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Chip writes...

Please bear with me...My question involves math. I will try to bullet-point and simplify it as best I can, if I can. I was thinking about gargoyle-beasts and their breeding cycles in relation to the cycles of the winged-gargoyle species.

1) You have stated in the past that beasts have four heats, and are capable of contributing an egg to the rookery following their own hatching, is this correct?

2) Assuming that question 1 is correct, a beast who hatched in '58 would be able to lay an egg in '68, whereas a winged-gargoyle from '58 would not be able to lay an egg until '08. Afterwards, that same female can lay an egg in '28, and '48. The beast from the same generation, however, can lay eggs in '68, '88, '08, and '28. At which point, they become too old to lay eggs. You have stated that beasts get the additional heat because they can mature faster. The question I ask is...Why is it not two additional heats? A female gargoyle from '58 can't lay until '08, but a female beast can lay after just 10 years. Why does the beast not get a final heat in the same year that a winged gargoyle from the same clutch does?

3) I'm sorry if my math or question is confusing. I was just hoping for clarity on this matter. If you don't feel like figuring out the math on this subject, I'll just default to my final, and most frequently asked question...

4) When did the London Clan's beast population go extinct?

Thank you for taking the time and effort to answer these questions. We really appreciate it, and you. #WeLiveAgain

Greg responds...

1. I think so, but it's been a LONG time since I've thought about this.

2. I think BECAUSE they mature faster, they move through and past their breeding years faster as well.

3.

4. No spoilers.

Response recorded on March 01, 2017

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RobertDev writes...

Hello Greg,

I have been a big fan of yours for a very long time. In fact Gargoyles was my favorite show as a child. Now I am 29, and in addition to being a teacher, I am trying to make it as a novelist in NYC. Gargoyles, and you/your writing in general, inspired me a long time ago to pursue telling stories for kids or young adults that are complex and diverse in lieu of "talking" down to them. Since then I have had many more influences, but you really were one of the first. I think I may have been 6 or 7 when Gargoyles first came out and I certainly had my parents add to Disney's coffers with Gargoyle merch.

I have a few questions. I know you are not into hypotheticals or spoilers, so I will try to phrase my questions as proper as possible. Also, as these questions may not exactly fall under the same subject, I will submit multiple questions, as per the instructions.

Long ago I wrote to you about the biology of the Avalon clan. Specifically I asked whether or not it was possible for a mature Avalon couple to travel to the outside world, for say 9 months or a year (1 week or less on Avalon), sync with the natural state of the planet and produce an egg. That was met with an affirmative.

When further questioned as to whether or not they could do this multiple times over the course of their lifetime, producing many more eggs than the standard 3, you wrote that it would be a good topic of discussion during the biology panel (I think it was specifically called something else) at convergence. Unfortunately another Convergence has not occurred for some time and I still, all these years later, wonder about the biology of it all.

Could a gargoyle couple from Avalon come to the outside world every other, or every third, cycle (or whatever) and produce many more eggs than the usual three? Could they produce five or ten eggs? And would there be a detriment to the gargoyle's body in producing that many eggs if they could do all that?

I know this question is long and possibly overwritten but I recently re-watched my DVD sets (and reread the comics) and it got me thinking. I'd appreciate your thoughts on the matter.

I made a promise to myself, many years ago that if I ever became a successful writer I would find a way to work with you one day and/or help you bring Gargoyles back in some form. I still hope to do so. Best of luck to you sir and thank you for your influence and inspiration. Should I one day meet you in a professional capacity I will point out this entry.

Greg responds...

I don't think so. Three max. I'm sticking with that.

Response recorded on January 18, 2017

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John Harmon writes...

I have read that outside of the mating season, it was incredibly rare for a couple to conceive a gargoyle child, my question is this, is there any stigma that the clans put on such a unlikely birth? Or would the clan accept such an occurrence?

Greg responds...

I'm sorry, WHERE did you read this? Cuz I don't think I EVER said rare. Never is the word I'd use. Or as close to never as you can get.

Response recorded on January 10, 2017

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Anonymous writes...

