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ASSURED MUSINGS 2022-09 (Sep)
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RJB writes...
Hi Greg,
1. Do you think that "quality of writing" is something that the average person might have a stronger opinion about compared to other subjective creative forms like art or music? Does that make it more likely that you'll get people complaining about the quality of the writing in a show rather than any other aspect of it?
2. Is it fair to say that a lot of complaints of this nature are ignorant of the many factors that go into making a show outside of purely creative decisions? Stuff like budget, scheduling or availability that might influence what's reasonably possible to do in a specific time frame?
3. Have you noticed these kinds of criticisms getting worse over time? I feel there wouldn't have been as many people complaining about "Hello, Megan" during the time of Gargoyles, or maybe even Spidey.
4. I get that armchair criticism has always been around and that social media has provided a bigger platform for it, but the recent negative reception to stuff like the ending of Game of Thrones or Star Wars The Last Jedi has made me curious about your perspective on this kind of thing.
Greg responds...
1. I do think that. My hypothesis - untested, unconfirmed - is that in a literal sense, nearly everyone knows how to "write". They know how to grab a pencil, pen or keyboard and put words on a page in an order that is at least comprehensible to another human being. So there is, perhaps, a subconscious assumption that if they just set their minds to it, that they could write stories, too - as good or better as most of the professional writers out there. On the other hand, to take your examples, not everybody believes they can draw or make music. Those talents seem esoteric, special, unique. I believe they strike a bit more awe - at least generally - than writing does. So the writing becomes the easy target. Or at least the easier target. But, of course, I'm a writer that can't draw or make music. So it makes sense that I should believe I'm under attack more. Human nature. So take it all with a grain of salt.
2. I think that's very fair to say. (And this is reading a bit like I posted these questions myself in order to defend myself with the answers. Not that I'm complaining.)
3. The internet is... well... awful... in so many ways. And its spread and influence has increased over the years, so, yes, it is definitely getting worse. But it hasn't really changed. Back in the pre-internet days, I'd still get nasty letters (sent via the post office) on Captain Atom. And the basic percentage of praise to criticism to abuse is really about the same. It just feels multiplied by the internet. The quantity of feedback is exponentially larger. And, again, human nature being what it is, I can get literally 50 tweets of praise, which are then wiped out of my mind by one mean tweet.
4. Well, I hated the ending of Game of Thrones, too... and I had mixed feelings about Last Jedi... but that wasn't the point of your question. It definitely FEELS worse. The main thing that people don't seem to get is that I LIKE MY SHOW. Brandon and I like what we've done. Not every frame, mind you, but overall, we LIKE OUR SHOW. And we are making the show WE WANT TO MAKE. I don't mind that people don't like it. (It'd be lovely, I suppose if we had 100% praise for the thing, but I honestly don't expect that. Ever.) What gets on my nerves is the assumption that many "fans" (or hate-watchers) have that we should be making the show that THEY WANT US TO MAKE, and that we're failing because we're not MAKING THEIR SHOW instead of MAKING OUR SHOW. That does grind on me. You want to shout out: "GO MAKE YOUR OWN DAMN SHOW!! No one's forcing you to watch ours!" But, of course, that's not a particularly politic statement to make. And more hate-watchers are still more watchers.
Verdragon writes...
1. How much (if any) variation in skin color is there within the Martian castes? Like, in the same way someone from Norway would likely have lighter skin than someone from Greece, are there Green Martians with skin that's closer to turquoise or lime than J'onn's?
2. Are there inter-caste Martians that, like mixed race humans, have a skin tone between their two parents (like in the case of the M'orzz family, could someone like Em'ree have skin that's a lighter shade of green)?
Greg responds...
1. I think you probably saw some slight variations on Mars this past season. B'arzz's skin-tone isn't exactly the same as J'onn's. But asking a red-green color deficient showrunner about subtleties between different shades of green isn't going to get you very far, I'm afraid.
2. We haven't played it that way at all. We haven't made any distinctions between shades of green or red or white or yellow. To be honest, the metaphor is fraught enough, as it is.
Anonymous writes...
Mr. Weisman,
Since the Earth-16 version of Merlyn does exist (due to a version of "DC Showcase: Green Arrow" having already taken place), is his real name Arthur King and is his legal name Malcolm Merlyn; just like in the post-Flashpoint DC Comics continuity?
Greg responds...
Anonymous, you're giving me a lot of questions about pre and post-Flashpoint continuity. I'm not really up on any of that. (Never read Flashpoint, and don't know if I understand it's significance, i.e. why it's a turning point in DC Continuity.) And I'm not inclined at this stage to answer stuff I haven't researched myself yet. Sorry.
