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Gathering 2007 - Insta-Journal, Part Nine

MONDAY, JUNE 23rd, 2007

When I woke up around 9am, my arm was killing me from Air Hockey. I am SO old and decrepit (more on this in a second). At 10am, Thom, Karine and I had a signing during the auction. I also purchased some G2008 t-shirts for Beth, Erin & Benny. Then I had a phone meeting about the music for Spider-Man. Then Closing Ceremonies, which is always bittersweet. The plan was to head out to Dollywood, but it started to rain during Closing, so instead 20 of us went to play Laser Tag. Despite my sore shoulder, I played more air hockey, beating ALL comers. I was like some kind of air hockey god! Of course, Flanker wasn't there, so he might still have been able to beat me. I so need a rematch. My shoulder even felt better AFTER playing. Then Laser Tag, which was fun. But almost immediately after that, I was sore as hell. I got a root beer at Wallmart, and then 18 of us went to dinner at Corky's. I sat with Kathy, Seth, Sammy and Greg, and we had great barbecue and split two cobblers, including an AMAZING berry cobbler. We walked back to the hotel, and it was back to work for me - despite the fact that by this time my legs, back, shoulder, you name it, were stiff as hell and killing me. Oh, well, no rest for the weary or the wicked or both. I finished editing the seventh Spider-Man outline and turned that in at about 3am. Watched some t.v. until 4am, and went to sleep.

TO BE CONCUDED...


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Gathering 2007 - Insta-Journal, Part Eight

SUNDAY, JUNE 23rd, 2007

Despite going to bed at 4am, I woke up for no good reason at 5:30am. Stayed in bed for 45 minutes, hoping I'd get back to sleep. No go. So I got up and worked. Checked my e-mail, did an Insta-Journal and worked on the outline for Spider-Man episode #7. Jamie Thomason, Gargoyles & Spider-Man voice director, called, and we reviewed the recording script for Spidey ep. #4. Then at noon I went to my first panel of the day: Gargoyles Physiology & Culture with Lynati and Jade. It was truly a fascinating panel for me. I love hearing and talking about this stuff. At 2pm, Karine and I had the Gargoyles & Bad Guy Comic Book panel. Since, I'm reluctant to reveal too much beyond issue #5 (since everyone at the Gathering saw #5 the night before), the panel turned into a fan marketing seminar. But I guess that's okay. At 3:30, I met with Ted, a Cartoon Network writer to discuss a project we're working on together. Then at 5pm came the Banquet. I sat with Karine, Samuel, Thom and Nikki. The food was very good. I really liked the Apple Pie. We had one more Q&A, led by Abbie, mostly, who is VERY enthusiastic and fun. After that, Thom and I played Air Hockey. People began to gather, and I beat all comers (Thom twice, Ed, Yami Raven) -- except Flanker, who beat me twice. Our last game, I was winning at one point 6-2 and I just lost all energy, like someone flipped a switch. I only needed one more goal, and he still beat me 7-6. Next came the Masquerade. The big winner -- best in show -- was Aaron as Hal the Gargoyle Halloween King. AMAZING costume. There was some dancing and singing and lip synching. After that, Mike and Tracy helped Thom, Susan and I record a You Tube promo for G2008. I went back down to the Masq, but I was pretty tired. Stopped by Jennifer, Gore & Karine's room and then went to bed. Slept for SEVEN hours, which for me is just great!


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Gathering 2007 - Insta-Journal, Part Seven

SATURDAY, JUNE 23rd, 2007

We held our second set of auditions at 10am. A good turnout, which was lucky, as we had 40 (that's right 40) speaking parts to hand out. We wound up with 37 auditions and -- over lunch at a pancake house -- cast all of them, with a few people doubling up. One of our 36 didn't show up to rehearsal, so we (myself, Thom Adcox and Jennifer Anderson) wound up with a cast of 36 (or 38, if you count me and the two Alex Xanatoses -- more on that later).

At 2pm, I had my mug-a-guest with a small group of fans, which was a lot of fun.

And then at 4pm, we held our rehearsal. The large cast was very intimidating... that many people means that much can go wrong, but wow, what a great group. They all did terrific even in the first (and only) read through. Gave just a few notes -- mostly about projecting to the back of the room -- and then we took a short break before the performance at 5:30pm.

The Radio Play was Chapters 3, 4 & FIVE of Clan-Building. That's right. If you attended the Gathering this year, you got a sneak peak at how the story turns out in Chapter Five. I've sworn everyone (cast & audience) to secrecy until AFTER the book comes out in July. And to reiterate, if someone DOES leak info about issue 5 before then, it will effect what I'll be willing to tease in future radio plays. The good news is that everyone seemed to have a great time, and seemed to really like and feel satisfied by the story. Got some big laughs too. The cast was too huge for me to have it memorized, and I'm down in the lobby -- the only place I can get a signal -- so I don't have it with me, so in a future posting, I'll list the cast. Promise.

A group of us went to dinner across the street. Me, Karine & Samuel, Jennifer, Patrick, Sammy, Seth, Rebekah, Gore, Susan, Tony & Andrea. I had trout. Then while everyone else went off to get tatoos (which they didn't get -- I'm told because there wasn't time), I went back to the lobby to get some Spider-Work done.

Soon enough it was 10pm and time for the Blue Mug-A-Guest. Procedings began on the raunchy side... and were intermittently raunchy throughout, but it wasn't non-stop sleeze. It was pretty funny though. The mug broke up around 1:15am. A few of us stayed in the room until after 2 I think, but I was literally falling asleep in my chair, so Jen sent me to bed. But by that time, I had a headache. Didn't fall asleep until 4am. Woke up at 5:30am. Stayed in bed until 6:30am. Then gave up and got up.

MORE TO COME...


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Grey Wolf writes...

First off, I'd like to thank you for including strong female characters in Gargoyles. To this day, there aren't enough out there in cartoons/anime or comics/manga. It's expecialy pleasing to me because, being female, I've had to fight off the 'weaker gender' stereotype all my life! In martial arts class, a boy refused to 'contact spar' with me when our master told us to. Why? Because he'd "Never hit a girl and wasn't going to start now." Him being my friend, that stung a bit; but him being my friend was also what kept me from kicking him through the wall. Characters like Elisa, Angela and Demona made Maggie the Cat tollerable. Which, by the way, is the subject of my post.

I neither love nor hate Maggie. I suppose I sort of like her though, at least she's not exactly a coward. But she irritates me a little, she refuses to fight even though she can, she's easily frightened, she didn't react well to the gargoyles after they saved her, ect. I don't really know what Talon sees in her. Maybe you could tell me? And I have a couple more questions.

1. Does Maggie accept her Mutate form by the time of 'Masque'? She seems okay, but I'm not sure.
2. Do the Mutates have tails or not? Comics #3 and #4 have conflicting art. Are their tails retractable?

Greg responds...

What does Talon see in her... perhaps a strength that she didn't at first realize she had, a strength that has nothing to do with COMBAT. And is this the Grey Wolf, who coincidentally PLAYED Maggie in the Radio Play last night? (If so, please know that I had not read this when we cast you.)

