nerd4hire
11-30-2007, 05:03 PM
There's some stuff that is maybe spoilerish in the new Georges Jeanty interview.
Georges: Well while we're doing this interview I'm finishing up the cover for issue 11 of Buffy Season 8.
Sam: Can you tell us what that cover looks like?
Georges: Yeah. Sure. Buffy's on the cover and that's about it. (Laughs)
Sam: That's all you can tell us?
Georges: Buffy's with Satsu, one of the other slayers that’s been introduced in the comic just sort of flying over a cityscape which really tells you nothing because this is an issue that Joss Whedon has written himself. This is one of his stand alones and he wanted to get this little bit of a story out that is going to be very important to the whole timeline...
Sam: Will Faith be back eventually?
Georges: Well when you read it you'll see that it's set up...well, obviously in the Whedon universe people kept coming back and forth and with this comic, yes, as you can see with Joss in the first issue arch, Amy and Warren have come back, so, yeah, I don't think we've seen the last of Faith but I don't know when she'll be back with so much attention based on her...
...Sam: Anyways, what is coming up in Buffy Season 8 that you are allowed to tell us? I know that the comic industry is pretty secretive and you can't tell me much but is there anything you can share.
Georges: As far as the future there are so many cool things that are going to happen that I couldn't tell you what’s going on because there is just so much to tell you that anything would be such a big spoiler that down the line you'd be all "oh, I wish I didn't know that because that would have been so cool to find out" but I can tell you that Twilight is the big bad of the season. Characters will be coming back and we are certainly not through with all the surprise characters that you've been seeing so that will definatly be leading to something. Well the fact that it's forty issues, if you love Buffy, I think as a fan your going to be thinking that every month you have this great little piece of chocolate that you an unwrap and eat at my leisure and I know it's going to be there and Buffy is going to be there for anybody who has ever loved this character and, by enlarge, will not be disappointed because this is where Joss has personally told me, "I am not restricted by studio. I'm not restricted by budget. I'm not restricted by wardrobe. I'm not restricted by special effects. I can let my imagination run wild." And he actually pointed out, case in point, that he had the idea of Dawn becoming big when he was doing the series but he could never effectively do that and not make it look cheesy in some way and now that we are doing the comic that was one of the first things he wanted to do was to make her a giant because he has an arch for her that’s going to lead her in places that you don't even want to know yet. So just the idea that Joss is not limited to anything has, as a result, opened up his world and the Buffyverse in ways that you wont even imagine and wont even have expected once issues do start coming out which will basically be bombs dropping and I have to tell you that there are going to be reading it in disbelief because your not going to get where it's coming from. So I defy in the middle of next year. This time next year you call me again and let’s have this conversation again and let’s talk about all the events that’s happen up until then and let’s see if you were not blown away.
Sam: So are you saying you want to do a follow up in a year’s time?
Georges: Oh definatly. I want to talk to everybody because I know what’s coming out and there is things that when Joss was telling me that I said "Joss, you can not do that. I'm telling you not as an artist but as a fan that you can't do that" and he was telling me "Yeah, I am, and you’re going to see how I can do that."
Sam: Well you got it. In one year’s time, when those bombs start dropping and you feel the time is right, we'll talk about this again.
Georges: Well once those bombs start dropping you'll know what I'm talking about.
Sam: Well I've been excited about this series, but nothing like the caliber of what I'm feeling right now.
Georges: Well I know how you feel. As a fan, I'm lucky enough to have the script to issue 11 sitting in front of me which I haven't read and I am thinking, "Great, moment I go home I can read issue 11. This is so cool." As a fan this is what I'm feeling and as a fan, as Joss was explaining it over breakfast in San Diego a few months ago he was laughing giddily at my expression as he was telling me what was going to happen.
And I'll post this next part just because it's interesting, not spoilerish.
Sam: Have you gotten any feedback from any of the actors from the series?
