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POSTINGS 2008-04 (Apr)

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Moe writes...

Hey Greg! I'm really excited about the Spectacular Spider-Man series and the direction its taken so far. I seriously haven't been this into an animated series since back when I was a kid. At first I was a bit skeptical about the decision to make the character designs more simplistic, but I found it to work quite well with the speed of the animation and the story line in general. Can't wait to see the next episode, and I hope there will be several seasons to come :).

Greg responds...

Me too, Moe!

Response recorded on April 15, 2008

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CanusShamus writes...

Hey Greg! Long-time reader, first time writer </cliche>

Well, typically Entertainment Weekly waits for the first three episodes of a new series to come out before they write a review, so I thought I'd do the same. Short version: I liked it.

I'll admit I was skeptical at first, since WB's new Batman show not only didn't live up to movie, it wasn't even better than the 90s TV show. I am, however, one of the few who despised the Spider-Man movies, and going back to the 90s Spider-Man, I realized it didn't hold up too well over time, so I would tentatively say your version surpasses both of them.

If I had to pick the show's strongest point, it would be the animation. When Spider-Man fights Lizard on the train their fight technique is all one fluid motion, and each comes back from a hit right away, using the momentum for their next strike. It reminded me of a martial arts film, and was better looking than all the CGI that was dumped into the films. Also, I liked how Peter's tag is always sticking out of his shirt; it's a subtle thing, but it works great to play up the 'nerdiness' of his everyday persona.

Another development i enjoyed was the characters. I'm interested to see where you're going with Brock (especially after the animosity he showed at the end of episode 3), and I think not bringing in MJ right away was the smart thing to do (personally, I hope she doesn't show up for a good long while; it will make it seem more significant when she does). My only complaint is Gwen: not that I don't love the way she's written, it's just...well, as any Spider-fan knows, it's Gwen's destiny to die, and the fact she may do so before she even leaves high school just seems unbearably bleak. But you never know; she could go the distance after all.

Summing up, I haven't had occasion to watch ANYTHING on Saturday morning for a good long while now, but you can bet I'll be coming back for Spider-Man. Heck, the average fan would probably prefer this to the "Brand New Day" storyline that's going on in the comics right now.

Oh, and since this is a Q&A column: are there plans for any crossover episodes with other Marvel characters, such as Spider-Man teaming up with Daredevil or fighting against Dr. Doom?

Thank you for taking the time to read my comments. Hope to hear from you soon.

P.S. I thought I was so clever for catching the Broadway cameo, but I apparantly completely missed the Hudson one. Blerg.

Greg responds...

No current plans for crossovers.

Response recorded on April 14, 2008

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Michael N writes...

How about asking Cary Bates to write the intro for the next trade paperback. It'd be a nice tie-in to your early comic book work on Captain Atom and he's certainly had a hand in shaping Gargoyles to what we know today. If nothing else it'd be nice to hear his take on Gargoyles.

I'm really enjoying Spider-Man so far. I think there's a lot of smart storytelling in the show; the same thing that attracted me to Gargoyles. I like that stereotypes are skin-deep. For example Flash fits the jock stereotype nicely, but you see some of his jock friends definitely don't. Likewise not all geeks are, well, geeks. That'll make Eddie's turn especially hard to watch.

I think you're a great match for the job of writing/editing Spider-Man. It's filled with characters that are neither "bad" or "good", but all sorts of in between. You've got an annoying (but in a good way!) habit of developing those sorts of characters in ways that make it hard to hate them and root for the "good guy". Xanatos awakens the gargoyles to use them for his own purposes like they're just tools. Then he tries to "discard" them. Then he helps them. Then he gives them a place to stay and helps to protect them. I want to hate him. I know he's going to try and (ab)use the gargoyles again. They know it as well. But I can't hate the guy. It's damn frustrating (but in a good way!) and Spider-Man is going to give you more opportunities to do that with other characters. You've already started doing that with Electro and Vulture.

My understanding is Electro was "created" when Max was struck by lightning. Was the change in his creation a nod to Gargoyles with respect to the creation of the mutates or was that more coincidence than anything else?

Thanks Greg!

Greg responds...

No, Electro's change of origin was designed to (a) make it feel more real to a 2008 audience and (b) make it fit into the arc it was a part of.

Response recorded on April 14, 2008

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Chelsea Schuchman writes...