You have said there were homosexual Gargoyles, are there also transgender Gargoyles that could transition? Also, how does surgery for Gargoyles work? Is that even a possibility for them, like something as easy as adding stone or shaping stone while they were in stone sleep, or operating on them while they were flesh or would it be impossible?

Greg responds...

There has been no such thing as gender reassignment surgery for gargoyles. Frankly, there's been no such thing - for the most part - as SURGERY for gargoyles, period.

You definitely cannot operate on a sleeping gargoyle. But you could, in theory, operate on a gargoyle at night. I suppose you'd use an epidural or something. (I'm not a doctor.)

But, yes, I imagine there have been transgender gargoyles over the centuries.

Response recorded on July 11, 2016

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Emily writes...

Hello Mr. Weisman,
I have a question about Gargoyles for you that just popped in my mind about five minutes ago.
"If a gargoyle was to sleep at all during the night would he be able to stay awake longer during the day?"

Greg responds...

Why would a gargoyle sleep at night?

But - basically - no. His or her cycle is tied into the planet's cycle.

Response recorded on February 10, 2016

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Allison writes...

Hi, Greg, hope the tour's going well. Hope you have fun!

I've got a question about gargoyle eggs and customs. Does rookery parentage apply to every gargoyle in a generation of the right age to reproduce? For example, would Iago/Coldsteel be considered one of Angela's rookery fathers despite the fact that he never mated or had any involvement with producing eggs?

Greg responds...

To some extent, it's up to the individual. One doesn't have to be a biological parent within an appropriate generation to participate in the raising of hatchlings. (It takes a clan, afterall.) But if one in essence opts out of the responsibility, that's considered a bit odd, but allowed.

Response recorded on October 27, 2015

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Mara writes...

When I visited Puerto Rico last fall (October of 2013) we went on a tour of the cave system in Camuy- which is awesome. On the tour, our guide commented that normally, human settlements only exist in caves that have a clear entrance and exit that face east and west- so that there is light in the cave during the day. For that reason, caves with north/south facings would be avoided.

Anyway, my question is- did pre-bronze age gargoyles tend to have settlements in cave systems over other areas- since their eggs need thermal energy access anyway?

Greg responds...

Rookeries tended to be in underground caves.

Response recorded on July 31, 2015

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Shana writes...

I want you to know I love Gargoyles! Although my two year old daughter doesn't care for the cartoons yet she does pretend to read my comics.

Any ways I do need a little help clarifying somethings.

Do all Gargoyles (not beasts) have some sort of wings or are there wingless Gargoyles? And what would happen if their wings ever got damaged or destroyed during their stone sleep?

Thank you for your time and trouble.

Greg responds...

All Gargoyles have wings. But as you noted, Gargoyle Beasts do not.

It's hard to answer your damage question. It would depend on the anatomy, on the level of damage, on when during the day the damage took place, etc.

Response recorded on July 09, 2015

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ashley. B writes...

Dose Brooklyn have a younger sibling I read gargoyles couples each normally have three eggs/ three children so I know he has a brother dose he have a younger sibling.

Greg responds...

For all we know, Brooklyn is the youngest of the three biological siblings. If he did have a younger sibling, he or she would be the same age as True.

But, of course, I'm not going to confirm or deny anything. No Spoilers.

Keep in mind that Brooklyn considers his siblings all to be the same age, give or take a day or two. The biology matters less than the Rookery.

Response recorded on March 09, 2015

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Anonymous writes...

Do gargoyle babies ever get colic?

Greg responds...

I ... don't know. Probably. I guess so. It's whooping cough, I'm more concerned about.

Response recorded on December 08, 2014

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Micey writes...

I read the gargoyles wiki on how they only have one mate for life but I couldn't find anything about how they actually chose their mates. Is it like a human and they just chose their mate by courting and falling in love with that gargoyle or does it have to do with certain things, like the horns, wing size, color, etc.?

Greg responds...

Attraction plays into things, of course. But you saw how Angela and Broadway got together, and there are no RULES, per se.