Georges: Interestingly enough, the only one I've actually talked to and had an occasion to speak with was just recently at Dragon Con here in Atlanta, James Marsters and Juliet Landau were down and someone had mentioned to James in his panel if he had seen the new Buffy comic and he said he hadn't and they told him that there was a very graphic image of him, Angel and Buffy and, of course, he was outraged and asked who would even think to do that and who wrote that issue and someone yelled out "Joss Whedon wrote it" and he said "Oh well, okay, if that’s the case, that's what Buffy and Spike and Angel are doing." And then when I met him and I told him I was the guy who was drawing the book the nice thing that he had mentioned was that he really liked the art work. I heard that James had written, or co-written, a book for Darkhorse and apparently wasn't too happy with the artwork. But James said that he really liked that one image and I said, of curse, "If you ever want to work together let me know because I'm a big fan Mr. Marsters." Other then that I haven't heard from anybody and I honestly don't know why I get that question asked a lot because, when you think about it, these are actors. They play the part that was four years ago now and they are on to other things and I totally get that they aren't sitting around going "Oh, well, there’s my character again." I'm sure they would have a passing familiar but I honestly wouldn't expect to hear from Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Sam: The reason we all ask you is because we are whores for information.
Georges: Mind you, I'd love to get a call from Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Sam: Well let’s talk about calls for a second here. You know Joss Whedon, right.
Georges: Yes.
Sam: And you have his phone number.
Georges: I do.
Sam: And Joss Whedon, we can assume, has Michelle Trachtenberg's phone number.
Georges: Yeah. This whole six degrees of separation thing, it is so much closer now.
Sam: Yeah. Well can you get me Michelle Trachtenberg's phone number?
Georges: Do you think I could personally get it for you? Well you know, you'd have to stand in line because I'd want it first and maybe after I made my call maybe if things didn't go as well as I'd like.
Sam: Well, uh, I wasn't serious just in case that sounded really creepy.
Georges: No. Not at all. I was serious. I actually talked to Joss and I said, dude, I really got to hand it to you, you know how to pick out the most gorgeous women!
Sam: Well I may be in the minority, but I am a huge Michelle Trachtenberg fan.
Georges: Yeah, I know what you mean. You know, Dawn got the short end of the stick because it seems people think of her as the obligatory whiny hostage character. And I think, man, that's really unfair because most of the criticism I hear is that oh well, Dawn is so whiny. Why is Dawn a part of the Buffy universe and all that stuff and I think, “Don't you guys get it? Don't you see her as an important part, as a Willow or a Xander or a Giles?” I don't see why people treat her as the butt end of the Buffy universe.
Sam: Well I find that Dawn really added a new dimension to the series that the show really needed at that time. You see, we had just come out of that terrible season with Riley and Adam and the military guys...
Georges: Not the strongest season...
Sam: Right, and I was even pretty cynical when I found out they were adding a "jump the shark" kid to Buffy but I felt that when they introduced Dawn to the series that somehow Joss managed to bring the series back on track. I mean you had the beautiful chemistry between Dawn and Spike and really enhanced the series for me. But I think that fans still see her as nothing but the "Cousin Oliver" of the series.
Georges: I can understand that if she was thrown into the mix, but for me, Dawn was already part of the Buffy universe when I started watching it so Season 5 was when I finished watching it. But I think that idea of "We need to hide something and we need to hide something with somebody who will take care of it and what better way for them to take care of it then have them feel that this is part of their flesh." Well that's a great idea once it was revealed and poor Dawn the character had to have that "Well I have to be the antitheses of the character so I have to be her foil in a lot of cases because I'm the younger sister and, yes, to a certain degree to make it an interesting dynamic.” Because, once you get into it, that’s exactly what Cordelia was and that's a lot of what Anya was when she got in there and you need those dynamics to actually establish a character down the road because in Season 5 you don't really see who Dawn is. A lot of who Dawn becomes is in Season 6 and, obviously, Season 7 because, I gotta say, one of the most moving scenes to me in that whole series, which there is a lot, is when Xander is sitting with Dawn at the end and she's going "I'm no special. I'm the sister of the slayer but I'm not a potential" and he's telling her that she's extraordinary. I defy anybody who watched that and not be chocked up to a certain degree.
