Greg responds...

Thanks Andrea/Elisa!

Greg responds...

I have one goofy face I can draw. Stick figures, I'm mediocre at. If I really work hard, I can doodle and/or copy something that will only look semi-awful. But no one has ever mistaken me for any kind of artist.

Greg responds...

Believe it or not, I've never read Malory from cover to cover. I've read huge chunks of it. And I've skimmed the whole thing. But he doesn't really engage me as a writer. I'm not sure why.

Thus, it is Roger Lanelyn Green who almost acts as my so-called primary source. God, I loved that little book.

Geoffrey was endlessly fascinating.

Steinbeck didn't finish, which was frustrating. It wasn't the best read.

Berger was a lot of fun. Though I don't personally "believe" many of his interpretations of the legends, it was a great read.

I loved Stewart's THE CRYSTAL CAVE. But with each successive book, I found less and less to connect with Stewart's interpretations. And her Mordred book really bummed me out. It seemed like she felt a need to turn Mordred into a real hero at the expense of just about anyone else. Bugged me.

T.H. White's ONCE AND FUTURE KING. I love this book. And I love his "Book of Merlyn." Beautiful writing. Human and fanciful. Irresistable to me.

As for Goodrich, well, I don't have the background to argue her facts. I found much of the material unconvincing and flat-out dull. But I thought she had one real insight. Lancelot has always been viewed as a late addition to the mythology. As a character who was probably NOT historical. (Whereas Arthur likely was.) Her linguistic explanation, connecting Malory's Lancelot with Monmouth's Angus was very convincing. I'll try and duplicate it here...

ANGUS latinized becomes something like ANGUSELUS.

But Anguselus was a title that could properly be rendered as THE ANGUSELUS.

Frenchifying this would make it L'ANGUSELOS. With the last letter silent.

Over time, it would not be unlikely for the name to be simplified. If a syllable got dropped it could very easily become L'ANSELOS.

And if the last S is silent (as it likely would be in French) then it could easilty become an equally silent "T". Thus L'ANSELOT.

Or LANCELOT once it was anglicized again.

This may sound like a stretch. And I may not be doing it justice above. But early Celtic accounts include the character of Angus. Lancelot was assumed to be a later and fictional French addition to the legend. (And thus a character from France.) If Lancelot is in fact Angus, then that lends a certain credence to the entire legend. And I just love that idea.

Greg responds...

First off, Todd, thanks for the kind words.

There are certain themes that interest me, and so you'll see them revisited in my work (probably ad nauseum) over and over. The theme of, well, let's call it "What Profit Vengeance?" is one of my favorites. So I wasn't deliberately trying to echo "Hunter's Moon" so much as I was servicing a set of ideas that seemed apropos to both series.

As for the Theseus-as-Batman stuff. Well, that's a no-brainer. The Superman/Batman dynamic -- that is the teaming of a hero possessing superhuman abilities with a hero who merely makes the best possible use of his human abilities -- originated with Herakles and Theseus. (Or at any rate, it goes back that far.) So the notion of flipping that, and playing Herc/Theseus as Superman/Batman seemed wonderfully ironic and a fertile place to find comedy.

In high school, I acted in a play called THE WARRIOR'S HUSBAND. I played Theseus, and I've had a real affinity for the character ever since. In that play, Hercules was kind of a mope. (Very strong, but a mope.) The Greeks were waging war against the Amazons. Hercules was in charge, but Theseus was the real brains of the operation. Yet he's also the guy who really falls hard in love for Antiope, sister to Queen Hyppolyta. So instead of conquering -- as he had originally intended -- Theseus winds up manipulating everyone into a compromise. I like that in a hero.

Theseus is part of a sub-genre of archetypes, (an off-shoot of Trickster figures like Puck, Coyote or Odysseus/Ulysses). He's the primary example of the Archetype of "THE BASTARD", which includes such diverse characters as Shakespeare's Edmund from KING LEAR, Joan of Arc's ally Dunois and multiple characters from Arthurian legend (including Merlin, Arthur, Percival, Galahad and Mordred). There are so many parallels between Arthur and Theseus that reading Mary Stewart and Mary Renault seemed almost redundant. (Not really.)

In fact, Luach (or Lulach) is also a prime candidate for that archetype. When he was born, Gruoch was still married to Gillecomgain. But gossip around the castle hinted that the babe's true father was Macbeth. After Macbeth and Gruoch married, Macbeth adopted the boy as his own. At which point the gossip shifted to insist that Gillecomgain was the boy's father. (You can't win.) Pre-DNA testing, there would be no way for Luach to ever be certain of the truth. Maybe Macbeth didn't even know. Hell, Gruoch might not know.

Life's a bitch when you're a bastard.

Greg responds...

It's a hard "I". But the S is pronounced S not Z. So it rhymes with RICE-man. But, you know, with a W.

Greg responds...

Thanks. I liked writing that one. I've always loved the Superman/Batman relationship. And Herakles/Theseus is the original. I just pointed it up a bit more.

