I will be the first to admit while I think we here at Reverse Thieves do a fine job as press we are hardly big time when it comes to media outlets. This is doubly true when you leave the anime universe and go to something like the NYCC. So when I am allowed access to a real deal press panel I feel pretty good about the site and what we do especially when it involves a show I care about like the Venture Brothers. I was a bit surprised that Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick seemed to know several members of the press quite well. I suppose when you work the nerdy entertainment circuit long enough certain faces become commonplace but it was still something I had never seen before. I had originally planned to put up my audio of the press panel but I found this much nicer video on the Venture Brother Blog.

Every time I have seen the Venture Brothers crew they put on a pretty fine show for the audience. They are usually witty with a nerdy mix of humility and cheek. They realize they are lucky do be doing what they are doing but they also realize they are popular in equal measure. I think since this conference was with the press as opposed to the public they were a little more willing to delve into the mechanics of the show which was enlightening.

I distinctly got the impression that while parts of the show are planned long in advance other parts are totally made up on the fly. As always no plan goes unchanged when you meet the enemy named deadlines so scripts seem to change on the fly as well. I liked their joke that if they rebooted the Venture Brothers it would be grittier and humorless because that is what all the modern reboots do. I found it very interesting that if they were given complete freedom on the show the main thing they would change would be they would use all sort of licensed material they just can’t normally afford. Popular songs, name brand products, iconic characters, and various celebrities would appear all the time. But as for content while there are some notable exceptions Cartoon Network mostly lets them get away with most of the things they want to do. Apparently Family Guy has pushed so many boundaries on network TV that they have an amazing amount of freedom on their show. Sadly there are no Venture Bothers comics, video games, or movies in the works.

I was also very amused that the realized that there are different parts of the fandom that love and hate different parts of the show and that the parts that one segment loves the other hates and vice versa. I think it is an important lesson for any creative team that is trying to please their fan base. But I think my favorite part on the interview was the Doc Hammer spoke about how firmly integrated their partnership on the show was even likening it to being an old couple. They now feel free to criticize each others work and view that criticism positively while at the same time there is a distinct ease of knowing you are going to continue working on the show with your partner and being cool with that.

I sadly did not get into the main Venture Brothers panel. By the time I ran down from the State of Mecha panel it seems that there was no more room left at the inn. But from what I heard about the panel from our companions who did get in it was not as entertaining as it was in past years especially since they did not have any exclusive footage of the new season. You can judge the panel for yourself here.  I want to believe that we were so entertaining at the press panel that we stole all of Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick’s energy before the main event. And for that I apologize. But like everyone else I look forward to see to see what they have in store for us in season 5. Maybe will see continuing tale of Liam Neeson and his Russian child bride.

More NY Comic Con and Anime Festival and 2011 posts:

NY Comic Con & Anime Festival 2011: Tweets
NY Comic Con & Anime Festival 2011: General Impressions
NY Comic Con & Anime Festival 2011: The App
NY Comic Con & Anime Festival 2011: Exhibitors Hall
NY Comic Con & Anime Festival 2011: Panels
NY Comic Con & Anime Festival 2011: Screenings