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Brian Lynch Podcast Transcript (All 3 Parts)
As promised. :)

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Part 1

Brian Lynch: Hey everyone, this is Brian Lynch, I'm the co-plotter and scripter of Angel: After the Fall and the upcoming Spike: After the Fall, and I'm the writer and creator of Everybody's Dead. All of those are from IDW, and you should pick them all up. This is all pretty great. I've read them all, and I'm really unbiased when I say that they're wonderful.

A few weeks ago I asked anyone who reads my blog to pose any questions they may have about anything that I'm working on, or about, you know, what I'm doing, or what I'm wearing. In case anyone wants to know what I'm wearing now that I've put that out there, it's, like, an orange Izod and a hat and shorts. I don't usually wear Izods, per se, but I'm doing laundry, so my hayless (?) clothes are unavailable. Okay, I'm gonna answer the first couple of questions that people asked me -- they asked me, I think, 43 in total, but I'm gonna try and knock out, like, five, just to get it started. Is that okay with everyone? I hope so. Okay, let's go, let's start.

Jesse said, so, I've introduced Kate again -- she actually said "so you've introduced Kate", I turned it about myself. Jesse thinks she should get a spin-off now that Kate's back in rotation in the Angel world. Jesse says, "Since she left Angel I've wondered what she'd been up to, and after seeing her in this issue, I want to know about her battles and such over past several years. Are you interested?" I think that's a great idea, and when I finished writing this story for Kate, I actually said, you know, if we did a spin-off from Angel: After the Fall, it would be really cool to do a Kate mini-series. And then when IDW asked me if I had any ideas fora mini-series, it was either going to be one involving Kate, or the Spike: After the Fall. We went with Spike, because it's more in line with the Angel story, and we can make the two series kind of link up, whereas the Kate one would be off on her own thing, and I thought, you know, there should be a big coherent story altogether, cohesive. But yeah, I think a Kate story would be great -- I don't know if I'm gonna write it, but I think someone should, you know, put her front and center in her own series, 'cause she's really fun to write, and I think she's a fun character, and I think she has a fanbase. People were really excited when it was revealed that she came back, so that was cool. Thank you, Jesse.

Next question's from Sarah, and she starts "Hi, Brian!" and I say "Hi, Sarah!" and Sarah says "I had a question about writing Spike: After the Fall. Were there any stories that you wanted to do in Spike: AtF that you couldn't because of what you had set up in Angel? Or the other way around?" Actually, no, they kind of complement each other really well. You don't need to read either one, per se -- you don't need to read the other one to get the point of both series, but it certainly does help, and it certainly paints a huge picture. Actually, it didn't restrict me in any way, in fact, they let me go into more detail and do certain revelations in Spike's series that will make the Angel series all the more layered and richer. So, no, it actually really helped, that's why we went with Spike, as opposed to some of the other mini-series, like the Kate one. So, thank you, Sarah.

Next question's from Brian B. He asked "How do you keep your sideburns so trimmed?" He actually said "so trimed", I'm assuming he meant "trimmed", and the truth is, Brian B, you've not seen me lately, because I do not keep them trimmed. Or trimed, even. They're way too wacky right now, they're really thick. But thank you. Then he asks "Okay, now for something less important. I'm very excited about Spike: AtF. I'm wondering, though, in this hell will any of the gang find, for lack of a better word" -- um, I don't understand. Brian, I think you're so excited about Spike that your question is really weird. They want to know if there's any kind of love. Oh, he wants to know if there's any quote-unquote "love" between the characters. I'm not gonna reveal that. That's a spoiler, and, you know, you don't wanna have that revealed in a blog, one way or the other. You wanna read it, you wanna see it. Although you did point out that the Spike: After the Fall Issue 3 has a cover where there's some hankypanky going on, and that's totally true. There is something on that cover. Okay, thanks, Brian.

Next question's from Rowanda380. She says how nice it was to see Kate, and "it was nice to see a woman have a spotlight in the plot who wasn't weak, sick or attached to some man. Seriously, the storyline in general is missing the strong female influence." I disagree; Illyria certainly relies on Spike for some things, and obviously Wesley had an effect on her, but she definitely is kind of her own person at this point -- I mean, she's not even a person, but you know what I mean. I think Gwen and Nina both work with Connor, but, you know, I think they've got their own thing going on. Also, I don't know... I think the leads in the book are, of course, Angel and Wesley and Connor and Spike, but I mean, Illyria, ever since she's been in there, has had such an impact on the series, I don't know... I think she's got a strong influence. So, I'm sorry if this series doesn't have what you're looking for in terms of that, but I'm doing my best. And Brian B. likes it. And he likes my sideburns.

Next comment was deleted. I wonder what that person said. Probably something really -- it was probably, like, a compliment about how great the female characters are in Angel: After the Fall. It would have complented what I was trying to say before. Oh well.

All right, next question, Chris G. "Yo, Lynch. Nice 'chops." The sideburns... very popular with the blog audience, I had no idea. First question they asked, "Is there a glitch in Hell's matrix because Spike and Angel both have souls? And since L.A. is in Hell, the demons rule and the dead are rising again. Does this mean there's possibility of guys like The Beast to pop up?" It's a possibility for anything to happen in the book. We didn't say exactly where they are or what's going on, but anything can happen at any point, as we prove, hopefully, each issue that keeps surprising people. And Chris G. asks "Is Betta George being held down by a big web?" Yeah, Betta George is being held by something that's dampening his power, so he can't be unleashed, basically. 'Cause Gunn -- I mean, I guess Gunn knows his potential, and we're going into that a little more as the series goes on. You saw what happened, hopefully, in the last First Night issue that was released; Betta George did get away from the thing that's keeping him down, he was able to kind of manipulate one of the vampires. So, that was kind of cool. Thank you, Chris G. Oh, and then he says, "Keep it up, this book is the greatest", which is so nice. Thank you Chris, it's nice of you.

