ASK GREG LIVE - Correcting the web

So, I still maintain that ASK GREG LIVE was a great success, but I've seen a few posts on the interwebs that... undercut that success a bit.

With the best intentions, I'm sure, people have attempted to relate what I said, and although they got a lot right, they also got a bunch of stuff wrong. They either misheard me or mistyped or related the information second-hand or whatever, but I'm going to try to set some of the misconceptions straight.

Myth #1: "Greg categorically stated that Wally West is dead and will never come back."

I did not. Surprisingly, I was not even asked this question and thus never responded to it at all. Now, let me be clear. I also have not stated categorically that Wally West is not dead will definitely come back. And I'm not going to do either. Let me illustrate why with an example:

You've seen memorial holograms for Jason Todd/Robin and Tula/Aquagirl. There are four potential scenarios for those two characters coming back:

Scenario A) Both are going to come back.

Scenario B) Jason is going to come back, but Tula is staying dead.

Scenario C) Tula is going to come back, but Jason is staying dead.

Scenario D) Both are staying dead.

Break it down like this, and it becomes clear why I won't answer any questions about either character in this regard. Assume, just as a hypothetical example, our plan was Scenario C. Then someone asks me about Jason. They say, the show is over; if he's really dead, why not tell us. This sounds logical (in the moment), so I state that Jason is staying dead. No harm, no foul. I've only confirmed something that the show itself already stated. No big deal. That is, until someone else asked me about Tula. I don't want to answer this one, of course, because I want her resurrection to be a surprise. But I also don't want to lie. So I go for my standard "SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT." But then someone realizes that I was willing to be clear about Jason, but not about Tula. Ipso facto, Tula must be coming back. And I've just spoiled my own show. Which, as I'm sure you know, I am quite LOATHE to do. Clear?

Myth #2: "Greg stated that they killed off Wally instead of Barry because Barry's death would be too telegraphed."

That's almost exactly the OPPOSITE of what I said. Rather, in response to comments I've seen that Wally's death was out of the blue, I said I found those comments to be ironic, because Brandon and I spent the whole season afraid we were telegraphing WALLY's death too much. We cut lines of dialogue from and about Wally because we thought it would send too obvious a signal that Wally was going to buy it at the end. (And this is NOT meant as a statement with regards to Myth #1 above. As far as Season Two is concerned, Wally is considered dead. What that may bode for the future, is something that I won't respond to for the reasons outlined above.)

We did - at the very beginning of the season's development - briefly consider taking out Barry instead of Wally. But we decided that Barry was too much of a minor character, and that his death would have no resonance for our audience, would exact no cost. I suppose, as some have argued, we could have spent the entire season bulking up Barry's part to make sure his end had resonance, but we didn't have either the screen time or, frankly, the desire to do that. Wally mattered to our audience. Even with relatively little screen time in Season Two, he MATTERED. And I think the proof that we made the correct choice is obvious in how it's torn fans apart over his demise. It hurts. It hurt us too. I still well up watching that scene - and I've seen it dozens of times by now. It is sad. It's supposed to be sad when a hero that we love dies. Given that, I don't have any regrets.

Myth #3: "Greg stated that Ocean-Master will have a huge roll in Young Justice: Legacy."

No, I didn't say anything of the sort. You guys have seen the villains who are participating in Legacy. You already KNOW he's not in there.

Myth #4: "Greg stated that Troia will have a huge roll in Legacy."

No, I did not. You already know the heroes participating in Legacy - except for the these-are-just-for-fun-and-don't-count-toward-the-canon-story characters. You already KNOW she's not participating in the story.

Myth #5: "Greg stated that Mary Batson is Lieutenant Marvel."

No, I did not. First off, I've never once mentioned anyone named Mary Batson. I have mentioned Mary Bromfield. But she is NOT Lieutenant Marvel. I did give a small spoiler about the Marvel Family at ASK GREG LIVE, but I'm going to leave it as a prize for those who attended in person.

Myth #6: "Greg stated that the plan from day one was to use Donna in Season One and Cassie in Season Two."

This is more of a half-truth. EARLY, early on, Donna was one of our leading candidates for Season One. This was before we had even narrowed things down very much. And BEFORE any true decisions were made, we were informed by our DC Liasons that both Wonder Girls were off-limits for legal reasons that were never explained to us. (So don't ask me.) So neither Wonder Girl was seriously considered. Then Geoff Johns came aboard and made both Wonder Girls available. Unfortunately, by that time, it was flat out too late to include Donna. So we decided we'd put Cassie in Season Two. And have Donna be one of the characters who joined and left the Team during the timeskip, and cameo her in Season Two. Unfortunately, for reasons reported fairly accurately from ASK GREG LIVE, we were unable to cameo either Troia or Mary at Rocket's bridal shower because there just wasn't time for Phil Bourassa to design FOUR new characters, i.e. the two girls in both their civilian and super-hero costumes. Had they appeared in "Satisfaction", then they would have also had cameos in "Endgame", since their designs would already have been completed. But since they didn't appear in the earlier episode, we weren't able to get them at all. This is a sadness to me. But there are realities of production that we're all subject to.

