Liam writes...

Gargoyles obviously had a lot of influence from Shakespeare, and so did Spectacular Spider-Man, towards the end of the series. Will we be seeing at least a little bit of that theme in Young Justice?

Todd Jensen writes...

I think that this is just a coincidence, but I decided I should mention it to you.

I was rereading Chapters Three and Four of "Bad Guys" today, because of their link to New Year's Eve, and noticed that the captions stated that the Eastcheap Island adventure took place five days after the confrontation with Sevarius. We know that the Sevarius adventure was on New Year's Eve, so the encounter with Falstaff must have taken place on January 5. And January 5 is Twelfth Night - a holiday after which one of Shakespeare's comedies was named.

I was amazed and impressed by that revelation, but I assumed that it must be a coincidence; the Eastcheap adventure draws on Shakespeare, of course, but on Falstaff rather than on "Twelfth Night". Still, when I mentioned it in the comment room, Matt suggested that I share it with you, so I did.

Richard Jackson writes...

Have you ever seen Orson Welles' adaptation of of Henry IV, Chimes at Midnight (titled Falstaff in some countries)? I really enjoyed it. After all, Welles as Falstaff. It doesn't get any better than that.

On the same note, who is your favorite Shakespeare screen actor? Olivier? Welles? Branagh?

Todd Jensen writes...

Some time ago, I mentioned a book by Eleanor Prosser called "Hamlet and Revenge", which argued that Hamlet's goal to avenge his father on Claudius was not a righteous duty, but a misguided and dangerous quest. Recently, I thought about a passage in it in connection to "Clan-Building: Volume Two".

In one of the early chapters, the author discusses Kyd's "The Spanish Tragedy", one of the leading revenge-plays before "Hamlet". The protagonist, Hieronimo, is out to avenge the murder of his son Horatio. After discovering his son's body near the start of the play, he decides not to bury it until he can achieve his revenge, an act which, Prosser comments, would have unsettled the audience.

This reminded me of the scene in "Clan-Building" where, after Demona reports the slaughter of the Sruighlea cell by Constantine and Gillecomgain, True suggests that they hold a Wind Ceremony for the dead gargoyles, and Demona rejects it in favor of pursuing revenge on the humans who did the deed. I just thought I'd share it with you.

David B. Jacobs writes...

Just felt like throwing this out there:
TSSM's cast are all BRILLIANT Shakespearean actors! Pass it on.

Todd Jensen writes...

I checked out from the library today (I'd checked it out once before, but this time, I thought of mentioning it) a book by Roger Lancelyn Green called "Tales From Shakespeare", that retells many of the plays. (All of them comedies, tragedies, and romances: he doesn't tackle any of the histories, though in his retelling of "The Merry Wives of Windsor", he mentions near the start about Falstaff's association with Prince Hal.) Since you liked Roger Lancelyn Green's take on King Arthur (enough to even make it one of your sources for the "Gargoyles" take on him), I though that you'd be interested to know about it (assuming that you haven't heard of it yet).

oneuke writes...

CON-JOURNAL
OF A SORT

Never having truly posted to this site before (or any other for that matter) I thought that now would be an appropriate time to speak of the Gathering. I won’t bore you with memories like the look and grief I gave my brother (a PhD in Bio-chem.) who told me about a really well written Disney cartoon and the humble pie I ate after watching the first show. Or the joy my oldest daughter experienced after asking a question of Keith David at the 2001 con and he responded by giving his famous line “I’ve been denied everything, even my REVENGE.” Caiti was 8 at the time. Or of how my youngest daughter, Ally, started watching Gargoyles when she was 2 and became instantly enraptured with Lexington. Then heard his voice 2 years later in the dealer’s room, shouted out “It’s Lexington” and ran over to hug a complete and somewhat startled stranger (Thanks for being so understanding, both then and now, Thom). Or…but I digress.
And so, as per Greg’s request, and with apologies to W.S.:

Why so sad, coz?
This is the time call'd the Gathering of Gargoyles.
And he or she that shares this meet, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this time is nam'd,
And rouse at the name of Gargoyles.
He that shares this time, and sees old episodes,
Will yearly on the vigil recount to his clan,
And say ‘Tis the time of the Gathering.'
Then will he bring out his memories and show his photos,
And say 'These friends I met and these moments I had on this day.'
The old forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What adventures he had that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Greg the Creator, Keith, Salli and Thom,
Michael and Marina, Bill, Ed and Jeff-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his clan;
And the time of Gathering shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we clan of brothers;
For he or she to-day that shares this time with me
Shall be my brother; be he or she ne'er so far,
This day shall bring them near;
And those who stayed away
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold themselves cheap whiles any speaks
That Gathered on this final meet.

Thanks for the memoriesâ€"may there be many more to follow.
(Hey, Greg's not the only one who can borrow from Shakespeare)

Kyle S. writes...

Hey Mr. Weisman, love Spectacular Spider-Man. One of my favorite episodes was Opening Night. I loved the Shakespeare interwoven with the story. Now, my friend just played Flute in a community production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. I thought it was fantastic, but it was very untraditional. The play opened with the 'How now spirit' line, and then broke into song out of the fairy's speech, and then proceeded to Act 1. Theseus entered setting up a hole of golf and Hippolyta was reading a fashion magazine. This was all very funny, but the one quirk I almost didn't like was that Puck was a puppet. Seriously, he was a little green muppet-looking guy operated by a girl wearing black to blend in with the background (even though her head and hands could be seen since it was outside in broad daylight). In a lot of cases, it worked out for the best, but it was odd. The dialogue was mostly unchanged (some parts were abridged), but my mom was able to understand the entire thing because it was so untraditional.
Which brings the question: what is your favorite adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream? Oh, and are the guys who played Lysander and Demetrius named characters from the comics? Were any other minor name characters given roles?

Bazell writes...

You have a strong Shakespearian background, so hopefully you'll see where I'm going here. About Romeo and Juliet, there is discussion as to whether it is a tragedy of character or situation. That is, was the tragedy the circumstances in which the titular character found themselves caught in, or was it the characters' own folly in their youthful rush for love (seemingly damn the consequences)?
A similar argument could be made about Spidey. Although Spider-Man is the iconic hero, the story is largely the tragedy of Peter Parker. Over and over through the decades the fabled Parker Luck (though I don't think you use the phrase in your show) has always been there, overshadowing Spidey victories with Parkers personal woes (be they emotional, social or something more serious). How would characterize the situation? Is the Parker Luck a product of Pete's own foibles or is it more entwined with his surrounding circumstances?