkes and various members of the Kings Players. It also features bits of King Lear, Macbeth and Henry VIII, giving a sense to the origin of those plays as well as Shakespeare's later "romances" such as Pericles, Winter's Tale, Cymbeline and The Tempest. Anthony Heald, so good the night before as Cardinal Wolsey is fantastic as Shag. An actress, whose name escapes me unfortunately, is wonderful as Judith. (She played Anne Boylen in Henry VIII) and four other actors (all fantastic) cover all the other parts. I liked this play so much, I immediately went to the gift shop and bought the text. And stayed up reading it that night.

Saturday night, we went to see a Nigerian play called "Death and the King's Horseman", based on a true story and set during World War II. This was a fascinating look at African vs. European (Western) values and theater.

Sunday, we saw Shakespeare's MACBETH. I've seen a LOT of productions of Macbeth of course, but there were a lot of cool elements to this version, including a sense that the Weird Sisters weren't done with Fleance at the end, which was something completely fresh to me. It was also great to see it right after seeing Equivocation.

Finally, Sunday night we saw a wonderfully funny production of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.

In addition to the shows, we had a number of wonderful meals -- and okay, a couple mediocre ones too -- in Ashland. And my daughter, father and I had a great hike through an absolutely gorgeous park.

All and all, I can't recommend the Festival, Ashland and especially EQUIVOCATION enough.

Spidey on Disney XD

FYI, Disney announced this morning the rollout of SSM Season Two on June 22 with two back-to-back episodes: "Blueprints" and "Destructive Testing."

For times, check local listings.

Spidey Ratings

Folks at Sony are feeling pretty good about Spidey's recent ratings on Disney XD. Here's some info...

Returning to its regular time period, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN "Nature vs. Nurture" delivered a season high 1.71 B6-11 Rtg, up +67% from its season average (1.02).

The 18-episode marathon on 5/25/09 improved significantly over the time period's prior 4 week average… +279% in B6-11 Rtg, +250% in B6-14 and +226% in B9-11.

Second Season episodes will begin airing Monday 06/22/09. Check local listings for times.

SERIOUSLY...

It's the return of the giant invisible flying monkey brain. Damn thing won't leave me alone. Where's Mongo Mingi Mungu when you really need him?

TRADE NEWS!!!!!

Today, I e-mailed Dan Vado at SLG, asking about the two trades. Here's his response:

Hey Greg,

I was going to be emailing you this week.

Gargoyles I have scheduled for July, and that looks good for Comic-Con. Bad Guys I have scheduled for August and it a possibility for comic-con, but not a lock.

The Gargoyles trade will be in the May issue of Previews, I cannot stress enough that the fans really need to come out of the wood work on this one (not that they were in the wood work, but you know). They need to be "annoying" (i.e. pushy with retailers) as they can be because with the economy what it is right now nothing short of a huge groundswell of apparent demand wll get some of these guys (comic retailers and regular booksellers alike) to even buy a single copy. I am not a fan of getting people to be annoying, but this is going to be a case where it is needed.

Likewise Bad Guys (June Previews) will need an even BIGGER boost. I separated them because I did not want them to cannibilize each other sales-wise.

There you go, hope all is well with you...

Dan

So that's the news, both the good and the scary. I know I sound like a broken record. I know the fans shouldn't HAVE to be responsible for this, but if the fans don't, who will? I'll do my part. And Dan will do his, relative to his limited economic resources. But we NEED the fans to really step up and do two things:

(1) SPREAD THE WORD!!!! Please make sure EVERYBODY knows about these trades (and Volume 1 too).

(2) HARASS YOUR RETAILERS!! Make sure they KNOW how much you want these books. Pre-order them!! Put them on your pull lists!! Talk them up to every employee of every store!

Please!!

Remember, if these trades do well, we might be back with more original stories sooner than later. If they don't, it'll make it MUCH harder for SLG to justify risking more on the property, much harder to convince Disney that the property is viable and much harder to convince any other publisher to give us a shot.

Thanks,

gdw

ASK GREG is back, MARCH 23, 2009.

Ask Greg will once again open for question submission on March 23, 2009, which is coincidentally the date of The Spectacular Spider-Man's premiere on DisneyXD. (Okay, so maybe it's not exactly a coincidence.)