Last question I'm gonna do and then I'm gonna put this right up. It's Charlie Manson -- crazy that this is what Charles Manson is doing with his time, but he says "How close is Joss to the production of this fantastic series?" Joss laid the groundwork with me, a very specific outline, and now I'm carrying it out. That's pretty much what he's doing. So he did the heavy-lifting in the beginning, and now I'm the... now I'm the spokesman, now I'm the mouthpiece, does that make sense? Then Charlie Manson said, "If and when Angel becomes a vampire again, is he going to have a soul? And a tattoo?" I can't answer either one of those, 'cause they're all, I mean, that's all part of the book. The tattoo thing is going to be answered in the next couple of issues, it's a throwaway thing, but I think it's kind of a cool aside. Then Charlie Manson -- who is a huge fan of Angel and Spike, I had no idea. In addition to the plethora of awful things Charlie Manson does, he's also a very dedicated Whedon fan, which is crazy. Charlie Manson says "I am so glad Spike is getting his own book, because there was definitely not enough of him in Angel, but can one of the two of them at least mention Buffy?" Okay, that is absolutely no problem, they will do that. Then... mumblemumblemumble, "I hate that no-one from this or Buffy: Season 8 has even thought of each other." I'm sure they've thought of each other, Charlie Manson, but with all the stuff going on in the Angel series, it would be weird if Angel's like "I just challenged all these lords... I have no power left... I'm not a vampire... also, I wonder what Buffy's wearing right now." Like, he's clearly thinking about her, just like I'm sure Cordelia is on his mind, and we go into that as the series goes on, but at the same time, he'll be in an awkward stop in where the story's going if he just stopped and thought about something that wasn't pertinent at that moment. And Buffy is thinking about Angel, and Spike -- she had a dream about them earlier in the book, in her own book. And then Charlie Manson says "This book is amazing amazing amazing." Thank you! And then he asks how the series is gonna end, or details about -- Charlie Manson, as much as I fear you for what you have done, I can't reveal anything about the end of the book, although it's mapped out and it's pretty awesome, and I think you guys will... I think it's... yeah, I think it's epic, so. Thank you, Charlie Manson.

I'm not gonna end with a Charlie Manson question, because that's just a rule of podcasts, is you never stop with a question from a mass murderer. So Nolan says -- and I don't know Nolan, I don't know if you've killed anyone. If you've killed more than one or two people, then you also are a mass murderer, but if you've killed one or less, I can end on your question. So I'm gonna assume you are not a murderer, and then I'm gonna click on the link to your blog and see if you have blogged about possibly killing anyone, in which case I have to go back and answer another question. Nolan says, "Did you know how hard it is to find a copy of Big Helium Dog in my town?" Anyone that's confused as to what that means, Big Helium Dog is a movie I directed a while ago -- I wrote and directed -- and it's not on video or DVD, so I'd assume it's insanely hard, and if you found one, that's great, and tell me where, so I could go get a copy. Next question from Nolan: "Also, you said your writing in the Connor/Kate story is your best Whedon writing so far. I won't argue with that, but is there any one particular part that you are especially proud of?" I just really liked the fact -- I thought in a limited amount of time, we were able to play with the fact that Connor was so confused about who should be influencing him and who is his father, and in the course of a couple of pages, I was pretty proud of the fact that we had Angel encourage and kind of inspire him to go in the right direction, without Connor even knowing it. I thought that was really cool, I thought in a limited amount of time, we told Connor's story pretty great, and we let readers know why this character has gone through this big change. So I was pretty proud of that. And also I was proud of bringing Kate back.

But I will say that, since then, I've written stuff that I think is as good as that -- better, hopefully. I think the Spike series is just so dark and so fun and the revelations are so cool that I think that's coming along really well, and I think the stuff we have planned for the rest of Angel is just, it's just great. Like, if the rest, the earliest stuff was fun... And I hope everyone got a charge out of seeing their favourite characters back, but now they're back, and, you know, we're starting to just mix and match everybody and they're all interacting and it's building to something so big, and I just, I can't wait to see people's reactions. And I can't wait to write the specific dialogue that goes with certain things.

I think people are gonna -- if, in fact, a comic can make you, like, excited and cheer, then I would think that we have a lot of moments like that coming up. And I would think -- I mean, it's happened to me, that there are moments in comic books that I just, I find myself getting really upset. And the last thing that did that to me was Pride of Baghdad, which is Brian K. Vaughn's graphic novel. I figured the hardest name and I apologize, but that made me so emotional, just that one and We3 by Grant Morrison and Quietly. I think there's stuff coming up in Angel, especially if you love these characters, you just... I'm emotionally attached to them, and I can't wait to write certain things and I can't wait to see or to hear people's reactions. I think dark times are coming and crowd-pleasing times are coming and it's just, I don't know, I think it's big. Act 2 and this one, Act 3, kind of together -- right now I'm working on Act 3 -- it's all homerun stuff, hopefully. So I just rambled, I swear I wasn't trying to (line???) the comic, I'm just excited about it.

I think that's it for now, I'm going to continue with Noel's question next time, but I just wanted to get some questions up so you guys knew I didn't forget about you. I hope you guys got the Angel: After the Fall Issue 1 Director's Cut that came out today. I think it's great, it's the entire script and my notes and the series looks great... the colours, like, pop more than they did in the first printing of the Angel Issue 1 and we changed some colouring stuff to make it work... the cover is amazing... I don't know, I hope you guys pick it up. And Everybody's Dead is coming out in a couple of weeks. We have two Angels coming out next in the same month, and I think there's some cool stuff in that, but hopefully some of the questions will be about that stuff, so I don't have to talk about it now.
Thank you, guys! If you made it this far, I really appreciate it. I hope I wasn't too boring and I'll be back in a little bit, and we'll talk more. Okay? Bye.

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Part 2

Brian Lynch: Hey everyone, it's Brian Lynch again. It is May 22nd and I was up late last night watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the something-something, so I'm a little tired, but I wanted to get a couple of questions in before I went out. I was that excited to do it yesterday, I had fun -- so I thought I'd get a couple more out, for the day. Let's just jump right into it. You want it? Okay.

First question... Sahari has asked about Spike. Basically, he or she is saying "I was wondering if you could give a little tiny hint as to what will happen to Spike in the end". Um, no. I won't do that. I hate to start the questioning or the answering on a negative, but I don't wanna give away anything. You wanna read it, right? You wanna be surprised when you read it. I think so. So I'm sorry, no. But I liked your idea that you gave, something that can happen to Spike -- that was pretty cool.