Response recorded on November 14, 2014

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My CONvergence 2014 Schedule

So the #Gargoyles20 U.S. Tour continues. Stop #3 is CONvergence in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Well, actually in Bloomington, Minnesota, but close enough.) http://www.convergence-con.org

This is a big one for us. It includes a number of events that we used to do at the old Gathering of the Gargoyles Conventions, which ran from 1997-2009. And I know a bunch of Gargoyles fans will be attending, so it'll also be a reunion of sorts.

My schedule for the long weekend is quite packed - which is just how I like it!

THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014
2:00pm - 3:00pm GARGOYLES RADIO PLAY AUDITIONS
Ever wanted to be in a radio play? Now is your chance! We are holding auditions for a live performance at CONvergence! You don't even have to be a fan of Gargoyles to enter. You just have to know how to read! Casting: Myself and Jennifer Anderson (Talent Coordinator on The Spectacular Spider-Man and Young Justice). Casting decisions will be posted by 7:00pm on Friday, July 4th. ATRIUM 7.

3:30pm - 4:30pm BUFFYVERSE TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY
Okay, so Gargoyles ISN'T the only show celebrating an anniversary. The Buffy/Angel universe has been off the air for ten years. Let's reminisce and talk about the impact these shows have had on TV fantasy since their cancellation. Panelists: Myself, Tim Lieder, Cetius d'Raven, Madeleine Rowe, Mark Goldberg. EDINA.

7:00pm - 8:00pm OPENING CEREMONY
If it's not exactly a magical invocation, it is nonetheless our official kick-off for the convention! Join CONvergence mascot Connie as we welcome our Guests of Honor, give out some awards (including the Mark Time and Ogle winners), and get this party started. Panelists: Myself, Amy Berg, Emma Bull, C. Robert Cargill, Sarah Clemens, Scott Lynch, Marina Sirtis, Frank Paur, Matthew Ebel, Dawn Krosnowski, Greg Guler, Rob Callahan, Windy Bowlsby, Michael Lee. MAIN STAGE.

9:00pm - 10:00pm GREG WEISMAN'S FANCY BASTARD PIE COMPETITION
Geek Partnership Society is excited to host the Greg Weisman Fancy Bastard Pie Competition at CONvergence 2014! It is open to all CONvergence members who wish to participate. The goal is to make a pie that Greg Weisman, herein to be known as "Fancy Bastard", likes best. The winner will be told super-secret Young Justice spoilers. Find out [some of] what would have happened in Season 3! (But winner must swear to secrecy to claim prize.) See below for some helpful hints.* CABANA 110.

FRIDAY, JULY 4th, 2014
11:00am - 12:00pm GARGOYLES RADIO PLAY AUDITIONS
Ever wanted to be in a radio play? Now is your chance! We are holding auditions for a live performance at CONvergence! You don't even have to be a fan of Gargoyles to enter. You just have to know how to read! Last chance to audition! Casting: Myself and Jennifer Anderson (Talent Coordinator on The Spectacular Spider-Man and Young Justice). Casting decisions will be posted by 7:00pm on Friday, July 4th. ATRIUM 7.

12:30pm - 1:30pm FROM TV TO COMICS
We'll discuss the TV shows that expanded into the comicverse, such as Buffy, Smallville, Young Justice and Gargoyles. Did they succeed? Were any of the comics improvements on the shows? How did canon change during the transition? Panelists: Myself (Gargoyles, Young Justice), Shawn van Briesen, Jonathan Palmer, Greg Guler (Gargoyles), Karine Charlebois (Gargoyles, Bad Guys), Christopher Jones (Batman Strikes, Young Justice, Bad Guys). PLAZA 2.

