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Dustin writes...

Hey Greg
I have really been enjoying the comic and am very impressed with how you have stuck with the Gargoyles and also the fans all this time. I recently got a dvr and have been enjoying episodes I never saw from the latter part of season 2 (what isn't out on DVD) on toon Disney. You probably know this by now but they do air Lethal Force these days. I have also caught a couple episodes of The Goliath Chronicles (The Journey, Runaways, and the last episode), but not enough to form a real opinion on the overall quality. It seems to me though that animation as a medium gets a lot more viewers than comics attracts readers so I guess it feels sort of odd to discount those episodes when more people will watch those than read the comics I am guessing. I mean I am not saying you have to pick up where they left off, but it is sort of like in other comics continuity, you can ignore events without contradicting them. They are your creation and I trust your judgement, it just goes against my geeky continuity obsessed mind. It also makes me wonder what people who actually worked on that season think of the negativity surrounding their work. Maybe it was just a pay check to them, but maybe they actually did try to do right by what you had set up. They were also probably under more pressure with BS+P that year which may have affected what they could do. It also seems like it puts you at risk of burning certain bridges, but I do not know about animation so maybe it is a big enough world where it doesn't matter too much to express opinions like that. Alright questions.
1) I couldn't find it anywhere in the archive and maybe its none of my business but since you clearly love the universe you created so much, why did you leave Disney in the 1st place assuming you could have stayed and run season 3 the way you had wanted?

Well I guess thats all I have for questions. No further questions. Other things....you mentioned #6 is a stand alone issue, which sounds like a great idea to me. Comics is different medium than animation/television. Sometimes storytelling has to be compressed a bit. If each 3 issues=1 episode that is like $10 bucks an episode (that is like 3-4 episodes for the price of the entire Sedason 2 Vol.1 DVD, not that its not worth it ). There are a lot of great comics that tell complete stories in one issue. Especially with a bi-monthly schedule it is nice when each issue packs a lot of story (not at the sacrifice of character or pace or anything). I also sort of dislike the decision to use to 1st 2 issues to retell a story that has already been in the series. I understand why it was probably a necessary evil for bringing back a 10 year old world, but it just feels like it had the potential to kill the excitment and momentum of a new series for the loyal fans who will be the primary audience of the series most likely. And I thought if you were doing it anyway it would have been nice to have Vinnie decide not to go to Japan in the end since there is all this talk of him being your surrogate and now you are back with the characters. Seems like a missed opportunity for a nice little wink towards the die hard fans. Maybe you have plans for him in Japan? I am looking forward to having a consistent artist in the upcoming issues. Fill-ins really do have a negative effect on a series in my mind, but weighed against huge delays I suppose they are a better option in this case. Overall I am very excited to have new Gargoyles stories around and I hope the run ends up being very successful because I feel like once you guys get into the groove, it could end up being pretty fantastic and I would hate to see it get cancelled before you even really get into it. And at the end of an arc if time is an issue it seems like it would be pretty easy to skip ahead a few years to catch us up to the present. I personally do not mind it being set in the 90's and I think just not mentioning the year works just fine for casual readers and the loyal fanbase. I guess skipping ahead might ruin your whole timeline you have mapped out as well. I sort of wish a bigger publisher had teamed up with Disney because the issues seem to get shoved in the independent and or kids sections in some shops, when they would probably do much better just mixed in on the shelf with all the other titles.

How about a Northwest Gathering. Portland, Seattle? Maybe even somewhere in Montana.

I think your post about "second base" was probably one of the most entertaining read on this whole page. If you want an example of tv broaching the topic the OC comes to mind 1st when Seth has a hilariously awkward conversation with his father about "preheating the oven".

And you are one episode away from finishing your ramblings on your seasons of the series. Let's get that done. I really enjoy the commentary like feel to those. It might even be interesting to do The Goliath Chronicles to hear what you had to say about those, or at least The Journey.

Well thanks a lot for sticking with these characters and indulging the fans. I was planning just write something as a letter to the comic but my thoughts kind of spilled over into all things Gargoyle. Sorry to go on so long. Hope I didn't come off really critical, the show has been one of my favorites since I was a kid and one of the few shows from then that still holds up to regular viewings. Thanks for your time.
The letters page is called written in stone right? I do not have an issue with me, but if its not it should be. How is that for a ramble...
Dustin

Greg responds...

Friends of mine worked on Goliath Chronicles. Including Cary Bates, one of my best friends. I know -- and have ALWAYS said -- that they were working very hard under nearly impossible constraints. They did not have the time to LEARN the show; they just had to hit the ground running -- and running very fast. In addition, TPTB changed nearly the ENTIRE crew. So there was nobody around -- or nearly nobody -- in any kind of position of authority to provide any continuity (to the production, let alone to the storyline). I have great sympathy for the people involved... but it just doesn't change how personally painful it was for me to watch those episodes. You're right of course, that the worst rated episode of Goliath Chronicles has been seen by WAY, WAY, WAY more people than have read all the issues of the comic book put together. But at the end of the day, I'm the goofball who has to write the darn thing. And it just would have been too painful to have to include Goliath Chronicles in the continuity. And simply ignoring it wouldn't work, as I think is obvious from issues 3 & 4. Think about it. No clones. No THAILOG?!! Sorry, couldn't do it.

1. This has been answered elsewhere in greater detail, but suffice it to say, I was being pushed out the door and back then -- as much as I appreciated what a unique and great thing Gargoyles was -- I didn't appreciate it enough, and allowed myself to be pushed. I could see the writing on the wall that resources would have been reduced on the show, and didn't want to preside over its demise. I myself was offered a demotion from Supervising Producer to Story Editor. And even before I said yes or no, my replacement was hired. Having said all that, I should have fought to stay. Really. It is the single biggest professional regret of my career. But BIG PICTURE, I can't regret it, because a million things effect each other, and my son was born (specific egg/specific sperm) while I was at DreamWorks. So it's really not even a contest, from a LIFE standpoint.

As for Vinnie, don't overplay the surrogate thing. Vinnie has a life of his own and a destiny to fulfill and if I didn't send him to Japan it would screw up all sorts of future plans. I am also not going to continue to defend my reasons for starting off the comic as I did. I've stated my case. You buy it or you don't.

If you want a Gathering in any specific area, put together a group of fans and submit a bid. It's not a magic process, but it is a lot of hard work.

And the letters page is called "Etched in Stone".

Response recorded on June 13, 2007