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WHELMING RESPONSES 2017-01 (Jan)

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Gemma writes...

How long can a martian bio-ship live?

Greg responds...

Long enough.

Response recorded on March 21, 2017

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Some Guy writes...

Congratulations on Young Justice Season 3!! Did you find out before the big announcement (if so how far in advance) or was it a pleasant surprise reading about it on the net?

Greg responds...

I found out about ten days before the announcement.

Response recorded on February 01, 2017

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Matthew W. writes...

Hey, Greg! With season 3 of Young Justice being announced, there's been a lot of hype. I was wondering if you've ever heard of Young Justice Amino? They're a group on an app called Amino, and they have about 1,000 members. They really helped play a part in orchestrating mass-binges. Anyway, my question is: Would you ever consider joining the community? It would be cool for the members and such.
Not to get ahead of myself, but the link to the community is here: http://aminoapps.com/c/young-justice-amino

If you would like to looks around there, feel free! See what kind of community your fans have built. :)

And, if it's okay, I'd like to give you my email... We've talked on Twitter before (not in private message, but via posts) and I thought it was cool. My email is blackopsprince666@gmail.com

Greg responds...

Nope. Never heard of it. And, I'm sorry, but it doesn't make sense for me to join a fan community while I'm working on that show. I can't risk legal exposure to fan ideas.

And I'm not going to take your email, either. I can't start contacting fans directly, using my own email. I have thousands of twitter followers. If I exchanged emails with all of them, I'd never get any work done. Plus I need some privacy.

I'm guessing this is a pretty disappointing response, and I regret that. But this is the reality.

Response recorded on February 01, 2017

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Steven writes...

1. Hey Greg, I've heard you ask what makes the Speed Force a special case, and why is there a speed force but not a strength force, etc. This is because the Speed Force isn't the force behind all speed and momentum in the universe. It is an extra-dimensional energy field that grants some people a connection to it's energy, giving them speed based powers. This is why people like superman are not connected to the speed force even though they have super speed. The Speed Force selects certain individuals. Not sure if this will help you understand the concept of the Speed Force any more than you already do, but I hope it did.

2. Does Deathstroke have any form of enhanced strength, speed, durability, agility, etc, like he does in the comics?

Greg responds...

1. It STILL seems arbitrary. Why not a STRENGTH FORCE that chooses specific folks to have strength? An ACCURACY FORCE that chooses specific people to be great archers? It doesn't change any of my arguments against. But, hell, what do I know? When the concept of the meta-gene was first introduced to DC Comics, I had a similar negative reaction to the creation of something that explained something that required no explanation. And now the meta-gene is ALL OVER YJ. Does that make me a hyprocrite or someone who's opinion is constantly evolving... if slowly?

2. No spoilers.

Response recorded on January 30, 2017

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James writes...

Hi Greg!

Not a question, but as of today it has just been confirmed that Young Justice Season 3 will happen! I am a huge fan and cannot wait for the upcoming season. I cannot contain my excitement!

Greg responds...

Me neither. And for me, as of this writing, it's been over two months! I'm still walking on cloud nine!

Response recorded on January 30, 2017

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Kira writes...

Why did JUSTICE League let BILLY stay a member after they found out he was ten years old?

Greg responds...

Presumably, because enough of the members were sympathetic enough to his desire to stay in the League that their votes won out over them being responsible.

Response recorded on January 30, 2017

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Todd Jensen writes...

Sorry for forgetting to include this in my review of "World of Warcraft Traveler", but I noticed that the front cover was done by a "Samwise Didier" - a name that stood out to me since this is the first I've come across a real-life Samwise. I don't know if this one was named after the Tolkien character (unless he's close to Aramar's age, it probably wasn't due to the Peter Jackson movie adaptations) or if it came from some other source, but it still caught my eye. (Not long after "The Lord of the Rings" was published, Tolkien got a letter from an actual "Sam Gamgee" who hadn't read the book but heard there was a character with his name in it; an astonished Tolkien wrote back to him and even sent him a copy - perhaps thinking it fortunate that Samwise Gamgee was a heroic figure in it. According to his biographer, Humphrey Carpenter, he feared for a while receiving a similar letter from an "S. Gollum".)

Greg responds...

I met Samwise Didier at BlizzCon. Great guy, and of course I love his art. In addition to the cover, he did ALL of "Aram's art" inside the book. Not sure of the origin of his name, i.e. I'm sure it is definitely inspired by Tolkien, but I don't know if it was his parents who were thus inspired or if he took on the name himself.

Response recorded on January 30, 2017

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Todd Jensen writes...

I just finished reading "World of Warcraft Traveler" today.

About all I know about "World of Warcraft" is that it's a computer fantasy role-playing game; I've certainly never played it. But I recalled how, though I didn't know much about DC Comics, I had no difficulty following "Young Justice" when I saw it; the episodes made it clear who the various characters were, their nature and motivations, including the ones I'd never even heard of before I saw the series. So I suspected you'd do the same here, and I was right. While this world was new to me, I was able to follow the events without difficulty - and anything mysterious was cleary meant to be (such as the nature of the compass and why the Hidden want it).

Your protagonist gave me a bit of a start, since a while before the book came out, I began writing a story where one of the major characters was a young boy with a sketch-pad and an interest in drawing. (Though it didn't scare me, since my character didn't have much in common with Aramar beyond that - for example, he's a supporting character rather than the lead - and his drawings had a different role in the story.) I was also pleased to see Aramar's drawings actually contained in the book's pages, so that we can see his artwork.

I was amused to see a minor character with the surname "Frakes" and the use of the phrase "can no more stop protecting than breathing the air".

