Post by /\/\att on Oct 5, 2004 1:31:17 GMT -5
[shadow=green,left,300]JEFF MATSUDA CHAT TRANSCRIPT[/shadow]
Oh, yeah. Here it is! The transcript from Legions of Gotham's exclusive live chat with Jeff Matsuda!
This is an edited and abbreviated version of our chat session. Some things you just have to be in the chat to enjoy! We all had a great time!
A huge thanks to Jeff for taking time out to hang out with us after The cat and the Bat!
Where does the industry go when they want to communicate with bat-fans? LoG!
Read on and enjoy
<Matt>How long have you been a Batman fan?
<Jeff> since i was a little kid,
<Jeff> i've always loved his design.
<Jeff> I was a fan of the adam west show as well
<Matt>Do you have a favorite Batman Villian?
<Jeff> I love the Joker, but I'm starting to really enjoy Bane
<Jeff> and Penguin, hm, that really doesnt answer the question tho...
<Jeff> i'll go with Joker
<Matt>How did you get involved in creating The Batman?
Jeff> Sam register from cartoon network called me for lunch, we talked....
<Jeff> he mentioned the possibilty of a batman show , but told me not to get my hopes up, it probably won't happen
<Jeff> next thing I know we're in design meetings and here we are
<Jeff> I went home that day drawing a million sketches of Bats hopin for the best
<Jeff> I cant believe the shows finally on the air!
<Matt>How long ago were you first approached? When was that lunch?
<Jeff> i'd say about a year
<Matt>Sam approach you simply based on your art style, or did he know you were a fan as well?
<Jeff> Well, we had done projects before previously, so when the time came, he said lets do it!
<Jeff> He also saw my design work on the spider man series for mtv , which is on my website
<Matt> Whats your wish for the show, best case scenario. What do you hope it adds to the franchise?
<Jeff> they weren't used tho, but they really helped out for getting this job!
<Jeff> Basically , a new take
<Jeff> a reverant new take on the character we all know and love
<Jeff> not the same purple suit joker, mexican wrestler bane ...
<Jeff> we just wanted to give the fans something new to enjoy and different ways to think of these villains
<Matt> Where did you gain inspiration for the re-visionings of the villians?
<Jeff> sam,mike goguen, duane capizzi, we've all thrown our ideas into the mix to expand the
batman universe
<Jeff> I boil them down to theire essence...
<Jeff> then build them back up to with different design motifs
<Jeff> but I really feel the core of the characters are still sound.
<Jeff> like with bane,
<Jeff> hes a guy that uses his juice to power up during a fight,
<Jeff> but I felt there would be a more interesting way to SHOW the change , not just a couple of veins and actin more angry, I wanted a ..
<Jeff> visual manifestation of his change, while I still like the other Bane, I like ours as well,
<Jeff> If your wondering why he's red, it's cause I couldnt make him green.'
<Jeff> j/k (just kidding)
<Jeff> but he is the hulk of our universe
<Matt>There has been quite a comparison to Hulk with your design, but you're right, the essence of the character is very similar to that of Hulk anyhow
<Jeff> not crazy strong, then he goes into Superman category
<IceDrake523> i always viewed the red as blood rushing through his capillaries
<IceDrake523> b/c of the venom
<Jeff> it could be interpreted in many ways...
<Jeff> seriously tho,hes red cause it symbolizes aggresion and anger
<Matt>Bane finally has the respect he deserves as a character. I can only hope it translates into the comics as such
<Jeff> i would love it if he could go that direction in the comics as well
<Matt>A lot of fans are wondering if we'll see certain characters. such as Jim Gordon, Poison Ivy...and maybe Hush? Azrael, Huntress....
<Jeff> jim gordon...........soon
<Jeff> poison, we'll see.
<Jeff> hush, i loved the series, and Jeph loeb is a close buddy so we'll see!
<Jeff> azrael, not sure mebbe, huntress, again not sure
<Matt>any chance of Babs Gordon coming along with Jim Gordon
<Jeff> mebbe babs
<TheJoker> did englund record the voices for riddler yet?
<Jeff> yes englund has, he is awesome, perfect Riddler
<Matt>Last we heard Riddler was scheduled for season 2. Has that changed at all?
<Jeff> nope
<Jeff> everyone loves the riddler, not as much as my friend Derrick Wyatt tho.
<Sands> Hey Jeff can you tell us anything about the Riddler's design?
<Jeff> i'ts ....different
<Jeff> may i say somthin Matt?
<Matt> Certainly, please do..
<Jeff> I just wanted to comment on the rest of the crew on the show...
