SDCC 2012

Leaving in just a few hours for San Diego Comic-Con. Looking forward to a fun weekend with my kids and old friends. I'm doing a few signings too.

Thursday, July 12th from 12pm - 1pm - I'll be signing Young Justice comics and trades at the DC Comics Booth #1915.

Thursday, July 12th from 5:30pm - 7pm - I'll be signing Gargoyles comics and trades at the SLG Comics Booth #1815.

Friday, July 13th from 5:30pm - 7pm - I'll be signing Gargoyles comics and trades at the SLG Comics Booth #1815.

Saturday, July 14th from 9:30am - 10:30am, I'll be signing Mecha-Nation comics and trades at the APE Comics Booth #1804.

Saturday, July 14th from 1pm - 2pm - I'll be signing Young Justice comics and trades at the DC Comics Booth #1915.

Saturday, July 14th from 5:30pm - 6pm - I'll be signing Gargoyles comics and trades at the SLG Comics Booth #1815.

Autographs are free. So stop by and say hello!

YJ UPDATE

YOUNG JUSTICE/GREG WEISMAN UPDATE

We're going into hiatus for the time being, and since it's been a bit of a while since my last update...

SEASON ONE of YOUNG JUSTICE has all aired, but starting this Saturday and Sunday we'll be airing some reruns, including 119, "Misplaced" as part of Cartoon Network's DC Nation block. Check local listings or cable guides for times. If you jumped aboard with Invasion, and haven't seen these Season One episodes, you'll want to check them out. It's good stuff, I promise.

SEASON TWO of YOUNG JUSTICE: INVASION
*Episodes 201-207 have all aired. (How was "Depths" for a pre-hiatus cliffhanger? Not too shabby, huh?)
*Episodes 208-210 are in the can.
*Episode 211 has been edited and spotted for music and sound effects.
*Episode 212 is being edited.
*Episodes 213-218 are all overseas being animated.
*Episodes 219-220 are also overseas being animated, but we have a few more color models here in Burbank left to complete and approve.

YOUNG JUSTICE COMIC BOOK
*Issues 0-16 are all on the stands, available at comic book stores or online.
*Issue 17 is done. I've already received my comp copies, and if you want a sneak peak this weekend, stop by my signing at Denver Comic Con. (More on this below.)
*Issue 18 is being inked.
*Issue 19 is being pencilled.
*THEN, starting with Issue 20, the book changes titles to YOUNG JUSTICE: INVASION.
*Issues 20-25 are a big story: a six issue mini-series within the series. About 95% of the content is split between December 1st of Season One and five years later on December 1st, JUST before the start of Season Two.
*Issue 20 is scripted and ready for pencilling.
*Issue 21 is being scripted now.
*Issue 22-25 are all loosely plotted.

[All this has required some adjustments. The original plan was to finish all the stories set DURING Season One before rebranding the book. But TPTB at DC understandably decided that since the television show has already been rebranded, we shouldn't wait that long to rebrand the comic. And given that, I wanted to launch the rebranding with a BIG story that featured all - or nearly all - of the Team. So the Green Arrow, Black Canary, Artemis, Red Arrow story (set after episode 114), I originally had planned as a two-parter for issues 20-21 will have to wait. Given enough issues (keep buying those books people!), we'll get to everything eventually - including that Arrow-Family story. The new structure will use our timestamps to allow us to bounce back and forth (even within a single issue) from Season One to Season Two to the gap between seasons and BEYOND...]

Frankly, I think it's going to be VERY exciting. And given that the show is currently in reruns, there's just no better way for a hardcore YJ fan to get his or her new canon YJ fix. So if you don't have it already, go grab issue 16 (available now), which features THREE TALES in one book: mentor/protegee stuff that I think really shows a contrast between the styles of Green Arrow, Flash and Batman, not to mention Artemis, Kid Flash and Robin - while as always filling in a gap between episodes. All canon. All in continuity with the show. 16 ends with a cliffhanger, featuring Mammoth, Shimmer AND KOBRA! So that should lead your right into issue 17 (available very soon) which concludes that two-parter.

DENVER COMIC CON
I'm leaving (ridiculously early) Friday morning for Denver to attend the first annual Denver Comic Con. This thing has a TON of great, amazing guests. (Check it all out here: http://www.denvercomiccon.com/ .) I'm probably the least interesting guy there. But I am going to be quite busy moderating a bunch of panels Saturday and Sunday...