Aram's uprooting from his home in Lakeshire reminded me of a recent change in my life. Last year, my parents, who live in Arizona, urged me to move from St. Louis to Phoenix, so that I could be nearer to them, and I wound up giving in, though I wasn't any more keen on it than Aram was to go off to sea (if for different reasons). (I confess that I still don't feel at home out here in Phoenix.)

I found your variety of characters well-done - including the different members of the Hidden - a "villain group" that matches the Pack, the Canmore Hunters, and the Sinister Six of "The Spectacular Spider-Man" in a set of distinct antagonists working as a group.

And clearly this is the first of a series. I'll be looking for the books that follow.

Greg responds...

Thanks. I tried very hard - since I'd never played WoW either - to make this a book that ANYONE could enjoy, no matter their familiarity or lack of familiarity with Warcraft. Also tried to drop in an easter egg or two for my regular fans, as you noted.

I had a lot of fun writing that book and am DEEP into the writing of the second book now, which has the tentative title: WORLD OF WARCRAFT: TRAVELER, BOOK TWO: THE SPIRAL PATH. It's due out in November, 2017.

Response recorded on January 30, 2017

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NoOneSpecial writes...

1. This is something I've never really understood, but if Princess Katharine disapproved so heavily of the Gargoyles, why did she even bother to continue the alliance with them? Regardless of what they did for the castle, she was unappreciative and acted as though they were nothing but monsters, getting offended so much by even the mention of one of them. If she had such a problem with the gargoyles, why didn't she want to get rid of them, like saying killing them in their sleep? Okay, that would probably be too bloodthirsty even for her at that time, but still, she certainly acted like she would much rather have them gone all together, so why didn't she end their alliance as soon as she succeeded her father?

2. Would you say that Katharine's later change in character was due mostly to the Captain's betrayal? Not really because she had mistreated the gargoyles, but the fact she mistreated someone who gave her his loyalty and in return she immaturely snubs him. She can't put the betrayal on anyone but herself because she ended up alienating someone who served her faithfully and who was in fact an important member of her court. Basically, the whole thing just made Katharine see what a horrible leader she had been. And of course Goliath rescuing of her, while losing his whole clan also made an impact on her, making her see he wasn't a savage as she believed him to be.

3. Why exactly did the Captain chase after Katharine and Hakon, when he knew that the latter's intention was to kill her? Did he want to talk him out of it because she had more value alive or did he actually want to save her out of some bit of honour? Why didn't he try to make a run for it before the gargoyles got to him? The fact that Goliath found him with Hakon is how he put two and two together over his betrayal

4. The Magus had a spell in place to stop the gargoyles in case they got out of hand, but why didn't he make any kind of counter measures for the Vikings? Granted, he's not that powerful, but seems like he might still be a theart with the Grimorum. Did the Captain make sure to neutralise him before the attack began?

5. Okay, I understand that this needed to happen in order to set up the basically entire plot of the show, but the Magus decision to curse the gargoyles for indirectly causing what he mistakenly believed to be Katharine's death just seemed so…….ludicrously rash.

I know Hakon said he was going to kill her and Magus was probably letting his own feeling of love cloud his mind, but by all account he really didn't know what had happened to her. I mean she did manage to make a run for it and a minute later Magus was screaming for someone to help her. He then just, somewhat stupidly, assumed she had been killed, even though he never heard a scream, nor did he try to look for her body to confirm that she was in fact dead. After he got free of his ropes, he doesn't seem to hold out even a desperate shred of hope that she may still be alive or that there may still be chance to save her, even though he had no real confirmation of death.

As soon as he sees the gargoyles, he pretty much writes Katharine off as dead and blames it on them. I just find it hard a bit hard to shallow that Magus would just so readily assume that the women he loved was dead without even seeing it happen. Did it all really just amount to him overacting because of his feelings for her? Seems to me like his personal prejudice of the gargoyles probably played a role in it as well, since that would make his accusation of them more justified. They're the monster, so it makes sense that they killed her, even if it's indirectly. As soon as he sees them, he directs all his anger toward them. Even later when Goliath shows up, he's more than ready to do the same to him, but then sees Katharine is safe and he becomes truly horrified by what he's done to the gargoyles. I would say he's even more horrified by the fact he did it all on such an emotional overreaction. Is this close to what he was feeling? It's kinda the interpretation that I take from it, but I'm curious if there is some more justification for the Magus rashness?

Greg responds...

1. Katharine was hardly about throwing away all her father's policies. If he put it in place she maintained it. I think she was smart enough to see the gargoyles as, at minimum, a necessary evil - as long as they were clearly being controlled by the Captain or the Magus or some human she could trust.

2. All of the above, I suppose. But I'm happy to leave that to each viewer's interpretation.

3. I'd have to view it again, but my memory was that they were running and hoping not to get caught.

4. The latter. Can't cast many spells without your magic book.

5. Listen again, There was a scream after she ran, which to the Magus sounded like a death scream, like Hakon had caught up to her and killed her. I know this scream is there. Because I made sure to put that scream in there for just that reason. So, on the one hand, I don't disagree with your interpretation, but it's not LUDICROUSLY rash, in my opinion. Just plain old regular rash.

Response recorded on January 30, 2017

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what do you put in this thing writes...

What websites do you usually look at when you want to see the fandom's reaction to something?

Greg responds...

I actually try NOT to do that at all. It makes me a bit crazy. One loves the praise and hates the haters, but if one values the praise, then one must place value on the hate. So I've learned the hard way - believe me - that I'm better off NOT. Just not.

Once in a blue moon, I can't resist however. But there's no set place I go. Just what I stumble upon, usually, that I don't have the willpower to click away from.

Response recorded on January 30, 2017


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