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SpideyFan writes...

I've just gotten a chance to sit down and watch Spectacular Spidey, and it was absolutely mind-blowing. Between it and YJ, I am totally sold on your work. I love the way you structure your stories (on an episode-by-episode basis, and the way you build up longer arcs), and how you manage to present only the most pertinent/interesting information, and trim the narrative fat. It makes your shows a total joy to watch; the stories have such a deliberate sense of movement, everything seems to have purpose. Watching your work inspires me!

Here's the "Ask" part:
In the series finale (S2E13 "The Final Curtain"), Spidey's big confrontation sees him fighting pumpkin-headed grunts in little flying goop-shooting ships. Was this something the creative team was gung-ho about putting in the series, or was it more related to pressures from the powers-that-be about opportunities to sell toys?
Also, how often is marketing, or promoting the DC/Marvel/what-have-you brand a consideration for you when you're creating a show?
Finally: how did you start writing? I don't mean on the level of occupation (i.e. what jobs got you started), but how did you establish for yourself the discipline and confidence in your skills necessary to write professionally?

And I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother. It sounds like it was her time. My own great-grandmother just passed on, and I can tell you she was as ready for it as we were resistant to it. It certainly made the mourning process a lot harder to initiate, since there was this enormous sense of relief that she wasn't in any more pain, or so lonely anymore. I think a sort of hollow initial response is natural. Hope this is some condolences.

Thank you and adieu,

SpideyFan

Greg responds...

1. These were our creations, and as far as I know Hasbro never made any toys based on them. Which is too bad, don't you think?

2. I don't know how to answer this. It doesn't go into the development of our series at all. But I'm hired to do these shows, and whether or not this was a factor in what shows the studios and networks and comic book companies choose to do, is not something I'm privy to.

3. In sixth grade, I started writing my first (of many) unfinished novels. Most of the time I need a real deadline to get work done. By nature, I'm both lazy and a procrastinator. But with a deadline, I get the job done.

Thank you for the condolences.

Response recorded on August 15, 2012

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akif writes...

the new spider man show isn't that good i wish that you can continue the show anf young justice at the same time

Greg responds...

I haven't seen "Ultimate Spider-Man", but it's got some real great people working on it, so I'd suggest giving it a chance.

Response recorded on August 15, 2012

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The Greenman writes...

Hi Mr. Greg Weisman,

I have been a fan of yours since Gargoyles. One of the things that interest me is the basic structure of the themes and world building in the series. One of the styles I see continue to pop up in your series is the relationship between science and sorcery. This is something I have been a fan of in comics like Iron Man and Fantastic Four (specifically Dr. Doom versus Reed Richards). I love the simple explanation that energy is energy.

1. Now I didn't see much of this argument come up in your Spectacular Spider-Man series, because Peter debunked Mysterio, but can you say that you ever planned to and who you would've used to explore that science versus mystic aspect?

2. I am upset that directors such as Jon Favreau and Shane Black have knocked down the very idea of Mandarin showing up as not to approach the so-called mystic aspect. Though, it could be be alien in origin or something, as they claim and prove that even super-science isn't allowed in the MCU. Have you read and understand the Iron Man comics specific to Mandarin and Tony's relationship to science versus sorcery? Was it influential at all in your writing?

Greg responds...

1. Well, we had Calypso. I'm not going to get into much beyond the fact that we would have explored her character more.

2. I'm not sure specifically to what you're referring. I've read comics from the 60s, 70s and 80s with Iron Man and Mandarin. Probably nothing more recent than that. In any case, I don't think it influenced me much if at all.

Response recorded on August 15, 2012

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Mike writes...

1. How did the Rhino overcome his hydration problem?
2. What are the names of Tombstone's bodyguards?
3. Is Tombstone the Big Man or is it someone else entirely?

Greg responds...

1. I don't recall, I'm afraid.

2. I don't think we ever gave them names.

3. Tombstone is the Big Man. (Wasn't that obvious?)

Response recorded on July 26, 2012

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FanMan writes...

Being that the Spectacular Spider-Man was cancelled almost two years ago now, are you yet able to reveal details of what you had planned for season 3? Or do you still intend to keep that information back in order to use it on a later show or if Spec-Spidey gets (against all odds) renewed at a later time?