2:00pm - 3:00pm SIGNING
Myself, Christopher Jones (Young Justice, The Batman Strikes, Parallel Man) and Greg Guler (Gargoyles, Phineas and Ferb) will be holding a signing session. Both Chris and Greg always have an array of stuff (books, prints, etc.) to sell and sign. But this time I'm pretty darn prepared as well. First off, I'll be selling and signing copies of my first novel RAIN OF THE GHOSTS for $10 cash, which includes the book, a personalized signature and signed copies of the original development character designs by Kuni Tomita for the television version of Rain that never was. In addition - and by popular demand - I am selling and signing an array of my animation teleplays for $20 cash from such series as Gargoyles, Team Atlantis, DC Showcase (Green Arrow), Men in Black: The Series, The Spectacular Spider-Man, The Batman, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, W.I.T.C.H., Young Justice and even the 2009 Radio Play "The Spectacular Spider-Man Meets Gargoyles". I'll also sign anything else you bring and put in front of me for FREE - especially if you buy my book. ;) CONVERGENCE CENTRAL.

3:30pm - 4:30pm CREATING GARGOYLES
This is what we used to call (at the Gathering) the Rocky Horror Gargoyles Show. The creators of Gargoyles show clips and tell stories of how the show came to be. Lots of visual aids. Panelists: Myself (Creator, Supervising Producer/Story Editor, Writer), Frank Paur ( (Supervising Producer/Director), Greg Guler (Lead Character Designer). ATRIUM 6.

7:00pm - 8:00pm TIME TRAVEL THEORY
Let's assume for a moment that Time Travel is possible. This panel will explore the theories behind such technology. We'll explore quantum realities, temporal anomalies and all other challenges our theoretical time travelers will be face! [Now, I suggested this panel, but then they went and put some actual scientists on the damn thing. So I may quickly be embarrassed into silence.] ;) Panelists: Myself, Nicole Gugliucci, Jim Kakalios, G. David Nordley, Amy Berg. ATRIUM 4.

8:30pm - 9:30pm GARGOYLES Q&A
Join the cast and creators of the "Gargoyles" series and SLG companion comic books to ask and talk about the property. And, as always, Cosplayers are welcome! Panelists: Myself (Creator, Supervising Producer/Story Editor, Writer), Christopher Jones (Bad Guys guest artist), Marina Sirtis (voice of Demona and Margot Yale), Frank Paur (Supervising Producer/Director), Karine Charlebois (Gargoyles Guest Artist, Bad Guys Artist), Greg Guler (Lead Character Designer, Gargoyles Guest Artist). MAIN STAGE.

SATURDAY, JULY 5th, 2014
9:30am - 10:30am GARGOYLES SIGNING
Myself, Marina Sirtis (voice of Demona and Margot Yale) and Frank Paur (Supervising Producer/Director) will be holding a signing session. Again, I'll be selling and signing copies of my first novel RAIN OF THE GHOSTS for $10 cash, which includes the book, a personalized signature and signed copies of the original development character designs by Kuni Tomita for the television version of Rain that never was. In addition - and by popular demand - I am selling and signing an array of my animation teleplays for $20 cash from such series as Gargoyles, Team Atlantis, DC Showcase (Green Arrow), Men in Black: The Series, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, W.I.T.C.H., The Batman, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Young Justice and even the 2009 Radio Play "The Spectacular Spider-Man Meets Gargoyles". I'll also sign anything else you bring and put in front of me for FREE. CONVERGENCE CENTRAL.

11:00am - 12:25pm GARGOYLES RADIO PLAY REHEARSAL
This is a closed session - for those who were cast in the Radio Play - led by Myself, Jennifer Anderson (Talent Coordinator on The Spectacular Spider-Man and Young Justice) & Marina Sirtis (voice of Demona, Margot Yale and Queen Bee). ATRIUM 6.

12:30pm - 1:30pm GARGOYLES RADIO PLAY PERFORMANCE
Fans and professionals - including Myself (voice of Donald Menken and Lucas "Snapper" Carr), Jennifer Anderson (Talent Coordinator on The Spectacular Spider-Man and Young Justice), and of course, Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi from Star Trek TNG and the voice of Demona, Margot Yale and Queen Bee) - perform a LIVE, ORIGINAL Gargoyles radio play! ATRIUM 6.

2:00pm - 3:00pm GARGOYLES BIOLOGY AND CULTURE
A "what if" panel about the biology and culture of the Gargoyles universe. Creators and performers speculate about anything and everything going on outside the frames of the TV series. Panelists: Craig A. Finseth moderates Myself (Creator, Producer) and Greg Guler (Lead Character Designer). ATRIUM 7.