Myth #7: "Greg stated that rumors about DC wanting Wally killed off were 'complete horses#!t.'"

I NEVER used the term "Horses#!t" and never would. I clearly said "complete bulls#!t."

WONDERCON & ASK GREG LIVE

I'm declaring ASK GREG LIVE at WonderCon a success!!

We had about twenty or so people show up (including Masterdramon and Blaise). It was informal, fun (for me, at least) and, hopefully, informative. As expected, we mostly talked about YOUNG JUSTICE, but there were also questions about GARGOYLES and THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN and how to break into the business, etc. So it was a nice Ask Greg-ish mix.

Someone said they were waiting for me to say "SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT." And I really did mean to say it, but I'm not sure that I ever really did. I don't think I spoiled very much, but I definitely revealed a couple things that I'm fairly confident I would not have revealed here on the website. I guess seeing the in-person faces of the fans melts me - at least a little.

I wasn't sure how many people would show up, so I had no idea how long it would run, but I had figured on about an hour. But we stood there - no sitting allowed in the Anaheim Convention Center Lobby - for over an hour and a half, and the time just raced by. (Special thanks to Matthew for holding up the ASK GREG LIVE sign for nearly the entire event.) At the end, we took a few photos, and I did an impromptu signing for anyone who had something they wanted signed. (Hadn't planned on that either, so I didn't have a pen. So thanks also to those who loaned me their sharpies!)

If you were there, I invite you to post about it here at ASK GREG tomorrow (i.e. Sunday, March 31st, 2013) or at the Station 8 Comment Room anytime next week. (I'll be stopping by to see what folks thought.) It's something I'd like to think about doing again. Perhaps at Denver Comic-Con or maybe even at San Diego Comic-Con (though that venue would present some MAJOR challenges). So even if you weren't able to attend, let me know if you'd like to see it happen again.

Back to answering questions...

As I'm about to start answering questions here on ASK GREG - post "Endgame" - I want to first reiterate what I've already posted here:

http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=1026

I will NOT suddenly be SPOILING stuff left and right.

The YJ questions that have the best chance of being answered are ones about process and decision making regarding the television episodes and comic book issues that have already aired or been released. Asking for additional content is not at all likely to be rewarded. NOT. AT. ALL.

And again, if you want to know why, read this:

http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=1026

WONDERCON ANAHEIM - ASK GREG LIVE

WONDERCON ANAHEIM - Who'd like to meet up?

My daughter Erin and I will be attending WonderCon on Friday, March 29th:

http://www.comic-con.org/wca

I'm not on a panel or anything official. I'm just going to look around, hang out, etc. But ASK GREG moderator Masterdramon is also going, and we thought it might be fun to organize a semi-impromptu ASK GREG LIVE event. I assume most folks would want to talk about Young Justice, which is great. But we can also discuss Gargoyles or the weather or whatever. Chris Jones and I did something similar a few weeks ago at a Doctor Who convention, and we had fun. I think about twenty or so fans showed, which was a nice number. We might wind up with a few more or less. Or, heck, maybe it'll just be me, Erin and Masterdramon, which is okay too. EIther way, we want to try to keep the thing unofficial, informal, casual, etc.

The main question I have is exactly when and where should we meet up? Has to be Friday the 29th, and because (a) I'm driving down there from Los Angeles and (b) it's the first day of the con, it probably shouldn't be too early. Likewise, I'm not staying overnight, and I have the drive home, so not too late either. So an afternoon meet-up, I'm guessing. Or maybe lunch? An early dinner? Linner?

And where do we meet? How do we find each other? (I'm not familiar enough with the Anaheim Convention Center to know exactly where a good spot might be.)

I'm definitely open to suggestions. I'm posting this here at ASK GREG, but also in the Station 8 Comment Room, which I'll be checking periodically between now and the con. If you have any thoughts on where we could meet, please post them there:

http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/comment/index.php

It'll also help us gauge interest in how many people might actually be, well... interested in this sort of thing. So even if you have no suggestions but you plan on joining us, post anyway, so that we can begin to approximate a head count. It may influence where we meet up.

The week before the convention, I'll post the final specifics on where and when at ASK GREG and at Station 8.

Hope to see at least a few of you soon.

The Coming Deluge - Yet More Ask Greg Guidelines

The Coming Deluge - Yet More Ask Greg Guidelines

So, I truly hope I'm wrong, but I have to admit I'm anticipating a deluge of questions asking for SPOILERS after the airing of this Saturday's YOUNG JUSTICE: INVASION finale. I understand the impulse: "The television and comic book series are over, so there's no reason for him to hold back anymore! It means anything and everything are now fair game! He can never say 'SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT.' again"

But, see, that's not how I feel about it. So here's why, and here's how that should guide your future questions at ASK GREG:

1. Let's start here: OBJECTIVELY we're not over. YOUNG JUSTICE: LEGACY is due out in the fall, and it will contain new content - a SUBSTANTIAL amount of new CANON story content, based on ideas suggested to Little Orbit by Brandon Vietti and myself, and all vetted after the fact by us, as well, to make sure everything from dialogue to timestamps is consistent with the property as a whole. Now, LEGACY is set during the five-year-gap. So I'm not going to be inclined to answer questions that require me to reveal things that happened during our time skip. And not just Legacy related stuff either, because if I answer some questions about the gap but refuse to answer others, I'll be de facto spoiling. That I will not do, so please refrain from asking questions about the missing five years.