SATURDAY, JUNE 16
*11:30 MDT - Spectacular Spider-Man and Gargoyles Cartoon Development
*13:30 MDT - Cartoon Voices, w/Khary ("Kaldur'ahm") Payton, Mark Ryan, Tom Kane and Billy West
*16:00 MDT - Greg Weisman Spotlight
*17:00 MDT - Greg Weisman signing
*18:30 MDT - Adapting Licensed Properties to Comics & Animation w/Matt McLean, Karl Krumpholz and Terry Schayes

SUNDAY, JUNE 17
*10:00 MDT - Character Design and Drawing w/Greg Guler
*11:00 MDT - Creating for Disney and Cartoon Network w/Greg Guler, Steven Seagle and Chris Oatley
*13:00 MDT - Adapting Comics to Television and Vice Versa w/Steven Seagle
*14:00 MDT - Young Justice w/Khary ("Aqualad") Payton

ASK GREG
*Since the show has gone into hiatus - and since I'm over 1200 questions behind here - we will shortly be putting the ASK GREG asking question function on its own hiatus for a while. We may open it BRIEFLY every time a new issue of the comic comes out this summer and/or around San Diego ComicCon. But for the most part, we'll be closed to new questions and comments until the series comes back with new episodes. (And, no, I don't yet know when that will be. That's up to Cartoon Network.)
*I know I haven't answered much recently, but we've just been swamped with post-production and all the fast reworking of the comic book that we had to do. (Plus I've been freelancing a few scripts for some friends over at... well, better not say just yet.)
*Also, I'm more or less going straight from Denver to Ashland, Oregon to enjoy the Oregon Shakespeare Festival with my family. And I'm NOT bringing a computer. (And I don't own a smartphone.) So don't expect any new answers from me for another couple weeks. But I will get to your questions and comments eventually. I always do.

Whew. I think that covers everything!

SIGNING ON FCBD

SIGNING ON FCBD

This Saturday, May 5th, 2012 is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. (It's also the premiere of YOUNG JUSTICE: INVASION's second episode, "Earthlings", on Cartoon Network.) Victor Cook and I will be signing copies of issue #1 of MECHA-NATION (and whatever else gets stuck in front of us) at MELTDOWN COMICS from 12 noon to 2 pm.

Meltdown Comics
7522 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA. 90046
http://www.meltcomics.com/blog/

So if you're in the neighborhood of Los Angeles, come on down. Check out the Mecha-Nation. We've completely finished the final issues of the mini-series, which will see print in time for ComicCon this summer in San Diego. (Mecha-Nation was created by Vic, developed by Vic, Greg Guler and myself, written by me, illustrated by Antonio Campo and published by Ape/Kizoic.) We're very excited to finally get this great project out to everyone. So stop by and take a peek. You can harass me about the time-skip (but please keep the language clean). Or you can just say hi. Plus, hey, Vic Cook!! The SpecSpidey partners together again!

Hope to see you there!

WonderCon

I mentioned my upcoming (this summer) appearance at Denver Comic Con, but coming up fast (faster?) is WONDERCON.

Brandon Vietti and I will be appearing at WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Saturday, March 17.

The tentative schedule incudes:

4:00-4:30 pm SIGNING
5:00-6:00 pm PANEL

So stop by!!

DENVER COMIC CON

Hey everyone,

I will be signing autographs, doing panels, etc. at the Denver Comic Con for their inaugural event on Father’s Day weekend June 15-17th. The weekend long con benefits Children’s Literacy through the Comic Book Classroom, a new program teaching children to read through comic books. They have already announced a legion of guests including Jasika Nicole, Michael Uslan, Mark Ryan, Tom Kane, Steven Seagle, Barry Kitson, Jason Aaron, James O'Barr, Gail Simone, Bob Layton, Georges Jeanty, Rebekah Isaacs and more! Hope to see you there, early bird tickets are only $45 for weekend passes.

We'll talk Young Justice, Gargoyles, Spidey, you name it!

Check out: www.denvercomiccon.com for more info.

Conventions...

So I was invited to attend Kimvention 2012 - the new convention dedicated to the KIM POSSIBLE television series: http://kimvention2012.com/

I would have loved to attend, but unfortunately, I had already committed to Denver Comic Con the same weekend: http://www.denvercomiccon.com/

I'm really looking forward to Denver, but I do wish I were able to attend both.

Kimvention should be a lot of fun. And Kim Possible was a great series. So if you're anywhere near Anaheim this June, I'd recommend it.

And if you're anywhere near Denver, come see me at Denver Comic Con.

Another Rumor to Squash

Back from San Diego Comic-Con and was thrilled to see the outpouring of good wishes and thanks on the internet for us. But...

Someone seems to have spread the idea that our panel went poorly and that the fans who attended were rude to us.