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"I had many specific ideas, some of which would undoubtedly have changed over the course of production. But I'm just not too inclined to reveal them. It's not that I'm trying to torture you, it's just that there's no way I can do them justice in this format. I write 'X' would have happened, and that one statement will get dissected across the internet. And any idea is only as good as its execution - which you'll now never get to see. It may sound stupid here, but I might have been able (with the help of Vic Cook and all my other many collaborators) to pull it off on the series and have everyone think I'm a genius. Or not. But at least it would have had a shot. I just don't feel like opening myself up to potential second-guessing based on raw notions as opposed to executed episodes."

[Response recorded on August 5, 2010.]

Response recorded on July 03, 2012

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Derek writes...

I'm a big fan of continuity as I gather you are too based on your use of dates, your shows in general and an interview you did years ago critizing the X-Men for not evolving and moving forward. I think DC has some fantastic characters and concepts, which is one of the reasons I like Young Justice. However, I've found that without fail whenever I start reading their books and enjoying them, they erase characters and storylines I've become fond of from existence in a big reset or reboot in an effort to become “new reader friendly” e.g Linda Danvers, Helena Bertinelli, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Team Titans, Infinity Inc etc.

In the end, this practice alienated me as a reader and I no longer buy DC books because as a reader I find this extremely irritating. So first of all, I'm glad that your not doing that with Young Justice. The characters in show have already greatly progressed through season 1 and I'm very optimistic about the Season 2 based on the first episode.

I'm curious though as a comic book reader what do you make of DC comics and their practice of the "reset"?

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"As you noted, I have NOT had the time to read the New 52, so I will not comment on that specifically. Whether or not it works creatively depends more than anything else on execution. Since I haven't seen the execution, I can't respond to how it works creatively. But I KNOW that commercially it's been a HUGE hit. I like to believe that it wouldn't have done quite so well, if it wasn't executed well too.

But generally, on the idea of reboots, I do have a handful of thoughts:

1. I don't want to be a hypocrite. When we started Spectacular Spider-Man and again on Young Justice, we were effectively doing a continuity reboot. I feel when adapting something to a new media, that's essential, but it doesn't change the fact that (a) we did it and (b) I was relieved to be able to do it. Relieved to be able to jettison elements that I felt didn't work or were redundant or confusing, etc. Our goal, particularly on Spider-Man, was to come up with something Classic, Cohesive, Coherent, Contemporary and Iconic. So how can I object if the comics themselves want to do this?

2. In the end, whether or not either SpecSpidey or YJ was/is successful depends on our execution of our ideas, additions and cullings. I like to think both shows are successful, but that's a judgement each individual viewer would have to make for him or herself.

3. I was working on staff at DC Comics during the publication of the original Crisis on Infinite Earths. In fact, during my very first editorial meeting, I raised the question as to why we weren't starting ALL our books over (with the numerical exceptions of Detective and Action Comics) with issue #1. I remember very clearly a collective groan rising up from the conference room table. (They had dealt with this question for months before my arrival.) On the one hand, they wanted Crisis to be a real sea-change, a true reboot (before we knew that term). On the other hand, if you truly reboot Batman, then Robin doesn't exist yet. No Robin, no other sidekicks either. So no Teen Titans. And at the time, the New Teen Titans was the company's best selling book.

4. So the end result was that some things got rebooted and some did not.

5. This was complicated by the fact that certain creators came late to the party, and certain characters got reboots too long AFTER Crisis.

6. And so, as a READER, I couldn't help feeling that - rather than simplifying the continuity - Crisis made it more complicated. This will happen in general, naturally, as time passes and more and more comics are produced by a variety of creators and editors, but Crisis seemed to exacerbate the problem for me personally.

7. In part this was because, I really liked the DC Multiverse. I agree that it was abused to the point of confusion. (And I think it was nuts that Earth TWO had the forties heroes and Earth ONE had the sixties heroes. Just the odd backwards numbering itself created additional unnecessary confusion.) But if limits had been placed on the number of parallel earth stories and crossovers, I think it could have been fine.

8. ESPECIALLY, if they had created a new Earth-THREE, starting over with heroes of the eighties, with Superman and Batman (being new to the hero thing but) remaining relatively constant. But with a new Green Lantern (for example) as different from Hal Jordan as Jordan was from Alan Scott.

9. But that didn't happen. And in fact, though I've read very few comics since 1996, my understanding is that reboots have hit over and over at both DC and Marvel. That negates reader trust in the worth and weight of the stories they're reading. It's more insidious than obvious. And you risk alienating old readers, even as you may or may not attract new ones. You'll always get a short term gain off of a reboot, because everyone wants to check it out. But long term...

