“Respect My Craft” – Greg Weisman

In this consumer-based industry, it can be easy to forget the years of hard work that the people in the business put in. Behind every panel, it takes a skilled writer, artist, inker and colorist to make the product complete. Behind each scene goes hours of preparation. Hush Comics’ weekly article “Respect My Craft” will dive into the history of these comic book and pop culture greats that will hopefully give a new perspective on how the men and women behind the pen (or stylus) contribute to the collective awesome-ness of the nerd world, or at least give you a reason to invest in their work.

Click on the link to view all our Denver Comic Con articles!

Name: Greg Weisman

Profession: Producer, Writer, Author

Notable Work: Gargoyles, Star Wars Rebels, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Young Justice, Rain of the Ghosts (novel)

“I’m working with a lot of other great people, and there’s something incredibly exciting and thrilling about having those other great minds and incredible, talented individuals to bang off of and bounce ideas and create something that’s greater than the sum of any one of our parts.” – Greg Weisman

 

Denver Comic-Con draws ever closer!  It’s time to bring you another “Respect My Craft” for yet one more awesome guest, Greg Weisman.  Weisman is a heavy hitter producer for the best type of TV viewing a person could hope to see on a Saturday morning.  That’s right people, I’m talking cartoons.  His resumé of involvement includes work on: The Spectacular Spider-Man, W.I.T.C.H., Young Justice League, and a lot more.  His real claim to fame is accredited to the popular 90’s Disney show, Gargoyles. I’m going to gush on that in just a moment.  Weisman’s influence in media-entertainment continues to grow as he is also executive producer the highly anticipated new animated Star Wars TV show titled Rebels.  This guy firmly has my childhood heart (…okay, AND my adulthood heart).

 

Weisman… is a wise man

 

Before storming the cartoon programming scene Weisman’s pursuits were a little bit different.  Holding degrees from both Stanford and the University of Southern California, Greg originally had intentions to be an English composition professor.  He did, in fact, teach for a time.  His appreciation for the art of literature and story is endless.  Influenced significantly by William Shakespeare, Weisman elected to base every character in Gargoyles from a Shakespearean character.  His early career eventually landed him at DC studios working an entry level editorial position, or as Weisman describes “Xerox-boy.”  Nonetheless this aided his segue into Disney and Warner Bother studios.

 

 

Weisman busy on the set of Star Wars Rebels, but still reppin’ Gargoyles!

 

Night has fallen and lightning is rampant, the stone model pigeons on my balcony have suddenly come alive and are now soaring through the night sky and glorious wings of feathers.  I guess that’s my queue to dive into reflections of Weisman’s prize work, Gargoyles!  I feel sorry for anyone who didn’t grow up in the 90’s and missed the brilliance of this show (Note: Luckily for you, you can catch most of the first two seasons for free on YouTube).  In a recent interview when asked what his dream project is, Weisman, without hesitation, stated that it would be to work on Gargoyles again.  “Gargoyles is my real baby.  It’s hard to top that” says Weisman.  This speaks volumes considering that Weisman has been hired as executive producer for Star Wars Rebels, a job some other renowned producers would fight a Gargoyle for.  Weisman is so dedicated to the Gargoyles franchise that his primary fan-focused outreach site is a tab on the Gargoyles website!  I could type quite a few pages on the nostalgia I feel when thinking about Weisman’s debut creation.  Instead, I’ll highly recommend that you watch/re-watch the series.  It may sound cliché, but his characters are full of personality.  Not always an easy feat to achieve in an animated setting.

Weisman’s been able to keep consistency through the years.  He’s produced and written with the same high level of captivity on some of the most popular animated series in the past decade.  In addition to the first list above, he’s worked on: Men In Black (the animated series), Kim Possible, Ben 10, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Roughnecks: The Starship Trooper Chronicles, and loads more still!  Weisman has lead creative efforts on various comic series (such as the Gargoyles comics) and even dabbled in voice acting on some of his more recent shows.  Weisman – short of talent?  I think not.

 

The coolest cartoon of the 90’s

 

Like any great creator, Weisman enjoys taking on new challenges.  The collective fandom of the Star Wars universe is thrilled to see a veteran like Weisman holding the next big thing for the Galaxy Far, Far Away in his hands.  Rebels is scheduled to premiere this fall on Disney XD (check your programing packages folks!).  This series will set the tone for the Disney-Star Wars era.  Fans will rave or rage for at least a year, awaiting the Episode VII release in 2015, all depending the success or failure of Rebels.  No pressure, Weisman.  All outlooks look positive at this point in time.  On his involvement with the sci-fi classic Weisman says,  “I love the Star Wars franchise, in particular Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, which is very close to the time period we are focusing on in Rebels. It’s really like a dream come true.”