I would ask -- even beg -- that you carefully read the submission guidelines before posting here. In particular, PLEASE check the archives and the questions-already-asked sections before posting a question that's already been asked and/or asked AND answered. Try to avoid FLOODING Ask Greg, as it will only serve to slow down my ability to respond in a timely fashion. As always, comments are encouraged and appreciated... on Spidey or Gargs or whatever.

Thanks in advance...

Latest bit of news...

Hey gang,

Back from WonderCon. Had a nice Spidey panel, among other things. (I enjoyed the screening of the Wonder Woman direct to DVD.)

Also talked to Dan Vado. He assures me that the two trades (GARGOYLES: CLAN-BUILDING, VOLUME TWO and GARGOYLES: BAD GUYS: REDEMPTION) will both be out in time for this summer's Comic-Con in San Diego.

WonderCon 2009

Hey gang,

I'll be attending WonderCon 2009 this week in San Francisco.

I'll be signing Gargoyles stuff at the SLG Booth on Friday, February 27th from 4-6pm and on Saturday, February 28th from noon to 2pm.

We'll also have a Spectacular Spider-Man panel on Saturday, February 28th from 3-4pm, where Vic Cook, Sean Galloway, Josh Keaton and myself will have a Q&A and be premiering footage from Season Two, some of which hasn't even been shown yet in Canada or Bulgaria! That'll be followed by a Spidey signing from 4-5pm.

Hope to see some of you there!

UPDATE as of January 2009

Hey gang,

Today's my last day at Sony. I'm packing boxes. (Well, actually, I'm doing this and procrastinating on the packing, but you get the idea.) The last of the Spidey crew is laid off tomorrow, when we deliver the last episode of Season Two. The fact that we're all leaving does not preclude us all from coming back to do a third season, of course. But we've been told that the EARLIEST we could get a pick-up is March, when the series premieres on Disney XD. If I'm available, believe me, I'll be back. But I'm hustling up work now, so we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, the second season has already premiered in Canada. Hope you Canadian fans are enjoying it. We're really proud of the work done on all 26 episodes.

Meanwhile, on the TRADE PAPERBACK front... As of today, ALL OF THE CREATIVE WORK on the GARGOYLES: BAD GUYS REDEMPTION trade is completed. Totally done. As for the Gargoyles trade, there is ONE lettering error that still needs to get corrected, and THEN ALL OF THE CREATIVE WORK on GARGOYLES CLAN-BUILDING VOLUME II will be done. I do NOT yet know when either trade will be released. That's a Dan Vado question. But I'll post info here as soon as I have it. I will NOT be responding to every rumor or speculation. I'm only going to post when I know something definitive. But believe me, I have no interest in keeping this info from you. When I know, you'll know.

It's been brought to my attention that there's a Goliath sculpt out there that looks pretty darn cool...
http://www.toyark.com/news/attachment.php?do=fullview&attachmentid=3072
http://www.toyark.com/news/disney-toy-news-38/bowen-releasing-new-gargoyles-goliath-statue-722/
As usual, I would never ask fans to spend money they need for necessities, but if you do have disposable income, then nothing helps the property more than dollars spent on products based on it.

Also, IGN's recently presented us with a few nice little honors. Spidey won Best Hero of 2008 (Spidey beats Jack Bauer!) and Best Animated series of 2008... plus we were nominated for Best New Series too. Also in their top 100 animated shows of all time, Gargoyles received #45 and Spectacular Spider-Man was #30. I might quibble about some of the included shows and some of the rankings (Jonny Quest was ROBBED!!!!), but it's nice to have both shows in the top 50.

Check out:
http://bestof.ign.com/2008/tv/15.html
http://bestof.ign.com/2008/tv/5.html
http://tv.ign.com/top-100-animated-tv-series/45.html
http://tv.ign.com/top-100-animated-tv-series/30.html

Finally, preparations are well under way for the Thirteenth Annual Gathering of the Gargoyles in Los Angeles (G2009). This year, it's Goliath meets the Spectacular Spider-Man, as we'll be having panels and guests from BOTH shows! Confirmed guests include myself, Vic Cook, Thom Adcox, Keith David, Josh Keaton (voice of Spidey/Pete) and Phil LaMarr (voice of Rand Robertson, Joe Robertson and Fancy Dan). And that's just the tip of the guest iceberg. Expect a metric ton of pros (writers, artists, voice directors, actors, production people) to sign on over the next few months. The ratio of fan to pro at this convention will top anything you can find anywhere. Don't miss it!

http://www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com/

And that's it for now. We'll reopen ASK GREG for questions and comments when Spidey premieres in the U.S. in March or when one or both of the trades are released, whichever comes first.