<Jeff> I'm here for the chat, but the designs are a product of everyones input, Duane Capizzi is the Story editor on the show and has done a great job with the writing,
<Jeff> Mike Goguen is Supervising Producer(along with Duane) and has kept the ship going forward , he's also done a great job,
<Jeff> Sam Register has helped me quite a bit with design ideas, I enjoy workin with him, cause he's very visual and helps me push the characters to new places
<Matt>Thank you for making mention of this. One person alone can't make a show. It takes a great team of creative minds, that often don't get credit for their hard work.
<Jeff> Mike Goguen was also on the original Batman series, we are all huge Bats fans
<Jeff> Definately.
<Matt>We would love to be able to spotlight more members of the creative team in time
<Jeff> I'm sure they would love too
<Jeff> Glen Murakami also is tremendously helpful on the series, he is an awesome designer and I'm happy to work with him!
<Matt>Murakami is amazing.
<Jeff> I agree
<Matt>Jeff, I have to say that it means a lot to us fans that you care about what we think. So often the opinions of the fanbase are overlooked and we realize we're not the bulk of the audience, so your attending this chat and caring so much about the fans is amazing
<Jeff> Ieveryone on the show is so grateful to you guys for supporting the show !
<Jeff> The fans mean everything, including computer lovin' videogame playing,forum loving geeks like myself, and most of my friends
<Matt>ok...now for the fans having a fit, can you describe the Riddler design at all for them?
<Jeff> well, hes a bit more.........
<Jeff> uuuuuuummmmmmm.....
<Jeff> sinister,
<Jeff> and he has two new motifs that are unexpected
<Matt>I know there was an original design for Riddler that got scrapped
<Jeff> sure did
<Matt>We saw it in a protoype toy from hot wheels, and LoG has a pic of him that we'll be releasing soon
<Jeff> cant wait
<Matt>There was a distinct difference in design...was the character going to be different?different personality at all?
<Jeff> not really,we didn't want to deviate too far from what people love about the character
<Matt>Alright, let go ahead and let you guys ask Jeff some questions
<TheJoker> have you purchased any of the batman figures yet? If so how do u feel about the way mattel handled it?
<Jeff> I have purchased some of them,
<Jeff> I feel Mattel has done the most incredible job on the toys..
<Jeff> they have faithfully translated my drawings into 3d!
<Jeff> I'm so excited everytime I see a new sculpt!
<Jeff> I hope you guys feel the same, when you all see freez it will be OVER.
<Jeff> AWESOME
<Jeff> Mattel and the Four horsemen knock it out of the park everytime
<Matt> The 4H are amazing!
Oh, yeah. Here it is! The transcript from Legions of Gotham's exclusive live chat with Jeff Matsuda!
This is an edited and abbreviated version of our chat session. Some things you just have to be in the chat to enjoy! We all had a great time!
A huge thanks to Jeff for taking time out to hang out with us after The cat and the Bat!
Where does the industry go when they want to communicate with bat-fans? LoG!
Read on and enjoy
<Matt>How long have you been a Batman fan?
<Jeff> since i was a little kid,
<Jeff> i've always loved his design.
<Jeff> I was a fan of the adam west show as well
<Matt>Do you have a favorite Batman Villian?
<Jeff> I love the Joker, but I'm starting to really enjoy Bane
<Jeff> and Penguin, hm, that really doesnt answer the question tho...
<Jeff> i'll go with Joker
<Matt>How did you get involved in creating The Batman?
Jeff> Sam register from cartoon network called me for lunch, we talked....
<Jeff> he mentioned the possibilty of a batman show , but told me not to get my hopes up, it probably won't happen
<Jeff> next thing I know we're in design meetings and here we are
<Jeff> I went home that day drawing a million sketches of Bats hopin for the best
<Jeff> I cant believe the shows finally on the air!
<Matt>How long ago were you first approached? When was that lunch?
<Jeff> i'd say about a year
<Matt>Sam approach you simply based on your art style, or did he know you were a fan as well?
<Jeff> Well, we had done projects before previously, so when the time came, he said lets do it!
<Jeff> He also saw my design work on the spider man series for mtv , which is on my website
<Matt> Whats your wish for the show, best case scenario. What do you hope it adds to the franchise?
<Jeff> they weren't used tho, but they really helped out for getting this job!
<Jeff> Basically , a new take
<Jeff> a reverant new take on the character we all know and love
<Jeff> not the same purple suit joker, mexican wrestler bane ...
<Jeff> we just wanted to give the fans something new to enjoy and different ways to think of these villains
<Matt> Where did you gain inspiration for the re-visionings of the villians?
<Jeff> sam,mike goguen, duane capizzi, we've all thrown our ideas into the mix to expand the
batman universe
<Jeff> I boil them down to theire essence...
<Jeff> then build them back up to with different design motifs
<Jeff> but I really feel the core of the characters are still sound.