 

Young Justice Producers: Brandon Vietti & Greg Weisman

 

What is likely his most out-of-the-box pursuit is the work he’s done on the bookshelf.  Late last year, Weisman published a novel titled Rain of the Ghosts.  The premise involves a girl that lives near the Bermuda Triangle and develops the ability to see and communicate with ghosts.  She becomes enthralled with the various things she sees and hears, even making companions with a few of the specters.  On the surface, it may seem that this is a new move for Greg.  In actuality, the first draft of this book was written more than ten years ago!  It’s been on ongoing project for Weisman – something that he’s always wanted to share.  After chipping away at it for some years (he’s been a little distracted making prolific animated television and stuff), Weisman made a big push to polish it to his liking and get it on the shelves!  His vision for this character extends far past this first book.  Weisman’s already written the second book in the series.  It’s set to be available early this July.

 

I’d be happy too if I got to produce a Star War TV show!

 

Greg Weisman is a geek at heart.  And like he says in the opening quote, he loves collaboration.  He’s successfully merged two of the most paramount passions of the Hush team – community and cool stuff!!  That’s why we’re so excited to have Weisman join the band of creators, artists and actors gracing the streets of the Mile High city in just a few days!  May The Force be with you when you arrive in Denver, Weisman!

None of the media in this article belongs to Hush Comics; it all belongs to their respective properties. Join us tomorrow as we continue our countdown to Denver Comic Con with horror/action movie legend, Bruce Campbell.

“Respect My Craft” – Jonathan Frakes

In this consumer-based industry, it can be easy to forget the years of hard work that the people in the business put in. Behind every panel, it takes a skilled writer, artist, inker and colorist to make the product complete. Behind each scene goes hours of preparation. Hush Comics’ weekly article “Respect My Craft” will dive into the history of these comic book and pop culture greats that will hopefully give a new perspective on how the men and women behind the pen (or stylus) contribute to the collective awesome-ness of the nerd world, or at least give you a reason to invest in their work.

Click on the link to view all our Denver Comic Con articles!

Name: Jonathan Frakes

Profession: Actor, Author, Director

Notable Work: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, North and South

“If the prime directives [of Star Trek] were followed a little more accurately here on earth, I mean it sounds somewhat Pollyanna, but I think people would certainly get along better.”- Jonathan Frakes

 

Jonathan Frakes is definitely a major force to be reckoned with when it comes to his craft and legacy. Although his list of credits is not as long as you would think it should be, so much of what made this man a legend was done in such a short time among his credits. Frakes was born in 1952 and grew up in Pennsylvania, became a Thespian and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Penn State University. One of his first jobs was to travel to different conventions with Marvel Comics portraying Captain America.

Around this time Frakes moved to New York and soon became a member of the theater group known as the Impossible Ragtime Theater. After having his first Off Broadway show with this company, Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape, he went on to start staring on Broadway with Shenandoah, while also starting the new role of Tom Carroll on the soap opera, The Doctors. Frakes continued to have a bunch of smaller roles including Kirk Wendover in Fantasy Island, and Brad in Charlie’s Angels. These appearances were usually just single-episode appearances, but it is at this point that the beginning of the legend of Jonathan Frakes starts to come to light.

Frakes gets longer story arcs on a couple series in the early 80s’ including Bare Essence (which originally started as a made-for-TV movie) as Marcus Marshall, then a bunch of the show Paper Dolls portraying Sandy Parris, Falcon Crest as Damon Ross, and one of his biggest projects North and South the miniseries, Frakes did all three of the miniseries for North and South portraying Stanley Hazard. This was a pretty big point but what came next was what everyone knows and loves this man – and his beard – so much for.

After North and South ended, Frakes got the job that he is most iconic for, and that, of course, is Commander William Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation. This role went on for the entire seven season run of the show up until 1994, he had guest roles on Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and even Enterprise (not to mention the four movies: Generations in 1994, First Contact in 1996, Insurrection in 1998, and Nemesis in 2002). What makes it even crazier is he also directed several episodes of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager, and also directed the films First Contact and Insurrection. So his Star Trek resumé alone shows you how much this man does, so hopefully his work behind the camera lives up to the legacy as Captain Picard’s #1 officer and ultimate ladies man – like Futurama‘s Zapp Brannigan, except Riker actually gets women.

Although Riker continued to be a major pop culture icon past The Next Generation running years, Jonathan Frakes also had another more cult beloved character coming up but the this one was for only his voice. Frakes played the villain David Xanatos on the animated Disney show Gargoyles along with a large amount of the Star Trek cast. The oddest thing is Frakes has rarely appeared on screen after his Star Trek days, as far as acting goes.