Sam: Well, I think we've got off tack here. I can talk about Michelle Trachtenberg all day.
Georges: We got on Track..enberg. (Laughs)
Sam: Okay. (Laughs) That's really punny. Anyways, what is coming up in Buffy Season 8 that you are allowed to tell us? I know that the comic industry is pretty secretive and you can't tell me much but is there anything you can share.
Georges: Well as I said, I just finished the Faith arch of four issues and I think you’re really going to appreciate it where it ends. It takes the idea and smacks us back to Season 3 and there is actually flashbacks to Season 3 and it really takes us back to what is Faith? What is her lot in life? And I loved how in Season 7 she actually mentions that when she asks "What’s wrong with Buffy? Has she gone bad? Does that mean I'm the good slayer?" I think that question is more prominent then Faith, the character, has dealt with because within this universe she has always fell in the shadow of Buffy and I think Brian K. Vaughn really has established that and really let us get into her head as where she does feel in this world knowing that Buffy exists and she exists and just the idea of this is so well thought out that and, yes, this arch was written by Brian K. Vaughn and Joss Whedon was the "executive producer" in every sense of the word. Joss' hand is in this series pretty much as if he was writing the series himself so I think anybody who enjoys Faith will definatly enjoy this four issue arch even though it's not technically written by Joss Whedon.
Sam: Real quick. Who’s your favorite character to draw and who do you hate drawing the most.
Georges: Well, you know, I really took infinity to Faith and I'm really sad that it is only four issues because I really love drawing Faith. I'm not saying that I don't enjoy drawing all of the characters. I'm a little more comfortable with drawing the men at this point. I think I'm pretty good with Buffy but I think my appreciation is how good I got at drawing Faith. I had a bitch of a time drawing Amy. I just did not like drawing her at all because I felt like I wasn't drawing her and I was drawing a comic book version of her. I just never found my center with her.
The Pop Culture Addict presents... Comic Books (http://www.popcultureaddict.com/comicbooks/georgesjeanty.htm)
Georges: Well while we're doing this interview I'm finishing up the cover for issue 11 of Buffy Season 8.
Sam: Can you tell us what that cover looks like?
Georges: Yeah. Sure. Buffy's on the cover and that's about it. (Laughs)
Sam: That's all you can tell us?
Georges: Buffy's with Satsu, one of the other slayers that’s been introduced in the comic just sort of flying over a cityscape which really tells you nothing because this is an issue that Joss Whedon has written himself. This is one of his stand alones and he wanted to get this little bit of a story out that is going to be very important to the whole timeline...
Sam: Will Faith be back eventually?
Georges: Well when you read it you'll see that it's set up...well, obviously in the Whedon universe people kept coming back and forth and with this comic, yes, as you can see with Joss in the first issue arch, Amy and Warren have come back, so, yeah, I don't think we've seen the last of Faith but I don't know when she'll be back with so much attention based on her...
...Sam: Anyways, what is coming up in Buffy Season 8 that you are allowed to tell us? I know that the comic industry is pretty secretive and you can't tell me much but is there anything you can share.
Georges: As far as the future there are so many cool things that are going to happen that I couldn't tell you what’s going on because there is just so much to tell you that anything would be such a big spoiler that down the line you'd be all "oh, I wish I didn't know that because that would have been so cool to find out" but I can tell you that Twilight is the big bad of the season. Characters will be coming back and we are certainly not through with all the surprise characters that you've been seeing so that will definatly be leading to something. Well the fact that it's forty issues, if you love Buffy, I think as a fan your going to be thinking that every month you have this great little piece of chocolate that you an unwrap and eat at my leisure and I know it's going to be there and Buffy is going to be there for anybody who has ever loved this character and, by enlarge, will not be disappointed because this is where Joss has personally told me, "I am not restricted by studio. I'm not restricted by budget. I'm not restricted by wardrobe. I'm not restricted by special effects. I can let my imagination run wild." And he actually pointed out, case in point, that he had the idea of Dawn becoming big when he was doing the series but he could never effectively do that and not make it look cheesy in some way and now that we are doing the comic that was one of the first things he wanted to do was to make her a giant because he has an arch for her that’s going to lead her in places that you don't even want to know yet. So just the idea that Joss is not limited to anything has, as a result, opened up his world and the Buffyverse in ways that you wont even imagine and wont even have expected once issues do start coming out which will basically be bombs dropping and I have to tell you that there are going to be reading it in disbelief because your not going to get where it's coming from. So I defy in the middle of next year. This time next year you call me again and let’s have this conversation again and let’s talk about all the events that’s happen up until then and let’s see if you were not blown away.
