Blaise writes...

GATHERING OF THE GARGOYLES
CON-JOURNAL

DAY 4
MONDAY AUGUST 24, 2009

And so we come at last to the last day of the last Gathering. There were several reasons why I felt a bit down that morning, but that very fact of finality was a very strong one. Fortunately, both Guardian and Gside were there to offer me sympathetic pats on either shoulder.
I had arrived at 9AM and was surprised to see almost no one by the Mandarin room when the past three days were always fairly poppin' by about that time. At first I was by myself, but then Gside arrived and soon after Guardian. After discussing various subjects, we were slowly joined by A Fan, then Gorebash, Abby and VickyUK arrived pretty much one after the other. I was sad to learn Gore would have to leave before closing ceremonies, as would A Fan. For my part, I was glad I would be able to attend since it felt like something I HAD to take part in.

I attended the "Gargoyles" and "Bad Guys" comic book Q&A panel. I wish I could have gone to both that and the "Future of the 'Gargoyles' fandom" panel, but they were both at the same time, and I hadn't attended the comic panel back in 2006, so I had to go with this one. A number of questions about plot developments and art styles were answered (and a few questions were actually raised). I remember asking Karine and Greg Guler who were there favorite characters to design. Karine felt she had way too many to choose from, but was particularly fond of the new mutate designs she had done. Greg G. didn't think he had designed any real "new" characters (except a few extras, but he liked the Porter) until Greg W. indicated that he designed The Grim (AKA, Kenneth III). Interesting note, they made him blonde in order to contrast him from Findlaech and Maol Chalvim (since they all have pretty much the same general style in beards). Also, Greg admitted that he fairly quickly dispensed with his idea of "nothing in the comic that wouldn't be in the animated series." He's pretty sure they wouldn't have been able to pull off Brooklyn cutting off Valmont's hand on TV (and even in the comic, he specifically instructed that they never show the "stump" of the severed appendage).

After that panel, I took one last look in the Dealer's Room, but they were already packing everything up. I briefly sampled Karine's "Animating with Flash" panel, which looked very well done and informative with excellent visual aids, but I found I had little interest in flash, and went to the "Gargoyles Biology & Culture" panel. I don't know why only the front half of the room had light, but apparently someone fell asleep in the dark half and began to snore. Greg, Jade Griffin and Matt Parker didn't notice (or at least pretended not to) and someone else woke the first person up. I remember asking about how most gargoyles have four digits per appendage, but now we've seen Katana, who has three per appendage. And of course Sora, who had the usual 4 per hand, but only 3 per foot. Apparently, the Ishimura clan (or all Japanese) gargoyles are just unique in that way. Just like how the Mayan clan can have snake-like lower bodies, and the Loch Ness clan can have "dolphinesque" lower bodies. Funny thing...I remember from Crispin Freeman's panel on dragons, that in China, the dragon is usually shown with four toes on each foot, unless it is the Imperial dragon (only for the emperor), which has five toes per foot. But in Japan, the dragon is usually shown with THREE toes per foot. Hmmmmm. Okay maybe I'm over thinking things.

At last, we came to Closing Ceremonies. This was it. The End (at least for the time being). The usual awards for art were given out (and we had some really great ones this year). And then Greg Weisman began making a final speech, and had to constantly fight back tears during it. A lot of jokes came flying just so we had some laughter to try to counteract the water works. Actually, laughter and tears were pretty much the theme of closing ceremonies. Thom Adcox, god, you could tell he loved the Gatherings just as much as anyone. For over an hour, various members of the con staff, as well as Greg W. and Thom, began telling stories about their first Gathering, and how much being a part of this brought joy to their lives. There was a whole lotta hugging going on! Greg W. emphasized how many things (the DVDs, the comics), were directly attributable to the Gathering. We even had a few members of the audience tell their stories (and get handed tissues).
I think...no, I know nobody wanted this (the ceremonies, the Gathering, anything) to end. But it had to eventually, and it did.

We all said our good-byes (and I discovered that Guardian actually lives within the LA area as well). I hung around for a bit, but there was really not much left to help pack, and I was getting hungry. So I made my way out of the Gathering and back to the real world.

That's my con-journal, but I do have a few final thoughts of my own that I'll post later on.

Ageist writes...

====SPOILERS FROM CLAN-BUILDING 2====

A lot of new faces were seen in Demona's clan in CB2 - and it sounds like some interesting facts were given out about the whole clan's relationships to Wyvern clan members during this last Gathering. So a couple questions:

1) Were all of the Gargates seen in the cell that Demona's Second/True/etc were part of from the Wyvern Split clan?