Next one is from Brandon. He says "Hey Lynch". Hey Brandon. "I expected it to be Darla. Was hoping, even. But we got Kate. Okay. I'm with it. Down with the clown and all that." -- I have no idea what Brandon is talking about at this point. -- "But is this a pop-in-and-say-hello type of roll, or is she going to pop up again later?" I don't wanna give away, you know, what happens in the book, but I think I'll make an exception here. Kate's story, in terms of After the Fall, could be told at a later date, but she's not gonna suddenly team up with them and, you know, come out of the woodwork and go like "Hey guys, I've been here the whole time. Hey Connor. How you doing?", that kind of thing, high-fiving Angel. It was basically just to let the characters know, let the readers know what happened to her as a character and so she could help Connor's story kind of kickstart. So no, she's not going to be in Angel: After the Fall. So, I apologize for that, if you were looking forward to it. But that doesn't mean to say she doesn't have great stories that could be told. Next question from Brandon, "Out of curiosity, what's your work space like?" It's cluttery. It's very cluttered right now, I'm looking at a Marduk figure from Marvel Legends... I have a pig pen, it's pretty fitting, from Peanuts... I've a Spike bust, an Angel bust... Fozzy Bear bust... Slimer from GhostBusters... laptop, speakers, comic books, baseball hat... a Hacker soundtrack is right next to my computer, 'cause not only is it the best movie ever, it's the best soundtrack. So yeah, it's pretty cluttered. That's it from Brandon, thanks man.

Enisy has asked, "Don't know if you can answer any of these..." Okay, I'm gonna try. First question, "Will we see more old characters return, aside from whoever sired Gunn?" I don't know why Enisy thinks that an old character sired Gunn, but I'm not gonna say if we're gonna see any more familiar faces, I'm sorry. Next question, "Favourite Angel: After the Fall issue?" I kind of like the first... I really like First Night... I really like Issue 5, when they all came together... I really loved 10, I just read through it for the first time and I think 10 is awesome. It's just, everything goes down in Issue 10. But you know, I mean, I like something about all of them, but I dig 3... They're all good, I'm pretty proud of the work we've done. Next question, "Favourite televised Angel episode?" I love the last episode, but I always go back to Waiting in the Wings, it's one of my favourites, 'cause everybody got something cool to do and it really advanced the story. I thought the Angel and Cordelia stuff was great. "Favourite televised Buffy episode?" Maybe Once More, With Feeling? I liked that one, was that wrong to say? I kind of like the last one, as well. I like the one that's centered on Xander, when they were still in high school, I think it was called -- was it called "The Shemp"? I like that one a lot. Next question, "Who's your favourite original character? Can be from Everybody's Dead, Spike: Asylum, Spike: Shadow Puppets, Angel: After the Fall..." I won't do anyone from Everybody's Dead, 'cause there's a bunch that I love in there, but my favourite character from any of the original series that we've done is probably... Tok, from Spike: Shadow Puppets, and I wish we could bring her back, but there's no place for her right now in the books. And I love Beck and Betta George, obviously, a lot, too. Okay, next question, "Who's your dream artist for Angel: After the Fall?" I've worked with him already. I love Runge's stuff, too. I love Franco... I don't think I'd be doing it if not for Franco, so he's just the best, but Nick Runge, who's doing a couple of issues -- he's done 9 and 10 and he did the Wesley story for First Night -- he's amazing. In terms of artists that I haven't got to work with yet, I would say that Kevin McGuire who did the old Justice League, I love him, Art Adams is always my dream -- to work with him... Was that good? I hope that was a good answer. Next question, "Is Nina going to have a significant role anytime soon?" Well, Nina's a supporting character, but yes, she definitely -- she's got some good stuff in 10. She's got some good character moments in 10 that I'm pretty proud of. But yes, she won't get, like, a solo issue. She doesn't get a First Night story either, but we definitely get a feel for why she's there and what she's doing, it goes into more detail in 10. Next question, which character Angel -- "which character Angel", hello! -- "Which Angel character do you find the easiest to write?" I don't know... Um, wow, I think, at this point I've been doing Spike enough that he's pretty easy. Lorne is probably the easiest, there's not a lot of effort on that part, which says a lot about me, I think. Angel, I like Angel... I just like how he, I don't know, I like his captions in relation to his dialogue. I like that he's pretty quiet and doesn't reveal a lot, but then the captions are gonna get into his head. So, Angel, Spike, Lorne, I think are my favourites, or easiest. Hardest was Illyria, but I think I got a feel for her. Sometimes the demon dialogue can get on my nerves, like, all the grand stuff... I like writing Illyria now, but the first issue, the very first line she has about how Angel was upsetting her pet, I went through, like, 90 rewrites, 'cause I just didn't know what her first line should be. But now I think I've got the hang of Illyria. Next question, "Did any of the audience's reactions to Angel: After the Fall really surprise you, whether positive or negative?" No, not really. I mean, this is the kind of thing where everyone's got expectations and they've had them for years, so it's gonna be hard to live up to, but I'm really glad that I feel we have, for most people... people are enjoying it. It could have gone the other way. Like, I knew we were doing a lot of stuff that people wouldn't expect, that maybe some people wouldn't want, but if we could do it in an interesting, original way, in a fun way, that we'd be forgiven, and, you know, people would go along for the long ride. And I think, for the most part, people have liked it even when we do stuff that may anger them. I gotta say, it's weird that people react strangely to Spider. People seem to really hate her, which is kind of strange. I just look at her as... I tried to make her, basically, a character that was, you didn't know at any point what she was capable of doing -- we definitely go into that more. But more than that, she was the one character in the book that has utter faith in Spike. She's, like, his number one fan. She has bent over backwards for him, and we'll see the specifics of that in Spike: After the Fall -- I didn't mean that in a sexual way, but then, see, I'm writing Spike dialogue in my head, 'cause he would have jumped in and said that. But people don't like Spider, they want her away from Spike. And the storyline is going in a direction where, you know, they're not hanging out much, they don't have a lot of panel time, 'cause we want to get Spike in with the rest of the characters that are established from the show. But it was weird to me that this girl that worships Spike and will do anything for him and everyone else is counting him out, and she is leading the cheering for him, that people aren't reacting well to her. I thought that was weird. But I do like her, and I think that After the Fall -- or Spike's version of After the Fall -- will shed some light on her and make people like her more. I don't know, hopefully. "Which medium is your favourite to write for?" I don't know... Comic books are great, screenwriting is great, movies and TV are so much fun. They all have their plus and minuses. I think that's all for Enisy. Should I stop now? I'll do one more, because I gotta go, but this one looks short.