Sam: So are you saying you want to do a follow up in a year’s time?
Georges: Oh definatly. I want to talk to everybody because I know what’s coming out and there is things that when Joss was telling me that I said "Joss, you can not do that. I'm telling you not as an artist but as a fan that you can't do that" and he was telling me "Yeah, I am, and you’re going to see how I can do that."
Sam: Well you got it. In one year’s time, when those bombs start dropping and you feel the time is right, we'll talk about this again.
Georges: Well once those bombs start dropping you'll know what I'm talking about.
Sam: Well I've been excited about this series, but nothing like the caliber of what I'm feeling right now.
Georges: Well I know how you feel. As a fan, I'm lucky enough to have the script to issue 11 sitting in front of me which I haven't read and I am thinking, "Great, moment I go home I can read issue 11. This is so cool." As a fan this is what I'm feeling and as a fan, as Joss was explaining it over breakfast in San Diego a few months ago he was laughing giddily at my expression as he was telling me what was going to happen.
And I'll post this next part just because it's interesting, not spoilerish.
Sam: Have you gotten any feedback from any of the actors from the series?
Georges: Interestingly enough, the only one I've actually talked to and had an occasion to speak with was just recently at Dragon Con here in Atlanta, James Marsters and Juliet Landau were down and someone had mentioned to James in his panel if he had seen the new Buffy comic and he said he hadn't and they told him that there was a very graphic image of him, Angel and Buffy and, of course, he was outraged and asked who would even think to do that and who wrote that issue and someone yelled out "Joss Whedon wrote it" and he said "Oh well, okay, if that’s the case, that's what Buffy and Spike and Angel are doing." And then when I met him and I told him I was the guy who was drawing the book the nice thing that he had mentioned was that he really liked the art work. I heard that James had written, or co-written, a book for Darkhorse and apparently wasn't too happy with the artwork. But James said that he really liked that one image and I said, of curse, "If you ever want to work together let me know because I'm a big fan Mr. Marsters." Other then that I haven't heard from anybody and I honestly don't know why I get that question asked a lot because, when you think about it, these are actors. They play the part that was four years ago now and they are on to other things and I totally get that they aren't sitting around going "Oh, well, there’s my character again." I'm sure they would have a passing familiar but I honestly wouldn't expect to hear from Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Sam: The reason we all ask you is because we are whores for information.
Georges: Mind you, I'd love to get a call from Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Sam: Well let’s talk about calls for a second here. You know Joss Whedon, right.
Georges: Yes.
Sam: And you have his phone number.
Georges: I do.
Sam: And Joss Whedon, we can assume, has Michelle Trachtenberg's phone number.
Georges: Yeah. This whole six degrees of separation thing, it is so much closer now.
Sam: Yeah. Well can you get me Michelle Trachtenberg's phone number?
Georges: Do you think I could personally get it for you? Well you know, you'd have to stand in line because I'd want it first and maybe after I made my call maybe if things didn't go as well as I'd like.
Sam: Well, uh, I wasn't serious just in case that sounded really creepy.
Georges: No. Not at all. I was serious. I actually talked to Joss and I said, dude, I really got to hand it to you, you know how to pick out the most gorgeous women!
Sam: Well I may be in the minority, but I am a huge Michelle Trachtenberg fan.