Take care,

Greg Weisman

Emru Townsend, RIP

I only just read today that Emru Townsend passed away from Leukemia. See http://www.pcworld.com/article/153725/in_memoriam_pc_world_contributor_emru_townsend.html

I won't pretend I knew Emru very well. He interviewed me twice for FPS. Once on a conference call with Keith David. And once in person during the 2004 Gathering in Montreal. But during those two brief encounters, he immediately impressed me as a smart guy, funny and fun to talk to. He also had the kind of voice that just begged to be behind a microphone in a cartoon, and I do remember telling him as much.

My condolences go out to his family and friends.

I didn't know him well, but he will be missed.

Spectacular Spider-Man on DVD

I can't believe I forgot to mention this:

The first Spectacular Spider-Man DVD, "Attack of the Lizard" has been out for over a week. This does more than "collect" the first three episodes of our season, i.e. the ones featuring Vulture, the Enforcers, Electro and the Lizard. We've recut the episodes into a movie. I won't pretend it works as a film perfectly, but I really do think it plays well ... also restoring footage and sound effects cut for time and S&P reasons.

If you like my work on Gargoyles, I'm fairly confident you'll like what me and the team are doing with Spidey.

And I know this sounds ridiculously self-serving, but good Spidey sales raises my profile in general, which can't hurt us on the Gargoyles front.

Check it out!

ComicsonComics.com

Unless you're Blaise or GXB -- and saw it live -- you might want to check out the podcast I did for ComicsonComics.com:

http://www.comicsoncomics.com/?p=130

The high quality version is available on itunes.

I think it turned out well...

CON-ODYSSEY: CopperCon - Monday, September 1, 2008

CON-ODYSSEY: CopperCon - Monday, September 1, 2008
12:45am - Said goodbye to Lanny and headed down to my room to watch some TV and read.

4am - Went to sleep.

6:45am - Wake up call.

7:15am - Had the complimentary hotel breakfast, which I had never gotten up early enough to get. It was good. Had a cheese, tomato, mushroom omelette. Plus scrambled eggs, bacon, raisin bran, cheerios, corn flakes, oatmeal, potatos, etc. Sat with Mara, Jennifer, Patrick, David and conchair Gary. When breakfast was over, I said goodbye to Mara, Jennifer and Patrick.

8:15am - Shane and Caitlin took David and I to the airport. We said goodbye to Shane and Caitlin, checked in and then I said goodbye to David.

10:05am - Got on the plane.

11:35am - Arrived at LAX. No car waiting for me. Called. Called again. Finally, the car showed up.

12:30pm - Made it home.

And thus ends my 2008 Con-Odyssey. I'm done for the year with conventions. Had a great time at all of them. But I'm ready to stick to home base -- at least until WonderCon in February. ;)

CON-ODYSSEY: CopperCon - Sunday, August 31, 2008

CON-ODYSSEY: CopperCon - Sunday, August 31, 2008
2am - I went back to my room and read a bit.

3am - Went to sleep.

10:30am - Wake up.

12pm - Held a Spidey panel. Usually Q&A's easily fill the time, but the turn-out wasn't great, so I need to start preparing more.

1pm - Sat in on David Hedgecock's panel on producing a comic book. Lots of good info. Not a lot I didn't know, but still learned something new.

2pm - Shane took David and I upstairs to meet the constaff.

2:30pm - David, Jennifer, Greg, Lanny, Patrick, Mara and I went to Qdobe, where I had a steak taco salad.

3:45pm - We said goodbye to Greg Bishansky and then headed for Chase Stadium.

5:05pm - Marty & Lexy Lund bought us all tickets to the Dodgers-Diamondback game. It was me, David, Patrick, Jennifer, Mara, Lanny, Marty, Lexy and three of their friends: Kevin, Corey and Shasta. I had a kosher dog, water and a cheeseburger. Great game. Dodgers slayed the D-backs 8 to 1. After the game, we said goodbye to Marty, Lexy and their friends.

9:30pm - David, Lanny, Jennifer, Patrick, Mara and I went to the hotel restaurant for dessert. I had deep-fried cheesecake and chocolate ice cream (which may explain why I started a diet as soon as I got back to Los Angeles).

10:30pm - We closed down the restaurant and headed up to Jen, Patrick and Mara's room to hang out.

