Spacebabie writes...

Gathering Journal III
Woke up early again after barely any sleep. Took a shower and the bathroom floor flooded. My night gown got soaked.
My head was starting to hurt.
Went to breakfast with Mooncat. we were joined by Patrick and Kathy. Get this Patrick was not aware that Deidric Bader was the voice of Jason Canmore.
After Breakfast I bummed some tylenol off of someone. I'm sorry I forgot your name but thank you whoever you are.

We lounged on the sofas afterwords and I took a lil snooze.
Went on mad raid at the dealers buying a bunch of stuff: A picture for mom, cards, a Lex plushie and a dragon for me.
Chilled with Demona May and explained I wanted to buy one of her prints. We talked about the situation with my early flight with the con chair. She gave me a free clender.

Before number one I was able to purchase Demona May's print.
I was torn between the countdown and the Radio play, but when will I ever get a chance to see Gargoyles again? I don't have Toon Disney,((Yes I am aware of the irony that I live within a 20 minute drive from Disney World and I don't have Toon Disney)) and when the heck will I ever get to see Deadly Force? I had to absorb it all.

Changed a little before the banquet, had some tome to kill so I went to the snack room. Greg G was there talking about th Lilo and Stitch series that was working on.

Banquest started and I was seated with a group of Con Virgins.
The Food sucked, compared to the banquet in Orlando: Burgers, mac and cheese paste, and a hot dog. The only thing to drink there was water. Emily fetched a plate of lemon slice so we could make Lemonaid. Stood near Demona May to take pics of the Gregs.

As I changed into my costume I had trouble with the hosiery. The Pantys and belt was no problem. Mooncat laced up the corset in the back. I slipped into my shoes, did my hair,make up, shimmer and beads. Grabbed my puse and camera and shirt.
Luckily I did not come in contanct with any norms on my way to the elevator. When the doors opened everyone's jaws dropped and the guys drooled. I was a big hit. Everyone was taking pics, but really impressed me was everyone elses costume. Damn they were great. Aaron and Mara looked beautiful, and the crossdressers were a hoot. Lynati's was the best. Everyone was impressed with her feet. I had to touch the wings of those who had wings.

Well we were introduced and I shook my booty when I strut my stuff. After I went on I took some more pics. Then I had to get a pic of myself between the two Grgs, but the camera ATE it!!!! Well I gave beads away to the guys, only making a few flash.
Then I pulled on my shirt and sat amongst the others so we had our picture taken for Toon Disney and Disney Japan.

Followed Aaron and Greg B To Aaron and Maras room, we talked and I got registered for next year. Then I changed clothes. So I can breath and dance. Decided to finally draw something, but ended up dancing and Joining Greg W's discussion group until I was tired.

Bid fare well to Crzy before I went to pack and go to bed.

Next day Leo drove me to the Airport and I flew back home.

Great Weekened. Only had a few problems.
1. the headache.
2. I pulled a hamstring
3.The food
4.It didn't last long enough.

Next year I'll try to pace myself, and to bring a bottle of Tylenol.
Also try to convince my dad to come next year. He loved the show as well.

JEB writes...

Random question - which is longer (page-length-wise), the Gargoyles Timeline or the Gargoyles Encyclopedia manuscript?

JEB writes...

Day 3 - Sunday, June 30, 2002

Woke up at 9:50 AM or so. Dad went out to get us breakfast, so we waited around a bit until he returned. As soon as we
were done and a time of 2 PM was set for meeting and heading home, I headed down to see the Atlantis Q & A panel. I waited a bit while the Roughnecks Q & A ended, but eventually just went on in when it went into overtime.