2) What year were these Gargates born in?
a - Demona's Second's Mate/Sacrifice
b - "Bro" the red Gargoyle Brooklyn spoke with.
c - Brooklyn's bioBrother, seen behind Brook and "Bro"
d - the little Green gargoyle standing next to True.
e - Bronx's parents

3) Was Sacrifice related biologically to any other Gargoyle we've seen from Wyvern? If so which?

4) The little Blue Gargoyle from City of Stone was not seen here (that I found). Where was he?

Vaevictis Asmadi writes...

Greetings Greg,

No con journal from me obviously, just questions inspired by Clan-Building Volume 2.

============CAUTION: MAYBE SPOILER-ISH================================
I have a question (or two), which I really hope you are willing to answer. In a response years ago, you suggested that the Stone of Destiny might be either a magical object, or a Child of Oberon. However, the new trade paperback has seriously called these possibilities into question. Neither of them look very probable to me at this point.

So my question is:
Is the Stone of Destiny (or the Spirit of Destiny) one of the Third Race after all?
Is it a magical talisman?
============CAUTION: MAYBE SPOILER-ISH================================

As always, thanks a bunch for answering fan questions!

Kythera of Anevern writes...

The last Gathering of the Gargoyles.

I can't help feeling the kind of rending melancholy that comes with KNOWING beyond all hope of doubt and denial that an important element of your life is past.

I honestly don't think I would be alive today if not for the Gathering, and the wonderful friends I made there. I attended my first Gathering in 1999, at a very pivotal time in my life, when I felt very alone and afraid and freakish in the world. The Gathering and the people there showed me that I wasn't alone, that there wasn't so much to be afraid of, and that even if I AM strange, the people who really matter in life will love me in part because of my strangeness, not in spite of it. To a very young and frightened me, I do think that this meant the difference between life and death, which I had seriously contemplated more than once at that time.

I also owe the first great love of my life to the Gathering. Even though it didn't have the happy ending I wanted, I still wouldn't trade having loved and lost for anything at all.

Many stories of how Gargoyles and the Gathering touched all of us were shared during closing ceremonies. I chose to share one of my favourite happy memories--of my first Gathering, when an acquaintance and I had put on our costumes before the banquet. We were riding down in the elevator in all of our makeup when the elevator slowed to a stop, and we decided we would roar at whoever was on the other side of the doors. As the doors opened, we struck fierce poses and bellowed at the top of our lungs...at THOM ADCOX. We were VERY embarrassed, but after startling poor Thom, all three of us had a good laugh.

There was as much laughter as there were tears, because at its end, the taste of the day was bittersweet, indeed.

I know that all of these wonderful people that I call friends will find ways to meet up and spend time together, and we will without a doubt stay in touch, but there is a deep sting in knowing that this one event about something that we all have in common and that brought us all together is no longer there. At least, not in the form that we know it.

From what I hear, there was a lot of talk about what the future holds. While I hold the foundations upon which the present is built very dear and feel a sharp sense of loss, I remind myself of what may still yet come. I don't think this will be the last convention dedicated to Gargoyles. I do think that the future holds more, because I know that this group of people is nothing if not dedicated and passionate and fierce in our loyalty to each other and to what we love.

Blaise writes...

GATHERING OF THE GARGOYLES
CON-JOURNAL

DAY 3
SUNDAY AUGUST 23, 2009

Got up at 7:30, still a bit groggy, and got to the Hilton by 9AM. I spent the next hour wandering around and talking to a few attendees and friends (I apologize to you all, but I can't remember who right now).

At 10AM, I attended the panel on "'Gargoyles': the Production Process." I wish I had taken notes, because now I find I can barely remember much about that panel (maybe that's because I'm writing this fairly late in the day and coming down from my "Gathering High" as it were). I do remember a great deal of credit for how "Gargoyles" turned out was given to Jay Fukuto. I remember Greg W. and Frank Paur talking about how much they argued during the run of the show. Frank mentioning that the "team" Disney's marketing people said went to New York City for reference shots consisted solely of him and his camera. And Greg W. remarking yet again about the unreliability of focus testing. I think it was THIS panel (and if not, then it was the Writers' one) where Greg told the story of how the guys behind "Kim Possible" had to do focus testing THREE TIMES (each one about 6 weeks apart) before Disney TV would green light their show.

Next was the Production Process panel for "The Spectacular Spider-Man." And yes, right away we got to see some of the scenes that had to be cut for time. Apparently, the Chameleon DID try to break Beck and Mason out, but they were already gone. One thing that was highlighted was that an episode of SS-M had a much smaller budget than an episode of "Gargoyles." That was why the part of the Big Man/Tombstone had to be recast rather than having Keith David phone patched like on "Gargoyles." Also, a very large reason they were able to get away with so much was because they technically didn't have a network to deal with until the script and most of the animation was finished.