MORE TO COME...

ComicsonComics.com

Last night, I did a podcast for ComicsonComics.com. Greg Bishansky and Blaze came out to see the show. Don't know if what we did made a good podcast, but we had a good time. Check it out.

CON-ODYSSEY: CopperCon - Saturday, August 30, 2008

CON-ODYSSEY: CopperCon - Saturday, August 30, 2008
12am - Back in Jennifer, Patrick and Mara's room with GXB and myself, we decided to watch WANTED on hotel pay-per-view. It was goofy fun, I thought.

2am - Went back to my room after the movie and read for awhile.

4am - Went to bed.

11:30am - Woke up.

12:30pm - Went down to the Dealer's Room to set up for David and my signing.

1pm - Re-set up for our signing. They changed locations on us Signed and sold a few comics and scripts.

2pm - Went to In N' Out for a Double-Double, Fries and Strawberry Shake with GXB, Jen, Patrick and Mara.

Throughout my hotel stay, I had housekeeping challenges. Because I was sleeping so late, I guess (being on the second floor) I was missing housekeeping's first pass, and they weren't automatically coming back for a second pass. The first day, I let it go. But I'm in a hotel, and I wanted my room made up. So I called the front desk, and the woman there accused me of never taking my DO NOT DISTURB sign off the door. I assured her that I had taken it down both yesterday and today, but that housekeeping had never come back. And she said AGAIN, "because if you leave that sign up there..." etc. etc. Coupled with the trick the hotel had tried to pull the day before, I got fairly ticked, that she was basically either not listening and/or accusing me of lying. Seriously, the proper response would have been simply, "I'll send housekeeping right away." That's what I was asking for. The hotel was very nice, but I was really NOT impressed with the front desk staff at all. (They also gave David a really dirty disgusting room initially. I won't go into what he put up with the first night - cuz it's just too gross.)

3pm - David and I had yet another Gargoyles panel. Struggling somewhat to fill the time. I've got to start BRINGING stuff.

4:30pm - Lanny, Jen, Patrick, Greg and Mara and I hung out in Jen, Patrick and Mara's room.

5:30pm - David and I met down in the bar to talk some business. More on this at a later date.

6:15pm - David and I went to the con's "Green Room" to begin judging the costume contest.

7:30pm - Masquerade. We gave out all the standard awards, but I had one discretionary award, so I gave Cutest Couple to a guy and a gal who were both dressed as "L" from Death Note but -- as far as I know -- didn't know each other. Hey, it worked for Tony and Andrea. You never know.

9:40pm - Greg, Jen, Patrick, Mara, David, Lanny and myself went to Chile's. I had Nachos, a root beer, fries, apples and Memphis dry rub baby back ribs.

11:30pm - I called Beth, and then headed up to Jen's room.

MORE TO COME...

CON-ODYSSEY: CopperCon - Friday, August 29, 2008

CON-ODYSSEY: CopperCon - Friday, August 29, 2008
12:30am - Gave up trying to read by the light of my cellphone and went to bed.

2:30am - The power came back on.

9:30am - Creaturecomics.com partner Marty Lund called.

11:30am - Automated wake-up call.

1pm - Guests' Luncheon. I had salad, roll, water, London Broil, veggies and the fruit off the top of the parfait. Other than the parfait (which just isn't my thing), the food was great. I sat with Shane, Caitlin, other members of the constaff including the ConChair and special guest MaryJanice Davidson.

3pm - I brought the Spider-Man pilot script down for the charity auction. Then hung out with Mara Cordova, Patrick and Jen. We went to Coldstone's where I had a "Banana Split Decision" without bananas (because they were out).

5:30pm - Marty and Lexy arrived.

6pm - There was supposed to be a fan-guest mixer in the bar, but it really was more of a constaff-guest mixer. I had some club soda and bar snacks (thanks to Jen and David). I sat with David and MaryJanice and her husband, writer Anthony Alongi.

7:30pm - I headed upstairs to alert Edmund Tsabard that he might be needed for a panel later that night.

8pm - Did a panel on the Animation Process from Development through Post-Production.

9pm - That was followed by a panel on Gargoyles Sexuality. I left briefly to avoid Edmund, who was there to talk about BlueMugProductions.com and "Last Tengu in Paris". The guy's a jerk, but I'd recommend the work being done by Mara, Robby and Jennifer. Sign up for updates at the website.