The Atlantis Q & A, when it started, was interesting; Greg described it as a panel on the "death of a show." The discussion, headed by the two Gregs, went into all sorts of tangents. The show was around halfway complete when it was axed, leading some in the entertainment industry to describe such a previously unheard-of circumstance as "Atlantis-ing a show." Basically, Atlantis: The Lost Empire did well enough when considering international revenues, but it was a failure in the U.S., and
internationally when compared to corporate expectations; so rather than create a series that made the movie more likable, such as the case was with the Disney's Hercules series (my opinion, I'll grant), they dropped the show entire. Greg also commented (regarding the film) that it felt like a film-by-committee and that certain parts (such as the over-long fireside discussion of the characters' backgrounds) seemed to indicate that the creators really wanted to do a musical. (On that note, he said that Lilo
and Stitch probably worked better because they weren't trying to make a musical.) The direct-to-video Team Atlantis movie will contain the three episodes nearest to completion (they'd been sent on to animators when the show was canned). The entire main cast from the film, save Michael J. Fox and the late Jim Varney, were involved in the show. Mike Mignola did conceptual designs for many creatures for the show, which (as he put it) he would combine into a combined "Frankenstein" whole. Many
elements (such as explosions) were considered too violent (quite a increase in the S&P since Gargoyles' era...), and were toned down; for example, the bit in "The Last" where Vinnie tossed a bomb into an animated gargoyle's hands and blew it up was reduced to Kida doing a loop-de-loop in the autogyro to throw the creature off. Basically, it seemed that Disney was doing what it and a lot of Hollywood, sadly, prefer to do anymore- aim lower. Unlike the early and mid-1990s, when Disney created kids' entertainment with appeal for the whole family, Disney now creates only stuff that can appeal to their vision of children's likes and dislikes. I was rather disappointed when I heard Team Atlantis was canned, not simply for the fact that Gargoyles would make a sort-of comeback during its run, but because it sounded like a promising show (heck, I felt like the
film was a pilot for an ongoing series more than a standalone film; how right my instincts were, eh?).

After Greg Guler left and the panel shifted to voice acting, I headed to the art show, browsed a bit more, and corrected the person watching the room on how to say my net-name (Jeb, not J E B, if you're curious) when she asked. Then I went to the video room and watched the first few episodes of Cowboy Bebop. (For some reason, I expected I'd dislike that show; now it's a favorite.) Halfway through episode three, the auction crowd gathered; figuring I might as well give it a shot, I signed up to bid. Many fine items appeared, including the radio play script, Greg's version of the script, and the recording of the actual VA's
material; original art from Roy Sato of the Gargoyles cast, some of which shot up as high as $510 in the bidding; a poster of CrzyDemona's Demona fanart signed by Marina Sirtis (which Greg B. won) and a Star Trek: Insurrection DVD, box signed by Jonathan Frakes; and Greg Guler's original sketch of a stone Goliath. I left a few times when the auction lasted past 2 PM; but my family showed up late, so I got some extra time. I negotiated to stay until 3 PM, and did so; tried to bid on a Castle Wyvern playset, but it got too rich for my blood (in other words, it topped $20). After it ended, I said good-bye to Greg B., browsed the art room one more time, said good-bye again to Greg B. as I passed him (and he said I'd better update MOA or he'd kill me), and walked upstairs. After my family unsettled themselves from where they sat amidst Abram Wintersmith and the Clan Olympians' rules-talk, we headed on home.

While lower-key than some prior Gatherings (I missed G2K1, but I suspect it was much less grand than that con), G2K2 was still a fun con. In a way, the lower-key approach helped, as it emphasized fan interaction more than activities. My thanks to Siryn and all the other con staff and volunteers for running such a smooth operation and making this con so good!

JEB writes...

Day 2 - Saturday, June 29, 2002

Woke up around 8:50 AM or so. Since our room still smelled, Mom pointed out the problem to the front desk, but they chose to do nothing despite a promise to at least air out the room. My family and I decided to go eat breakfast at the pancake place next door, but it was heavily crowded with two busloads of tourists. We decided to eat elsewhere, and after about a half-hour of looking, we finally decided to go to McDonald's. (I might note that the McDonald's Chicken Biscuit breakfast meal is rather good.)

After that was done with, we headed back to the hotel; Mom & Dad went touristing, while Jack and I went to the con. Our
first stop was the Dealer's Room; I'm guessing the supply of Gargoyles merchandise still extant is shrinking, since there seemed to be much less to choose from this time. (There was plenty of non-Gargoyles stuff to choose from, but that wasn't what I wanted...) Even so, I was happy to acquire a Xanatos Roadster (with the non-armored Xanatos figure), and my brother bought a second Steel Clan figure. We then browsed the art room (some nice stuff!). Then Jack and I took our new toys back to Mom & Dad's room (our base while our room was supposedly aired out), and waited there a bit until the Gargoyles Top Ten was due to start.

When the time came, we headed down and started watching. They were aired in reverse order (10 to 1), and we saw the first four choices (#10 - "The Gathering" Part II, #9 - "Deadly Force", #8 - "Kingdom", and #7 - "Temptation") and the first bit of #6 ("Vows") before we went to the Radio Play. I took copious notes, though I'm sure I'm forbidden to post them in full online; however, suffice to say that the play was definitely worth attending!