NOTHING could be further from the truth. The panel - to my mind - went EXTREMELY well. The response to episode 10 seemed great, despite the fact that I think many in the room had seen it already, and we had a fun (if brief) Q&A after. Plus Miss Martian (and some other dude) brought us cookies. We then had a fun signing and press interviews. All full of praise.

I'll admit that ASK GREG has occasionally been inundated with a bit of rudeness, but that's at least in part thanks to the relative anonymity of the internet. In person, at the conventions, the fans are just terrific!

So thank you,

STAY YOUNG!

STAY JUST!

San Diego Comic-Con 2011

San Diego Comic-Con 2011

Well, I'm here!

I've so much work backed up from Oregon, ConVergence and being sick that I may spend an unfortunate amount of time holed up in my hotel room, nose to grindstone (grindstone = laptop), but if YOU are here, there are a few places you can find me:

Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 11:30am - 12:30pm, I'll be signing Gargoyles TPBs at the SLG Booth (#1815 - across from the DC Comics booth). Stop by and say hello!

Sunday at 10 am, Brandon Vietti, character designer Phil Bourassa, Danica McKellar (the voice of Miss Martian) and myself will be appearing at a panel for YOUNG JUSTICE in Room 7AB. We'll be screening an episode, followed by a Q&A.

After that, from 11:15am until noon, the four of us will be signing some VERY cool and unique (and even spoilerish) YJ giveaways at the Warner Bros. Booth (#4545). So again, stop by and say hey!

SO WHERE HAVE I BEEN? Updates & Debunks

Hello everyone,

Haven't posted here in a while, and since I did a bit of message board lurking this morning, it seems to have led people to believe all sorts of odd things, so...

Where have I been?

Well, in early June, my family and I went to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon.
We saw seven plays in four days. Six of them (Henry IV, Part Two, The Language Archive, To Kill a Mockingbird, Julius Caesar, Love's Labours Lost and Measure for Measure) were just stellar productions. Everyone was great, but I'd like to particularly single out Susannah Flood in both Language Archive and Mockingbird, Dee Maaske in Mockingbird and Michael Winters as Falstaff in 2HenryIV.

Coming back from that, I was understandably swamped and didn't have time to post.

Next, I went to Minneapolis for the always great ConVergence convention. I did about thirteen panels. Some of which, like Gargoyles and Spider-Man and Young Justice, I felt qualified to be on. And some, like Dexter and Galaxy Quest, my only qualification was being a fan of whatever we were talking about. This was my third ConVergence, and it continues to be the best run convention I've ever attended. And now that the Gathering of the Gargoyles is no more, it has become my FAVORITE convention to attend.

Returning from ConVergence, I then got quite ill. In fact, I'm still home sick today. (Home sick as opposed to homesick, clear?)

So THOSE are the reasons I haven't posted. Nothing nefarious.

Next topic: YOUNG JUSTICE UPDATE.

We have aired episodes 101-109 (i.e. Season One, episodes 1-9).

(Yes, episode 110 accidentally was posted on Cartoon Network's website, but I'm going to pretend that never happened.)

Episodes 110-115 are in the can, i.e. they are completed and ready to air.

Episode 116 awaits only the final on-line, i.e. the final review of the episode. This has been delayed ONLY because I've been out sick this week.

Episode 117 will have it's sound mix on Friday. (I hope to be back at work by then.)

Episode 118 has been edited and work progresses on scoring and sound effects.

Episode 119 is ready to begin post-production.

Episodes 120-123 are being animated in Korea.

Episodes 124-126 are in layout in Korea, while we finish the final color models here in the States.

Episodes 201-202 (i.e. Season Two, Episodes one and two) - Are fully recorded and are in storyboard. (201 was written by me. 202 by Nicole Dubuc.)

Episode 203, written by Kevin Hopps, is almost fully recorded. We have one actor left to pick up, who has been out of town. It is also in storyboard.

Episode 204, written by me, will record this week. It is also in storyboard.

Episode 205 - Brandon Vietti, has turned in his draft of the script. I have to read and edit it.

Episode 206 - The outline, written by Peter David and edited by me, went out Monday for notes, which are due tomorrow.

Episode 207 - Kevin Hopps turned in his outline, which I need to read and edit.

Episode 208 - I'm writing this one. I'll start the outline, after I've edited the outline to 207.

Episode 209 - Jon Weisman turned in his outline, which I need to read and edit.

Episode 210 - Kevin Hopps is working on his outline.

We do NOT yet have a pick-up beyond episode 210, but our bosses have told us to start blocking out episodes 211-220 in anticipation of one.

Episode 211 - We've broken this story. I still need to find time to write up the Beat Outline, though I have it all on index cards.

Episode 212 - We've got the basics of this one down, but we (i.e. myself, Brandon and Kevin) still need to finish breaking the story.

