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.
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).
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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