Blaze writes...

Hello, I'm a big fan of your work, especially W.I.T.C.H, which never seems to get the credit it deserves. So I've just a got a few questions on that front.
1. About how old is Phobos?
2. Was there ever a plan to show more about Elyon/Phobos's biological parents, and if so, what were they like, especially to Phobos?
3. I know this is a bit vague,so no worries if there's no answer. I like to write, but I always have a hard time coming up with villains. Any advice on how to create an interesting bad guy?

Thanks!

Jasae Bushae writes...

I apologize if this question may be a bit vague but aside from that Stargate premise and any others you may have mentioned in the archives(which are filled with lots and lots of answers so its taking a while to go through them all)
Were there any other comic/show/series concepts that you tried to sell that have not come up thus far? I and im sure many of your other fans would probably be quite curious to discover what amazing and grand projects you have plotted in the past that never made it off the ground.

Harlan Phoenix writes...

Today, I read the Mecha-Nation trade paperback. I really liked the first issue when I had read it and now that I've read the whole thing I like it even more. Which strikes me as a good sign.

I think what I like the most about it is that it feels like a Saturday morning cartoon in the best sense of the term. The whole thing is really fun to read, and the distinct art only makes it an even bigger treat. But as much as you have a great reputation for writing villains, it's often your heroes that really endear me. And the heroes of Mecha-Nation are all very fun and engaging. I could very easily see them carrying a series.

General comments:

-Professor Gear is probably one of my favorite characters you've ever written. For no other reason than I giggled every time he said anything. I found him really amusing way back when and that didn't change at all when I got the full story. Part of me wants a full Mecha-Nation series (whether comic or cartoon) just because Professor Gear would be there.
-On the subject of teachers, the mental voice I gave Mr. Caron was your voice due to your association with Snapper Carr. This made the latter two issues amazing.
-I want to take a moment and praise the art again. I would love to see this design style on TV (though more comics would be nice too).
-I'll admit that I saw the twist of who the ultimate villain of the piece was coming by the time the second issue kicked up, but I didn't really mind because the book's still really fun.

I described Mecha-Nation to a friend of mine as, "Much like Bad Guys, it's a fun comic book that makes a good series pilot." And I think that sums it up well. It provided a fun afternoon read and I came out enjoying it very much. I'd really like to see more of it someday.

Gothic-Cowboy writes...

Mr. Weisman, I previously asked a question about why Barbara Gordon is noticably younger than her traditional comic book incarnation. You answered that it had never made sense to you for her to be older than Robin, since Robin debuted decades before her. I don't really understand your objection. After all, Dick Grayson also debuted decades before Hal Jordan, Barry Allen, John Stewart, Nathaniel Adam, Augustus Freeman, and a lot of other characters that are older than him. Why is it only strange when it's Barbara?
I get that you feel like Dick and Babs should be contemporaries, but that just doesn't feel natural to me. I especially don't get the way that some writers just started forcing them together in the mid-90's, despite the fact that 1)there was a 7-8 year age difference, 2) they had no previous development as a couple, and 3) they were both engaged to marry other people. I just couldn't stand the way that their own relationships were horribly de-railed (to say nothing of what was done and is still being done to Starfire's character) to make way for forcing two characters I saw as surrogate siblings/cousins together. I especially hated the way that the writers felt obliged to "prove" that they were always in love, even when they were actively courting other people, by churning out a seemingly endless series of retcons showing them together in the past, thus creating the "Dick is dog with the ladies" trope that I despise.
An example would be from Nightwing's solo series were, by retcon, we see Dick and Babs "spend the night together," only to have him give her an invitation to his and Kory's wedding the next morning. Did they even care how this was making him look? Then much better (in my opinion, at least) ideas come along, like Oracle's cyber-romance with Ted Kord from Birds of Prey, only to get trashed because it's not Dick and Babs.
I get that there are a lot of fans of pairing off Dick and Babs, even if I can't understand why. I also realize I've kind of exceeded the scope of my inital inquiry, but this is just a subject that kind of bothers me. Thank you for your time.

Anonymous writes...

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate Jade's protective nature over Lian?

Gothic-Cowboy writes...

Mr. Weisman, why did Cadmus cut off Roy Harper's arm? I know you've said that they needed a quantity of DNA seperate from his cryonically frozen body. I just don't understand why his being frozen was an issue with availability. They have his whole body. His DNA is in every part of it. They don't need to defrost him in order to get a sample. Even if they did, why not just use his blood? It seems a lot simpler to me, and the first step of cryonic freezing (in the real world, at least) is to remove all of the subjects blood and replace it with a preserving agent.
Was it meant as a reference to the much-maligned Cry For Justice storyline. If so, why do an homage to a storyline that has inspired such wide-spread loathing among everyone who isn't an employee of DC Comics? Hyperbole on my part, perhaps, but I've yet to find a single review of it that was positive, and I've deliberately tried.

Gothic-Cowboy writes...

Mr. Weisman, why did Nightwing perform chest compressions on Artemis when she (seemingly) had a chest wound? First Aid for someone with a chest wound is to apply pressure to the wound (preferably clean dressing, if available), apply pressure to prevent further blood loss, and get them medical care immediately. Performing CPR on a person with an open wound in their chest is just going to force more blood out of their body, thus exacerbating their primary medical problem, a loss of blood. Without blood to circulate, CPR is pointless.

Foxwolf writes...

Hi Greg. I was wondering if you could provide the voice credits for the following minor characters from Season 2 thus far?

S02E01: Happy New Year
- NYC Police Officer (who tries to stop Lobo)

S02E02: Earthlings
- Rannian Science Patroller #1
- Rannian Science Patroller #2

S02E03: Alienated
- Hall Of Justice Tourist
- Manta Sectors 1, 2 and 4

S02E04: Salvage
- Arlington Nuclear Power Plant Security Guard #1 (male)
- Arlington Nuclear Power Plant Security Guard #2 (female)

S02E05: Beneath
- El Paso Bus Depot Clerk

S02E06: Bloodlines
- Central City Police Captain

S02E07: Depths
- Manta Trooper

S02E10: Before The Dawn
- Reach Captive #1 (male with long hair wearing cap and red shirt)
- Reach Captive #2 (blonde male wearing beanie and white shirt)
- Reach Captive #3 (female with a hair bun and yellow shirt)

And are the Kroloteans performed by voice actors or sound effects? If they have voice actors, would you mind sharing who provided the voices?

As always, your time and replies are greatly appreciated. Looking forward to the second half of Season 2!