3:30pm - 4:30pm RAIN OF THE GHOSTS
I'll be reading from and talking about the world and characters of my novel "Rain of the Ghosts" and its sequel, "Spirits of Ash and Foam," which comes out July 8th, 2014, one week after the convention! ATRIUM 3.

7:00pm - 8:00pm ONE ON ONE WITH GREG WEISMAN
Hal Bichel will moderate a one-on-one panel with Myself. PLAZA 2.

8:30pm - 9:30pm SIGNING
Once again, I'll be selling and signing copies of my first novel RAIN OF THE GHOSTS for $10 cash, which includes the book, a personalized signature and signed copies of the original development character designs by Kuni Tomita for the television version of Rain that never was. In addition - and by popular demand - I am selling and signing an array of my animation teleplays for $20 cash from such series as Gargoyles, Team Atlantis, DC Showcase (Green Arrow), Men in Black: The Series, The Batman, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, W.I.T.C.H., Young Justice and even the 2009 Radio Play "The Spectacular Spider-Man Meets Gargoyles". I'll also sign anything else you bring and put in front of me for FREE. CONVERGENCE CENTRAL.

10:00pm - 11:00pm BLUE MUG
Ever wonder about the sexual habits of Gargoyles? Ever wonder who was sleeping with whom among the Young Justice Team or the cast of Spectacular Spider-Man? Join us for for a late night peek at your favorite animated series. This panel will get blue! (So attendees will be carded!) Panelists: Myself, Christopher Jones, Mara Cordova (Last Tengu in Paris Artist). It is also rumored that Edmund Tsabard (an unfancy bastard and Last Tengu in Paris Writer) may make an appearance. EDINA.

SUNDAY, JULY 6th, 2014
11:00am - 12:00pm PROTOFEMINISTS IN SHAKESPEARE
Shakespeare portrayed several intelligent, independent, and self-aware women--Juliet, Lady Macbeth, Katharine, Beatrice, Viola, Rosalind. We'll discuss the problematic and the remarkably (for the era) fleshed-out aspects of their representation. Panelists: Myself, Elizabeth Bear, Ashley F. Miller, Joseph Erickson, Alexandra Howes. EDINA.

12:30pm - 1:30pm GARGOYLES FAN PANEL
It's the 20th Anniversary of Gargoyles. Come share your favorite moments from the show. As always, Cosplayers are welcome! Panelists: Daniel Mohr moderates Myself, Ryan Alexander, Robert Wagner, Maggie Schultz, Jennifer Anderson, Karine Charlebois. ATRIUM 6.

2:00pm - 3:00pm SIGNING
Myself and Greg Guler (Gargoyles, Phineas and Ferb) will be holding one last signing session. Greg G. always has an array of stuff (books, prints, etc.) to sell and sign. And I'll be selling and signing copies of my first novel RAIN OF THE GHOSTS for $10 cash, which includes the book, a personalized signature and signed copies of the original development character designs by Kuni Tomita for the television version of Rain that never was. In addition - and by popular demand - I am selling and signing an array of my animation teleplays for $20 cash from such series as Gargoyles, Team Atlantis, DC Showcase (Green Arrow), Men in Black: The Series, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, The Batman, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, W.I.T.C.H., Young Justice and even the 2009 Radio Play "The Spectacular Spider-Man Meets Gargoyles". I'll also sign anything else you bring and put in front of me for FREE - especially if you buy my book. CONVERGENCE CENTRAL.

3:30pm - 4:30pm YOUNG JUSTICE
Creative minds behind the Young Justice TV and comic book series will talk about this fan favorite. We're planning some special surprises as well. And, as always, Cosplayers are welcome! Panelists: Myself, Marina Sirtis (voice of Queen Bee), Christopher Jones (Artist YJ Comic). MAIN STAGE.