Buffy + Angel Number Four Ever asks "Lovin' AtF" -- which, in case you guys don't know, is short for After the Fall. "Please don't kill Wes or Connor." Well, Wes is already dead. "I know you won't answer about whether or not Buffy will show up" -- no, I will, Buffy will not show up, I've said. I've never mixed words about that. Buffy is not gonna show up. "Are there any publication rights or other legal issues preventing her or other characters appearing in the Season 8 comics from appearing?" No, I think other than, we would have to get permission from Sarah Michelle Gellar for likeness rights. I think she's one of the only actresses, or maybe one of the only actors on the show that has that. We have to get permission from her, and that would be hard to do, in terms of ... her approving a penciller to do it. Other than that, I think there's really nothing preventing it, but the story itself is kind of preventing it. Not to say it won't happen in the future, but I'm telling you right now that Buffy will not pop up and save the day in this. I think that's it. And then they end with "Buffy and Angel forever" -- listen, I love Buffy and Angel, too, and I can't wait to see them back in a situation, I just don't think it's gonna be After the Fall. And it shouldn't be, 'cause the specific story is not about that, I don't think. Could be wrong. I hope you guys aren't waiting and buying each issue hoping that Buffy shows up, I don't wanna disappoint you guys.

Okay, that's it for now. Thank you, Buffy + Angel Forever, and everyone else that's sending questions that I answered. Coming up next is Pat Shands, who always has a bunch of good stuff to say. You should go to his reviews, type his name in Blogspot. Or just type in "Buffy reviews" on Google, and there it is. That's it, look, I gave a little plug for Pat. That's it, guys, thank you so much. Remember the Angel: After the Fall Issue 1 Director's Cut with the script and notes and a new cover just came out yesterday, so check that out. And I hope you enjoy it, and that's it for now. I'm Brian Lynch, looking for the button that stops recording. Thanks for listening, guys.

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Part 3

Brian Lynch: Hey everyone, this is Brian Lynch. It is May 29th 2008 and I'm here to answer more questions you guys posed to me way back... ways back... a while back? Listen, I'm here to answer questions you guys posted on my blog. I don't know, I tried the whole "ways back" thing and maybe it sounds stupid. I'm starting the podcast off on a terrible note, 20 seconds in and you guys think I'm an idiot. I totally apologize for that. Let's move on, though.

A bit of good news: Every month Diamond puts out a list of books that are the top 10 reorders, which is when stores don't buy enough of the comics that come out every week, then they can reorder them because they sold out or they don't have enough to meet demand. It's usually all Marvel and DC. #10 this month was Serenity, which is pretty awesome, and #9 this month was Everybody's Dead, which is amazing to me, because the book is... you know, it's kind of a small book, and orders originally weren't that big, but the reorders for every issue are really impressive, which means that while stores didn't really know about the book or have much faith in the book, the readers definitely knew about the book and are continuing to buy it. And I thank you guys so much for that, that means a lot, because, you know, that was a lot of work and I'm real proud of the series and it's cool to see that word is spreading, so thank you very very much, guys.

Let's start with the questions. I think we're starting with Pat today. He thanks me for doing it and "it's awesome". I thank you for listening, especially after that whole "ways back" deal that I started off this podcast with. That was just embarrassing. First question from Pat, "What is your writing process like? Do you have elaborate plans of how each issue will be written?" Yeah, definitely. Everybody's Dead, After the Fall, you have to write an outline and then you can have fun, you know, filling in the blanks and writing the story, the script and the dialogue, but you have to start with an outline so you know where it's going. Yeah. Especially with After the Fall, because I plotted it with Joss early on and I know that he knew he was gonna have a huge workload coming up, so we did all the heavy-lifting early and we basically knew where we were going so now I can just go crazy with the plans we made. #2 from Pat, "Ryall spoke about two super-secret Brian Lynch projects, one of them being a newly acquired lisence for IDW. One of those projects was revealed to be Spike: After the Fall. What is the other?" I can't say yet, 'cause it's not announced, but also, I don't think I'm writing it. It was either that or Angel, and I had to keep going on Angel, I didn't wanna, you know, cowrite it with somebody else for the rest of the series or hand it over, I wanna see it through. And, you know, the story got bigger, and longer, and I wasn't about to abandon it, so I actually gave up the other project, as much as that hurt. Also, you know, screenwriting is my day job, so I couldn't take on too many comics, you really only have time for one -- for now that's Spike that took over the second one, and Angel is kind of the main one, so time is already kinda... something I don't have, so I had to drop the other one so I could keep doing Angel. Kinda sad, but also great, because I get to see Angel through and I get to tell this huge epic story. So it's a sacrifice, but it's totally worth it, I think. #3, Pat wants to know if Nick Runge's version of Betta George will be closer to Urru's or the painted cover from, I believe, Issue 6. It's definitely inspired by Franco more than anything. It looks kinda like it's taken right from Franco's, or... not traced, but definitely that style, definitely used Franco as his inspiration when he drew Betta George. #4 from Pat, "What cover has been your favourite from the SlayAlive/Stephen Mooney competition?" I really like the one with Gunn and Gwen. I think... I just really... I don't know, visually it's very cool to see them together again, and you see how evil he looks and over her shoulder and it's just really foreboding. Also, I really like the Wesley-standing-over-his-own-corpse cover. I like anything Stephen does, though. I'm a huge fan of his, I like his comic [?] stuff and really like his Mummy series that's out now, you guys should check it out. That answers that question... Let's go to #5. How excited am I that the trade paperback will actually be a hardcover? Yeah, I'm very excited about that, I think that's really cool. Although I like trade paperbacks in the same way, 'cause you can, you know, not worry about denting them or ripping the cover or anything... breaking the spine... But I'm really, I'm excited that's a hardcover, it's gonna look cool. And Pat also wants to know if it's gonna have script and commentary. It has something original that I've written for it, that starts off the book, an intro that I think you guys will really dig. But it doesn't have page-specific commentary, and the reason why... two things really: it's time, because when I wrote the ones for Spike: Asylum and Spike: Shadow Puppets, the series was done, so I could look back and talk about it, whereas I can't really write commentary while I'm in the middle of it. And also, Asylum and Shadow Puppets, originally those were done, so we could point out the little in-jokes and easter eggs, and with After the Fall, it's a direct continuation to the series, so pretty much the whole thing is, you know, a reference to the show. So it would have been weird to write. I think, you know, maybe down the line. Maybe First Night I'll try if I have time to do it, but now the hardcover doesn't have that, but I think it has the script to the first issue, and it has notes that are for the first issue, and it has something original that I've written, I think two pages, and it's really... I don't know, it's sweet, I think you guys will like it. It's not sweet like "Aw, that's adorable", it's sweet like "Cool", like the hip kids say. Okay, thanks, Pat.