After the Radio Play ended, Jack and I headed back to the video room and watched the Top 3 of the Top 10 (#3 - "Hunter's Moon" Part II, #2 - "Hunter's Moon" Part III, #1 - "The Mirror"). (The guy in charge thought "The Mirror" was #2, but that turned out to be a mistake.) The other two, #5 and #4, were "Future Tense" and "Hunter's Moon" Part I, respectively. Thus, the Gathering 2002's Gargoyles Top Ten were:

#1 - "The Mirror"
#2, 3, 4 - "Hunter's Moon" Trilogy
#5 - "Future Tense"
#6 - "Vows"
#7 - "Temptation"
#8 - "Kingdom"
#9 - "Deadly Force"
#10 - "The Gathering" Part II

Personally, I thought "Kingdom" was a rather surprising choice- perhaps the Brooklyn factor made it popular?

Just before the Top Ten ended, it was announced (a reminder for us) that anyone paying for a full registration was entitled to a free banquet. (A first for Gatherings, I believe, and a much-appreciated one.) Jack was getting rather hungry and had a headache, so we headed up to the room during the break between Top 10 and banquet, but Mom & Dad weren't back. We waited a bit- they finally arrived, but only with their own dinner and no snacks. Jack managed to get some of Mom's meal, and waited in the room to deal wioth his growing headache. (I waited for the main meal- Jack, unfortunately, doesn't really have that option considering his blood sugar.) As I wandered a bit, I encountered A Fan, who didn't know I was attending (and gave me quite the bear-hug; as in, ouch). I also chatted briefly with a Magic: The Gathering fan, who I tried to barter with over the Gargoyles comic I brought with me. Then, I headed back to the room to retrieve Jack, and we went to the banquet.

The banquet was interesting. I was sure the little area, adjacent to the swimming pool, would be far too small for the Gathering crowd; but it comfortably seated the bunch of us. Me and Jack had two open seats, so the Gregs sat at our table. Neither of us were quite prepared for that eventuality, so we were rather disappointing conversationalists. Over the hamburger, hot dog, and
macaroni & cheese meal the hotel provided, they did mention their late-comer-ness towards CDs and DVDs (Greg W. still
doesn't have a DVD player of his own; Greg G. also came in rather late with laserdiscs), a perhaps-failing they shared with us; and Greg mentioned his one-hamburger-a-day rule over his _second_ burger of the day. For some reason, we found it was much easier to talk to them individually; when Greg W. stepped away for a bit, we briefly discussed the fun of being at a con with Greg G., and when Greg G. stepped away, Jack randomly asked Greg W. about video games (he hasn't played them much since Pong). Greg W. also took a look at my notes on the Top 10 (and the Team Atlantis ep, though that wasn't what he wanted to see). He was also somewhat surprised to see "Kingdom" in the Top 10, as well as "Temptation" (which we agreed might be due to the Brooklyn factor). He did agree with "The Mirror" as a good candidate for stand-alone episodes in the #1 slot. Also mentioned the recording of the "Bad Guys" leica reel by some parties, which he said he noticed and planned to talk
about.

After Greg G. returned, the Gregs held the Q & A. Greg W. first mentioned that he wanted anyone who recorded "Bad Guys" to please destroy their tapes or give them to him, because he couldn't risk "Bad Guys" getting into the public domain. The rest of the session included many oft-asked questions, but with nicely witty responses. (Especially when Greg W. passed some off to Greg G., whose answer was always "Absolutely.") Greg G. discussed the upcoming Lilo and Stitch regular series, which will involve Stitch's fellow-experiments arriving on Earth. Sgt. Goliath also noted in one of his questions that many of the 20,000
soldiers on his former military post watched Gargoyles (to which Greg W. responded by asking him to get them all to sign something and send it to Disney). I also found out his personal Timeline of the Gargoyles universe is along the lines of 200 pages in length! (Man, I want to see that Gargoyles Encyclopedia book now... I wonder if maybe he'd have a shot with Mad Norwegian Press, who recently published guides for the Doctor Who novels and Transformers?)

With the banquet ended, me and Jack decided to hit Mom and Dad's room (where I snagged a package of delicious
toffee-covered peanuts; dinner didn't quite fill me), and then wait for the Masquerade in the video room. We watched a few eps of Trigun, a series new to us that proved very entertaining. As the Masquerade crowd gathered up, I signed my name to one of the three frames for the upcoming group photo, then headed in, but Jack stayed to watch Transformers the Movie.