However, he did end up becoming quite the television director. Frakes has directed episodes of Roswell, The Twilight Zone, Burn Notice, Castle, NCIS: Los Angeles, and most recently an episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Frakes has said that he feels his directing ability has far surpassed his acting ability which may be true and false depending on which acting and which directing project of his you would be comparing. It’s not that there are any are bad projects, but because they are all so different and spanned out; it is like comparing a lobster and a poison ivy plant on which gets better gas mileage.

On top of his acting and directing experience Frakes has also done well as a narrator of films specifically documentaries. Frakes has of course been in a whole bunch of Star Trek documentaries and featurettes, but he also was well-liked as the narrator of the documentary Lee & Grant, and the successful series Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. Beyond Belief went for years and covered some of the strangest true stories the small screen had ever heard. More than any other kind of documentary, Jonathan Frakes did supernatural documentaries, which makes sense.

He has the credit of hosting, Alien Autopsy: (Fact or Fiction?), Roswell: Coverups & Close Encounters,and both UFOs: The Best Evidence Caught on Tape 1 and 2. Although those seem to have ended on top of the acting I am sure Frakes will continue to direct TV and work behind the camera trying to help others create a legacy as he has among Television. Frakes also still does small stints in acting including playing a fan of Richard Castle on Castle, an adult Finn on Adventure Time, and as Administrator/ Mr. Francis in The Glades. So we are bound to see his name or face on any show making it better in front of the camera and behind it.

 

None of the media in this article belongs to Hush Comics; it all belongs to their respective properties. Join us tomorrow as we continue our countdown to Denver Comic Con with one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s founding Scooby, Nicholas Brendon.

“Respect My Craft” – Michael Dorn

In this consumer-based industry, it can be easy to forget the years of hard work that the people in the business put in. Behind every panel, it takes a skilled writer, artist, inker and colorist to make the product complete. Behind each scene goes hours of preparation. Hush Comics’ weekly article “Respect My Craft” will dive into the history of these comic book and pop culture greats that will hopefully give a new perspective on how the men and women behind the pen (or stylus) contribute to the collective awesome-ness of the nerd world, or at least give you a reason to invest in their work.

 

Click on the link to take you to all of our Denver Comic Con 2014 “Respect My Craft” articles

 

Name: Michael Dorn

Profession: Actor, Voice Actor, Director

Notable Work: Star Trek: The Next Generation & Deep Space Nine, I Am Weasel, Castle

“The character didn’t have any back story. He was a name on a sheet of paper, that was it. I think the third or fourth day of shooting, I went up to Gene [Roddenberry] and asked him what he wanted from this character. He told me to make it my own. I took it and decided that the character was going to be the opposite of everybody else on the show. And the writers took it from there, and Worf became one of the best characters ever.”- Michael Dorn

 

Michael Dorn has been on TV and in our lives since around the mid-1970’s, but before that he grew up in Pasadena California although he was born in Luling, Texas. While living in California he studied radio and television production at Pasadena City College. This led him to join several bands at that time which had him traveling from San Francisco and Los Angeles. In the coming years Dorn had a recurring role of Officer Jeb Turner on CHiPs even with the typical cheesy 80’s mustache and all. He had minor roles in a bunch of TV shows along the way including Charles in Charge, and Punky Brewster, and even had a uncredited role in Rocky, as Apollo Creed’s bodyguard.

He started to become a rather distinct and welcome face when it came to television, but his career really blew up when he joined the soap opera Days of Our Lives as Jimmy up until 1987 where he decided to quit the show because he had gained a role which would ultimately change his life forever, Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. Ultimately, it was just a job and he had no idea the character he would help create or the legend he would become to others.

Any fans of Michael Dorn before, and many after the fact, would never recognize him without the Klingon forehead and epic facial hair. Sure this can cause a problem to a certain degree, as many people who love your craft don’t even know what you look like. However, it also could help him take roles outside of typecasting him in roles similar to Worf. On the other end of it, not being Worf was not a problem because it was a perennial role Michael Dorn played in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the four films made from that series, as well as a regular cast member in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine during season four of the series and this made him the actor who has played the same character the most through the entire span of Star Trek history. So as hard as it may be for some Star Trek fans to hear, Worf is better at Kirk and Picard at something.