Now Chris has some questions... How do I feel about the strike being over, and how do I feel about the deal the writers have gotten? I think it is wonderful and I'm just so happy to be writing again. I'm happy with the deal, and I'm so happy we don't have to picket, 'cause that was really boring. And also, I was engaged at the time to a movie executive, so it was kinda like West Side Story, where we were on opposite sides of the picket lines. Not that West Side Story had picket lines. Although I think the movie would have been better, and the play, if picketing was involved, instead of gangs. But now she's my wife, and now we get along, 'cause we're not picketing in our bedroom every night. Next question from Chris, "In the White Room back in Issue 5, is that the Senior Partners speaking to Wesley and speaking to the fake Fred in Issue 7?" If it is not the Senior Partners, it is definitely a middleman for the Senior Partners, somebody getting the word out for them. Or it is them. We'll see more about them, I believe, in Issue... a lot coming up, actually, but Issue 12, we'll hear more from them. #3, "The Fred/Illyria plot. Is this another element from Joss's plans for Season 6?" Yeah, that's some of the stuff that Joss laid out immediately upon talking to him. Chris also loved the return of Kate. How did I come up with the idea of bringing her back? How did Joss react? I don't remember Joss's specific reaction, even if he had one to that, I just knew we needed a character that could directly influence Connor, but was actually allowing Angel to indirectly influence him. So I thought Kate was the best character for that, because she was definitely helped by knowing Angel. So we needed somebody that fit that criteria, and she carried out the plans. I don't know who else could have done it. I mean, Angel's helped a lot of people, but... I don't know, it just fit. And it also opened the door for more Kate stories, which I think would be fun to write, and fun to read. And I hope you guys agree, I think you guys should demand it. Did you demand it? It went well, right? It was received very well. Cool. #5, "The Slayers, are they there as a nod to the larger Buffyverse?" In a way, I mean, the whole series is a nod to the Buffyverse. But yeah, definitely. There's a payoff to that, too, I think you guys will think it dark and cool, it's coming up pretty soon. #5 again... Chris has two #5's. I think I'm supposed to pick my favourite. I'm gonna do both, 'cause I'm not that kind of guy. Chris says, "Who would you say is the most tragic character in After the Fall from these three, as it stands right now: Wes, Fred/Illyria, or Gunn?" I'd have to say Gunn, but that changes from day to day. I think maybe 'cause I wrote Gunn all day yesterday, but yeah, I think Gunn... I mean, they're all tragic, I don't know if there's a character in the book that's not really tragic. I guess Betta George -- now, he's captive. The dragon seems happy. Let's go with him. He's not tragic. I guess I'm gonna go with Gunn. Yes. Okay, #6. "What are your thoughts on the latest developments in Buffy: Season 8? Do you have your own guesses as to who Twilight is?" I do. "What are your thoughts on the upcoming Buffy/Fray crossover arc?" I love Fray, so I'm excited that that world is coming back. "What was your reaction of the Buffy/Fray crossover news breaking on the heels of the future flashes with Spike and Angel?" I thought that was pretty cool, but at the same time, it led to a lot of e-mails and posts asking if it was an indirect... either shoutout or foreshadowing of what happens in these books, in the Buffy books. And it's not that. But it was cool, I thought it was neat that we had a synchronicity almost by accident at that point. "Have any thoughts on Buffy/Satsu and what Joss has said about them?" I just wanna see where it goes. I think it's been handled really well so far. It was funny how it blew up in the media. I don't know why, really... I guess it was a slow news week. But it was a very well-done story, and it was, it's just funny that the media gets all in a titter if two girls hook up. I think that's funny. Not that I don't get in a titter if girls hook up in front of me, but... it was very strange that New York Times was getting excited about it. Maybe New York Times is, like, run by frat dudes now, I don't know. Next question, "Any thoughts on the various reactions in fandom over it?" Uh, yeah, I mean, fans... I've learned that fans have reactions both ways to everything you do, so yeah, of course people are gonna love it and people are gonna get up in arms about it. But, you know, it means people care, so that's also -- you could put out a book and nobody would respond, which is frustrating. Not that that's happened to me, 'cause God knows, I've had books that have sold tens of hundreds of copies. All right, next question, "What do you think of the latest events in Issue 14 and the death that looks to have happened at the end of the issue?" I thought it was heartbreaking, and surprising, and, like, everything that I like Joss's writing to be -- not that he wrote that arc, but Joss's worlds... that's when you know you're reading a Buffy book, when you feel that way. And then you'll laugh, I'm sure the next couple of pages, in the next issue, it will be awesome and hilarious and crowd-pleasing and then go dark again and make you wanna cry and crawl in a fetal position. That's the wonder that is Joss. Next question, "Who would win in a fight, Angel's dragon or Dawnzilla?" I think Angel's dragon would definitely win. Right? I think so. I think Angel's dragon is a huge fan of EuroTrip, though, and would probably cut Dawn some slack for that. #8, "What would your question be to the PaleyFest Buffy panel if you were an audience member?" Probably something for Charisma Carpenter, and, like... why she thinks it's cool to insist on that restraining order? It's like, get over it. Like... okay, sure, I showed up on your doorstep. When kids showed up on doorstep on Halloween in funny costumes when I was younger, I didn't call the police. Sure, it wasn't Halloween, and I wasn't really necessarily wearing a costume, and it wasn't your doorstep so much as your bushes, but I don't understand why I have to get in a bad shape [?] for that. Charisma, just lighten up, is my point.

