Post by Emmie on Jan 7, 2009 19:31:16 GMT -5
Here are the answers for the first 9 questions:
> 1. queeroid: Seeing Georges' cover for Living Doll got me thinking... do the artists come up with the cover concepts, are they given by the issue writers/Joss/PTB? And is there any interaction between the two artists? Jo likes this cover idea, so she gets to draw it/Georges likes that cover idea, so he gets to draw it?
It varies. This one was Joss's idea. I think. It may have been Doug's. At one point the idea was to have Jo do this one, because she'd done the cover to Buffy #4 that it was based on. But Doug pitched the Dawn and Thricewise cover, the romance-novel cover, and we figured that would be better for Jo. Often we don't pitch an idea to Georges; we tell him what the story is, and he gives us ten or twenty cover sketches to choose from. Then we pick a few of them, and tell him to do whichever one he likes best. With Jo, we almost always pitch a specific idea, but it might come from me, Sierra, Joss, or the writer.
> 2. sosalola: There are a lot of complaints about the Scoobies' lack of interest in Dawn's situation from the fans. Everybody thinks that the Scoobies, especially Buffy, are being insensitive jerks that only joke about Dawn's situation instead of trying to help her, like confronting Kenny for example and forcing him to undo the curse. It seems like the first thing Buffy would do, but she doesn't seem to bother when it comes to her sister.
>
> Is this part of the plot? Is Buffy ignoring Dawn on purpose? And where's Kenny? Why didn't anyone try to talk him into changing Dawn back?
Xander's been giving Buffy a hard time about how much she ignores Dawn. It's part of the story. And they've talked about solving the problem, and about why they can't. I hadn't heard the complaints.
> 3. trunktheslayer: Can you give us any insight into the other hinted-at promotions for the current arc? And, in connection and more importantly, will said promos (like the MDHP "Harmony Bites" special) be collected in the trade paperback for the arc?
There's the MDHP thing, Harmony's got a blog on MTV.com, and check out the back cover of other DH books this month. And yes, Harmony Bites will be in the Predators and Prey collection.
> 4. iloveromy: This may be too grand of a question and maybe even a little bit cosmic, but for 2009 what is in store for the Buffyverse and its readers? Obviously specifics aren't important but sometimes I think we need a little reconfirmation that the story we have been following for so long is still going in unique and amazing places.
2009 will bring you Buffy #21-31, and some other stuff. Jane Espenson takes over the writing with #26. Oz will make an appearance. Slayers will have an increasingly hard time in the world.
> 5. bamph: After reading issue 21 and the Harmony Bites online tie-in, it appears Harmony is based in L.A. still so my question is this - does this now confirm season 8 and specifically this issue as taking place after the conclusion of Angel: After The Fall (which actually only has two issues left) and the events of L.A. being sent to hell or is it a part of the glamour that has been hiding Hell-A from the rest of the world (as revealed was happening in Angel:After The Fall #10)? Sorry to ask since the question of how season 8 and After The Fall comes up a lot but this issue added a new wrinkle in regards to that continuity question.
The exact relationship between Season Eight and After the Fall won't be apparent for quite a while yet. Sorry, I can't say more than that.
> 6. tiewashere: In order to prepare for Season Eight, did Joss, you, or anyone else have to re-watch the entire series? Do people need to have background knowledge on the show's character's and premise in order to write a comic for Season Eight?
I rewatched it. I think Sierra did. Georges has. I don't know about anyone else. And most of the writers on the comic were writers from the TV series, so they came to it with the knowledge. Those who were not on the TV series were big fans, and saw it all at the time.
> 7. patxshand: Figure I'll go a bit off topic. Of all the movies that came out in 2008, which did you like the best and which would you like to write a comic adaptation or continuation of?
Like the best: Let the Right One In. Want to write ...? Does it have to be a movie?
> 8. Emmie: A recent interview "New Media Guru" by the WGA quoted Joss Whedon describing his writing process as something he works out completely in his head and commits to the page once it is in its final draft format.
>
> Quote:
> Incredibly, Whedon continued his college method of writing in final drafts. Still does. "When I write, I spend most of my time on my feet, and then when I know what it is I want to say, I sit down," he explains. "I don't like to look at a computer screen and see a placeholder line; it will make it harder for me to write." He can also get stuck for days trying to think up a name. "I need to know who that guy is, so I need the name, and it can kill me. I've got this time blocked out to write, and I can't just say Mr. X. It's really debilitating."
>
> I was hoping you could articulate the creative relationship between Whedon as Executive Producer, the other writers for their sole arcs and you as the Editor. How does the editing and collaborative process conform and adapt to Whedon's self-proclaimed writing style? He gives the impression that his draft is the final draft, so to speak.
Well, Joss certainly makes revisions to his stuff—I don't think you should take the quote to mean that he perfects it in his head, types it, and it never changes. With the writers, though, there are definitely revisions, multiple drafts. They work out the stories with Joss through conversation, sometimes through emails; sometimes I'm in on that, sometimes not. He gives a lot of feedback before it's written, and then he always gives some after it's written, requiring second or third or more drafts. With Jane, on the upcoming arc (#26-30), she and Joss talked a lot, on the set of Dollhouse, then she wrote an outline that we both replied to, she revised the outline, then the script showed up days later. Jane is a force of nature, she really is a uniquely disciplined and fast writer. There were notes, but the main note on that first draft of the script was, literally, "AWESOME."
> 9. smashed: Is there still no hope in the Buffy tarot cards being released?