1. More or less.
2. <sigh> The tails are constantly mutating, I guess... <sigh>

Response recorded on June 24, 2007

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Gathering 2007 - Insta-Journal, Part Six

FRIDAY, JUNE 22nd, 2007

The first real day of the Gathering -- and I spent a TON of it working on Spider-Man, which is more than a little frustrating. The whole morning was Spideyesque. Got my G2007 t-shirt, and toured the art room. Attended a bit of Thom's voice actor panel at 1:30pm, before I had to break off for another Spidey-related business call. Went to lunch with Jennifer, Patrick, Thom, Rebekah, Tony, Andrea and a couple of others. Finally at 3pm we held the first auditions for the Radio Play. Then at 5pm, Opening Ceremonies. A welcome to fans and guests. The Fan Guest of Honor Award went to Karine Charlebois, for years of dedicated (never-miss) Gathering attendance, con-chairing Montreal's Gathering (pregnant no-less) and being such an amazing fan artist that she is now a pro, pencilling Gargoyles #5 and the Bad Guys Mini-series. Susan Leonard, co-conchair of G2008 in Chicago spoke, and sent regrets from her well-but-recently hospitalized co-conchair Ellen Stolfa. Then I got up and did my schpiel, including the old promo's and pitches (for Gargoyles, New Olympians & Dark Ages) and a couple of animatics: Bad Guys and "The Last". Vashkoda has done an amazing job at continuing to put this "episode" together. Then it was mini-golf with Mike and Tracy and Susan. I got the top score on my team, but Sarah the Great on the other team, beat me handily. Then Dinner at Huck Finn's Catfish. I had fried chicken. Good stuff. Back to the hotel to try and get some work done, but the hotel connection, which only works in the lobby kept shutting down. Then Jennifer, Seth, Sammy, Tony, Andrea and myself talked on the balcony overlooking the pool. Then I went back to my room. Should have Spidey'd it up then too, but I was too beat. So I watched some tv and then went to sleep.

MORE TO COME...


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Gathering 2007 - Insta-Journal, Part Five

THURSDAY, JUNE 21st, 2007

Travel day. Beth and I got up early, packed, checked out and finally had a breakfast at our bed and breakfast. (Eggs Benedict.) Then we drove to Boston, where Beth dropped me off at Logan Airport before heading back to Nantucket to join the kids and her folks. I bought a Dunkin Donut at the airport, reviewed the outline for the 11th episode of Spidey, listened to audio for the second and third episodes, began the Kandell book and flew to Washington Dulles, where I ate a bag of my Cape Cod chips. Got on the plane to Knoxville, and slept uncomfortably through most of the flight. Landed in Knoxville, where I was picked up by Kathy Pogge, who drove me to Pigeon Forge. Got to the Grand Hotel and into my room. NO INTERNET SIGNAL in the room. Crap. (I'm currently down in the lobby typing this.) Had to spend a lot of time on the phone long distance to Spidey folk, which held up the staff dinner. (Apologies.) Finally, I made it downstairs, and fifteen of us... (me, Kathy, Jennifer, Nikki, Karine, Thom, Samuel, Susan, Patrick, Tony, Andrea, Jenn, Lynati and... and... ugh, forgetting, sorry) went across the street to the Japanese (bennihana-esque) restaurant. Great food. Sushi, steak, shrimp, lobster, veggies, salad, soup.) Fun. Yep, the Gathering has *un*officially started! Back to the hotel. I'd love to just hang out, but I have so much work still to do this week.

MORE TO COME...


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Gathering 2007 - Insta-Journal, Part FourQ. .

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20th, 2007

Went to bed late after finishing an edit on the sixth outline of the Spectacular Spider-Man -- and then woke up early again for no good reason. Beth and I drove to Hyannis to tour the Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory. On the way, I finally got that haircut I've been desperately needing. Today it rained, the first lousy weather day since we arrived in New England. The weather's been universally great. After the Potato Chip factory, we went to a mall so that I could buy a book. Bought a couple mysteries, the latest Cece Caruso by our friend Susan Kandell, and what I think is the first Michael Connelly Hieronymous Bosch mystery, which I've heard is great. We had lunch, and then went to see Knocked Up. Then back to Eastham. Relaxed for a bit, then went out to dinner at the Marconi Beach Bar-B-Q. Some good pulled pork.

More to come...


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Gathering 2007 - Insta-Journal, Part Three

TUESDAY, JUNE 19th, 2007
Beth and I slept through the "Breakfast part of "Bed & Breakfast". Got up at a leisurely pace and went to Dunkin Donuts instead. Then we drove down to Provincetown. We parked and walked up the hill to the Provincetown Museum and to the Pilgrim Monument, which we climbed. Then we walked back into town, had really bad pizza, and walked around Commercial Street, which is aptly named. Drove back to the room, and I worked a bit. Then we went out to dinner -- good food at the Wellfleet Restaurant & Bookstore (though I was disappointed to find the bookstore part closed), clam chowder, steamed mussles. We went to see Ocean's 13 and then Ben & Jerry'd our evening away.

More to come...


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Gathering 2007 - Insta-Journal, Part Two

MONDAY, JUNE 17th, 2007
Worked on episode six of Spidey, then went to bed about 2am (which is good for me). But I WOKE up for some reason at 6am. Had bacon and eggs for breakfast. And read the outline for episode ten of Spidey. (I've been working up a storm. Joe Dedicated, that's me.) Later, Beth and I went for a walk and met my father-in-law and my kids at a bike store, where bikes were rented for the kids. Erin, Benny, Beth and I had pizza and smoothies for lunch, then we returned to the house.

Beth and I picked up our luggage, and -- after saying goodbye to my kids and mother-in-law -- my father-in-law dropped us off at the ferry to Hyanis for a few days of husband/wife time. We took the ferry to the Cape, rented our car and drove to Eastham, where we checked into a lovely room at the Penny House Inn. We napped a bit, and then went out to dinner at the Lobster Pool, where we had excellent and cheap lobsters. Then Ben & Jerry's. Then mini-golf. Then we saw the movie Waitress, which I enjoyed. (Beth, not so much.) Then back to the room...

More later...


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Gathering 2007 - Insta-Journal

As always, I'm hoping that all of you who attend the Gathering this coming week in Pigeon Forge, TN, will post Gathering Journals (of any length) here at ASK GREG. This is useful, as it provides one location for me to refer various PTB types when they want to learn more about the Gathering. The more journals we get here, the more FAN PRESENCE we seem to have. One of these days, I'd like to see 100% journalling, but then again one of these days I'd like to see a Gathering attended by thousands of people...

Anyway, can't ask you to do what I'm not willing to do myself. ASK GREG will open for submissions the day before the Gathering and stay open at minimum through the end of July. But in the meantime, I'll be posting about my own trip...

FRIDAY, JUNE 15th, 2007
Got up early, because I had a VERY busy day ahead of me. First off, a "The Spectacular Spider-Man" voice recording. We had to quickly finish off Spidey's lines for our second episode (which had largely recorded the week before), because we had an editing session that afternoon. When that was done, we had to record nearly all of our third episode with most of our cast. We started out by getting the actors who only had a few lines each (less than ten) out of the way. Then we brought in the rest of the cast for the bulk of the episode. We had done a couple of the actors the day before, and nevertheless we still nearly ran out of time. ARRGGHH. We just made it in under the wire. But I'm hoping that starting with our fourth episode (after I get back) things'll be less crazy, and we'll start recording one complete episode at one session and NOT run out of time.

After the recording, Supervising Director and Producer Vic Cook -- a former Gathering attendee -- and I crossed the street for our edit session. Terry, our editor, had quickly cut in the lines we had recorded that morning, and we completed our natural pause edit with him, often tightening and overlapping lines to make the dialogue play both more naturally -- thus NATURAL pause -- and punchier.

All this took much longer than I had hoped. I was really hoping to get a haircut on Friday, but didn't get the chance. I might try to get one on Cape Cod, but if not, I may be looking pretty scruffy at the Gathering.

I also got a bit of scheduling news on the project that meant that I basically will have to work through my entire vacation. It's a bit of a bummer, as only a day before I was told I didn't have to. But that's life, when you're the"boss" on a show that has a lot of bosses over the "boss". I'm thrilled to have the gig, but it can definitely be exhausting sometimes.

Went home. Checked e-mail as quickly as I could, as I had been at the recording studio all day and not at the office. Packed. Had a grilled cheese sandwich. Raced to Larchmont Village to deposit my paycheck and throw some bills in a mailbox. Raced home. Got in the car with Beth, Erin and Benny and headed for the airport.

We arrived in plenty of time, which is a relief. We all had carry-on baggage only, so that saved us a step too. The kids and I got smoothies, and we waited.

Red-Eye to Boston. Slept some -- through Wild Hogs apparently. Read the revised writer's outline to the seventh episode of Spider-Man. Watched what seemed to be a heavily edited version of "Shooter" and a very funny "The Office" episode. Landed in Boston.