I'm gonna do one more question, 'cause I'm not ending on a Brian-is-a-stalker note. Let's go with Sophie, we'll end with this one. Sophie loved the Kate story, it was great to see her again. "What inspired you to choose her as a character to bring back and feature in First Night?" Basically, what I said before is that we needed a character that Angel had influenced and was a positive kind of influence on their life so they could pass that on to Connor, and Kate seemed to fit the bill the best. Next question from Sophie, "There have been so many fantastic covers for the Angel and upcoming Spike books." Aren't there? I know, it's cool. "What are the elements that go into coming up with cover ideas?" It's basically, I write down, like, five or six for every issue, and then either Franco will pick one or the artist that's doing it that's not Franco will pick one, or they'll go off on their own, or they'll be inspired by something I've written in the description of what the issue's about. Franco and I have a good shorthand right now where... I think the first two Spike covers, the first one was definitely just me and Franco saying "We need a triumphant Spike", like on the ledge-overlooking-Hell picture. The second one was me, definitely, to deploy Spike into that first Angel: After the Fall cover. But the third one was all Franco. He knew where the series was going and he knew where it was headed and wanted to do that as a cover, and it's just beautiful. But basically, it's always a collaboration between myself, the artist and Chris Ryall. So that's the answer to that. Is that a good answer? Kinda rambly. Next question from Sophie, "Also really enjoying Everybody's Dead." Thank you so much, Sophie. "Do you have a favourite character to write?" That book is chock-full of my favourite characters to write. There's not a page where I want to just get through it and get to the next person, 'cause I love writing all those guys. Westerberg and Mosby are the ones that I think are most directly inspired by me, but Jack Campbell's kind of the character we all wanna be, kind of the Bruce Campbell -- Ash from Army of Darkness and Evil Dead -- kind of character. And there's Aurora, who's like the guest girl surrounded by all the meat-head frat dudes. They're so much fun to write. All the characters are fun to write in the book. And Sophie asks, "If you could have someone from Everybody's Dead cross over in a one-shot or something with one character from Angel, who would you pick?" I don't think it will ever happen, 'cause Angel is this huge monster of a franchise, and Everybody's Dead is more like an independent kind of comic almost, in that it's got a little fanbase that's very dedicated. But I have it planned out in my head, I would love to do that book. I think Jack Campbell versus Angel would rock, and I think Angel would hoist [?] Jack within seconds. I think Spike giving Westerberg tips on women would be awesome, and Aurora being really into Spike would be so much fun to write. I think I would love to write that, I think Everybody's Angel would be a lot of fun to write. Last question from Sophie, "When is Everybody's Dead #3 coming out?" Oh, Sophie, that is out right now, and hopefully you've picked it up and are enjoying it. I'm not gonna end with that one. I'm gonna keep going. What do you think of that? Let's go.

Not This Girl, Not This Day asks, "Hi Brian". Not a question, sorry guys. "I just want to say, first of all, I am totally in love with your writing right now." Thank you so much, Not This Girl, Not This Day. I'm totally in love with your name. I think it's a beautiful, very long name, and I might name my firstborn Not This Girl, Not This Day Lynch... Esquire. "I absolutely love Everybody's Dead and that is the only non-Buffyverse comic I am reading right now." Thank you so much. "The only other non-Buffyverse stuff I was reading was Runaways, but it's non-existent right now..." Yeah, those schedules are kind of wacky. "Your voices for everyone in After the Fall feel so spot-on and just comfy..." How do I do that, basically, they're asking. I'm just a huge fan of the show, and watched every episode before I got the gig, watched every episode after I got the gig, so I just wanna do a good job and make sure that if you watch it enough and you love the characters enough, you can kind of pop them in the situation and know how they'd react. It's definitely getting to a point now where I've written the guys enough that I don't have to watch the show while I'm writing. But I still put it in, because I love watching it and I love it to inspire and seep into my writing. Even when I'm not writing Angel, I have Angel on sometimes. I think that answers the next question about "Do you watch the shows religiously?" Yeah. I used to, I don't really watch it so much anymore, and that's actually interesting. I would say I watch it maybe, like, every two weeks -- I put it in all day while I write. I definitely put it in while I was writing The Sims, but I used to watch it, actually, more, and now that it's so... a part of my day in terms of writing stuff, I don't watch as much as I should. That's gonna be interesting, when the series is over, to become a fan of it again. Which is kind of cool, to just watch it for entertainment, as opposed to watching it for research. I look forward to that. Next question from Not This Girl, Not This Day, or, as I call them, NTGNTD, "How much involvement does Joss have with Spike: After the Fall?" Well, it's basically just carrying out the storyline that we've set up very generally in the first couple of issues, so he had a say in the world that was created and the situations Spike's in, and I'm kind of filling in the blanks. Much like we do with Angel: After the Fall, but I definitely have more of a say in Spike: After the Fall, as long as we hit the notes that we have to get Spike to a certain point so he is what he was in Angel: After the Fall #2, if that makes sense. And then they ask "This is canon continuity, correct?" I think it is. I have to admit to... I don't care about canon. I know that sounds so weird. I put as much work into Asylum and Shadow Puppets, which, back in the day, were not canon. I don't care if they are right now -- I think people are guessing that they are -- I just want to make a good story. I never cared about canon. For me, there are more interesting non-canon Star Wars comics and novels than the first three prequels -- and the novels aren't canon, the prequels are. So it's like, as long as there's a good story, I don't care. I know a lot of people do. I never did. I never was like that. I know that's a weird opinion to have on getting to write a canon book, but I just want them to be good. I just want people to be entertained and love them. Wow, it's got a lot of questions, this is gonna be long. "Do you feel like a kid in a candy store getting to write a whole canon Spike series?" I just love writing Spike on his own anyway, so yeah, it's fun. "About Everybody's Dead, are any of those awesome, hilarious characters based on people in your life, or do they all just come from your mind?" They definitely are an amalgam of a ton of different people in my life, from college, from high school. Now, currently... definitely Aurora has been inspired by my current wife more than she was when I wrote her. Aurora's a bit of a different character before I met my wife, and now she's kinda, like, more take-charge and more in control, which is what my wife kind of is. I don't think she listens to these, but I think she'd be happy to know that I think she's take-charge and in control. You guys should meet her. She's pretty much a ball-buster. And if a zombie attack broke out, I would wanna be behind her. And if there's only one shotgun, I'd like her to hold it, because she'd probably be better than I would. That was a tangent that I went off on. Shall I just keep going? All right, I'm gonna keep going. Look at this.