<Jeff> like with bane,
<Jeff> hes a guy that uses his juice to power up during a fight,
<Jeff> but I felt there would be a more interesting way to SHOW the change , not just a couple of veins and actin more angry, I wanted a ..
<Jeff> visual manifestation of his change, while I still like the other Bane, I like ours as well,
<Jeff> If your wondering why he's red, it's cause I couldnt make him green.'
<Jeff> j/k (just kidding)
<Jeff> but he is the hulk of our universe
<Matt>There has been quite a comparison to Hulk with your design, but you're right, the essence of the character is very similar to that of Hulk anyhow
<Jeff> not crazy strong, then he goes into Superman category
<IceDrake523> i always viewed the red as blood rushing through his capillaries
<IceDrake523> b/c of the venom
<Jeff> it could be interpreted in many ways...
<Jeff> seriously tho,hes red cause it symbolizes aggresion and anger
<Matt>Bane finally has the respect he deserves as a character. I can only hope it translates into the comics as such
<Jeff> i would love it if he could go that direction in the comics as well
<Matt>A lot of fans are wondering if we'll see certain characters. such as Jim Gordon, Poison Ivy...and maybe Hush? Azrael, Huntress....
<Jeff> jim gordon...........soon
<Jeff> poison, we'll see.
<Jeff> hush, i loved the series, and Jeph loeb is a close buddy so we'll see!
<Jeff> azrael, not sure mebbe, huntress, again not sure
<Matt>any chance of Babs Gordon coming along with Jim Gordon
<Jeff> mebbe babs
<TheJoker> did englund record the voices for riddler yet?
<Jeff> yes englund has, he is awesome, perfect Riddler
<Matt>Last we heard Riddler was scheduled for season 2. Has that changed at all?
<Jeff> nope
<Jeff> everyone loves the riddler, not as much as my friend Derrick Wyatt tho.
<Sands> Hey Jeff can you tell us anything about the Riddler's design?
<Jeff> i'ts ....different
<Jeff> may i say somthin Matt?
<Matt> Certainly, please do..
<Jeff> I just wanted to comment on the rest of the crew on the show...
<Jeff> I'm here for the chat, but the designs are a product of everyones input, Duane Capizzi is the Story editor on the show and has done a great job with the writing,
<Jeff> Mike Goguen is Supervising Producer(along with Duane) and has kept the ship going forward , he's also done a great job,
<Jeff> Sam Register has helped me quite a bit with design ideas, I enjoy workin with him, cause he's very visual and helps me push the characters to new places
<Matt>Thank you for making mention of this. One person alone can't make a show. It takes a great team of creative minds, that often don't get credit for their hard work.
<Jeff> Mike Goguen was also on the original Batman series, we are all huge Bats fans
<Jeff> Definately.
<Matt>We would love to be able to spotlight more members of the creative team in time
<Jeff> I'm sure they would love too
<Jeff> Glen Murakami also is tremendously helpful on the series, he is an awesome designer and I'm happy to work with him!
<Matt>Murakami is amazing.
<Jeff> I agree
<Matt>Jeff, I have to say that it means a lot to us fans that you care about what we think. So often the opinions of the fanbase are overlooked and we realize we're not the bulk of the audience, so your attending this chat and caring so much about the fans is amazing
<Jeff> Ieveryone on the show is so grateful to you guys for supporting the show !
<Jeff> The fans mean everything, including computer lovin' videogame playing,forum loving geeks like myself, and most of my friends
<Matt>ok...now for the fans having a fit, can you describe the Riddler design at all for them?
<Jeff> well, hes a bit more.........
<Jeff> uuuuuuummmmmmm.....
<Jeff> sinister,
<Jeff> and he has two new motifs that are unexpected
<Matt>I know there was an original design for Riddler that got scrapped
<Jeff> sure did
<Matt>We saw it in a protoype toy from hot wheels, and LoG has a pic of him that we'll be releasing soon
<Jeff> cant wait
<Matt>There was a distinct difference in design...was the character going to be different?different personality at all?
<Jeff> not really,we didn't want to deviate too far from what people love about the character
<Matt>Alright, let go ahead and let you guys ask Jeff some questions
<TheJoker> have you purchased any of the batman figures yet? If so how do u feel about the way mattel handled it?
<Jeff> I have purchased some of them,
<Jeff> I feel Mattel has done the most incredible job on the toys..
<Jeff> they have faithfully translated my drawings into 3d!
<Jeff> I'm so excited everytime I see a new sculpt!
<Jeff> I hope you guys feel the same, when you all see freez it will be OVER.
<Jeff> AWESOME
<Jeff> Mattel and the Four horsemen knock it out of the park everytime
<Matt> The 4H are amazing!