SATURDAY, JUNE 16th, 2007
Ate breakfast at Johnny Rockets. Boarded our flight to Nantucket. Read the revised writer's outline to the eight episode of Spider-Man. Landed in Nantucket. Beth's father picked us up at the airport and drove us to my in-laws' home. Unpacked. Went for a little walk with Beth, the kids and Beth's mom. Had lunch. And took a six hour nap. Got up for dinner. Skirt steak, salad, corn, homemade Banana ice cream (made by my father-in-law and the kids while I slept). Then went to work, checking e-mail again... and editing the Record Draft for the fourth episode of Spidey. Was going to start editing the outline to the sixth episode, but I was sleepy, so I went to bed at midnight, which is stunning for me --- even if you DON'T take into account that by L.A. standards it was really only 9pm. Since I've routinely been going to bed over the last few weeks between 4 and 6 am, this was amazing.

SUNDAY, JUNE 17th, 2007
Woke up early -- also amazing for me -- had a bit of breakfast. Read the outline for the ninth episode of Spidey. So far all these outlines have been in pretty darn good shape, which is always nice. Benny and I went for a walk into town. Came back, and I napped for about an hour. Got up for a Father's day brunch, with Beth, the kids and my in-laws. Had a wonderful Lobster Salad and Lobster Bisque. (Can you tell I'm in New England?) Came back to the house and opened father's day cards. Also called my own dad to wish him a happy father's day. He and my mom had only just returned from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I'm jealous, but there's no time this year. Hope to take the kids next year. Took ANOTHER nap. I think weeks of averaging three hours of sleep a night, plus all the walking and the fresh air -- the weather is gorgeous -- are wiping me out. But this is a good time to sleep.

We got up for a 4pm concert -- a choral performance by the Nantucket Choir. It was lovely. I was familiar with quite a few of the songs, as my son's choir sang them... at Carnegie Hall last month. From there, Beth and the kids and I went to dinner at the Brotherhood of Thieves. Burger and Clam Chowder. Then Ice Cream at the Juice Bar: one scoop of Crantucket with hot fudge. We walked some more and then went home.

More to come...


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brooklyn the red one writes...

hi greg,what would have to happen at this years gathering of the gargoyles to get
the show back on air and even maybe even get the movie started. i ask this becuse
i herd some where that this years gathering was being called bring back the gargoyles or was i wrong

thank you for your time

Greg responds...

Nothing THAT specific. Just come and find out what's going on... or if you're unable, check back here to read the Gathering Journals.

Response recorded on June 12, 2007

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Thoth writes...

What date does Gargoyles #5 come out? Will it be available at the Gathering?

Greg responds...

I don't have the exact date, but it's out in July, so no. Sorry. But we do have some fun surprises planned for the Gathering. I'm very excited about this year's Radio Play, for example.

Response recorded on June 08, 2007

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Laura writes...

What happens when or if an of-age female gargoyle does not mate during the breeding season? Does she lay an unfertilized egg, or cycle more like humans do, or something else entirely? And if something else, what?

Thanks!

Greg responds...

I honestly don't know. Perhaps at the next Gathering we can bring it up in the Biology panel. I'm making sure I can be at that one this time.

Response recorded on March 30, 2007

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Anonymous writes...

First off, I'd like to mention how much my family likes Gargoyles. I've probebly developed a slight obsession; my brother claims he doesn't like it, but I've caught him in a zombie-like trance staring at the TV when the dvd is in (complete with a gaping mouth); my mom likes watching it with me, and says it has better story lines than some of the shows she watches. My dad on the other hand.... at the time of typing, I haven't convinced him to watch it (I will though, just wait), but he's taking me to the 2007 Gathering. Our discusion went something like this:
Dad: So you want me to drive hours, in a car, to a place you've never even heard of, to spend a weekend at a convention about an old Disney cartoon?
Me: Yes.... please.
Dad: Sure!

Yeah... I'll have real questions in further posts.

Greg responds...

Good to know.

And I'm looking forward to seeing you at the Gathering, though you may be hard to recognize (Cuz you're anonymous... get it?)

Response recorded on March 13, 2007

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Phoenician writes...

So here I am with my first Post since getting the first comic, Clan Building, Chapter I. After several months, I now have Chapter II: The Journey, and I'm happy to see the regardless the wait, the story continues!!

I love this part of "The Journey" probably for its great lines, particularly Goliath's "Honestly, I was never quite sure," when talking about Vinnie and Macbeth's "Madam, they BURNED witches like you in the Middle Ages!!" (I can still here John Rhys-Davies' outburst quite clear even though I haven't seen that episode on TV in a good year. If Season II: Volume II ever comes out on DVD, I'd love that episode to be a bonus feature . . . just to hear that outburst.

Great to see Margot Yale again as well!

I also love the little treats that you've included in the issue, particularly Xanatos & Owen's conversation about Mr. Duval. LOVE Xanatos' reply to Owen, and I LOVE how Owen takes it in stride -- can't wait to see him turn into Puck one day, should he get the chance to teach Alex another lesson!

And I've mentioned this in the Comment Room, but I love how Hudson had the subtle honor of "turning on" Chapter II and then he also gets to "turned it off" as well. Still feels like a TV show twelve years later!!

That's basically it, Greg. I can't wait for Chapter III and I also can't wait for the destined release of Season II: Volume II (We've got this far, its not going to end now!)

Cross your fingers that I'll have been able to go to a Gathering by the time you read this!

Greg responds...

All right, let's start with this: WHOAH! I'm now only three months behind here at ASK GREG! I wonder what's the furthest behind I've ever been?

Anyway...

That bit with Hudson was one of the reasons I was so disappointed with the Goliath Chronicles edit of "The Journey". They reordered scenes so that Hudson turning off the set did not come last, destroying the bookend of the show. Plus that awful naration.... ugh.

As you may know, the long awaited Gargoyles #3 is coming out this month: March 28th, 2007, to be specific. I'm nervous and psyched to finally have a brand new canon story about to hit the stores. Hope you like it! And I hope I do see you in Pigeon Forge!

Response recorded on March 09, 2007

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Makhasu writes...

Now that Demona turns to human during the day, does she get her period every month? If so, how does she feel about it? >=)

Greg responds...

<sigh> I haven't given this any thought, I'll admit. Perhaps it's a good topic for discussion in the comment room or at the Gathering. Check out the Gathering's website: www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com!

Response recorded on March 08, 2007

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Elana writes...

Dear Greg,

When people ask me why I proclaim that Gargoyles stands apart from other shows, I find it difficult to explain. The characters are great, the relationships are great, and overall it's just... great. But that hardly expresses its true charm.

In watching Gargoyles, I find that its appeal must come from its captivating and immersive mythos, the sense one gets of being transported to another, mystical world. Aside from that sense of awe and wonder, there's also that feeling one gets of really being a part of that world, and having an intimate understanding of it. It's like, even if a topic matter hasn't been thoroughly explored within the episodes, or blatantly described, one can derive how every little thing might be prone to work within the world of the Gargoyles.

Anyway (now that I'm done gushing), in light of all this, did you expect Gargoyles to affect and alter the lives of so many people in the way that it did? Objectively, it was only meant as a show for children, but somehow it's managed to capture and touch the lives of all kinds of people. Could you possibly have expected this? For many people, Gargoyles is more than just an interest or a "hobby." How does it make you feel to know that Gargoyles has nearly been a life-changing experience for so many people?

~Elana

Greg responds...

Expectations...

Even at the time and even given that it was the first show I had ever produced, I knew we were doing something special. Once-in-a-lifetime special.

(I've done a lot of work I'm proud of in this business, but nothing has been like GARGOYLES.)

And I had hopes that others would recognize what myself and my team saw in the series.

But, no... I had no idea the life that the series would take on with and for so many people. That's been incredibly gratifying. Beyond words, really.

As anyone who has been to a GATHERING (www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com) can tell you, I am in ego-heaven the whole weekend!