The masquerade costumes included many unfamiliar characters, and even more cross-dressing (including CrzyDemona as David Xanatos and Patrick Toman as Fox). After the costume displaying was done, I went back to the video room, watched a bit of TFTM, then took Jack back for the group photo. Then, after chatting briefly with A Fan and Winterwolf, I took Jack back to the room at his request, and went down to watch the rest of TFTM. Along the way, I sold my extra copy of Gargoyles #1 to a collector in the elevator. Greg B. stopped by for a bit and did some good-natured MST3K'ing of the movie; Jack returned just as the movie ended. Between TFTM and the next movie, I signed my name to the other two photo-frames, took peeks into the masquerade, and talked with Duncan and Guandalug over plans for the new Gargoyles Fan Registry. Jack and I both stayed to watch Army of Darkness. (It was interesting to see a film with a crowd of people who knew it well enough to speak the lines along with the actors.) We didn't get to see the alternate ending (due to the person in charge not being informed of such), and we listened as Hudson and company made plans for a dart-gun war a la Quake.

As the quiet hour began, Hudson and his friends snagged half the masquerade room and began playing, with Jack watching; I stayed in the other half and listened to the late night conversations with other fans and Greg W. Eventually, around 1 AM, I tried to get Jack to go back to the room, but he stayed a bit more; after I informed Dad that we'd be back by 2 AM, Jack came back. I headed back down, listened until the crowd headed to Denny's, then went back to my room. After watching good eps of Superman: TAS (the first Bizarro ep) and Batman: TAS (the Clock King ep), I went to sleep.

Ruthie writes...

What led you to come up with this creative idea? I mean, I never would have thought up Gargoyles as actually living with emotions that usually human beings are the only ones to possess.
I'm also curious as to how you did break into the business. I hope to one day succeed as you have. I hope you can offer some tips and it's not at all luck that gave you a chance to make Gargoyles.

JEB writes...

Since Greg B. suggested I do so, posting my Gathering 2002 journal here. :)

Day 1 - Friday, June 28, 2002

After a four-hour road trip, we arrived at the Gathering around 4:30 PM. We'd planned ahead, purchasing two adjacent
rooms- Mom and Dad would have one, and would tourist around Williamsburg, while me and Jack would have the other,
allowing us a greater degree of freedom at the Gathering than at the last one the family shared (G98). However, our room was not yet ready, so we kept our stuff in the parents' room. Me and Jack went downstairs and registered, then headed back up and waited for Opening Ceremonies. Our room was also ready, so we moved in, but it was badly cooled and a tad malodorous. (It never really improved from that state. We suspect it was used by a pet owner previously, and the cleaning crew did a poor job of cleaning it up.)

We headed down to Opening Ceremonies (Jack's first!). I saw Mandolin as I waited in line, as Jack asked me a pile of
questions to cover his nervousness. After we arrived, Siryn tried to entertain us while things were getting ready with items like the Top 10 questions asked at a Gathering (including the now-famous "Mommy, what's a con virgin?"). We had two guests this time- Greg Weisman (thereafter referred to as "Greg W.") and Greg Guler (thereafter referred to as "Greg G."). After the opening began, Greg W. gave a speech about the show and the fandom, and how it's still vital (with many people making this their first Gathering) and how the people who'd attended all six Gatherings are our heroes, people who all Gargoyles fans owe a debt for their devotion. He also announced two surprising bits. Firstly, Toon Disney sent a bunch of stuff- Gargoyles baseball caps and sweatshirts, along with an advertisement that they wanted read- but it was all free! Then, Greg W. dropped the major bombshell- Gargoyles is getting on DVD! Our requests over the years have been heard, and this is also a significant event for one simple reason- Disney, on a hey-we-can-make-money-off-these-people level, realizes our fandom exists. And that is a GOOD thing for the show.

We also heard about G2K3, which will return to Manhattan (of course, I knew about it already, what with my loose
association with the Con Staff- that said, I kinda hid when I realized there was a risk of being dragged on-stage). Then, Greg W. went into his presentation. It was the same as since G99, but it was still as entertaining as ever- and Jack was seeing it for the first time, which made it cooler. After the presentation ended, everyone lined up with their tickets (handed to them at registration) to get either a cap or a sweatshift (I got the former, Jack the latter). I met with Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky briefly (thereafter referred to as Greg B.), then headed back to the room with our stuff. Jack stayed there, and we got dinner (Ledo's Pizza); after finishing, I left and wandered... about 30 seconds, before I ran into Greg B. again. I'd brought the Blockbuster-exclusive Gargoyles video he won in one of my eBay auctions, followed him back to his room (trying to sell him my extra copy of Gargoyles #1 along the way), and got him to finally pay for it. We also chatted about G2K, Lord of the Rings and other random topics.