Dorn kept pretty busy while doing Star Trek: TNG and it showed, as he didn’t have many other roles while doing the show up until 1994. This is where Michael Dorn really grew with his voice over acting but most of it was small roles in one or two episodes including shows like Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron, Aladdin, Biker Mice From Mars, and the series Fantastic Four. This led to a major event for anybody that was a Star Trek nerd and a cartoon nerd, which was Disney’s Gargoyles. A good amount of original cast from Star Trek: TNG provided a voice at some point during Gargoyles. Michael Dorn was only a small recurring character, Coldstone, the cyborg gargoyle which made him a quite disturbing, yet awesome, character for a kids show.

After Gargoyles was dying gown, he got other jobs including Borl and other roles in Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, and Disney’s Hercules animated show. He didn’t have another huge role until the show Cow and Chicken came along. Many people remember Cow and Chicken but he played a character in it that became so popular he got his own show, which was I Am Weasel. Although his show was not long-lived by any means, I Am Weasel and I.R. Baboon are definitely some huge pop culture figures for my generation and, along with Cow and Chicken, they soon became the next Ren and Stimpy or Rocko’s Modern Life, known primarilyfor being crude, yet still childish and funny.

Dorn did a whole bunch of voice acting because if your voice finds its way into that community they never let you leave but that it meant in the upmost respect as it is a community I would die to get “trapped” in. This saw him working almost exclusively in video games until the early 2000’s with a run on the animated show Superman as Kalibak and John Henry Irons AKA Steel. A lot of these video games in these years were Star Trek including Invasion, Deep Space Nine- The Fallen, Klingon Academy, Away Team, Gatatog Uvenk in Mass Effect 2, Tassadar in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Maero in Saints Row 2 and Saints Row IV. The most current thing you can see Michael Dorn in is the current Saints Row IV and as the recurring character Dr. Carter Burke on Castle. He has a show up on idiegogo titled Swallow Your Bliss, which is a sitcom set up as a TV Cooking Show and its crew. He is also set to star in a comedic Sci-Fi film titled Unbelieveable!!!!!. This film is also set to star Nichelle Nichols, who would also be producer.

None of the media in this article belongs to Hush Comics; it all belongs to their respective properties (Photographer Janis Ogata, Paramount Television, Walt Disney Television Animation, Beacon Pictures, Experimental Pictures, ABC Studios, Buena Vista Television, Huffington Post Canada TV (http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/03/06/michael-dorn-star-trek-worf-interview_n_2821205.html)). Join us tomorrow as we continue our countdown to Denver Comic Con with Neal Adams, comic book artist legend.

“Respect My Craft” – Marina Sirtis

In this consumer-based industry, it can be easy to forget the years of hard work that the people in the business put in. Behind every panel, it takes a skilled writer, artist, inker and colorist to make the product complete. Behind each scene goes hours of preparation. Hush Comics’ weekly article “Respect My Craft” will dive into the history of these comic book and pop culture greats that will hopefully give a new perspective on how the men and women behind the pen (or stylus) contribute to the collective awesome-ness of the nerd world, or at least give you a reason to invest in their work.

 

Click on the link to take you to all of our Denver Comic Con 2014 “Respect My Craft” articles

 

Name: Marina Sirtis

Profession: Actress

Notable Work: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gargoyles, Hamlet

“It covered up my cleavage and, consequently, I got all my brains back, because when you have a cleavage you can’t have brains in Hollywood. So I got all my brains back and I was allowed to do things that I hadn’t been allowed to do for five or six years. I went on away teams, I was in charge of staff, I had my pips back, I had phasers, I had all the equipment again, and it was fabulous. I was absolutely thrilled.” – Marina Sirtis

 

Marina Sirtis is coming to Denver Comic Con along with several from the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The cast reunion is going to prove to be a one hell of a time with so many from the cast in the same location. Trek has been a hotbed of talent and a cornucopia of collective work. McFadden has worked as a choreographer for Dark Crystal and the Labyrinth, Frakes has directed, Burton ran Reading Rainbow, Denise Crosby was currently on The Walking Dead and Trek fans are still waiting for a Dorn to reprise his role of Worf to be captain of his own starship.

For anyone who has seen Sirtis at a convention, it’s easy to be instantly taken with her. Her real life persona is more like that of her screen mother, Laxana Troi, than Deanna. She is a spitfire, strong and commanding – and her body of work is extensive and dynamic.

Sirtis got her start on the stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company and with The Worthington Repertory Theatre Company’s production of Hamlet where Sirtis played Ophelia. She was also in a production of Rocky Horror Picture Show in which she played Magenta and toured Malian and Munich. Sirtis has never left theater and still takes the stage when she can. Her last stage performance was Neil Simon’s Hotel Suite at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia.