And having the chance to write these comic books is really a dream. As I'm sure SLG would acknowledge, the money I'm making is really just a token amount. Just enough to allow me mentally to convince myself I'm WORKING and not perpetuating a stubborn refusal to let a long-cancelled series die. So, clearly, I must be in it for the love of the property and because the fans have done so much for me.

Response recorded on January 10, 2007

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Abbie writes...

Hi Greg! My dad and mom gave me my dream come true! I'm going to the gathering of the Gargoyles and i'm in the Story, Fanart, and te-shirt contests! I'm only 13 but i'm really exited! I wanted to know about what your looking for in a teashirt to give ideas for the contest! I love the show more than any other and own both DVDs! I can't wait to meet you!
See you there! From your number one fan!

Greg responds...

Abbie, if you're the Abbie I'm thinking of, we already met at G2006. You had a lead in the Radio Play and we shared a table at the banquet.

So your questions are a bit moot at this point, but generally, I should point out that I'm not in charge of or involved in any of the contests. For more info on the gathering, especially the 2007 Gathering in Pidgeon Forge, TN, check out www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com

Response recorded on January 02, 2007

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Cal writes...

Dear Mr. Weisman, My name is Cal and I have been a fan of "Gargoyles" for quite some time. I just recently learned about the annual Gathering Conventions and would like to attend. I'm a little new to this convention stuff however and would like some details. I wanted to email you this question but couldn't get an address. I would really appreciate it if you emailed me at cbraman86@comcast.net. I just need some details i.e. what the convention entails and cost factors. Hope you get this and I hope to hear from you soon.

Cal

Greg responds...

Hey Cal,

I'm afraid I make it a policy not to e-mail people directly. If I break that policy for one, I'd have to for everyone.

But you don't need a direct e-mail from me. (And I sure hope you didn't wait for one.)

Check out the Gathering's website at

www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com

Response recorded on November 27, 2006

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Tyler writes...

I was justwondering what are some of gargoyles sex moves?

Greg responds...

You'll have to come to a Blue Mug-a-Guest at a Gathering to ask about that. (This is a PG rated site.)

To find out more about the Blue Mugs or the Gathering, check out

www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com

Response recorded on November 02, 2006

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Alex writes...

Greg,
I've been watching Gargoyles since I was very young (I'm 14 now) and I've only just started wanting to be a serious fan.
So I have three simple Questions:

1.When and where will the next Gathering will be?
2.Do you need to be a specific age to be there?
3.What I should do to prepare for it?

-Alex
"It's alive...ALIVE! I've always wanted to say that."-Xanatos

Greg responds...

The next Gathering is in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee in June of 2007. For more information, check out the Gathering website at www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com

Response recorded on October 19, 2006

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Nikki "Y2Hecate" Owens writes...

Gathering 2005

Unfortunately, with school and family madness, I've not had time to write up an actual con journal (yet). But, I did want to say a few things about it.

The 8th Gathering Of The Gargoyles, was actually my 4th Gathering. It was a wonderful experience, as always. The staff did a great job, and I thank them for all their hard work.
Traveling to Canada was a new and exciting experience for me. I'm glad I got the chance.
The Gathering itself is always fun for me, and this year was no exception. But here's some of my personal highlights.
The banquet was delicious. I was a little worried that I wouldn't like it, as I'm a very picky eater, but I'm glad I tried it.
The art show was amazing. So many talented artists! Seeing all the great pieces and the work put into them really encourages me to improve my own art.
Lots of interesting panels, as usual. I only wish I had the time to attend more of them. Radio Play, and Blue Mug were a couple of my favorite events.
The Masquerade and Ball!

The best part, however, is just hanging out, and seeing all the fans that attend; my friends, and all the new people I meet.
The Gathering is just that.. a gathering. A gathering of lots of great people from all over the world, just hanging out and having fun. All in the name of Gargoyles.
It's something I look forward to every year.

I can't wait to see everyone in Las Vegas for 2006! Come hang out with us!

~Nikki/Hecate~
(If anyone's interested: When I do finish my more detailed con report, I'll post it here: http://www.y2hecate.com/Gathering2004/ )

Greg responds...

As many of you know, Nikki loves the Gathering so much that she's now conchair for the 2007 Gathering in Pigeon Forge, TN.

Response recorded on August 07, 2006

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Arno writes...

(Below you will find my Gathering diary, as it is. In its original version it is actually more or less integrated with a multiple page photo gallery, and part of a larger diary on my visit of Canada. This entire setup makes it very difficult to post the diary somewhere without the pictures or sub-pages. I have opted to copy and much of the relevant text into the submission form in order to post it here. Existing out of its original context, the result might be a bit confusing, so please bear with me.)

FRIDAY

Friday was the first proper day of the Gathering. It began with sleeping in late for most of us, considering the time we had gone to bed the night before. The exception was MAui. She had to get up early to work on the Clan Olympics with Abram Wintersmith. As a result most of the morning had already disappeared by the time we were up and about. By that time Robert, also our roomie, had shown up as well, swelling our ranks further.

One of our first acts of the day was to get registered at the registration desk. Again, a lot of familiar faces, and some new ones, but I have to say, I liked all the new faces I met.

We registered ourselves as a team for the Clan Olympics under the name "Arcadia International" ("We don't suck!"). Our members represented Canada, the United States of America, Great Brittain and The Netherlands. It was a team with too many members so we needed to rotate, but that turned out to work just fine as there was always some other team in need of a spare player. The Clan Olympics was a major event this year, and ended up dominating our weekend. Good thing it was a lot of fun.

At some point we decided to go to have breakfast/lunch. As we walked out ('we' being Robert, Dubble, Countess and myself) we walked right into a huge group of Gathering-attendants who all were just leaving for breakfast/lunch. The group was far too large to remember, but random names would be Hudson, Chris Rogers, Kaelyan, Cat, Mandolin, a bunch of people I know by face, not by name, and a bunch of people I don't remember at all. Awash in the sudden current, the self-appointed "Dweeby section of the group", we followed them around to a corner restaurant who gladly wanted to feed us, but only outside, where there was still room. The personel was quite friendly. It seems that for some reason, wherever Gargoyles fans go, everyone seems to like them. What is it about us? ;)

After all this the Gathering started proper, starting with the opening ceremonies, and then through the MGT3K event to the second Clan Olympics event. The second event? Indeed. The first had already been sprung at us during the opening ceremonies. A very daring move indeed.

Unfortunately Countess and Beedoo! missed most of this. Countess had to pick up Beedoo! from the airport as the opening ceremonies started and returned very late due to a delay. But with Beedoo! there at least our room was now completely present.

I recall that at one point, we went too bed. Way too late, again.

--- The registration desk, manned and womaned by BrooklynX, Rob and Siryn, was a very active place at the start of the Gathering, so much so that people gathered there for the largest part of the day. Aside from regular registration there was the seperate registration for the Clan Olympics beside it. No one could register without at least hearing of the event.
(Actually, I think the man's name was Rob. I know what his online handle is, more or less, but I can't even begin to spell it. ;) )

--- At the registration desk we also met the camera team sent there by Disney to film the Gathering. I was very pleasantly actually surprised to find that they were very open, very enthusiastic people. In my cynicism I had assumed they would just show up, shoot some film, collect their wages and leave. Instead, they really seemed to be there to want to get into the thing.

The camera team asked us to register again, so they'd have footage of registration. So we handed in our badges, then, in front of the camera, walked up to the desk, told our name and got handed a random badge and envelope. It was nothing like proper registration, unfortunately ("Arno! Hey Arno! What's you're last name!?"), and I wish they'd been there to film that instead. But we dutifully did our bit. A great actor I shall never be though.

They certainly filmed a lot of stuff. As I was talking to the camera people, signing away either my soul or my right not to want to appear on the DVD (yeah, right!) on some piece of legal paper, and suddenly I realised that I'd lost my program! But when I turned it around I found it again, under this enormous camera, being filmed for the DVD. I am so proud. Sadly, though, I lost it for real later that day.