2. If I've learned anything from the long haul on GARGOYLES, it's that things sometimes DO come back. So SUBJECTIVELY I don't feel like we're over either. I still have hopes - however slim - of returning to Earth-16 one day. So there are secrets that I still may want to keep. Particularly about "Season Three". I'm not saying I'll never reveal anything. Sometimes a tidbit here or there helps keep fan interest alive. But I'm not going to wholesale give away the plans that Brandon and I came up with for what happens next. In general, I'm much more inclined to clarify what's already been shown then reveal what hasn't been shown. So try focusing your questions on what's aired or seen print and try to refrain from asking What Happens Next questions. When I feel like revealing something, I will.

3. ASK GREG is NOT a good format for me to tell creative stories. Any question, wherein the answer could fill an entire issue of a comic book or an entire episode of a television series or MORE will not be answered, because I will not short-change a story with a quick response, and I will not tell a story here at ASK GREG. So try to refrain from asking questions that would take an entire issue or episode to answer.

4. Brandon and I have many, many ideas for what happened before Season One, a few still left for what happened during Season One, many for what happened between seasons (including but not limited to Legacy), many ideas for stuff that happened off-camera during Season Two, tons of ideas for Season Three, and many, many, many ideas for beyond Season Three. BUT... ideas minus execution are subject to tremendous second-guessing. So I'm not inclined to give you new content. If I had told you before Season One that Red Arrow was the mole, minus how we executed that plot, it might have seemed quite weak. It's the execution that demonstrates whether or not an idea shines. And frankly, I don't need the second guessing and, well, nastiness that the internet encourages. So that's just another reason to refrain from asking what else we might have planned.

5. I will not lie to you here at ASK GREG, per this post: http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=982 . But I also will not state things that I believe to be true if stating those things will pretty much guarantee that I won't ever work in this town again. I have a mortgage to pay and kids to feed and clothe, etc. So you will not see me bad-mouthing companies in this public space. So please refrain from asking questions that would force me to do that. The best you'll get is no response.

6. Keep in mind, I answer questions because I like to be in touch with the fans, and I think it's fun for us all. But that doesn't mean I somehow OWE you an answer. The more entitled you think you are to the answer, (I can all but guarantee) the less inclined I'll be to respond in any useful way. Maybe that's me being needlessly contrary, but I'm just going to admit up front that it rubs me the wrong way. So tonally, try to avoid a sense of entitlement in your questions.

All this is IN ADDITION to the FOURTEEN guidelines already posted here: http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/ask.php I'll admit that these six new guidelines are perhaps even more subjective than the previous fourteen, but I guarantee you that we'll all be happier if you stick to them. And the happier I am, the more likely that I'll drop the occasional surprise here and there. Whereas, the more assaulted I feel, the more likely I am to get annoyed and clam up about everything. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Otherwise... thanks for stopping by. Seriously. The dark days at ASK GREG seem to have passed for the most part, and most days I enjoy doing it again. I just want to keep it that way. Thanks.

YOUNG JUSTICE: INVASION: EPISODE: 212: "True Colors": Premieres!

YOUNG JUSTICE: INVASION: EPISODE: 212: "True Colors": Premieres!

A new mission! A new Teammate! And a new player in the game!! You won't want to miss our newest episode of Young Justice, premiering on DC NATION this Saturday (and Sunday), January 19th (and 20th) along with a new GREEN LANTERN and more new DC NATION super-hero shorts! Check local listings for times.

And also Saturday night on the SyFy Channel, check out this new original movie: TASMANIAN DEVILS, starring our own Miss Martian, Danica McKellar. That's right, the live-action Danica is kicking some Tasmanian ass and taking some Tasmanian names!!

Meanwhile, for those who have been wondering why I haven't answered many questions recently, here at ASK GREG, it's because I've (a) been out of town on a much needed vacation and (b) been swamped since I got back. I'll try to get back on the horse next week.

CAUGHT UP

Well, I've finally caught up and cleaned out the ASK GREG queue. We'll plan to reopen the site- at least briefly - when Young Justice: Invasion #23 hits the stands later this month. Then again, when DC Nation starts up with new Young Justice: Invasion episodes on January 5th, 2013.

I'm looking forward to reading your responses to the new issues and episodes - and to Black Manta's Celebrity Hot Tub. (If there seems to be a demand, I might be tempted to write more of the latter for this site.)

But right now... I'm going to take a short break.