What's gonna happen to the show? Is it really gonna show some of Chiro's past? Will Skeleton King win? Are you really going to end the show. Will someone die again?I hope not. I don't want the show to end. What about the Alchemist? What about Valina, Mandarin, and Sokko?

Greg responds...

What the heck are we talking about?

Response recorded on April 14, 2008

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Zabrian writes...

Now i noticed and a may be wrong but Titania seemed less effected by iron as did puck then Oberon himself. I was wondering if maybe this was because they are less Allergic to it being his children, and is Titania just less effected in general?

Greg responds...

They're not LITERALLY his children. And I'm not sure why you say they were less effected?

Response recorded on April 14, 2008

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VOTE GARGOYLES!!!

I just heard that The Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association telling me that Gargoyles has been nominated for an Ursa Major award in the comic book category.

The winner will be announced on May 17. It looks like anyone can vote--the ballot is here: http://www.ursamajorawards.org/Voting.htm


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Greg Bishansky writes...

Clan Building Volume 2 Forward Candidates.

- Michael Reaves seems like an obvious choice, and he's popular in the animation/sci-fi/fantasy circles.

- Cary Bates? His Superman run is still well regarded, I think. He seems like a logical idea, and you're both old friends.

- Crispin Freeman? He's extremely popular in anime circles.

- Frakes or Sirtis? Might help boost interest among the Trekkies.

- Tad Stones. He seems to be having hits with his Hellboy DVD movies, and being that he was at Disney for a long time, and suggested a "big heroic gargoyle", he seems like a good choice.

- Very Long shot, but according to my brother, Brian Michael Bendis liked "Gargoyles". He says at G2003, he was in an elevator with Bendis. If you remember, they had that big comic convention at Madison Square Garden that weekend, and a lot of the guests were staying in our hotel. I heard this from my brother though, but thought suggesting it would be harmless.

Greg responds...

All great suggestions.

Response recorded on April 10, 2008

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Charlie writes...

You asked people who should do the forward in the next trade and so far the only name I have seen come up is Joss and I figured given that you indicated that may be easier said then done I figured another good name to throw out there is Paul Dini.

Greg responds...

Paul's great, but I have no idea if he's even seen Gargoyles.

Response recorded on April 10, 2008

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Charisma82 writes...

Okay, I hadn't planned on giving a review for each Spidey show that came out, (& I'm still not planning on it as of right now) but I had to give you and all the people who worked on the episode "Natural Selection" props. I feel this has been the best episode so far, and hey, this is only the 3rd one. I really felt for Spidey at the end of the episode, having to look like a coward in front of his friends so he could keep his Spiderman secret. I guess I'm just a sucker for characters who save the day and never get the recognition they deserve, and even worse, look like they wimped out when they really didn't. The whole story was great, and I can't wait to see more.

Thank you for your time and all that you do.

-Charisma82

Greg responds...

Thank you too!

Response recorded on April 10, 2008

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Jess writes...

Hey Greg! I'm still keeping up with Spectacular Spider-Man and "Natural Selection" didn't disappoint. I feel like each episode is slightly stronger than the one before it as everyone gets more in-tune with the material and each other.

I think you found just the right note with the Billy subplot, where it was genuinely emotional and not cloying. I liked the "I took a cab" bit with Eddie at the zoo. Just a fun little jab a typical cartoon logic. I was not expecting Peter to be fired, so that was a cool moment for me as well. Somehow I have a feeling we'll be seeing the serum again.

Nice continuity nods with the ring-tone alarm, the mention of Electro, and especially Peter and Eddie calling each other "Bro", then having Spidey try to cover it up when he does the same.

One thing I noticed was that during Peter's voice-over before he plans on taking the serum is that he mentions "a hard 9PM curfew" where before it had always been 10.

The cast continues to be amazing (or rather spectacular). In particular, Kath Soucie and Lacey Chabert just completely nailed their parts this week.

Since this is "Ask Greg", I do have a quick question: For small parts i.e. the people at the coffee shop in "Interactions", or Thug #1 in this past episode do you have certain people in the cast in mind, or do you just ask whoever's in that day if they want to do it?

Thanks for your time!

Greg responds...

We plan ahead, dealing out our bit parts from among the actors who will be present for the session. SAG rules allow us to ask any actor to do one additional character for free.

Response recorded on April 10, 2008


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