--- As always the Gathering officially kicked off withthe opening ceremonies. In random order: we watched the movies, we listened to the stories. We listened to what the staff had in store for us, there was a fun tape with recorded messages from about a dozen(?) people involved with Gargoyles on it (as with Ed Asner's letter at the Gathering in LA, 2001, I can't help but notice what a kind man he seems to be), Gorebash received a well-deserved fandom award and at some point the opening ceremonies even got hijacked by the Clan Olympics.

After the chaos caused by this died down the opening ceremonies continued as usual. Further notable parts included the release date and further information on the Gargoyles DVD and Chris Roger's plans for the future of the Gathering which were, to say the least, fascinating.

--- During the opening ceremonies the whole thing got hijacked by the Clan Olympics. MAui and Abram Wintersmith stepped to the front of the room, stoically dropping cue cards declaring the opening ceremonies to be taken over. Truthfully, It was a hillarious thing to happen, and I must say, a brave thing to do for both them as well as the Gathering staff, who no doubt had to OK this rather unconventional idea.

So there we were, participating in the first event already, Jess and Dubble grabbing balls from a box and Robert stuffing them down my shirt for all he was worth, all this in front of the entire assembly of fans as well as the camera crew.

Sadly, I have no pictures of the actual event itself. I was too busy getting balls stuffed down my shirt.

--- Beedoo! arrived hours later than she was supposed to, but fortunately just in time to do the traditional "hanging out in our room" thing with us again.

SATURDAY

The second day of the Gathering was the only full day of Gathering planned. As such, it was filled with activities, most of which I did not have a chance to attend.

As stated earlier, the Clan Olympics dominated our weekend, and it continued doing so. One thing it did was force us to get up relatively early (once again, even earlier for MAui), allowing us to have much more day at our disposal as we would have had otherwise. The whole day consisted of walking around, looking at things, meeting up with people, voting on the artshow, voting on the art show again only properly this time, all that fitted around the two impressive Clan Olympics events: Trivia Torture and Really Hard Pictionary.

I did not manage to visit many (or any) panels that day, though I did go see the radio show. We also, as traditional, did not go to the banquet, since some of our group have finances that will not allow such an expenditure. On the other hand, most people seem to have missed the Karaoke singing following the masquerade, and that's certainly their loss.

--- Three years ago I met young Becca Morgan at the Gathering in LA, 2001. She threw a cat at me, numerous times. This seems to have left quite an impression on her as this year, when she finally showed up again, she had insisted on bringing a cat to throw at me. As the old toy was lost a new one had to be bought for the sole purpose of being thrown at me. Believe me, the money wasn't wasted.

--- The first Clan Olympics event of the day was Trivia Torture, possible the most professionally executed one of all. MAui had worked hard (and stayed up late) designing and printing professional cards for this game, while the way this conventionroom was set up could not be more perfect for this game.

The rules were complicated when explained but simple while playing: each team assigned a team member to sit on a chair below. This team member would not play, they would be the 'hostage'. Above each hostage three circular cards with entertaining text were stuck to the wall. These acted as a form of 'points'. If the 'points' of a team reached zero, ie, all the cards were removed, the hostage would be tortured either with spraypainted hair, or various disgusting combinations of food to eat. We put Robert down there (who bravely volunteered). Surplus Arcadia International member Dubble played for another team and promptly got sat down there as well, making sure we'd lose even if we won. ;)

The game centered around questions asked (from professionally designed cards, of course) by either Abram or MAui. The question would be either Gargoyles trivia or 'regular' trivia question. A member of the first team to hold up a piece of paper with a legible and correct answer would then get to step down and remove a 'point' from one of the teams.

Intermixed with all this were bonus cards which could do either good or harm, and the Spirits, members of teams which were previously eliminated from the game and who could interfere with the game at their apparent discretion.

Arcadia International eventually won the event through Spirit intervention at the expense of the Green Dragons. There's no saying for sure whether we would not have won otherwise, but I will say this though: the Green Dragons were good. Very good!

--- The second Clan Olympics event of the day was "Really Hard Pictionary", which lived up quite well to its rather presumptious name. Really Hard Pictionary was, well, really hard. Try drawing "It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine". Try drawing "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons". Believe me, it's even harder than it might seem.

By popular demand the game was continued even after all the scores were awarded, just for fun. I'll note that Robert and Flanker turned out to be very good at making people guess the right phrase. Absolute highlight was Flanker drawing a schetchy big fat gargoyle to indicate the word "Broadway". The Gathering was probably the only place in the world where this would work.

--- After the Really Hard Pictionary event of the Clan Olympics each team was given a box and provided with a source of markers of all sorts of colours. The box was to be used in the next and final event, the Scavenger Hunt, and we were to decorate it as we saw fit.

The decorating was taken care of by the two most artistic team members available, Countess and Beedoo!. Countess did some terrific lettering, while Beedoo! drew some cute pictures of the characters of our team. To them goes nearly all the credit for a fine box indeed. Myself, I went to the radio play as it was being decorated, and thus my only contribution was the addition of the Dutch flag among the three other flags of our respective countries.

--- As the box was being decorated and I was about to make my way to the radio play, this person here walked into the hotel. I don't know his proper name, I don't even know his face, I just know that he went by the name of 'Korul' and that this was the most amazing costume I had ever seen. Needless to say, he was there for the masquerade later that day.

--- I went to the radio play expecting to find Keith David there playing the role of Goliath. Unfortunately, he still had not arrived. The radio play was still pretty fun though, because the reworked 'original' script of 'The Journey' worked well and because there was some pretty good voice acting there. Clearly after all those years people have become quite good at this sort of thing.

The people who stood out the most, though, I thought, were Chris Rogers as MacBeth and Eden as Margot Yale. They were amazing, bickering with each other. "Madam, they burned witches like you in the middle ages!" "You, sir, live in a fantasy world!" If anything of the radio play ends up on the DVD that had better be in it.

--- As not all of us could afford the banquet, we ventured out to find some food of our own. This entailed my first trek through downtown Montreal. As it turned out, almost all I would see of Montreal on the days of the Gathering I would see that day. Everything we needed was conveniently placed in one single street.

--- We finally found food in a Hard Rock Cafe, situated in the middle of a Brazilian street party of all things. With all the bustle it took them rather a while to serve us, but we had fun entertaining ourselves.

--- This year's masquerade was the most spectacular I have seen. Granted, all other years, for one reason or another, I missed the grand entrances, but even then, the quality of costumes was very high, as was the quantity. It was a very nice touch that nearly the entire staff was in costume as well. I was quite impressed.

Overall winner was, of course, the man known as Korul. The detail on his gargoyle costume was amazing, particularly the moving wings and mouth. It was very impressive and a very well-deserved win.

--- After the masquerade came the Karaoke night. Sadly, due to some apparent technical difficulties taking up a bit of time, many people had already wandered off. Which is their loss.

SUNDAY

Sunday was the wrap-up of the Gathering, but a very busy day nontheless. To begin with there was the final Clan Olympics event: the Scavenger Hunt, a fitting finale which had us exhausted and yet hyped up before 11 AM.

After this came the closing ceremonies, which I have to admit seemed a little of an anti-climax. Greg Weisman had already left, as had the camera team. And really, what else was there to say that "we're done"? Nevertheless, the Gathering staff put together an excelent con altogether, and they deserve to be praised for it.

In between the Scavenger Hunt and the CLosing Ceremonies I happened to stumble upon a Mug-A-Guest with Keith David. Now, I'm not really one to go listen to celebreties. I'm quite sure they are interesting, just no more so than my friends who I only see once a year if that. I decided to stay and listen, though. I found there that Keith David, whom I knew next to nothing from, was a very intelligent, very thoughtful and very kind man. I was very impressed and I hope the camera team got some of it all.

Also, nearly everyone at the Closing Ceremonies will remember Robert and Jess peddling a sign-up sheet for an impromptu game of laser-tag. To those that did not sign up, or show up: you missed out. Really. Definately.