Georges: Yeah, I know what you mean. You know, Dawn got the short end of the stick because it seems people think of her as the obligatory whiny hostage character. And I think, man, that's really unfair because most of the criticism I hear is that oh well, Dawn is so whiny. Why is Dawn a part of the Buffy universe and all that stuff and I think, “Don't you guys get it? Don't you see her as an important part, as a Willow or a Xander or a Giles?” I don't see why people treat her as the butt end of the Buffy universe.
Sam: Well I find that Dawn really added a new dimension to the series that the show really needed at that time. You see, we had just come out of that terrible season with Riley and Adam and the military guys...
Georges: Not the strongest season...
Sam: Right, and I was even pretty cynical when I found out they were adding a "jump the shark" kid to Buffy but I felt that when they introduced Dawn to the series that somehow Joss managed to bring the series back on track. I mean you had the beautiful chemistry between Dawn and Spike and really enhanced the series for me. But I think that fans still see her as nothing but the "Cousin Oliver" of the series.
Georges: I can understand that if she was thrown into the mix, but for me, Dawn was already part of the Buffy universe when I started watching it so Season 5 was when I finished watching it. But I think that idea of "We need to hide something and we need to hide something with somebody who will take care of it and what better way for them to take care of it then have them feel that this is part of their flesh." Well that's a great idea once it was revealed and poor Dawn the character had to have that "Well I have to be the antitheses of the character so I have to be her foil in a lot of cases because I'm the younger sister and, yes, to a certain degree to make it an interesting dynamic.” Because, once you get into it, that’s exactly what Cordelia was and that's a lot of what Anya was when she got in there and you need those dynamics to actually establish a character down the road because in Season 5 you don't really see who Dawn is. A lot of who Dawn becomes is in Season 6 and, obviously, Season 7 because, I gotta say, one of the most moving scenes to me in that whole series, which there is a lot, is when Xander is sitting with Dawn at the end and she's going "I'm no special. I'm the sister of the slayer but I'm not a potential" and he's telling her that she's extraordinary. I defy anybody who watched that and not be chocked up to a certain degree.
Sam: Well, I think we've got off tack here. I can talk about Michelle Trachtenberg all day.
Georges: We got on Track..enberg. (Laughs)
Sam: Okay. (Laughs) That's really punny. Anyways, what is coming up in Buffy Season 8 that you are allowed to tell us? I know that the comic industry is pretty secretive and you can't tell me much but is there anything you can share.
Georges: Well as I said, I just finished the Faith arch of four issues and I think you’re really going to appreciate it where it ends. It takes the idea and smacks us back to Season 3 and there is actually flashbacks to Season 3 and it really takes us back to what is Faith? What is her lot in life? And I loved how in Season 7 she actually mentions that when she asks "What’s wrong with Buffy? Has she gone bad? Does that mean I'm the good slayer?" I think that question is more prominent then Faith, the character, has dealt with because within this universe she has always fell in the shadow of Buffy and I think Brian K. Vaughn really has established that and really let us get into her head as where she does feel in this world knowing that Buffy exists and she exists and just the idea of this is so well thought out that and, yes, this arch was written by Brian K. Vaughn and Joss Whedon was the "executive producer" in every sense of the word. Joss' hand is in this series pretty much as if he was writing the series himself so I think anybody who enjoys Faith will definatly enjoy this four issue arch even though it's not technically written by Joss Whedon.
Sam: Real quick. Who’s your favorite character to draw and who do you hate drawing the most.
Georges: Well, you know, I really took infinity to Faith and I'm really sad that it is only four issues because I really love drawing Faith. I'm not saying that I don't enjoy drawing all of the characters. I'm a little more comfortable with drawing the men at this point. I think I'm pretty good with Buffy but I think my appreciation is how good I got at drawing Faith. I had a bitch of a time drawing Amy. I just did not like drawing her at all because I felt like I wasn't drawing her and I was drawing a comic book version of her. I just never found my center with her.
The Pop Culture Addict presents... Comic Books (http://www.popcultureaddict.com/comicbooks/georgesjeanty.htm)