Spotlight Interview: John Rogers on the Manual of the Planes

[Wulf Ratbane]

So, you've made half the posts in this thread, and yet take pride in remaining ignorant about something that's a click away on these very forums that might enlighten you?

I woke up this morning and the internet was no longer a friendly place for loudly proclaiming ignorant opinions?

WHAT IS THE WORLD COMING TO!?

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I woke up this morning and the internet was no longer a friendly place for loudly proclaiming ignorant opinions?

WHAT IS THE WORLD COMING TO!?

Yeah, I know, it is getting better every day!

 

[Cadfan]

One thing that I liked about it was it was a finite series. There was 1-2 shows for each demon plus an intro and a finale. After the last show the story was over and the questions were answered.

Huh. That's something I really appreciate in a tv show.

 

[barsoomcore]

If you are not a fan of the jonrog, you are a terrorist.

 

[WhatGravitas]

If you are not a fan of the jonrog, you are a terrorist.

Also, if you're not a fan of John Rogers, you failed to read this comic!

I mean... Einstein & Feynman fighting ninjas. Can't get much better than that.

Cheers, LT.

 

[evileeyore]

Meanwhile, those that are interested can pop over and enjoy Drunk Southern Girls with Guns and decide for themselves if John has any RPG credentials...

That's John Rogers? jonrog1 is John Rogers?

jonrog1 is a writting genius! If he channels even half the writting power of Drunk Southern Girls with Guns into everything else...



Here I thought we were just talking about some guy who wrote some stuff for tv, movies, and comics... man, jonrog1?

I need to check out Leverage now.

 

[RangerWickett]

I don't have much to add except that I love John Rogers' style, and that if more DMs tried to make their games like The Jackie Chan Adventures, I'd be very happy. It's fun, snappy, with engaging characters and quick fun action.

For the majority of my friends, seeing a guy with that show listed as his credits would earn some cred.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

In many regards too the basic children's adventure-cartoon (especially those with a fantastical bent) follows a fair number of fantasy-rpgisms. You have a specific group of individuals travelling together either in one area or over vast distances, there is usually some manner of McGuffin, there are opponents that must be overcomed either new each time or a frequent foe, etc.

 

[WayneLigon]

Not really something that would inspire me to buy a D&D book to mention in someone's "writing" credits.

I recall hearing/reading Jackie even saying something along the lines of "it is a good children's show".

It would inspire me more. Getting a professional TV writing credit is no small feat; it's an extremely competative field. Almost as competative as the comics field that he also writes for. Creating a show as well as writing for it (which is what he did for Jackie Chan Adventures) is no small feat. There are a ton of D&D writers who'd do well to have the depth and breadth of experience Rodgers has had.

The thing about writers is that they write. They sell to who is buying. They pitch novel ideas, they pitch movies, they pitch TV series, etc. Very, very rare is the writer that can afford to turn down a professional writing credit.

Does it mean Larry Niven and Ben Bova, two of the greats of science fiction writing, are any less of a writer because they also sold stories to 'Land of the Lost'? Theodore Sturgeon wrote for both that show and the animated Star Trek. Should he be looked down upon for that? No. Writers write, and then they sell.

 

[Scribble]

Big chunks of the mythos are built on more modern parallels. Gnomes are guerilla fighters. The Isle of Dread is very much "unstuck" in time and space -- squint closely, and you'll see a Lost reference or two in there. Although it wasn't conscious, rereading the Feywild entry I can't help but notice some Guillermo del Toro/Pan’s Labyrinth influences. There may be some Cthulhu mixed in with my Fomorian legends. Readers of Sandman might recognize some of Queen Tiandra's habits.

Lost... Pan's Labyrinth, Cthulu, and Sandman all in one place?

I'm shaking with an awesome overload.