10. And going back to my first point - which is that most everything depends on execution - I personally didn't love the execution of some of the post-Crisis rebooting. Some people may have loved it. And that's totally legit. But some of the rethinking on certain individual characters didn't work too well for me.

11. Though personally I think the Bates-Weisman-Broderick reboot on Captain Atom from his Charlton incarnation was brilliant. ;)

12. So, personally, my feeling on reboots in general is that you either do them or you don't. You've got to be thorough and ruthless about it, or don't bother, because otherwise - long term - you're creating more problems than you're solving.

13. And still and all, ultimately, it all depends on execution."

[Response recorded on February 15, 2012.]

Response recorded on July 03, 2012

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Miten Dama writes...

Hey Greg I'm a huge fan of your work and
I'm a huge fan of the spectacular spiderman
out of curiousity could you tell me what would have happens in season 3
if the show had continued I'd really appriciated
from your biggest fan Miten Dama

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"As I've stated MANY times before, I don't see any advantage TO ME in vomiting out what my plans would have been absent the execution of said plans. All that accomplishes is to hold the ideas out for all sorts of second guessing."

[Response recorded May 5, 2011.]

Response recorded on May 16, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

If spectacular spider-man continued would you have mention any other Marvel heroes like the fantastic four?

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"I would like to do the occasional team-up. I think I've mentioned Spidey/Human Torch and Spidey/Hulk in the past, just to start with. But one or two per season is plenty for me. I've got more than enough to explore in Spidey's corner of the Marvel Universe."

[Response recorded on April 7, 2009.]

"All answered before, but now rendered moot."

[Response recorded on April 26, 2010.]

Response recorded on May 15, 2012

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Spen writes...

Hi Greg! First off, I'd like to thank you for posting all those old production memos from "Gargoyles". I love reading 'behind the scenes' stuff, and seeing the way the story develops over time. It kind of reminds me of Christopher Tolkien's "History of Middle-Earth" series, albeit on a smaller scale.

Now, I have a few questions that I hope can be considered to all fall under the general category of "series development". A couple of them might be stretching it a bit, but I think it'll be okay (and if not, you'll tell me).

1. You started posting production memos for your "Re-Awakening" ramble. Are there any surviving memos from "Thrill" to "Her Brother's Keeper"?

2. When you wrote "The Journey", did Scott Thomas send you a prod. memo?

3. Are there any memos from "Spectacular Spider-Man"?

4. One thing that really struck me when reading some of the notes from early '92 was just how early the Pack came along in the development. Which got me to thinking about another early villian. Was Tony Dracon's involvement planned all along, and he just happened to first appear in "Deadly Force", or was he created specifically because "Deadly Force" needed a new villian? (Awkward sentance, I know, but I can't seem to get this phrased quite right. Do you get what I'm saying?)

Thanks for taking the time to answer these. We will now return to our regularly scheduled "Young Justice" questions.

Greg responds...

1. I'm sure there are. But there are difficulties in posting them, including but not limited too: (a) not enough hours in the day (b) most of those memos were only preserved as documents - not electronically, so that it's not as simple as cutting and pasting (c) most of those documents are at my private office in Beverly Hills, and I'm almost never there, since producing YJ here in Burbank keeps me pretty busy.

2. No.

3. Very few. Those were mostly done via e-mail, and I didn't keep a record of that. Also, I was personally story editing SpecSpidey, so I wasn't writing memos to my story editors, as I was on Gargoyles.

4. I get what you're saying, but I honestly can't remember. My vague guess is that we always knew we'd need a "crime boss" of some kind, but that we probably didn't develop Tony until we got to his episodic premiere.

Response recorded on May 04, 2012

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DmarvelC writes...

If you could, would you have put your Spectacular Spider man on the team?

Greg responds...

I'm afraid that kind of hypothetical just has no meaning to me.

Response recorded on May 03, 2012

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Zach Baker writes...

Hey Greg!

I recently saw this line from an interview with Steven Bochco in the early 80's, talking about Hill Street Blues (which currently has its first two-and-a-half seasons on Hulu Plus, by the way):

"Maybe the biggest problem with Hill Street, in terms of popular success, is that it is a show that demands to be watched. And most people do not watch television. They simply are in its presence."