Next, I made the decision to go get lunch (a six-inch seafood sandwich from Subway) and take a look at some of the items in the Dealer's Room, then catch the last 45 minutes of the Composers' panel. I loved some of the artwork, especially the Disney Princesses as gargoyles, Wendy Pini's drawing of the clan, Jade Griffin's Gummi Goyles, and so many others. I also finally caught a look at all the merchandise on the back table. Damn. If I had just a *little* more disposable income...*sigh*.

Anyway, sat in on the last part of the Composers' panel, and kind of wished I could have seen the whole thing (especially after hearing other people talk about it). I at least made it in time to see the examples of clips from the SS-M, first with no music or sound effects (just voices), and then with the whole sound track. I will admit, I did not know how huge of an influence Shirley Walker was on music in the animation industry. Carl Johnson regrets not being able to personally score the scene in which Elisa is turned into a gargoyle (it was edited by Marc Perlman--whose name I hope I spelled right).

"Writing in Television Animation" was up next, with even more guests, including Michael Reaves who, due to his Parkinson's disease, had to speak through first Bob Skir, and then his daughter Mallory (who arrived a bit after him). Somehow, his wit and humor managed to still make it through. I remember asking if the panelists thought that animated action shows in recent years were moving more towards continuity between episodes (can't quite recall the full answer, though). There was some discussion of how Story Editors and/or Supervising Producers interact with writers of individual episodes. Someone brought up the rather small ratio of women writers to men writers for animated action shows (and how there seems to be more women writers for comedy and preschool shows). And...unfortunately I'm blanking on the rest right now.

I attended Wendy Pini's panel on "Adapting Stories From Novels to Film." In her case it was more about graphic novels, and she talked about the "ElfQuest" film that's in development right now. She had a great deal to say about the process of adaptation, and how different mediums call for different styles, especially in regards to pacing. I brought up the "CBS debacle," mostly because I never get tired of hearing the strange way TV executives think. Crispin Freeman and his wife were also there, largely as audience and support. I recall the subject of voice acting coming up, and Crispin saying that if he were to cast himself in it, he would *want* to be Cutter, but feels he would be a better fit for Rayak or Strongbow.
At the end of the panel, which was mostly about "ElfQuest" and other comic/graphic novel to film adaptations, Wendy mentioned that she had wanted to talk more about "Gargoyles."

A little while later was the Banquet. There was a lot of good food there (I particularly liked the garlic mashed potatoes, the salmon, and the cheese cake). For the guests at my table we had Crispin Freeman, his wife (no, unfortunately, I didn't catch her name) and Wendy Pini. They were great, and I felt I had some great conversations with both Crispin and Wendy. Among other things, I complimented Wendy on her drawing of the clan. I mentioned to Crispin that one of his characters has inspired an Internet meme (kind of a popular repeated phrase), which led to a fun story about how the sound engineer for that show had left a clip of Crispin's voice work (when his character was acting particularly crazy) on Crispin's answering machine!
After the meal, instead of a trivia contest, we did a final Q&A with all the guests. Strangely enough, most of the questions were directed at Greg Weisman. It was at about this time that Thom Adcox FINALLY arrived and helped himself to some dinner (I forgot to mention, he was also late to the Blue Mug on Saturday...and he brought one of his dogs, practically derailing the whole thing with its cuteness).

After that, everyone left to prepare for the Masquerade and Dance. On his way out, Crispin Freeman mentioned his voice acting workshops and that one is next month. If I can gather enough funds, I intend to attend.
While waiting for the Masquerade to begin, I spoke at length with Greg Bishansky, and eventually Landon, Matt, Harvester of Eyes, Ben Diskin, and Lucas McLain (not all at the same time, of course). Mostly we just talked about the developments of the comic, aspects of the con, and how cool the guests were.

This year's Masquerade was small, but there were some very nice costumes. I really liked Aaron's Jackal (I especially loved his "cyber-eye"), and...that blue thing (AARRGH, what was his name!). King Arthur gave a great Shakespearean style speech (AWAY from the judges, unfortunately), and Zehra looked INCREDIBLE as Shari. Of course the "AWWW" cute moment was Jade Griffin (as Fox) carrying out her baby, who was dressed in Alexander's Halloween costume (and man, that kid loved to crawl!).
We also got to see some music videos, including one by Greg Bishansky which made a medley of the themes to SS-M and "Gargoyles." The funniest one was "Poor Unfortunate Souls" from "Little Mermaid"...with Puck singing Ursula and (of all people) DEMONA as Ariel!