Episodes 213-220 - We've got a very clear sense of the arc and what things need to happen, but we haven't started on these yet.

NEXT TOPIC: DEBUNKING YJ RUMORS

False Rumor #1: YJ IS A GREG WEISMAN PRODUCTION
Everywhere on the Internet, all I see is that YJ is Greg Weisman's show. That's just blatantly false. This is a VIETTI/WEISMAN production. Just as Spectacular Spider-Man was a COOK/WEISMAN production and Gargoyles was a PAUR/WEISMAN production. I am not, nor have I ever been, a one-man show on ANY project I've EVER worked on. EVER. And in particular, on YJ, it's extremely unfair to Brandon to leave him out of consideration. Brandon is heavily involved in every aspect of production, INCLUDING SERIES DEVELOPMENT AND STORY. He's been right there with myself and Kevin Hopps breaking every single episode. It's been a team effort from day one. Many of the series' best ideas came/come from Brandon. And this is aside from the fact, that of course, Brandon can write - but I cannot draw, which arguably makes him MORE important to the production than I. I am exceedingly proud of this series and my own work on it - though certain very vocal fans seem to think I shouldn't be - but that doesn't change the fact that Brandon and I are a team.

False Rumor #2: YJ WAS RUSHED INTO PRODUCTION
Another blatant misconception. Look, Brandon and I are both perfectionists. Neither of us would deny that we'd LOVE to have more time on each and every episode. But that's not the same as being rushed. Let's make a comparison: on Spectacular Spider-Man, I basically had one week to develop both the series and the entire first season. Then Vic Cook came aboard, and we raced to get into production in less than two months. Brandon and I had seven months to develop the series, break the first season (which granted had twice as many episodes as the first season of Spidey) and head into production. The show isn't and never has been rushed. That's not to say the schedule isn't tight. But we haven't aired a single episode that wasn't ready to air. And we won't.

False Rumor #3: YJ ISN'T AIRING NOW BECAUSE WE'RE REWORKING EPISODES BASED ON INTERNET CRITICISM
This is my favorite. I love it the most because the first person I saw who posted this rumor also said that I'd deny it. So here I am denying it, which of course serves to PROVE that he or she was correct, see? Let's be clear: for better or worse, this series is COMPLETELY unaffected by internet criticism BECAUSE of schedule. Everything of any significance was set and DONE before even the pilot movie aired last November, so we couldn't address fan concerns even if we wanted to. And, honestly, we don't want to. We don't in part because there is way less consensus than some people seem to think. For example, for every post I see expressing hatred for "Hello, Megan!", I see a post that likes it. And personally, I like it. Brandon likes it. So why would we change it, even if we could? In fact, even Season Two is moving forward more or less disregarding "fan" criticism. Brandon and I always had very clear ideas for what we wanted to do in Season Two (and even Season Three, should we get one) and those ideas haven't changed. As with every series I've co-helmed, all we can ever do is write and produce to OUR OWN passions - and then just cross our fingers and hope enough people share our passions to make it a success. Anything else is doomed to failure, because if we're not passionate about it, it'll show in the work, and then no one will like it. And just to make it clear: WE LIKE OUR SHOW!! Doesn't mean you have to - but don't try to tell me I don't.

So why aren't we airing new episodes now? That's a fair question that I don't have an answer for. After all, we have six unaired episodes in the can, with four more on the verge of completion. It's a Cartoon Network decision. Some fans have argued that they shouldn't have started airing ANY episodes until ALL episodes were in the can. But that too is a decision above my pay grade.

My best guess - and that's all it is - is that CN will air new episodes - starting with 110 ("Targets") - in September. The good news is that the later they wait, the more weeks they can go uninterrupted by reruns. I do know that Season Two (i.e. "Young Justice: Invasion") will begin airing as part of DC NATION in March of 2012. And by then ALL of Season One will have aired. So do the math.

People have asked me if I'm bummed about losing momentum by this delay. But the thing is we've ALREADY lost all momentum. So as long as they PROMOTE us whenever they finally do start airing us again, then pragmatically I'm good. Yes, I'll admit to a certain level of frustration in that I want our stuff to get out there, but if CN has a plan to make the most of the episodes, then more power to them.

Anyway, I think that's it for now. I'll get back to answering questions on ASK GREG as soon as I can find the time. (But keep in mind that San Diego Comic-Con is fast approaching. Note: Young Justice has a panel scheduled for Sunday, July 24th at 10am, with a signing to follow. I'll also be signing Gargoyles comics (and whatever else anyone might want) at the SLG Booth from 11:30am to 12:30pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (July 21, 22, 23).