--- Once again Clan Olympics had us get up at the crack of dawn (also known as about 8:15 AM) in order to take part in the one Clan Olympics event us Arcadians actually consistently do well: the Scavenger Hunt.

The Scavenger hunt involved finding items from a list and putting them in the box we prepared the day before. Some items were simple, others were difficult, and a few turned out to be impossible: A can of Lysol, a bird, any bird, three different flavors of lip gloss, diapers, any vehicle floormat, one standard #2 pencil, a non-hotel blanket, a MALE con-goer with a 2004 Gathering shirt not from our team (who was to strip off the shirt and toss it in the box), a hardcover book, a set of balls from the first Clan Olympics event, a shotglass, three rolls of packed toilet paper, a disposable camera with no photos left on it, a plunger and a note from any hotel staff member saying "I did this for the Clan Olympics".

And then there was a list of bonus items, held by MAui who had hidden herself somewhere in the hotel. These items were for extra points: some wooden thing called the "Official 2x4 of the 1998 Hock-Fest", some bonus bags, three squishy soccer balls, as many different business cards as we could find and a special guest or Gathering staff member to stand in our box for 15 seconds.

It was a very exciting and very exhausting game which had Gathering attendants running chaotically through the hotel. We got a cleaning staff member to give us toilet paper and write us a note, I stripped in my Gathering Shirt in exchange for a vehicle floor mat and a disposable camera for another team, and then I generally ran around with no list, no team member and half an idea of what to look for. The box filled marvelously nontheless. I am only disappointed not to have been there to see Kanthara stand in our box.

Fun fact: the Gathering Hotel had only one plunger in the entire building. And they'd lost it.

--- During the closing ceremonies the winners of the Clan Olympics were announced. Considering the scores and our results at the Scavenger hunt, it was not really a surprise anymore, but Arcadia International won! Mind, with some help from the spirits, but even then, I know my teammates certainly played quite well.

So, we came forward and accepted our prizes and the honour. Our prizes consisted of a circular piece of cardboard saying we won and four Clan Olympics T-shirts to split between the five of us. Look at us showing our Arcadian pride.

After closing ceremonies I got another shirt from Chris Rogers for pre-registering. Very kind of him. Withg the Gathering T-shirt, the Evil Makes Me Sad T-shirt and the Clan Olympics prize, it was my fourth new shirt that weekend. I'd started seriously regretting bringing shirts at all.

--- The other major event of the day: Lasertag!

Saturday evening we passed a lasertag place on our way back to the hotel. Now, Robert had, at earlier Gatherings, already expressed a desire for us to play Lasertag. So, he went inside for a moment, asked for information and came out with the knowledge that a group of exactly 30 people would get a good discount.

So, he set about organising a group of exactly 30 people. He and Jess went round the lines for Keith David and pre-registering after the closing ceremonies and collected names of people who wanted to come. It took some doing, but they actually managed to fill their list. Even Keith David signed up.

Of course, around the time people were to gather in the lobby things went all pearshaped. Some didn't show up, others wanted to join after all. Some would arrive late. Keith David was still eating with his wife. In the end we left in two groups, one of twenty-one and another group of straglers that would hopefully make thirty.

Robert became nervous.

The walk to the Lasertag place was sort of an event itself. Keeping a group that size together on the sidewalks of Montreal was no small matter, especially considering that we were late and needed to keep up a good pace. Being Robert's roomies more or less automatically assigned us the task of keeping the group together a bit. Now we know what sheep dogs feel like! It was an entertaining walk, though.

It took some time for the rest of us to arrive, but when they did we were with 33, though sadly without Keith David. It turned out they could fit 32 in their maze, so Jess kindly voluntered to sit the whole game out. She really missed out for the rest of us. She's too kind (but don't tell her that ;) ).

The game itself was brilliant, and I'm sure the massive amount of people we brought helped a lot. It was pandemonium and I think everyone had great fun. There were three rounds, one with everyone against everyone, one with two teams, and one with two teams protecting two members, a king and a queen. It turned out Robert was the Lasertag champion among us. No wonder he wanted to play.

I hope we'll do this again some time.

Greg responds...

See the fun the rest of you are missing out on?

Check out www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com for information on the 2007 Gathering of the Gargoyles. We're in a different city every year, and this year we're heading to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee!!!

Response recorded on August 02, 2006

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TopMan writes...

Top Man's Super-fantastical Super-long Con-virgirnal (Vir-journal

Disclaimer: Many of the people mentionned in this were also ConVirgins and n00bs, so chances are you've never heard of them/me and barely remember them/me from the convention, if at all. Hopefully, this will help you get more acquainted with us ^^

Someday the Nth of Whenever

I was browsing the web, and *somehow* came across the Gathering Of The Gargoyles 2004 website. I looked at it and thought "Jeez, what weird kinds of people would go to this?" Then I read the page, and thought "Jeez, I would go to this!!"

A couple of days after Someday the Nth of Whenever:

I talked to Reusch about it, thinking she'd laugh in my face. Instead, she said "awesome!" Everything was set ^^

Friday, August 6th:

Well, the day started off with Reusch and I getting a lift over to the hotel from my dad. The convention wasn't due to start for a little while, which we planned on purpose so we could wake ourselves up with a Tim Hortons french vanilla. We ended up eating brunch there, and it was very nice, except at the very end, when we were sitting outside with our coffees, much to my disgust and Carolynn's delight I was pooped on by a bird -_-. Not the proudest moment in my life. Luckily it was just my hand, so I washed it off easily, and we decided to head over to the hotel and scope out the inside.

In doing so we found out that Registration table was already open, so, feeling VERY antisocial, we sort of tiptoed up to the counter and waited until someone approached us, then we half-whispered our names and sat down at an empty table feeling foolish and admiring the packages. Suddenly, I get Abe from the table going "Heeeey, Topman!" and Sarah The Great is asking us if we want to join the Clan Olympics. I had already been considering it, as it sounded fun, and Abe was there to encourage me, and Reusch was all up for it, so I was close to saying yes. The only problem was we had only two people. So I asked her to put a question mark down next to our names. About 5 minutes later I figured "Ah, what the hell" and signed us up. She said there were two others needing a team and asked if we didn't mind pairing up with them, which of course we didn't. This was the make-or-break moment where half the convention could end up being spent with complete and utter weirdos.

And fortunately for us, we did! Nezumi and David were great fun from the get-go, and we hung out together the entire convention, but more on that later, because Abe ruined our good mood by making us think up a name. After five minutes of weird conversation, we decided on "The Mexanadians" (despite the fact that Nez was from Texas, not Mexico, and Texanadians would have been just as easy, for some reason we stuck with that.) We were so proud of our bizarre name, that we were grinning right up until the moment Abe said "Okay, so now we need your team motto." And we all went: "MOTTO!? *GROAN*" So, we decided that a hearty groaning sound would be a good motto for us. Unfortunately, for the moment we were going to have to leave our new teammates, as Con Virgin 101 (which Reusch and I felt we definitely needed to attend) was starting, while Nez and David decided to attend something else, which escapes me at the moment.