10pm - With panels done for the night, we headed off for dinner. It was a big group (Marty, Lexy, Lanny, David, Mara, Jen, Greg Bishansky, Patrick and myself). We saw amazing lightning en route. The restaurant (another loud we're-a-nightclub-at-this-hour place) had great tapas, including tomato bread, cauliflower, pear, duck, potatos, skirt steak, etc. Lanny treated us, I think cuz he felt bad about the volume. Which was really unnecessary, but VERY nice of him.

MORE TO COME...

CON-ODYSSEY: CopperCon - Thursday, August 28, 2008

CON-ODYSSEY: CopperCon - Thursday, August 28, 2008
The hotel was playing some unfriendly games. I was semi-awakened by a phone call from the hotel staff asking if I knew where to find "Mr. Sweeney", a member of "my party". I should have taken them to task, but I was too sleepy, so I just mumbled that I didn't know any "Mr. Sweeney".

I was then awakened again by a call from the hotel staff telling me that my room and taxes were not paid for. This is a pretty serious thing to tell a guest of the con. And in near-immediate hindsight, I realized it was a ploy on the part of the hotel to try to use me to force the hand of the Convention Staff to pay them for my room (and other guest rooms) in advance as opposed to at the end of the convention (which is typical). Anyway, this statement woke me up pretty quickly. The guy tried to tell me that the hotel needed my credit card number by 1pm. I had been prepared to go downstairs that morning to give them my credit card number for extras like in-room movies and room service, but not for room and tax which is supposed to be covered by the con. I made it clear that if the hotel insisted on this, I would simply check out. I could hear the guy back-pedaling on the phone, as he realized that his ploy might backfire. He'd lose out on five nights of registration, including the one night I had already spent there. He tried to fumfer, telling me I should talk to "Mark" on the constaff to get it straightened out. I told him I didn't know any "Mark" and that this wasn't an issue I was going to "deal" with at all. If the hotel wanted me to leave, I'd leave.

Of course, there was an element of bluff on my part as well. I didn't really want to leave. So I called my guest liason Shane, who told me not to worry about it. Half-an-hour later he called me back and said it was dealt with. But I determined that I wouldn't give my credit card to the hotel for ANYthing including room service. I'd pay cash for those charges at the end of my stay. And I also determined not to have any charges at the end of my stay. It was somewhat petty, but I didn't want to give any money to this hotel.

12:30pm - Jennifer L. Anderson and Patrick Toman (chairpersons of the Gathering 2009) arrived and we hung out for a bit.

1pm - David Hedgecock joined us, and we went to IHOP for lunch. I had the International Passport Breakfast with Eggs overeasy, bacon, sausage, hash browns, Swedish Pancakes and Tomato Juice.

4pm - Jen, Patrick and I went to see Pineapple Express. Not a great movie, but I have to admit I laughed a lot. So I'd give it a thumbs up.

6pm - Dinner at the Macaroni Grill with Jen, Patrick, David and Lanny Fields (multiple Gathering attendee). I had a Caesar Salad, coke and lasagna.

8pm - David and I had our first Gargoyles panel. Middling attendance, but we had fun.

9:30pm - Returned to my room.

11:30pm - A pretty impressive storm with impressive lightning displays, 100mph winds and HAIL! I was watching television, when the entire hotel blacked out. I watched the storm for awhile and then tried to read by the light of my cellphone...

MORE TO COME...

ComicsonComics.com

FYI - Here's a blurb:

ComicsonComics.com, the innovative live show/video podcast which brings stand-up comedians and comic book creators together, returns to Meltdown Comics Wednesday September 10 [2008]! Host Robbie Peron welcomes the legendary creator of Gargoyles and supervising producer of the Spectacular Spider-Man animated series, Greg Weisman as he matches wits with comedians Tim Babb, Erik Lundy and Eddie Pence in a round-table discussion of the latest comic book news!

Meltdown Comics is located at 7522 W. Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. The taping starts at 8pm, so show up early to grab a good seat!

Previous episodes with Christos Gage, David Gerrold, Wendy Pini, Geoff Johns and Brian Lynch can be seen online here:

http://www.comicsoncomics.com/?cat=11

Higher quality versions can also be downloaded from iTunes (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=278094320 ).

CON-ODYSSEY: CopperCon - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

CON-ODYSSEY: CopperCon - Wednesday, August 27, 2008
3:30am - I finally went to bed.