5:00pm - 6:00pm CLOSING CEREMONY
It's not over 'til the gynoid sings - or something like that. Join CONvergence mascot Connie and our Guests of Honor as we say farewell to another convention. Shenanigans may ensue. Panelists: Myself, Amy Berg, Emma Bull, C. Robert Cargill, Sarah Clemens, Scott Lynch, Marina Sirtis, Matthew Ebel, Frank Paur, Dawn Krosnowski, Greg Guler, Windy Bowlsby, Rob Callahan, Michael Lee. MAIN STAGE

SEE?!! I told you there was a lot. And that's only the stuff that I'm doing. CONvergence is jam-packed with all sorts of pop culture nutritional goodness. So stop by and say hello!!

*In the interest of Full Disclosure, Fancy Bastard would like all to know that he especially likes the following pies:
APPLE
BERRY (pretty much any kind of berry or a mix of same)
PEACH
APRICOT
PUMPKIN
BANANA CREAM (herein to be known as the funniest pie)
Combinations of some of the fruit pies can be great. Contestants are welcome to try other pies at their own risk.

Fancy Bastard does NOT especially like the following pies:
PECAN
Anything with Chocolate or Lemon or Meringue
Raisins in Apple Pie
Almost never Cherry, though he has tasted the rare exception...


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Al writes...

Another Garg question that I didn't ask in the last post because I wasn't sure if they were related enough to post together...

I don't remember if you were the one to say this or if I read it in the GargWiki, but I seem to remember reading sonewhere that it was generally pretty easy to determine the parentage of a Garg because, like Angela, they will have the basic body structure of their same-sex parent with the coloring of the other.

Did I get this right?

If so, why does Gabrial not have the coloring of either Othello or Desdemona?
Normally I would just chalk it up to that rule not being thought of until after he was created - but he appeared alongside Angela who "introduced" us to that rule, so now I'm perplexed.

Greg responds...

As a general rule, you got it right. But it's just a general rule. It was never meant to be a no-exception kinda thing.

Response recorded on June 18, 2014

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Eva Williams writes...

About gargoyle biology, is it possible for gargoyles to have color blindness?

Just curious.

Greg responds...

I'd lean toward yes on this one, just because I'm red-green color deficient myself. But again, I'm not a doctor or biologist. If saying yes to this throws a monkey wrench into all the other things I've stated, I'm not married to it.

Response recorded on June 05, 2014

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Krysten Myers writes...

Can a gargoyle get diabetes like humans?

Greg responds...

There's some debate about this. I would think that their daily sleep would cleanse/heal them. But I'm open to other thoughts. It's a good question for our Gargoyles Biology & Culture panel at CONvergence this July. I'll try to remember to bring it up for discussion.

Response recorded on June 05, 2014

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JC writes...

Hello Mr. Wiesman,

I have been reading the archives and I have a couple of questions regarding the more obscure Gaegoyle clans:

1) Youve mentioned that the Xanadu clan exists to protect the Beast lineage. My question is, are their Beasts all from Chinese stock, or have they incorporated other "breeds" (so to speak) into that gene-pool? Basically, Im asking if they all have the same basic appearance, or reflect all types of Beasts.

2) You also once said that the Lach Ness clan were aquatic in nature. Does that mean that they are truly amphibious (like frogs), or can they just hold their breath for long lengths of time (like dolphins)?

Thanks.

Greg responds...

1. Leaning toward the latter, but haven't made a final decision yet.

2. Likewise, I haven't decided, though again I lean toward the latter.

These might both be good questions to bring up at the Gargoyles Biology and Culture panel this July at CONvergence. There are always some actual biologists in the room to advise me.

Response recorded on May 21, 2014

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Anonymous writes...

Has anyone ever pointed out that your Gargoyles are not, in the original sense of the word, gargoyles, but grotesques, as they don't spew water from there mouths?

Greg responds...

A. Yes. Literally hundreds of folks have pointed that out, and you could have found that out with a quick search of the archives.

B. And who says our gargoyles don't spew water from their mouths? No one said they had to do it non-stop. Maybe that's how they pee.

Response recorded on May 12, 2014

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Matt writes...

So, with "Chaw" becoming canon you have established that at least some female beasts' eyes are red. First of all, I love this feature. It becomes a common tie in gargate physiology, it gives us a visual cue to determine beast gender (which would otherwise be readily lacking) and it just looks cool.