Con Virgin 101 was a blast. We arrived 15 minutes late due to our meeting with Nez and David, and apparently we weren't the first to interrupt Sapphire's panel, but since there were so few of us she just ended up starting over from the beginning. She talked about how everyone's insane (which is true), and then showed off her impressive art and french skills with a hilarious little scribbling. ("Bonjour, je m'appelle Velociraptor" XD) Of course, there can't really be ALL that much to talk about for introducing new people to cons, so after about 15 minutes, she realized that we had a whole spare hour. So all hell broke loose (that is to say as much hell as can break loose with about 7 people) and we started drawing on the board and chatting. We met ChameleonGirl there too, who is a great and funny gal, and there was a couple which I believe were French Canadian, and unfortunately I never caught their names, but they were nice and friendly. I felt a bit bad about having made little comments throughout Sapphire's presentation, because she seemed a bit miffed by all the interruptions, but I hope she realized I did it because I had warmed up to her and the room, and wanted to join into the discussions, maybe not in the most appropriate of ways. If you're reading this, I hope I didn't offend you in any way =S

Next up was the voice acting seminar, where Reusch and I got to see Greg Weisman in person for the first time. We learned here that Keith David wasn't going to make it, which was a little disappointing because I had been hoping to hear him spout a number of Goliath lines during this panel, but I soon got over it. Greg was a great speaker, and had a lot of information to give out, and I thought it was a very interesting panel considering, as a child actor, albeit not a very famous one, I had done (small amounts of) voice acting in the past and wanted to see what he had to say. At the end he was having people read the skits and coaching them, and Reusch SOMEHOW managed to convince me to join in for the last skit, provided she did too. I ended up getting Brooklyn, and Reusch, this time to MY delight, got Hudson (which was funny, as we are both avidly averse to Hudson's character). It was fun, although I'm almost positive I read WAY too fast, and then felt confused because Greg didn't mention anything to me (it either wasn't as bad as I thought, he didn't notice, or I was a hopeless case). Sidenote, whoever did the first Demona reading (I believe it was CrzyDemona?) and the Griff reader (Michael?) were AMAZING!!!

Unfortunately, we found out the Radio Play Auditions weren't available for viewing, so it was either the Costuming Seminar or the RPG panel. Reusch didn't want to touch the Costuming Seminar (we had just spent two solid weeks working on my Thailog costume, which was a beast to make) so we went to the RPG panel. Unfortunately, we had only dabbled in RPGs (read: RPG, as in one) so we didn't understand the panel at all, and decided we should probably leave before we went nuts in the room trying to pretend that we knew what we were talking about.

We went up to the con room and watched a couple of episodes, I seem to remember Kingdom and Hound Of Ulster. At some point we ended up finding Nez and Dave and decided that during this extended break we should find some food somewhere so that we wouldn't start stomach-rumbling during the opening ceremonies. We went to the McDonalds that was found, by whom I don't know, by going through the hotel restaurant into a bank/business building, then down the escalator into an underground mall. The service there was TERRIBLE. First off, the girl at the counter AND the guy in the back CONSTANTLY disregarded the beeping of the fry machine, so they burnt the fries TWICE. Reusch's salad took at LEAST 15 minutes to make, and they ended up giving her the wrong kind of chicken, despite the counter-girl asking twice. They neglected to give her a fork or salad dressing. She later found out that the chicken wasn't cut properly, so she returned to the counter, asked for a knife, was given a fork. David, meanwhile, was waiting for a double big mac, and they ended up accidentally making a single big mac, and then didn't notice until he was waiting for the food for five minutes. So he got to wait even longer. They gave us a complimentary hamburger, which I ate, but it wasn't all that good, and definitely didn't make up for the awful service.

We all headed back to the Opening Ceremonies, which were a blast. The staff presented themselves, and then during Liz's speech, Abe and MAui surprised us all by "taking over". They announced the teams, and then shocked us by saying that the first event would be NOW. Good thing we'd eaten =) Reusch and I had to grab the balls from the bin, and then pass them over the line to Nez, who stuffed them into David's hole-filled shirt. While Reusch grabbed balls from the bin, I took the strategy of picking up any and all balls that were dropped by others onto the floor. It must have worked moderately well, because we were in third place by the end. After all the excitement died down (I felt bad for Liz... the beginning of her speech was cut short, and then we were all still catching our breath for the end) Greg presented the DVD info (w00t for December 7th) told his amusing stories (I was shocked when EVERYONE around me shouted out "It's Better Than Barney", but I'll be prepared to join in next time ^_~), played a tape with a bunch of people who worked on Gargoyles (Keith David was hilarious, and Ed Asner was funny too, but he also said some very deep, nostalgic stuff about his being on the show and wanting to come to a Gathering that kind of made me sad, the way only nostalgia can), and then played all of his videos, which for some must be a bit boring now, but for me was quite interesting, as this was the first time I was seeing them. He then played an audio tape of The Last, the not-so-long lost Atlantis episode, which far too many of us took far too dirtily, but for good reasons!

After Opening Ceremonies came Mystery Gargoyles Theatre, which Reusch and I didn't quite understand at first, but then we figured out it was just people making jokes about the show as it's playing, which is what we do anyways. We also met some new friends there, Annie and Catherine, who, while we didn't see them much aside from the banquet, were really cool people and great fun to talk to. Jade Griffin also came off as being really cool, but I never really had a conversation with her until Sunday, which is a bit of a shame.

After an hour or so of heckling, the Clan Olympics people were kicked out of the room so we couldn't see what was being set up. It ended up being some kooky toss-the-ball game, with some very inventive twists, such as the Spirits and the flip-over rule, and the tic-tac-toe. I suck at tossing balls, and although two of my three shots came EXTREMELY close (one actually bounced off the middle of the chair that the target was sitting on, but never actually hit the target) but none succeeded, which made me feel a bit useless. We almost got a tic-tac-toe, which would have scored us some bonus points, but we didn't end up doing so. If only I had gone last instead of second, I MIGHT have been able to at least accomplish that... nonetheless, Reusch, David and Nez had enough skill to pull us into 2nd place! Congrats to them.

Saturday, Sunday and Monday hopefully coming before Tuesday ^^

Greg responds...

Always nice to get the perspective of the newbies. So... did you make Las Vegas? Valencia? Are you coming to Pigeon Forge? If you had that much fun, you can't let it be the last time, right?

Check out www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com for more information on G2007 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Response recorded on July 06, 2006

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GATHERING 2006 - Con Journal - Friday

GATHERING 2006 - Con Journal

My usual caveats... I meet so many people at the Gathering that I can't possibly remember all the names. I apologise. I try, believe me. Please, do not be offended if you've slipped my mind.

Friday, June 23nd
7:30am - Woke up, giving me about 2.5 hours sleep for the night (after a number of bad night's sleeps earlier that week).

9am - I think I shocked the staff by arriving more or less on time to the staff breakfast. (Traditionally, I sleep through it.) I had potatos, Fresh OJ (which I love), french toast and bacon. But, man, I was tasting that breakfast for hours.

I do want to take time to praise the amazing staff of this year's con. Sort of an all-star team of past con chairs and staffers... or as Jen liked to call them, the Dream Team. I'll try to list them all here...

Jennifer L. Anderson - Con Chair
Patrick Toman - Vice Con Chair

Greg Bishansky - Assistant to promotions
Karine Charlebois - Volunteer Coordinator
Seth Jackson - Promotional Coordinator
Cindy Kinnard - Art Show & Masquerade Coordinator
Kythera - Official Lackey
Laurean Leigh - Program & Website Coordinator
Stephanie Lostimolo - Graphics Designer
Christine Morgan - Anthology, Contest & Fan Panel Coordinator
Tim Morgan - Dealer's Room & Auction Coordinator
Scott Sakai - A/V Coordinator
Carol Wagner - Guest Coordinator

And Rob, M.I.A. for the con itself, but otherwise a year-long staffer who kept us on "TOPIC" at our on-line meetings.

Plus a number of great volunteers, people who just pitched in. I felt that this was one of the smoothest run cons I'd ever been to.

APPLAUSE FOR THEM ALL!!!!

After breakfast, I helped carry stuff down to registration.

10am - Went to the Art Room to put Erin & Benny's art panel up. Browsed the other art that was there...

Finally got my first look at "Gargoyles #1: Nightwatch" the new comic. Dan Vado of SLG, who, with Joe Nakamura, was setting up his table in the dealers' room gave me a copy. It was great to finally have it in my hand. Real. Solid. I was thrilled. I realize it isn't perfect, and I know the hardcore fans are probably impatient to get to issue #3, when we enter into a new arc of stories, but I'm still ridiculously proud of the thing. I think David Hedgecock's work is passionate and dramatic, and getting better all the time. I love how Will Terrell's work enhances David's. And the cover by Greg Guler and Steph Lostimolo is just stunning. Thanks to all of them and to Dan and Joe and Jen de Guzman (our editor) and Marty Lund of creaturecomics.com. I do hope all the fans buy a copy or two, but more than that I'd love it if they SPREAD THE WORD about the comic. Don't assume that people know the thing is out there (same with the DVDs and the Gathering too for that matter).