Well, the awards were given out, and people began dancing (well, some anyway, the rest of us just talked or went to bed). I asked Greg who he felt should voice Peredur (Jude Law) and who he wanted to voice Falstaff (John Goodman, initially, but maybe more British...). I shook hands with Keith David and mentioned how sad I was that this was the last Gathering. "You never know," he said. And he's right. Who can say what the future holds? I, for example, hope to act alongside him someday.

At 11PM I made my way back home and tried to get a decent 7 hours of sleep.

My fourth and final con-journal...will be posted tomorrow. Right now, I'm too close to sleep to make a truly coherent entry.

Nyx Goldstone writes...

So, a multi-part question!

Having done the final Gathering on a seriously tight budget, I was unable to get the 3 comic volumes (Clan Building vol 1 and 2, and Bad Guys) which I really wanted copies of to have you sign. Now, as far as my limited knowledge goes, I feel I've lost my opportunity.

My questions are: Is there a way I can purchase signed copies directly from you? If not, is there a way to get you to sign the copies I do purchase?

Tyger writes...

Hey! Loved meeting you at the Gathering these last two days. My sister, however, has a conundrum. She was unable to get the books while we were at Con, and she really wants them signed by you. Is there anyway that, after she gets the books, she could mail them to you (with a self addressed, stamped, return package included, of course), and you could sign them for her?

Aidin writes...

Hi Greg,

I didn't know it until a few weeks ago, but I'm a pretty big fan of your work (Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, The Batman, Men in Black: The Series, Gargoyles and the Spectacular Spider-Man).
I was very excited last year when The Spectacular Spider-Man premiered on the CW, and I thought the first season was beyond fantastic.

I have a few questions for you and I hope you don't answering them.

First off, I've noticed that there seems to be a lot of doubt and uncertainty regarding future seasons, is there anything we as fans can do to help?
I'd hate for tSSM to die like the last spider-man series I enjoyed (Spider-Man Unlimited; which while heavily panned I enjoyed greatly.)
(Then again my opinion may be tainted being that I just a younger kid while that was still on the air;but I digress)

How long does it take to produce one episode, and a complete season?

What kind of animation is being used? Traditional pen and paper? Computer? or Hybrid?

Why is the airing of season two in the US being delayed? I just noticed that the next episode has been delayed until October 5th; which adds two months in between episodes.

What is your stance on creating original characters for the series? I do believe that every character has appeared in the comics in some form, and I'm just curios as to see whether you'd consider creating any new characters.

Will the series get any "darker" in tone and style as in progresses? Or will it remain mostly up-beat?

Would the series adapt the One More Day/Brand New Day (the greatest Spider-Man FAIL ever in my opinion) If the series were to continue that long?

Next to last, I'm starting to view tSSM as a series not unlike Batman Tas; that being said, do you thing tSSM could become the starting point for animated series based on other Marvel comics Characters; not unlike the way Batman Tas "spawned" Superman:Tas, Batman Beyond, Static Shock, Justice League, etc.?
So Basically, Is tSSM to Marvel as Batman: tas was to D.C.?

And lastly, I've read several times that there won't be any cross-over with characters from other parts of the marvel universe because you don't have the rights to them. IF you had access to any Marvel character(s) in the Marvel Universe, would you have cross overs and what kind of cross overs would you have?

Blaise writes...

GATHERING OF THE GARGOYLES
CON-JOURNAL

DAY 2
SATURDAY AUGUST 22, 2009

I'm glad I don't have to get up at 4:50AM every day. I wanted to give the dog a fairly long walk that morning because I knew I wouldn't have time that evening.

I got to the Hilton at a little after 9AM and signed up for Josh Keaton's Mug-A-Guest (I had considered Keith David's, but that was already full). Josh was cool, and I'm not just saying that because we share the same first name (and I finally learned how they avoided confusion when both he and Josh Lebar are working on the same day). One thing both he and Ben Diskin had in common, they both started acting at a very young age (3 for one, 6 for another), largely because they already had some family member in the business. I mention this only because I'm around the same age as them and I'm still trying to break into the darn business.

After another bagel for lunch, I attended Crispin Freeman's "Anime Mythology" panel on "Knights and Dragons." Being a dragon fanboy, this one was a joy. I had already known about the differences between so-called Western and Eastern dragons, but this was the first time I heard somebody actually analyze what these creatures say about the cultures they sprang from, and how they influence their respective media. I was surprised when he pointed out how a difference in dialogue between the Japanese script and the English dub of "Spirited Away" showcased this difference. I was also pleasantly surprised when he brought up "Vision of Escaflowne" as one of his favorite animes (it's one of mine, too!).