He wanted to hit the adult fanfic panel, but I didn't, so I went into the Video Room and watched Tenchi Muyo! movie #2,
"Daughter of Darkness." Entertaining enough, if a little disturbing in parts. After that ended, I waited to go into the Fandom Address/Hudson's Rant; as the attendees gathered (though some preferred the MST3K session next door), I met with Zaius (under some new alias- Kaelynn, I think?) and Greg B. Hudson (and Chris Rogers) had a lot to say about server troubles, and also laid out their plans for the fandom- to remake Gargoyles-Fans into a site more akin to "Planet Quake" (or the late "Planet Namek"), regularly updated by a crew of people and including a wide variety of topics. The two Gregs stopped by for a bit and listened in. Hudson went on to mention my Gargoyles Fan Registry as one thing he wanted to pull in- I was very gratified when he recognized the work I did on the rather sizable site, and rightly pointed out that automating the process would make things much easier. When Hudson mentioned a rather crude scenario involving Bill Gates and the Manhattan clan, the Gregs high-tailed it out- whether it was coincidence, offense, or a need to avoid fanfic ideas (as the conversation was moving in that direction). Hudson's Rant, following the illustration of his and Chris' plans, was very funny; Hudson could make a good living as a stand-up comedian. Eventually, however, the show ended, and we all left; before I went back to my room, Hudson gave me his e-mail (after my cumbersome address caught him off-guard) to contact him later. I headed upstairs, and quickly went to sleep.

Bigduo writes...

What exactly was the original origin of the praying gargoyle(before the whole team Atlantis thing)? Did it still have connections to Atlantis?

Spacebabie writes...

Gathering Journal part II
Friday.

I woke up early and decided to find some breakfast. The hotel had a little resteraunt that sold breakfast. So in wa way we were all at a bed and breakfast.
After breakfast I just lounged around chatting until reg opened.

Reg opened. Recieved my badge and our manilla pack that contained a lot of stuff. I checked the schedual. The Badges were nice. They were on lanyards instead of on pins, and the lanyards were decorated with alien heads. The Lanyard fit with my Screen Name.

First thing I did was the Mug a guest with You. You paused for a pic((Wich the camera ate ::weep::)) and weintroduced Ourselves. Yes this was my officially second gathering.
Went to the dealers room and scoped out the merchandise, Bought an Ice Storm Brooklyn. I went to put it away when I stopped to chat with Leo and a few others in the hall. Mara and Aaron woke up. She gave me a picture that she made just for me. IT RULZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tried out for the Radio play and was at the Fanfic panel. Ate something and chatted with Greg B, Aaron((saw his tatoo)), Dreamie and Winterwolf.

Opeing Ceremonis was great, despite the fact that I was in the back. Saw the original panels as well as the panels for some of the spin offs. After I got a free shirt.

Afterwords I goofed off a bit and then went down for the adult fiction workshop. Both You and Greg G were there, but you guys left before we really got into a good discussion. Kathy brought u some interesting ideas on what to do with Severius.
Next was the MGK3000. Both eps wee from the Goliath Chronicles so they both deserved to be Msted.

Went to the 11:00 thing With you. It was fun, spent a lot of time just yacking. I stayed until 1:00 Then Sleepy time.

Tommorow part III.

matt writes...

i must thank you for the awesome revelations abouit the Praying Gargoyle you gave us at G2K2! definitly one of my favirote talismans!
some questions:

1. how did Demona learn of the Praying Gargoyle?
1b. how did Demona learn it was buried under Paris?
1c. how did Demona know it had regenarative powers on holy ground?

2. how long does it take the Praying Gargoyle to rebuild itself after being smashed?

3. is it a coicidence that the Praying gargoyle has these regenerative powers that are awfully similar to a gargoyle's "concrete cure-all"?

4. what is the Praying Gargoyle made of? stone? stone skin? something else?

5. until "Hunters Moon" did anyone of the Manhatten Clan know anything about the Praying gargoyle or that it even existed?

6. do the London, Ishimura or Mayan Clans have any knowledge of the Praying gargoyle before 1996?

i could go on, but thats enough, for now, thanks Greg! you rule!!!

JEB writes...

Just want to confirm for myself... can we consider the origin of the Praying Gargoyles as (would have been) seen in Team Atlantis as valid for the Gargoyles universe, or is that neat back-story at best similar?

Pleasure seeing you at G2K2. :)