Enisy asks "Which relationship's dynamic is the most interesting/fun to write so far?" Hold on, I've got an IM, I'm just gonna minimize it so it stops popping up. Wow, I don't know, I mean, there's so many that I like. I'm a big fan of Angel and Connor, I'm a big fan of Angel and Spike, I'm a really big fan of Wesley and Illyria, I'm a big fan of Spike and Illyria. I don't know... I guess I just wrote a lot of Angel and Gunn, so they're in my head right now, but I have to go with, Angel and Connor was the most surprising to write, but I've really liked writing the exchanges between Wesley and Angel. Next question, "Which relationship's dynamic..." That's the first question. Wow, I am babbling. "Have we seen the best, in your opinion, After the Fall plot twist, or is it still pending?" I don't know. I think there's a bunch, I mean, there's definitely some surprises coming up, but I didn't rank them. I think maybe Angel being human is a tough one to beat, but I think the best story twists are coming up. "Who are your favourite characters in the Buffyverse?" That's tough, favourite characters in the Buffyverse... Always been Angel... always been Spike... definitely Xander... Wesley. I think that's it. And to write, Lorne and Groosalugg are really surprisingly so much fun to write. So I'd have to go, top: Angel, Spike, Wesley, Xander. "What's your opinion about fanfiction?" I love it. I wrote it when I was younger -- not Buffy stuff. I wrote tons of stuff, like Star Wars, Muppets... One of my first stories I wrote was Kermit and Mickey Mouse team up to fight Darth Vader. I think that's the best kind of stuff that comes from the heart, you're doing it 'cause you love it. I sold a Muppet script that I wrote for fun. It was technically fanfiction, it fell into Henson's hands, and it started my screenwriting career, so yeah, I love fanfiction. There needs to be more of it. I love it. I love the people who do it. It's great. "Do you write in a linear fashion, or do you write whichever scene..." I definitely write in a linear fashion. I've never written just random scenes and then tried to connect them. Definitely, scripts for movies, TV, comics, I always write linear. "Are Gunn and Gwen going to meet up at some point?" I think that may happen. "What can you tell us about the Angel: After the Fall ending?" I'm not gonna tell you anything about it. Just that I'm dying to write that issue. Actually, you just talked about writing out of order, and I think I can write that final issue. I kind of want to just to get to it, 'cause it's gonna be beautiful. I'm so excited to get to it. But the journey there is also fun and very dark and... it's really, I don't know, I'm just excited. Every issue now there's something big. There's a ton of stuff in each issue that is huge that I get to finally write and, I don't know, it's kind of thrilling. Thanks, Enisy. I'm just gonna keep going. This is awesome.

Captain Crankypants -- uh oh. I hope this guy's not all sourpussy. "Did Spike ever pay back the Loan Shark the kittens he owed him from Season 6 of Buffy?" I would think he did, 'cause the Loan Shark talked to Spike in Issue 4 and they seemed okay with each other. "Are the Loan Shark's fishy minions the Sunnydale swim team?" If they are, that is awesome, and that is Franco, it wasn't in the script. But that's awesome, and if they're not, we should have done that. "Is the Lord that looks kinda like a Tusken Raider the shaman that Giles is friends with from Buffy?" No, it's not. Again, unless Franco has written that it is. I wanna do a Lord book so much, like a guidebook of all the creatures that we came up with for After the Fall. That'd be fun. But somebody else should write it, because man, that's a lot. "In Season 3 of Buffy we learn that vampires are immune to telepathy, yet George seems to get past this. How so?" George is super-powerful, my friend. They actually have said that. I believe Lorne has said "You're a vampire, you shouldn't be allowed to --" I mean, George has said "I shouldn't be allowed to do this, but that's how good I am." And that's also one of the reasons why Gunn wants him, 'cause of the potential that George has. George can do that, George can do more. There's a little hint as to what's going on. "What was going through Angel's head when he challenged the demon Lords to a battle? Did he actually have a plan or was he committing suicide?" I think Angel was so fueled by the events in the last three issues that he had had enough, and he was basically slapping them with his white glove. He was saying, "This is where I take control back". And he didn't know at that moment how to work it out, but he probably knew that he could get out of it, or he hoped. Was he suicidal? Was there a piece of him that was like "Oh, if I die, I die"? Yeah, there's definitely a part of him that just wanted a resolution. And no, he didn't wanna die, 'cause that would mean that people were in danger and he couldn't save them. But at the same time, he's willing to risk his life for them, so that's what was... he'd had enough, he had to take extreme measures and decided to it. That's how he went about it. Wesley was surprised -- I was surprised, and I knew it was coming. Next question, "I have trouble believing that Angel actually thought that he could take on a T-Rex and a She-Skip, even with a fancy sword." Yeah, but he did pretty well, you have to admit. He was actually doing okay for a panel. "I really liked Wiseu from Asylum, he was an awesome villain. How old is he compared to Spike?" I don't know. Let's say he is much older. He's dead now, which is kind of sad. He's not coming back. Thank you, though, for liking Wiseu, that was cool. "What's the process involved when you want to use a Buffy character like the Loan Shark or Slayers? Do you have to ask permission from Dark Horse?" Hold on, I'm gonna take a drink. No, I don't have to ask Dark Horse. Loan Shark I'm pretty sure was never going to pop up in a Buffy book, and Slayers are kind of... I mean, basically, it's like, if you're doing a book in the Buffyverse, chances are there are going to be references to Slayers, so I think we're good. "What's the deal with Future Spike holding the Scythe? Will it be significant? Is it the Scythe?" No, it's actually not. If you look, it's black. And a lot of thought went into that one panel, but my whole thing was that Spike has fashioned himself his own version of it, like a homemade one, 'cause he liked it. That's where that went. Maybe we should have put, like, tape on it, that would have been kind of cool. "Are werewolves, dragons, splendin-beasts different types of demon, or are they separate creatures entirely?" They're separate creatures. "Is Wesley's corpse out there somewhere?" Yes, Wesley's corpse is definitely out there somewhere. I believe we'll be seeing it. I just gave some spoilers. "Can you post a photo of your sideburns on your next blog entry?" All right, I will. I mean, not the one that's with this, but I will. You can see them at myspace.com/brian. It's fairly awesome, there's tons of sideburn pictures. Thank you so much for wanting to see my sideburns, and they thank you. The left one thanks you, the right one's a real jerk. "So vampires in Hell-A constantly feel like they're about to burst into flames? And they feel euphoric at the same time? Does the euphoria come from the full moon?" Basically, it comes from the fact that it's night and day. Night has one effect on vampires, day has the other. So they're kind of a little ornery, they're always on edge. Right? Right. "Do vampires go to the bathroom?" I don't know. I actually never asked Joss if they go to the bathroom. Let's assume they do. Right? They have to, or they can't fill up on stuff and then never let go of it. "Will this issue be explored in depth in After the Fall? It's something I've often wondered." (laughs) It is not going to be explored in depth. I learned my lesson from the shaving scene. So no, there's not going to be an Angel bathroom scene. I'm keeping Angel out of the bathroom. Sorry. "The demonic residents of Hell-A such as Burge and the giant spiders, were they previously living in LA, or were they previously living in the strange Hell dimension?" I think that Burge was probably in LA and he was a low-rung demon. Saw his opportunity and took it. And the spiders, who knows, they're probably, like, little creatures that were, you know, kind of amped by LA going to Hell. That was a good group of questions. Shall I keep going? I'll keep going. Remember how I said I was gonna end this about two years ago?