After this, I attended BOTH voice acting panels. The "Gargoyles" one was special not for the number of guests it had, but because it was the first one attended by Marina Sirtis, the voice of Demona herself. Of course, there were also Greg Weisman, Jamie Thomason, Thom Adcox (naturally), Keith David (with his GREAT laugh) and, a little later on, Elisa Gabrielli. I got to ask a question (or rather series of questions) that I usually put to all the voice actors at these things: "What episode/scene was the most challenging/fun/fulfilling?" Greg W. reminded me that the series was 15 YEARS AGO, so that might be a difficult question to answer. But Marina had no trouble stating what annoyed her the most: "The effing impact grunts." I learned something very important in that panel: if you do something she does not like, she will throw Jolly Ranchers at you. And Thom stated, yet again, his reasons for why he did not care for the Avalon world tour arc: largely, that he wasn't in most of those episodes (in his own words, "Avalon SUCKS!"). Well, that'll teach him to go out and buy a new car. Keith got to say a couple of his favorite lines ("I've been denied everything..."), though not with as much volume as I'm sure he would have liked. Also, Marina and Greg have two different versions of how she was cast as Demona (she maintains she came in on two separate days, he says it was just the one). There was also the story of how Jonathan Frakes was briefly fired by Greg's bosses because the cast recorded at a hell-hole of a studio. It was great fun.
So was the "Spectacular Spider-Man" panel. There were...a LOT of voice actors for this one, including a few who overlapped from the "Gargoyles" panel. In fact, there were so many that I couldn't help but feel that there weren't enough questions to properly involve all of them. I thought the revelation that Daran Norris needed two microphones when he was recording both the Jamesons (because J. Jonah is SO LOUD) was fascinating. I asked those who did multiple voices what their process was for differentiating them. Phil Lamarr talked about the difficulty of making two voices (those of the Robertsons) sound distinct and yet related (something Daran Norris had to figure out, too), while Steve Blum mentioned that he just had so many voices in his head that he needed the work to get them out.

I forgot to mention that, in between the panels, I went to check on the cast for the radio play. Since EVERY ONE of the voice guests said yes, there were only a handful of roles for the fans. I was quite happy to get one of them, and after the panels, the rehearsal began.
It was a Gathering-Original script. A crossover between "Gargoyles" and the "Spectacular Spider-Man" written to take full advantage of ALL 16 GUESTS who said they would do it. I was quite surprised to find that I was cast as Zaphiro (a character with a Spanish accent!). We only had enough time to run through the 78-page script (that's FEATURE LENGTH) once, and then a quick break before the beginning of the radio play.
It was a BLAST! The script was full of in-jokes (a lot of them breaking the fourth wall), but even managed to pack in an excellent bit of drama. But no where else will you hear Lexington mention porn on the internet, or hear Demona refer to Elisa as Goliath's "human whore." Steve Blum talked to himself, as did Thom Adcox (I hoped people picked up on the slight difference between Lexington and Tinkerer--and I loved when Lex mentioned Homunculus #5's annoying voice--said Homunculus ALSO voiced by Thom). For my part, aparantly I managed to pull off the Spanish accent well enough. Elisa Gabrielli was kind enough to offer me some pointers on a particular line of Spanish (yeah, I also had a few words and lines entirely in Spanish).
At the end I got kudos from many fans, and even a few of the pros.

I had really wanted to attend the panel on "Rope Bondage 101" but I needed to hurry back to my canine charge to feed him his evening meal if I wanted to make it back in time for the Blue Mug. I just barely managed to make it, and got to ask one question that I felt was appropriate given that this was the last Blue Mug: how it all got started. The short answer is it grew out of the regular Mug-A-Guest when they wanted to keep that family-friendly. Anyway, about an hour in, Greg had to hit the bathroom, and that bastard Edmund Tsabard seized the opportunity to come in and make the Blue Mug about "Blue Mug Productions." The one thing I got from his section of the panel was that if you want the smut, you have to "SPEND THE MONEY!" All I can say about the third page of "Last Tengu in Paris" is, "GREAT GOOGLEY MOOGLEY!" Anyway, about an hour later, after the questions dried up, Edmund left and Greg FINALLY came back. Unfortunately, it was about 11PM and I had to get back to my friend's house to be there to greet him and give over care of the dog. He came in at 1AM, and I was back in my own home and asleep by about 2AM.

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)