I love that quote. What an insightful way to encapsulate about what was essential and great about Hill Street Blues, without going into all the details of what made it so outstanding. Just leave at this: unlike nearly anything before it, in many ways it was a show that demanded to be watched. I think that characteristic also applies to Gargoyles as well, no doubt due to the major influence Hill Street Blues had on the show (as you've often mentioned).

Nowadays, that quality, of being a show that "demands to be watched," is characteristic of so many excellent shows that appear on HBO, Showtime or AMC (before hitting DVD boxsets and iTunes), places where popular success isn't the one and only yardstick. And again and again, we've seen how this kind of series can flourish in the atmosphere of creative freedom offered by these outlets.

Can viewers hope that someday soon, that kind of environment will produce an animated serial drama that has the same level of quality, complexity and acclaim as these channels' current headline series? If so, what might it take for that to happen?

Greg responds...

Hey, Zach. Long time no see. I'd heard that quotation about Hill Street before, and couldn't agree more.

I appreciate you think Gargoyles falls in the same category. It's flattering and certainly what we strived for. I don't pretend that we were as good as Hill Street Blues, but no one can accuse us of not going for it.

As to your question, I like to think that W.I.T.C.H., Spectacular Spider-Man, Young Justice and Young Justice: Invasion also qualify. At least at Gargoyles' level. So I think it's already possible. But that's just my - apparently not so - humble opinion.

Response recorded on May 03, 2012

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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!


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Fluttershy writes...

Hey greg what's up I would love to ask you a questions regarding your story telling techniques

You have said in the past that you could go be telling stories forever if you wanted and in fact sometimes not even the tv show is enough for them hence the comics.

But have you ever considered in giving your characters and stories a Grand finale?.

I think something that has made me a bit sad is that in your past shows you have been cut short due to executive decitions out of your control and we have been unable to get anything resembling an ending that actually gives closure (w.i.t.c.h,Spectacular spiderman, gargoyles etc)

However it is always nice when a tv show character directly says goodbye to te audience(like batman the brave and the bold) or when every major plot point is solved at the end.

A big trait of western media in it's majority like tv shows and specially comics is that the characters "are frozen in time".

Spiderman for instance will always be a young man that fights crime and the story won't go beyond that,same for superman and batman. When the story gets after a certain point we as fans tend to get reboots reapeaing the smae story.

I would like to ask you if given the chance will you give us a finale to your works like gargoyles.

Will we ever see the closure of them?
Do you believe in "grand finales"?

Or do you want simply to never give them a real ending o your shows and simply give the idea that the story will be around forever?

Greg responds...

Yeah, I'm not so much into Grand Finales. Probably why I'm more of a television or comic book guy than a movie or graphic novel guy. I believe (whole-heartedly) in the on-going story. That's what LIFE feels like to me.

Gargoyles is a perfect example. Characters come; characters go and some even die, but the world goes on. I even know (but don't ask) how Goliath dies, but I don't see it as the end of that world. It's only A FINALE, because there is no THE FINALE.

I suppose if one was writing a story with a single lead, a la Spider-Man, and either (a) one killed him off or (b) one really ran out of stories to tell, then I could see staging that big Grand F before you waved goodbye forever. But that assumes there isn't a new Spider-Man waiting in the wings and/or that a guy like me would actually run out of stories. And that hasn't happened to me, at least not yet.

Response recorded on May 01, 2012

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Sam writes...

You've said before that you like to partake in mental casting for characters that you never got to animate in Gargoyles. Did you do this as well for Spectacular Spider-Man's unmade third season, and if so, any chance you could tell me what voice actors you had in mind for the new characters?

Greg responds...

Well, Marina Sirtis for Emily Osborn. I can't think of any others off the top of my head. And mostly, I don't do that 'mental casting' until after I've written (or edited) a script, so that I have a character's 'voice' in my head. Since we never wrote any scripts, I probably didn't pre-cast much.

Response recorded on May 01, 2012

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Lavariel writes...

Dear Mr. Weisman,

Thank you for all the wonderful work you've done from Gargoyles, to Spiderman, to Young Justice. Been a fan for years.

1) From your experience, what was more enjoyable to work with? Working on a show that was completely yours to control - Gargoyles - from character development, plot, and storyline? Or Spiderman and Young Justice where the basics has already laid out?