I do wonder though if you have any thoughts about any future appearances of Boudicca. Perhaps you've seen the Gargoyle Beast page on the GargWiki where Boudicca's eyes have been modified to be red rather than white as we saw in the show. Would you make this minor ret-con official if we see Boudicca in a Gargoyles project down the road? In your mind are all female beasts' eyes red? Or is there a reason that Chaw's are and Boudicca's are not?

What about the beast we saw briefly in Ishimura (with white eyes)? Is that beast male or female?

Greg responds...

All female gargate eyes glow red. Mistakes may have been made and may continue to be made. But the rules are the rules. Boudicca's eyes should have burned red. Are you sure they didn't? I know sometimes the red tint is fairly washed out...

As for the Ishimura beast, for the time being, if his eyes glowed white, let's assume he was a male.

Response recorded on April 23, 2014

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Matt writes...

Gargoyle Culture & Biology

So, in most social species there is an evolved strategy that encourages gene diversification and limits inbreeding. In lions, for instance, the males leave the pride at maturity to take over a different pride and mate with the females of that group rather than stay and have only their sisters and aunts and female cousins to mate with. In bonobos, it is the females that often leave to join new groups and find unrelated males to mate with.

Now, obviously, in the Gargoyles Universe, up until very recently there was very little genetic exchange between the surviving far flung and isolated clans. But back in their heyday, when the nearest clan to your own was well known and could be reached, was there any sort of social strategy to encourage genetic diversity or has finding a mate among your own rookery siblings always been the norm?

And now that the clans are becoming more known to each other and able to move from clan to clan more easily, will this issue cause more inter-clan mating? Does the mixing of the 2198 rookery eggs have anything to do with this or is that just a symbolic gesture of the Gargoyle Nation?

Greg responds...

Well, keep in mind that rookery siblings are almost by definition NOT biological siblings. But there's probably a lot of cousins in there.

There will definitely be more inter-clan mating in the modern age. And ganging the 2198 rookery eggs may have had a dual purpose.

But this is definitely a topic I'm open to discussing... say at the Gargoyles Biology and Culture panel at CONvergence this summer!

Response recorded on April 23, 2014

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FireBlade writes...

Hi Greg!

I am a long time Gargoyles fan. I grew up with it actually. I've always loved it's depth, characters, story, and emotions. Honestly? Cartoons now-a-days don't even compare.

Anyway, I digress;
I was re-watching the show the other day and a question struck me... Can Goliath and Elisa have kids? I mean, Goliath is humanoid right? So, is it possible?

I hope it is because Goliath has gone through too much tragedy in his life to not be able to have a family with his soul mate I think.

That said, I haven't read the comic but I heard someone say that they break up in it... Is this true?? If it is, I just might cry....

Anyway, even though the series is long over, I still want to compliment you on such a fantastic masterpiece. It is a classic that will endure for a loooonnnggg time. :)

Thanks for your time! I know you are very busy.

Greg responds...

ASKED AND ANSWERED. Check the archives and/or ask the fans at http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/comment/index.php to point you in the right direction. And by all means, check out the trade paperbacks from SLG. I think you'll truly enjoy them.

Thanks for your kind words.

Response recorded on March 19, 2014

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Jessy writes...

Do the gargoyles actually see the sunrise or do they turn to stone at first light? I know that,we, as the viewers, see it, but the sun seems to rise and set much more quickly in the Gargoyles universe. I figured it is probably exaggerated to show the viewers what is about to happen; the gargs are going to wake or sleep.
I guess the next question would be, do they see the sunset? I feel somehow that this is more likely as they are often depicted waking at about that time, but it could be, again, an exaggeration.

Greg responds...

They've seen the sun rise a bit. But mostly the first beams of light trigger their stone.

Response recorded on March 19, 2014

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sara writes...

hi Greg. im a huge fan of gargoyles. love your work on it. i have one question. i am not trying to challnge your work,but i would like to know why katana&brooklin's egg is perple. is it just genes?

Greg responds...

Aren't they all purple? (Honestly, I can't remember.)