I'm not just talking about word of mouth, though that's great. But I'd love to see each hard core fan take responsibility for finding a way to reach a thousand people. (And I'm only half-kidding.) No, not all of those people will be buying our product, but that's the numbers we need to reach in order to get the numbers we need. Go to conventions. Go on the net to places we haven't thought of. Check out complimentary fandoms and let them know. Nearly everyone I meet at the con has a story about wearing a garg t-shirt or something and having someone say, "Hey, I really liked that show." But they don't know about the comic, DVD or conventions. Those are the people we need to reach. And sure, it would be great if Disney spent some advertising dollars, but it's really not going to happen. So if as fans, you want to see more comics and another DVD release, SPREAD THE WORD.

Specifically, at this con, I heard a LOT of anecdotal stories about the comic already being sold out at individual comic book stores. Which is great, of course. BUT.... The two questions I always wonder about are (1) how many copies were ordered in the first place and (2) now that it's sold out are they ordering more? A lot of stores low-ball their orders (because they've been burned before) and when they sell out, they feel pleased that they guessed right about how many copies to order. They don't necessarily think to order more once they sell out, and if the comic isn't on the shelf, then most people won't know to buy it. So talking to retailers is another VERY helpful tack.

But enough of the sales pitch... back to the ramble...

I spent some time talking to Dand and Joe of SLG, but Si needed a ride to Kinkos to print out some missing Mug-A-Guest sign up sheets. So we hopped in the P.T. Cruiser and took off. When we got back, I popped into a few panels, making a cameo at the Con Virgin Panel and then catching the tail end of Thom & Crispin's Voice Acting Workshop, which was very cool and hi-tech.

3pm - Next up were our first round of Auditions. It was me, Jennifer Anderson and Thom Adcox (i.e. the usual suspects), though a bored Michael Reaves sat in and observed for a while. We had some amazing people this year, but unfortunately one of the smallest casts to cast that we've had in a while, made the smaller because we had Thom, Keith David and Crispin Freeman already slotted for three of the fifteen roles.

5pm - Opening Ceremonies. Always fun. Very good energy in the room this year. Which was necessary, because the thing -- to me at least -- seemed kinda endless. Not that I'm complaining. We did have a lot of new people, for whom everything I have to show is new -- and I gave everyone else the chance to bolt when my turn came. But most stuck around. I guess it's tradition. And I do feel like I had more energy than in the last couple of years. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Mai Li (I hope I'm spelling that right) got the Fan Guest of Honor Award, which she thoroughly deserves. Mai was conchair of the very first Gathering in Manhattan in 1997. Not just the conchair, really but the only staff member too. She basically all but did it all herself. (Burned her out so bad, we haven't been able to get her back to a Gathering again until this year.) Without Mai, there'd be no Gathering. And I wouldn't be a part of this fandom. I have always credited Chris Rogers, Eric "Gorebash" Tribou and Mai Li as the three people who introduced me to the fans. We've been feeding off each other ever since. ;)

Nikki "Y2Hecate" Owens got up to pimp G2007 in Pigeon Forge, Tenessee. Nikki, the new conchair, is already way ahead of the game. They've got a date (JUNE 22-25) and a low cost/high quality hotel. So let me do a little pimping too here. Register NOW!!! The cost is pretty darn cheap in these early months, and the more money that comes in early the better the con will be. Walk-ins are great. I'm not knocking them, but walk-ins don't pay for guests and activities, because that's money that the con can't count on. Small money sooner is worth more than Large money later. Just a fact. Of course, to be intentionally repetitive the main thing you can do is SPREAD THE WORD!!!!!!

Anyway, the staff was introduced, and then we watched a bunch of music videos. They were all pretty cool. Of course, since everyone's working independently, they have no way of knowing that they're all going to duplicate a bunch of footage. But I still enjoyed seeing them. An ironic "Can you feel the love" featuring Demona and Macbeth pounding on each other was a highlight. The "Beauty and the Beast" one for Elisa and Goliath was like shooting fish in a barrel, but I was a sucker for it. And Jen's video "Wake Me Up" I think it was called, which opened Opening Ceremonies was VERY cool and eventually one first place in the Music Video contest.

Then it was my turn. I talked about the comic, G2007 and the DVDs. At this time, Buena Vista Home Entertainment has not scheduled Gargoyles Season Two, Volume Two for release. The short and simple truth is that Volume 1 did not sell enough copies. The ONLY remedy is to find a way to sell more. As always, I'd love it if the fans bought copies, but I'd NEVER ask anyone to spend money they don't have or need for things like food/shelter/education/etc. Frankly, as I've said many times, if every single hardcore fan bought ten copies our sales would still be mediocre. What I need from the hardcore fan is for each and everyone to find creative ways to SPREAD THE WORD!!! (Sense a theme, yet?) We did a more effective job of this on the Season One set. Now Season Two costs more, I know. But that only means we need to reach out to even MORE people, to compensate for those who bought Season One, but can't afford S2V1. Only a percentage of those who know about the DVD will buy it. But the more people who know, the greater the chance that we'll reach the sales threshold that Disney feels we need to convince them to release S2V2. Now... a lot of people have asked why Disney isn't promoting the DVD. But ultimately the answer doesn't matter too much. They aren't. That's not money they're prepared to spend. So we need to do it. We need to SPREAD THE WORD!!!

Next up, I showed all the old standards. The original pitch, the promo, the preview, the New Olympians and Dark Ages pitches, the Bad Guys Leica Reel and finally "The Last" -- a never-produced episode of Team Atlantis featuring Marina Sirtis as Demona, Cree Summer as Kida, Frank Welker as Obie and Sheena Easton as Fiona Canmore. The fans have taken the original voice tape and the tiny bit of storyboarding that was completed and are trying to make the episode themselves. We have a little more picture every year. If you're interested in helping out, contact Vashkoda in the Station Eight Gargoyles Comment Room.

Opening Ceremonies finally came to a close, and I went to dinner with Wendy Pini, Michael Reaves, Brynne Chandler, Crispin, Izobel, Thom, Jamie, Lexy, Marty and Kiffin. Unfortunately, the restaurant couldn't seat us all together, and Marty, Lexy and Kiffin were semi-abandoned at another table. (Sorry, guys, really.) The Japanese food was good (California Roll, Miso Soup, salad, rice, shrimp and vegetable tempura, beef teriaki). More importantly, I got a chance to talk to Wendy Pini. Wendy, the creator of Elfquest, as it turns out, is a big Gargoyles fan. And I've been a fan of hers for longer than either of us cared to admit. She was extremely charming, and we really hit it off. Yeah, yeah, mutual admiration society. <YAWN> I know. But it does raise an interesting point. Gargoyles. Elfquest. If you like one, you might like the other. (After all, I like both and so does Wendy.) And yet before Wendy contacted the constaff a few days before the con, it never occured to any of us to try to win Elfquest fans over to Gargoyles or vice versa. So what other FANDOMS are there out there that we're not reaching out to. I don't know. But I need all of you to start thinking about it and SPREAD THE WORD!!!

When we got back to the hotel, a few of us headed up to the con suite to hang. (Thom stopped off at his room and promised to meet us up there.) But when we got to the consuite, they were on the verge of closing down. So everyone else booked, and I waited in the suite for Thom (who never showed up). Still, I got to have a real nice talk with Mai, Karine, Patrick and one other person, whose name is just escaping me at the moment. (Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!)

Midnight... Karine headed to her room, and Patrick was ready to crash, so I left for my room.

1am - fortunately, I was actually tired. And turned off the lights, and pretty much went right to sleep.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Tune in tomorrow for my further adventures in Valencia... and to find out how many more times Greg can write "SPREAD THE WORD" into his ramblings...

(AND POST THOSE CONJOURNALS!!!)



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