2) Was there more pressure to succeed working on Gargoyles because it was original and the creativity was your to control? Or was there more pressure to work on an adaption on Spiderman and Young Justice because the bar has already been set?

Greg responds...

1. They're different. Gargoyles is my baby. But in terms of the actual work, I don't think I had any more or less fun working on SpecSpidey, W.I.T.C.H. or YJ.

2. I think the pressure rises with each series, but I blame the internet more than anything inherent in the series. (I blame the internet for a lot, which is not to say I could go back to living without it.)

Response recorded on April 24, 2012

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Peter Parker writes...

Is spiderman the mole ??

Greg responds...

Really? You thought this was funny enough to clog the queue?

Response recorded on April 13, 2012

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Greg Bishansky writes...

One of Tombstone's first lines of dialogue was "In my life I've been known by many names, my favorite is Tombstone." So... would his least favorite be "Lonnie?" ;)

In all seriousness, I have to agree that Lonnie is a pretty undignified first name for a character of the stature that you reinvented Tombstone into. But I did enjoy that his middle name was "Thompson" making one of Spidey's biggest enemies and Peter's nemesis at school both Thompsons.

Greg responds...

Well, it's my least favorite, anyway.

Response recorded on April 12, 2012

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Akeem M. writes...

Hello Greg,
A couple questions about Emily Osborn's inclusion in the series (don't worry, nothing having to do with un executed plans)

Anyway, when asked about keeping Emily Osborn alive, aside from having plans for her later down the road, you also decided out of the three friends who had single parent households (Peter, Gwen, and Harry) Harry would be the one where it wasn't fundamental to his character compared to the others. One of Harry's biggest traits is his messed up relationship with his father. It was also said that Noman's disdain of Harry came from losing his wife in exchange for Harry. Would you say that in Spectacular Spider-Man that Harry's problems came from his messed up family life in general with Emily being alive? Basically Harry's issues aren't solely on Norman, but Emily as well (whether directly or indirectly).

Also, it's of course a given why Peter has a single parent household, however, when choosing out of the other two when it comes to who HAD to be in a single parent household, what stopped you from letting Gwen's mother still be alive? Does it mainly have to do with the fact that Capt. Stacy was going to live throughout the series run, but Norman was going to 'die'?

Also, would you say that Emily Osborn loves herself an extemely tough steak?

Greg responds...

1. Yes.

2. Gwen being her daddy's girl seemed fundamental to who she was.

3. I'm not getting this reference at the moment. Wasn't she cutting a carrot or something on screen?

Response recorded on April 12, 2012

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Roy writes...

What is the name of Hammerhead's chauffeur?

Greg responds...

SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT.

Response recorded on April 11, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

You have said in the past that if you were ever allowed to use guest appearances in spec spidey(if it had continued) there was a particular Hulk story you wanted to adapt. Was it the story from Amazing spider-man annual 3? If not which story was it?

Greg responds...

Did I say that? A particular story?

I don't recall saying that. I definitely wanted to adapt that era when Hulk was practically a force of nature - and a bit of a Bigfoot-style legend, with very few people absolutely knowing for certain that he existed.

Response recorded on April 11, 2012

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Algernon writes...

Hey again, hopefully the queue hasn't become to full by now. Anyway, I remember asking you once if you'd ever be willing to post the TSSM series bible online. As I recall, you said you'd think about it.

Just wondering if you've given the idea any further thought?

Greg responds...

Well, Algernon, as I respond to this, there's over 800 questions in the queue. EIGHT HUNDRED!!!

And I haven't even gotten to the airing of YJ episode 119 yet.

Anyway, I'm open to posting the SpecSpidey Bible, but the problem is I don't have it here at Warner Bros (for obvious reasons). So I need to be reminded either when I'm home or at my office in Beverly Hills.

Response recorded on April 11, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

When Miss Martian defeats Psimon, we see his "pupil" crack into a web-shapped crack that resembles a black web. Was this an intentional nod to SSM?

Greg responds...

No.

Response recorded on March 08, 2012

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Finister2 writes...

In the final shot of The Spectacular Spiderman, we see what appears to be Norman Osborn boarding a plane.

My question is: Was that really Norman Osborn or the Chameleon in disguise?

Greg responds...

It was Mr. Roman.

Response recorded on March 06, 2012

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Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

I was wondering your opinion on the New 52. Not the execution, I have a hunch you don't have the time to read much of any of it, but the idea of it.