But if you want some true Earth-16 Merlyn, check out Young Justice: Targets.
Paco writes...
First at all. Thank you and Brandi for making YJ. Loving the season 4 so much, looking forward for the second half.
Since we learned that Kent is closed to Zatara’s family…Why didn’t Zee attended to his funeral? but her dad did as we saw in YJ comic issue 11
Greg responds...
That's a really good question. The out-of-universe answer, of course, is that we hadn't yet (a) introduced Zatanna to the Team and (b) figured out how important Kent was to Zatanna's childhood years.
In universe... hmmm. Maybe she was TOO grief-stricken to attend? (Not sure I buy that myself.)
I'll leave it to our wonderful fans to come up with a crazy legit explanation, I guess.
Anonymous writes...
Mr. Weisman,
In the comics, the full name of Batwoman is addressed in two different ways:
#1. In pre-Flashpoint DC Comics continuity (New Earth), her full name is addressed as Katherine Rebecca "Kate" Kane.
#2. In post-Flashpoint DC Comics continuity (Prime Earth), her full name is addressed as Katherine "Kate" Rebecca Kane.
As such, in the Earth-16 continuity, which version of Batwoman's full name is the correct version to address her by?
Greg responds...
This doesn't make any sense to me. Her birth certificate wouldn't read as either option. So where one chooses to place her nickname "in quotation marks" is arbitrary or, at best, based on a style guide. Neither is right or wrong. And I don't see any actual difference between options #1 and #2. It certainly has nothing to do with whether it's pre or post flashpoint. I'd guess it has more to do with the stylistic choices of various writers and/or editors.
Also, to be clear, I'm not confirming that her middle name is Rebecca, by the way.
Anonymous writes...
Mr. Weisman,
Since versions of the "DC Showcase: Green Arrow" and "Catwoman: Hunted" films are confirmed to have happened on Earth-16, does that also mean that the characters who have not yet appeared on Earth-16 (such Catwoman, Merlyn, Cheetah, Julia Pennyworth, etc.) also exist ? Also, in your headcanon, when exactly in the Earth-16 timeline did those versions of the events of the two films took place?
Greg responds...
1. Versions of them, yes.
2. For the Green Arrow Showcase, check out Young Justice: Targets to get the timing. For Catwoman: Hunted, no spoilers.
TNT writes...
Hi Greg,
In the time that you've been working in TV animation, you must have seen many changes in the industry. In terms of the "nuts and bolts" elements of making a show (storyboarding, animation, retakes, sound mixing etc), things must have changed quite a bit.
1. What aspects of production have become easier over time?
2. What has gotten more difficult?
3. Would these changes have more to do with changes in technology, your own level of experience in the industry or to the studio/property you're working with at the time?
4. Is there anything about the industry that was specifically different in the intervening decades with Spectacular Spider-Man or the earlier seasons of Young Justice that wasn't the case before or since?
5. If Gargoyles were to come back with you involved, obviously the most important thing is the continuity of the story, but to what extent would it have to change in its art or animation style to be made today?
Greg responds...
1. I'm not sure "easier" is the term I'd use, but "possible" includes a lot of fixes we can make in editing and post-production on voices, on picture, on effects, etc. There are things we can do now that we flat out couldn't do before.
2. Nothing particularly springs to mind, unless it's the glut of content that makes getting attention for one's project more difficult.
3. Mostly, with changes in technology. I like to think that I'm better at certain things now than I used to be, too. Of course, the flip side of that is that I'm also more demanding than I used to be. Different studios have different strengths and weaknesses, but I haven't noticed one being stronger or weaker overall, and I've worked at a LOT of different places.
4. Post-production visual FX work became much more commonplace since. But it was largely not done previous.
5. That depends on all sorts of factors that are hypothetical. But there's no reason why - at least in theory - we couldn't simply use the same design style, assuming TPTB approved.
wholelottahate19 writes...
Did Gwen know Eddie was Venom by the end of Season 2?
Greg responds...
I don't think so. But it's been a while.
Anonymous writes...
Mr. Weisman,
On Earth-16, Jason Todd was Bruce Wayne's second legal ward, am I correct?
Greg responds...
Um... yeah.
Anonymous writes...
Mr. Weisman,
In the DCEU film, "Man of Steel," and in the second episode of the second season of the Arrowverse TV show, "Superman & Lois," Kal-El is indicated to be a natural-born Kryptonian; while all other Kryptonians were genetically-engineered. Is this true for the Earth-16 version of Superman as well?
Greg responds...
Absolutely not.
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