Though I should say that the wordless stuff where Cass is running across the beach toward Theseus wasn't mine. I guess the board artist added it.

It was also fun to have Michael Dorn playing another Minotaur.

Greg responds...

Pretty cool most of the time.

And then I get an embarrassing question like this one...

Greg responds...

No. I gave them up cold turkey in 1996. I was already down to very few books. Bone. Cerebus. Maybe a couple of others. But it was getting too hard to find the books I liked. And many had been cancelled, discontinued or rendered unreadable.

As I'm sure you know by now, I did write a JUSTICE LEAGUE/CAPTAIN ATOM/GARGOYLES story that was just published. But that's it.

I'd love to write comics again, but no one's busting down my door, and I don't have the energy to initiate a hard sell of my own.

Greg responds...

I was born on September 28th, 1963.

My social security number is ...

Wait a minute. Maybe I should keep a few things to myself.

Greg responds...

Actually, I was the 2nd Commando.

But I'm not in the Union. So theoretically I never said "Nice mask!" Never. Understand.

Greg responds...

1. No.

2. I have no preference, but if you're talking about Gargoyles, they are planning it to be live action with CGI.

3. I hope so. I like to think so.

4 - 9. Sorry. Questions on separate topics, must be posted separately.

Greg responds...

1. I'd prefer "Greg".

Separate topics must post separately. Otherwise, I'll never get through the backlog of questions.

Greg responds...

Ceira, for once I'm not trying to give a smart-ass response. Here's the thing. I don't remember and I'm color-blind. So even if I pulled out the videos and looked, the odds are about fifty-fifty as to whether I'd be able to tell.

Sorry.

Greg responds...

My birthday is September 28th too. Although I wasn't two in 1980.

Greg responds...

I have and will continue to resist addressing these questions at this time.

Understand, GOLIATH CHRONICLES was very, very PAINFUL for me. Besides "The Journey" I watched each episode exactly once -- a bitter experience each time. (And note: This is not the fault of the people who produced those episodes.)

I have no desire to put myself through additional needless pain.

Now if the show were to come back, the pain wouldn't be needless. It would be worthwhile, and I would gladly watch, even study, each episode again, looking for loopholes, for what I could ignore, etc. etc. etc.

It may sound arrogant, but I have no doubt I could salvage my continuity in its entirety.

But for now...

The only Chronicle that exists for me is "The Journey."

Hope you understand.

Greg responds...

1. The writers and story editors worked for me directly.

The actors worked for our Voice Director Jamie Thomason, but I sat right next to Jamie at every recording, so I knew them very well.

The pre-production artists worked under Frank Paur, Dennis Woodyard and Bob Kline, and I largely dealt with those three Director/Producers as opposed to having direct contact with the artists. BUT -- there were tons of exceptions and I got to know many of the storyboard artists fairly well. Plus I had brought our (2nd season) lead character designer Greg Guler onto the show in its development phase. So I worked fairly closely with him.

I also had one on one meetings with our timing directors.

As for the actual overseas production artists. People like Roy, I had no real contact with them. Mostly I left that to Frank, though I occasionally communicated with the head of Walt Disney Japan via FAX.

In post, I worked directly with everyone. Editors, Sound folk, music, etc.

2. There isn't one answer to this. I had a tremendous amount of authority on the first two seasons, but I did have people I answered to. Largely, they gave me pretty free reign. Frank had equal authority. We generally agreed or at least could reach a solution together. Occasionally, whether we agreed on something or not, a decision would go up the ladder.

Greg responds...

Hmmm....

"All things are true..." as Luna would say.

I believe in magic up to a point, and I see no conflict in that with my belief in God.

But, and this is important, I don't believe in a petty god. Or, despite the Bible, a jealous one.

I can see how those who do would find conflict where I see none.

Greg responds...

Currently, I'm writing, story editing and producing a new television series for SONY, the WB and Mattel. This is AFTER having finished my stint on STARSHIP TROOPERS which will premier in syndication this month. On the latter, I story edited ten out of the forty episodes (#16-20 & #36-40). The writers on my two arcs were myself, Jon Weisman, Lydia Marano, Cary Bates and Michael Reaves.

On my current series I'm using all of the above plus Gary Sperling, Kevin Hopps, Mike Ryan and Katherine Fugate.

The current series will premier in January, 2000.

As for you're second question, I'm unclear on the antecedent of "it". You mean my current work? Or Gargoyles?

Greg responds...

No. And thanks.

Greg responds...

Hey, Kathy. Doubt this will be very interesting, but:

My chiropractor has given me exercises. But I'm a slug most of time.

1. That question just doesn't work for me. My mind doesn't function that way.

2. Generally, the front section.

3 a & b. I can't think of any at this moment.

4. Carney's.

5. Nothing sums up So Cal. Nothing's that simple.

6. Again, my mind doesn't quite work that way. But I do remember a tv show called STRANGE LUCK, or something like that, starring D.B. Sweeney. I thought that concept was brilliant, and I was extremely jealous of it. Unfortunately, it only lasted one season.