Although I have found a few books I really like, in general I object to heaving aside continuity and trying to rejam the history back into a too short time frame while wiping out character development. The idea of accessibility is a red herring because if they were capable of sticking to self contain arc inviting to new readers they wouldn't need a reboot to do so. Then again, I came into comics after Crisis on Infinite Earths and am conditioned into thinking it was necessary.

Greg responds...

As you noted, I have NOT had the time to read the New 52, so I will not comment on that specifically. Whether or not it works creatively depends more than anything else on execution. Since I haven't seen the execution, I can't respond to how it works creatively. But I KNOW that commercially it's been a HUGE hit. I like to believe that it wouldn't have done quite so well, if it wasn't executed well too.

But generally, on the idea of reboots, I do have a handful of thoughts:

1. I don't want to be a hypocrite. When we started Spectacular Spider-Man and again on Young Justice, we were effectively doing a continuity reboot. I feel when adapting something to a new media, that's essential, but it doesn't change the fact that (a) we did it and (b) I was relieved to be able to do it. Relieved to be able to jettison elements that I felt didn't work or were redundant or confusing, etc. Our goal, particularly on Spider-Man, was to come up with something Classic, Cohesive, Coherent, Contemporary and Iconic. So how can I object if the comics themselves want to do this?

2. In the end, whether or not either SpecSpidey or YJ was/is successful depends on our execution of our ideas, additions and cullings. I like to think both shows are successful, but that's a judgement each individual viewer would have to make for him or herself.

3. I was working on staff at DC Comics during the publication of the original Crisis on Infinite Earths. In fact, during my very first editorial meeting, I raised the question as to why we weren't starting ALL our books over (with the numerical exceptions of Detective and Action Comics) with issue #1. I remember very clearly a collective groan rising up from the conference room table. (They had dealt with this question for months before my arrival.) On the one hand, they wanted Crisis to be a real sea-change, a true reboot (before we knew that term). On the other hand, if you truly reboot Batman, then Robin doesn't exist yet. No Robin, no other sidekicks either. So no Teen Titans. And at the time, the New Teen Titans was the company's best selling book.

4. So the end result was that some things got rebooted and some did not.

5. This was complicated by the fact that certain creators came late to the party, and certain characters got reboots too long AFTER Crisis.

6. And so, as a READER, I couldn't help feeling that - rather than simplifying the continuity - Crisis made it more complicated. This will happen in general, naturally, as time passes and more and more comics are produced by a variety of creators and editors, but Crisis seemed to exacerbate the problem for me personally.

7. In part this was because, I really liked the DC Multiverse. I agree that it was abused to the point of confusion. (And I think it was nuts that Earth TWO had the forties heroes and Earth ONE had the sixties heroes. Just the odd backwards numbering itself created additional unnecessary confusion.) But if limits had been placed on the number of parallel earth stories and crossovers, I think it could have been fine.

8. ESPECIALLY, if they had created a new Earth-THREE, starting over with heroes of the eighties, with Superman and Batman (being new to the hero thing but) remaining relatively constant. But with a new Green Lantern (for example) as different from Hal Jordan as Jordan was from Alan Scott.

9. But that didn't happen. And in fact, though I've read very few comics since 1996, my understanding is that reboots have hit over and over at both DC and Marvel. That negates reader trust in the worth and weight of the stories they're reading. It's more insidious than obvious. And you risk alienating old readers, even as you may or may not attract new ones. You'll always get a short term gain off of a reboot, because everyone wants to check it out. But long term...

10. And going back to my first point - which is that most everything depends on execution - I personally didn't love the execution of some of the post-Crisis rebooting. Some people may have loved it. And that's totally legit. But some of the rethinking on certain individual characters didn't work too well for me.

11. Though personally I think the Bates-Weisman-Broderick reboot on Captain Atom from his Charlton incarnation was brilliant. ;)

12. So, personally, my feeling on reboots in general is that you either do them or you don't. You've got to be thorough and ruthless about it, or don't bother, because otherwise - long term - you're creating more problems than you're solving.

13. And still and all, ultimately, it all depends on execution.

Response recorded on February 15, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Did mutants exist in the spider-man show?

Greg responds...

If you're talking Spectacular Spider-Man, then they might have if we had had more episodes and permission...

I definitely had plans for Cyclops, Beast and Professor X, at least. Iceman too. Heck, maybe Firestar, eventually.

Response recorded on February 14, 2012


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