The Coming Deluge - Yet More Ask Greg Guidelines

The Coming Deluge - Yet More Ask Greg Guidelines

So, I truly hope I'm wrong, but I have to admit I'm anticipating a deluge of questions asking for SPOILERS after the airing of this Saturday's YOUNG JUSTICE: INVASION finale. I understand the impulse: "The television and comic book series are over, so there's no reason for him to hold back anymore! It means anything and everything are now fair game! He can never say 'SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT.' again"

But, see, that's not how I feel about it. So here's why, and here's how that should guide your future questions at ASK GREG:

1. Let's start here: OBJECTIVELY we're not over. YOUNG JUSTICE: LEGACY is due out in the fall, and it will contain new content - a SUBSTANTIAL amount of new CANON story content, based on ideas suggested to Little Orbit by Brandon Vietti and myself, and all vetted after the fact by us, as well, to make sure everything from dialogue to timestamps is consistent with the property as a whole. Now, LEGACY is set during the five-year-gap. So I'm not going to be inclined to answer questions that require me to reveal things that happened during our time skip. And not just Legacy related stuff either, because if I answer some questions about the gap but refuse to answer others, I'll be de facto spoiling. That I will not do, so please refrain from asking questions about the missing five years.

2. If I've learned anything from the long haul on GARGOYLES, it's that things sometimes DO come back. So SUBJECTIVELY I don't feel like we're over either. I still have hopes - however slim - of returning to Earth-16 one day. So there are secrets that I still may want to keep. Particularly about "Season Three". I'm not saying I'll never reveal anything. Sometimes a tidbit here or there helps keep fan interest alive. But I'm not going to wholesale give away the plans that Brandon and I came up with for what happens next. In general, I'm much more inclined to clarify what's already been shown then reveal what hasn't been shown. So try focusing your questions on what's aired or seen print and try to refrain from asking What Happens Next questions. When I feel like revealing something, I will.

3. ASK GREG is NOT a good format for me to tell creative stories. Any question, wherein the answer could fill an entire issue of a comic book or an entire episode of a television series or MORE will not be answered, because I will not short-change a story with a quick response, and I will not tell a story here at ASK GREG. So try to refrain from asking questions that would take an entire issue or episode to answer.

4. Brandon and I have many, many ideas for what happened before Season One, a few still left for what happened during Season One, many for what happened between seasons (including but not limited to Legacy), many ideas for stuff that happened off-camera during Season Two, tons of ideas for Season Three, and many, many, many ideas for beyond Season Three. BUT... ideas minus execution are subject to tremendous second-guessing. So I'm not inclined to give you new content. If I had told you before Season One that Red Arrow was the mole, minus how we executed that plot, it might have seemed quite weak. It's the execution that demonstrates whether or not an idea shines. And frankly, I don't need the second guessing and, well, nastiness that the internet encourages. So that's just another reason to refrain from asking what else we might have planned.

5. I will not lie to you here at ASK GREG, per this post: http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=982 . But I also will not state things that I believe to be true if stating those things will pretty much guarantee that I won't ever work in this town again. I have a mortgage to pay and kids to feed and clothe, etc. So you will not see me bad-mouthing companies in this public space. So please refrain from asking questions that would force me to do that. The best you'll get is no response.

6. Keep in mind, I answer questions because I like to be in touch with the fans, and I think it's fun for us all. But that doesn't mean I somehow OWE you an answer. The more entitled you think you are to the answer, (I can all but guarantee) the less inclined I'll be to respond in any useful way. Maybe that's me being needlessly contrary, but I'm just going to admit up front that it rubs me the wrong way. So tonally, try to avoid a sense of entitlement in your questions.

All this is IN ADDITION to the FOURTEEN guidelines already posted here: http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/ask.php I'll admit that these six new guidelines are perhaps even more subjective than the previous fourteen, but I guarantee you that we'll all be happier if you stick to them. And the happier I am, the more likely that I'll drop the occasional surprise here and there. Whereas, the more assaulted I feel, the more likely I am to get annoyed and clam up about everything. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Otherwise... thanks for stopping by. Seriously. The dark days at ASK GREG seem to have passed for the most part, and most days I enjoy doing it again. I just want to keep it that way. Thanks.

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapter 3

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapter 3
In a shameless attempt to maintain some sort of conversation about my new novel, RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, due out in stores and on-line on December 3rd, 2013 (but available for pre-order NOW on Amazon, etc.), I've decided to countdown my progress on writing the SECOND book in the Rain franchise.

I finished Chapter Three over the weekend.

I'll let you know when I finish Chapter Four. Because, nothing could be more fascinating, right? Right?

CONVENTIONS

CONVENTIONS

This year, I will be attending WonderCon in Anaheim and San Diego Comic-Con, both as just a regular joe. I will also be attending Denver Comic-Con as an invited guest:

http://www.denvercomiccon.com/

A few people have asked me recently if there are any other conventions I might be attending. At the moment, the answer, I'm afraid, is no. Mostly because I haven't been invited, and I just can't afford to go to a con on my own dime. [WonderCon is both relatively local and free for me to attend, and San Diego is (sometimes to my chagrin) - still an I-can't-afford-to-miss-this-in-the-business-I'm-in event. And at least I can go to the con itself for free. So they're both exceptions.]

Chris Jones, my partner in crime on the YJ comic book, posted this message about con attendance, and it's so on the money, I'm just going to cut and paste it here:

"Guys, if you want to see me as a guest at a particular convention in your area, the best thing to do is for you and your friends to let the convention runners know you want me there! I can't afford to travel to many out-of-state conventions so when a convention invites me as a guest and covers ... my travel/hotel expenses, it makes it MUCH more likely that I'll be able to attend! :-)"

In fact, I've literally NEVER turned down an invite to be an invited guest. (Okay, yeah, I'm a bit of an attention-whore. I admit it.) So if you want me in your town, tell your local con!

Thanks.

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapters 1 & 2

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapters 1 & 2

In a shameless attempt to maintain some sort of conversation about my new novel, RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, due out in stores and on-line on December 3rd, 2013 (but available for pre-order NOW on Amazon, etc.), I've decided to countdown my progress on writing the SECOND book in the Rain franchise.

For the record, I signed the deal to write the book at the end of October, 2012. I spent November and December doing research and January and February outlining the story in detail (693 index cards!). I started writing Chapter One on March 1st, and finished on March 3rd. I immediately started on Chapter Two and finished last night, long after midnight, making it technically done on March 8th. Now, of course, between now and publication, I'm sure I'll make a number of small revisions, etc. But the hard work of writing these two chapters is done.

I'll let you know when I finish Chapter Three. Because, nothing could be more fascinating, right? Right?

YOUNG JUSTICE: INVASION: EPISODE: 219: "Summit": Premieres!

YOUNG JUSTICE: INVASION: EPISODE: 219: "Summit": Premieres!

The penultimate episode of Invasion features a summit between the Light and the Reach that will decide the fates of Aqualad, Artemis and the planet Earth!!

Watch "Summit" on DC Nation, this coming Saturday, March 9th, 2013 (and rerunning Sunday, March 10th, 2013), along with another new episode of Green Lantern and more DC Nation Super-Hero shorts. For times, check local listings. But don't miss it!