 “I would have to say that most of my other favorite things that I’ve done have been theater projects. Playing Ophelia in “Hamlet” is one of my favorites. Esmeralda in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and Magenta in “Rocky Horror” are my other favorite stage roles. (1994)”

After her work on the stage, Sirtis was on several well-known British television series, such as: Up the Elephant and around the Castle, and The Return of Sherlock. Her working history is extensive, however, she is best known for her role as Deanna Troi on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Sirtis left England and came to the United States to get work here. When she originally auditioned for Trek, she was reading for Denise Crosby’s role, Tasha Yar. Rodenberry felt they were each better suited for the other’s role. In the end, Sirtis was cast as Troi, while Crosby was cast as Yar.

Sirtis, at the time she got the role, was rather shy and took some time to get out of her shell. She’s been known to say she was just hiding more of her spunk so as to keep her role for Troi. It wasn’t long before her dynamic personality shined through. She quickly became close with several of the cast members and was particularity close to Majel Barrett (Laxana Troi) Gene Rodenberry’s wife. Sirtis called her mom and was sad when she past just a few years after her mother back in England.

What is amazing about Sirtis was her dedication to her character and the advocacy to expand and grow Tori as a character. At first, the writers for TNG found it hard to write for the half-human Betazoid. After all, when you have a character who can feel others’ emotions and intentions, it can take away from conflict of the plot. After the first season, however, Rodenberry was able to figure out her character and she continued to grow as the season continued. Troi had many intriguing and dynamic relationships with the character of TNG. I was always intrigued by her interactions with the Yar and Crusher on the show. TNG did a great portrayal of the spectrum of what femininity is and could be and the strength that it could convey to an audience and Sirtis had a big influence of were the writers took her character.

Sirtis’ favorite time on the show came in the sixth season when she got to explore Troi outside of her Betazoid counselor self when she was disguised as a Romulan in Face the Enemy, her favorite TNG episode. It pushed her acting and her character into a new path. At first, Troi was supposed to be like the wiz kid, Weasley, and Sirtis was happy when Troi made the transition from counselor to Starfleet officer. Sirtis felt her character went through a transformation. She went from staying on the ship to leading away teams and caring phasers, and getting a different voice. In both position of the passive and the active, Sirtis brought a spark and a strength to it that was refreshing to watch on-screen. Sirtis has had a lasting impression on television with this seminal role. Those of us who go to conventions know the impression she’s had on Sci-fi and we can thank her for the dynamic women she has played throughout the years. Sirtis did more than play a character, she helped create images of strength for a generation of women.

When TNG ended, Sirtis continued on in 1994 to voice Demona for Disney’s Gargoyles. Which she did for two years along side  TNG costar Jonathan Frakes . Sirtis has lent her voice for other projects, including Mass Effect and Adventure Time. After her time with Gargoyles, she switched modalities and stared as a police detective for a British movie Gadgememant. She also had many character roles in her career which consist of: Stargate SG-1, Outer Limits, Star Trek Voyager, and NCIS. Her character work shows her versatility as an actress – how much of an awesome and inspiring personality she is on the stage. She is also still great friend with Brent Spiner and Michael Dorn (Sirtis calls him Dorny) and were even groomsmen at her wedding.

Her work with her fans is also something to note. Sirtis feels she has the best fans. It isn’t often you see such a direct relationship with the fans and all the people she has inspired. Like a lot of other Trek actors, she has worked on a lot of fan based stories and online shows. Her recent work includes the fan show, Castlevania. This is what so amazing about the creatives involved with Trek – it’s the close relationship to their art and the audience.

“I have the best time. My stand-up material is pretty well-set now. The traveling part gets me down, but the actual convention part I still love. I come home after a weekend at a convention, and you have to scrape me off the ceiling. I’m so up and high and full of self-confidence, and I thank the fans for making me feel that way. Sometimes I think I should be paying the fans money to let me be there. I bet they would like that, too. I probably get more out of it than they do. (1994)”

As of late Sirtis has been working on NCIS and Star Trek Continues, where she plays the voice of the computer. There is also a fan campaign going around to get her on Doctor Who. Sirtis loves that her fans want her to be on Doctor Who, and would be on the show if given the opportunity. She sure would make a good doctor in my opinion. I hope that this is something that will happen for her. With the magnitude of collective power her fans have, it wouldn’t surprise me if she eventually didn’t get a role on the show. Hell, maybe she could even be the next Doctor. She, after all, has the spunk for it.

None of the media in this article belongs to Hush Comics; it all belongs to their respective properties. Join us tomorrow as we continue our countdown to Denver Comic Con as we spotlight legendary comic book artist, George Perez.