None. Sad ...
S
> 1. queeroid: Seeing Georges' cover for Living Doll got me thinking... do the artists come up with the cover concepts, are they given by the issue writers/Joss/PTB? And is there any interaction between the two artists? Jo likes this cover idea, so she gets to draw it/Georges likes that cover idea, so he gets to draw it?
It varies. This one was Joss's idea. I think. It may have been Doug's. At one point the idea was to have Jo do this one, because she'd done the cover to Buffy #4 that it was based on. But Doug pitched the Dawn and Thricewise cover, the romance-novel cover, and we figured that would be better for Jo. Often we don't pitch an idea to Georges; we tell him what the story is, and he gives us ten or twenty cover sketches to choose from. Then we pick a few of them, and tell him to do whichever one he likes best. With Jo, we almost always pitch a specific idea, but it might come from me, Sierra, Joss, or the writer.
> 2. sosalola: There are a lot of complaints about the Scoobies' lack of interest in Dawn's situation from the fans. Everybody thinks that the Scoobies, especially Buffy, are being insensitive jerks that only joke about Dawn's situation instead of trying to help her, like confronting Kenny for example and forcing him to undo the curse. It seems like the first thing Buffy would do, but she doesn't seem to bother when it comes to her sister.
>
> Is this part of the plot? Is Buffy ignoring Dawn on purpose? And where's Kenny? Why didn't anyone try to talk him into changing Dawn back?
Xander's been giving Buffy a hard time about how much she ignores Dawn. It's part of the story. And they've talked about solving the problem, and about why they can't. I hadn't heard the complaints.
> 3. trunktheslayer: Can you give us any insight into the other hinted-at promotions for the current arc? And, in connection and more importantly, will said promos (like the MDHP "Harmony Bites" special) be collected in the trade paperback for the arc?
There's the MDHP thing, Harmony's got a blog on MTV.com, and check out the back cover of other DH books this month. And yes, Harmony Bites will be in the Predators and Prey collection.
> 4. iloveromy: This may be too grand of a question and maybe even a little bit cosmic, but for 2009 what is in store for the Buffyverse and its readers? Obviously specifics aren't important but sometimes I think we need a little reconfirmation that the story we have been following for so long is still going in unique and amazing places.
2009 will bring you Buffy #21-31, and some other stuff. Jane Espenson takes over the writing with #26. Oz will make an appearance. Slayers will have an increasingly hard time in the world.
> 5. bamph: After reading issue 21 and the Harmony Bites online tie-in, it appears Harmony is based in L.A. still so my question is this - does this now confirm season 8 and specifically this issue as taking place after the conclusion of Angel: After The Fall (which actually only has two issues left) and the events of L.A. being sent to hell or is it a part of the glamour that has been hiding Hell-A from the rest of the world (as revealed was happening in Angel:After The Fall #10)? Sorry to ask since the question of how season 8 and After The Fall comes up a lot but this issue added a new wrinkle in regards to that continuity question.
The exact relationship between Season Eight and After the Fall won't be apparent for quite a while yet. Sorry, I can't say more than that.
> 6. tiewashere: In order to prepare for Season Eight, did Joss, you, or anyone else have to re-watch the entire series? Do people need to have background knowledge on the show's character's and premise in order to write a comic for Season Eight?
I rewatched it. I think Sierra did. Georges has. I don't know about anyone else. And most of the writers on the comic were writers from the TV series, so they came to it with the knowledge. Those who were not on the TV series were big fans, and saw it all at the time.
> 7. patxshand: Figure I'll go a bit off topic. Of all the movies that came out in 2008, which did you like the best and which would you like to write a comic adaptation or continuation of?
Like the best: Let the Right One In. Want to write ...? Does it have to be a movie?
> 8. Emmie: A recent interview "New Media Guru" by the WGA quoted Joss Whedon describing his writing process as something he works out completely in his head and commits to the page once it is in its final draft format.
>
> Quote:
> Incredibly, Whedon continued his college method of writing in final drafts. Still does. "When I write, I spend most of my time on my feet, and then when I know what it is I want to say, I sit down," he explains. "I don't like to look at a computer screen and see a placeholder line; it will make it harder for me to write." He can also get stuck for days trying to think up a name. "I need to know who that guy is, so I need the name, and it can kill me. I've got this time blocked out to write, and I can't just say Mr. X. It's really debilitating."
>
> I was hoping you could articulate the creative relationship between Whedon as Executive Producer, the other writers for their sole arcs and you as the Editor. How does the editing and collaborative process conform and adapt to Whedon's self-proclaimed writing style? He gives the impression that his draft is the final draft, so to speak.
Well, Joss certainly makes revisions to his stuff—I don't think you should take the quote to mean that he perfects it in his head, types it, and it never changes. With the writers, though, there are definitely revisions, multiple drafts. They work out the stories with Joss through conversation, sometimes through emails; sometimes I'm in on that, sometimes not. He gives a lot of feedback before it's written, and then he always gives some after it's written, requiring second or third or more drafts. With Jane, on the upcoming arc (#26-30), she and Joss talked a lot, on the set of Dollhouse, then she wrote an outline that we both replied to, she revised the outline, then the script showed up days later. Jane is a force of nature, she really is a uniquely disciplined and fast writer. There were notes, but the main note on that first draft of the script was, literally, "AWESOME."
> 9. smashed: Is there still no hope in the Buffy tarot cards being released?
None. Sad ...
S