5:30am - I got up after my little nap. Showered, packed, ate banana cake, salami, lemon water for breakfast.

7am - The car picked me up to take me to LAX. I had Tuesday and Wednesday's L.A. Times with me, and read them.

9:40am - Borded the plane. After take off, I started to read Walter Mosely's Blonde Faith, but I couldn't keep my eyes open. Slept.

11am - Landed. In baggage claim, I met up with Shane Bryner (CopperCon Guest Liason) and David Hedgecock. Caitlin, another con staffer, was waiting for us out in the car. They took us to lunch, feeding me grilled cheese and tomato soup.

1pm - We went to Drawn To Comics for our first signing. Not much there for us to sign, but we had fun.

4pm - We went to Samurai Comics for our second signing, which wasn't scheduled to start until 5pm.

5pm - Same basic deal.

7pm - We departed for the hotel, checked in, unpacked.

8pm - Shane, Caitlin, David and I went out to dinner at a restaurant called Shogun. I had a coke, edamame, mixed tempura, a California roll, miso soup, salad. Then we went back to the hotel. Where I literally fell asleep doing my ten minutes of neck traction exercises. That means my head was hanging backwards off the edge of the bed for nearly an hour.

11pm - So I went to bed...

MORE TO COME...

IT WAS TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY...

IT WAS TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY...

On September 4th, 1988, I went on a first date with this amazing woman. We went to an apartment warming party for my friend Mike Ryan. My car -- actually my sister's car -- had it's horn literally hanging from the bottom of the engine by a wire, so I had to ask her out AND ask her to drive. (Who knew she'd like that?) At the party -- where she knew no one and I knew everyone -- she fit right in. My friend Cameron had just purchased a new camcorder and was practicing with it. Years later, he would give me a copy of the tape -- a tape of our first date -- full of fades and truck ins and other first-timer camera tricks. After the party, we dropped me off at my place, and I invited her upstairs. We talked for hours and hours. I did EVERYTHING they tell you not to do, including talking about multiple past relationships. And yet somehow as morning came, she still liked me.

Beth and I have been together for twenty years now, and... thank God... she still still likes me. After two apartments, we're on our second house, our third cat and our fourth and fifth dog. Plus, you know, the two amazing, amazing kids.

We have many anniversaries in my date book. Engagement. Finding out she was pregnant with Erin. Finding out she was pregnant with Benny. Our wedding, of course.

But this is still my favorite anniversary. This is where it all began.

I love you, Beth. Happy Anniversary.

WEISMAN'S ON A ROLL...

WEISMAN'S ON A ROLL...

The RED TORNADO limited series that I was working on for DC Comics has been put on an indefinite hold. (I wouldn't hold my breath, even if you are an android/air elemental.)

CLARIFICATION

CLARIFICATION

Hey gang,

There seems to be some confusion about where things stand with the comic books, so I'm going to try again to clear things up. The SLG license expired on 8-31-08. That means there will be no more individual comic book issues on either Gargoyles or Bad Guys.

However, SLG does still have the right to put all existing material out in the Trade Paperback format. They are also allowed to include Bonus Material in these trades.

Gargoyles: Clan-Building, Volume One will remain available, and as soon as possible, we will be putting out Gargoyles: Clan-Building, Volume Two and Gargoyles: Bad Guys: Redemption out in trade.

Gargoyles: Clan-Building, Volume Two will include (obviously) Gargoyles issues #7-8, but it will ALSO include what would have been issues #9-12, including the covers, as QUOTE-UNQUOTE Bonus Material. You WILL get to see the end of the Clan-Building arc. Currently, issue #9 is done except for a few minor lettering corrections. Issue #10 is being pencilled as we speak. Issue #11 has been scripted, and we are looking for the right artist to pencil it. Issue #12 is being scripted now. The trade will come out when ALL this material is complete and approved.

The Gargoyles: Bad Guys: Redemption trade will include (obviously) Bad Guys issues #1-4, but it will ALSO include what would have been issues #5-6, including the covers, as QUOTE-UNQUOTE Bonus Material. You will get to see the end of the Redemption limited series. Currently, issue #5 is done except for a few minor art corrections and the lettering. Issue #6 is scripted, and Karine will begin roughing it out shortly. The trade will come out when ALL this material is complete and approved.

Hope that clears things up.

Greg

Gargoyles: Bad Guys #4

Gargoyles: Bad Guys #4 should be in stores this Wednesday, August 20th, 2008.