"What's the deal with Connor getting his memories back? Didn't he already have them?" No, he didn't. He didn't have them since birth, because nobody really has them since birth. Actually, Connor had them before birth, he had womb memories. So no, he has full-on everything that's ever happened to him he remembers, so he remembers the hell dimension that he was with Holtz, he remembers being in the womb, he remembers Cordelia holding him as a baby. Yeah. So, that's what happened there.

"Wesley is doomed to never be happy, is he?" I think that's true for everybody, isn't it? But they keep fighting and they keep hoping they get there, and that's what makes them awesome. I think they deserve little pockets of happiness every now and then. I think I'm more of an optimist than Joss in that way. Well, he's an optimist, he's a romantic, but I don't mind happy endings. If you take people through terrible situations, you should have happy endings. That said, sometimes happy endings are starting in the cards [?]. Right? Right. Okay.

Then Enisy answered a question... Let's go to Flashdisk. "What was the plan of the Senior Partners in the apocalypse?" I think that's all coming. Maybe that's more of a TV show thing, huh? I kind of know where I'm going with what the Senior Partners want. I'm not going to go into detail on that, 'cause I don't wanna give anything away, and I don't wanna tell what the Senior Partners' plan is in general, 'cause I could surrender that. Okay. "In your opinion, was Angel's actions correct, taking into account that LA ended up falling into Hell?" I don't know how Angel could have predicted that this could have happened. But you know, yeah, he'll never think that he was in the right for doing it. But yeah, I don't think he was in the wrong. "What's so important about Earth that beings such as the Senior Partners want to have it?" I guess we'll get into that later. I mean, that'd be awesome if I just revealed that in the blog. Actually, I don't... That's a really good question, but I can't answer it. "Is it really the Earth they want or the people in it?" See, you're asking the right questions, my friend. "It seems that the Senior Partners have had a large influence on the Earth for quite a while. What changes did they bring about the human civilization?" You're asking me to come up with, like, a brief history of Wolfram & Hart's effect on Earth since the beginning of time. Which is an awesome idea for a novel, but not for coming up with stuff off the top of my head while answering questions in my blog. That's a good... "Brief History of Time"... whatever the name was was beautiful and Flashdisk and I are gonna write it, hand-in-hand. "Have the Powers That Be fought back against the Senior Partners?" Yeah, I believe they have, and they will continue to, as long as they can. "How did the Senior Partners become so powerful?" You want to know everything about the Senior Partners. We should have a prequel book all about them. See, I believe the Senior Partners used to be a little slave boy on a planet called Tatooine, and the Senior Partners earned their freedom by podracing. And then they fell in love and their mom was killed by Sand People -- no, vampires. And then they turned evil and they fell in love and they became cyborgs. I just gave you gold. If anyone wants to steal that, it'd make awesome fanfiction. "Can Wesley gain the same ability that Spike and Pavayne did when they were incorporeal?" No. Wolfram & Hart pretty much neutered Wesley. "It seems Gunn is making a team of super fans..." (laughs) "...super vamps, making them fight Slayers as training or to weed out the weak. Why does he need such a strong team?" Because Good also has a strong team, and if he's gonna throw down, he wants the best people backing him up. "Are they really that strong that they can go toe to toe with Slayers?" You'll see. You'll see what happens. "Are we going to see how powerful this team Gunn really is?" Yeah, and we're about to see how powerful Gunn really is. "Will Gunn be dust by the end of the series?" I'm not revealing what happens to characters in my blog, that's weird. "PS: Could you have Angel keep the flaming sword? It looks good." Right, it does look really good. I love the flaming sword. We should bring it back. It's actually Groosalugg's, though. Groosalugg gave it to him. Flaming sword's cool, though, wasn't it? It would be a good little accessory, if there's an Angel: After the Fall action figure in line. Which, God, that would be cool.

All right, I think I'm gonna end there. Action figures... you can't top that. But I wanna thank you guys very very much and if you made it to this point -- let's see how long this one is... This one is half an hour, like, 34 minutes. So thank you. I'll take more questions later. I think we have a bunch more still to go. But thanks for caring, you guys, and thanks for listening, and if any of you transcribe this, dear God, you're a saint with a lot of time. Wow. 'Cause I've babbled. That's 34 minutes of babble. So I'm gonna keep dragging it out, 'cause someone has to type this part if they're transcribing. I should use really big words, but I'm all out of big words. I'm so tired from answering questions. I'm not even gonna write today, look what you guys did to me. Ah, we're coming up at 34 even, 34 even! I'm gonna stop it right about now... Bye, guys, thanks.