Response recorded on January 06, 2014

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Allison writes...

Hey, Greg! Love Gargoyles, excited for Rain of the Ghosts, and I just reread the comics and have a question about the clones.

We know that if gargoyles A and B are cloned, the clones, C and D, will have photo-negative coloration. Now, let's say A and C are female, and B and D are male. Let's also say that A and B do not become mates, but C and D do. The egg, E, is not artificially sped up, but develops over the ten year period. When E hatches, will its coloring resemble that of A/B or C/D?

Just curious about the practical application of the clones. Also, I think a Gargoyles Kickstarter would be a great idea! Have a nice day!

Greg responds...

Oy, that made my head hurt.

Well, first - you need to remember that the color change was a result of the accelerated aging, not of the cloning process.

So the assumption that C and D are photo-negative assumes that they were accelerated. Not a safe assumption, but for the sake of argument...

Would E's colors resemble A/B or C/D?

I do not know. I'd have to consult my Garg-science buddies.

Response recorded on October 16, 2013

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Richard writes...

I've been a fan of Gargoyles since ever, but i didnt know it co tinued i comics till two days ago!!!! OMG!!! THATS AWESOME! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! but now i have a questio about gargate biology. I read that they go into heat every twenty years, on years that end in "7" but ...

What about just physical maturity? At what age are they physically mature, and Is this different from when they are seen as adults by their clan?

Greg responds...

Okay, first, it's years that end in 8 not 7. (How weird would '7' be?!!)

Second, it depends on how you're defining physical maturity. The Trio were old enough to be considered warriors in 994 when they were 36 years old chronologically (and 18 biologically). On the other hand, Kermit and True would still have been considered children then, when they were 16 chronologically (and 8 biologically).

Response recorded on April 15, 2013

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no name writes...

Can halflings with a Gargoyle and a Third Race parent have children with humans - or human/Third Race halflings with Gargoyles?

Greg responds...

With or without the aid of magic or advanced science?

Response recorded on April 15, 2013

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Masterdramon writes...

Hey Greg! Hope that you're doing well, and that the holiday season is treating/did treat (depending on when you read this) your family happily.

What follows is a paper I recently submitted to my Contemporary Political Theory class at Pomona College, interrelating several of the concepts from the book we discussed that week ("You Are Not a Gadget" by Jaron Lanier) with the notion of namelessness in traditional gargoyle culture.

My professor (unfamiliar with the show, but very intrigued when I explained it to her) really got a kick out of the piece, and I earned a more-or-less "A-" equivalent for it. But as long as I've got it sitting around, I figured you might enjoy giving it a read as well.

[NOTE: You may want to review this post you made on Ask Greg in 2004 beforehand, as it is cited frequently: http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=387].

Now, without further ado, the essay. It has been edited from the submitted version only by rearranging paragraph breaks...

The 1994 animated television series Gargoyles posits a highly intelligent species which dominated the Earth prior to human genesis and ascendance.

These gargoyles possess a unique culture which predates humanity's by a significant period, but the first on-screen depiction of the gargoyle species takes place in the 10th century, after millions of years of convergent evolution between the two cultures.

Indeed, the pilot episodes depict the essential death of one lingering component of gargoyle culture, at least for the series protagonists: that gargoyles lack personal names. This idea is first discussed in a conversation between two gargoyles and a human boy:

TOM: I'm Tom. What's your name?
GARGOYLE #1: Except for Goliath, we don't have names.
TOM: How do you tell each other apart?
GARGOYLE #1: We look different.
TOM: But what do you call each other?
GARGOYLE #2: (shrugs) Friend.

For context, "Goliath" is the leader of the clan of gargoyles to which the protagonists belong, and their liaison to the humans with whom they share an uneasy alliance; those humans felt incapable of dealing with a nameless entity, and Goliath did not bother to reject the name they selected for him.

Still, he does not use the name in communicating with his own clan until a betrayal by their human allies and a magical curse cause the protagonists to sleep as statues and then reawaken in 20th century Manhattan.

Here they meet and befriend Elisa Maza, a police detective who is both confused by and - for reasons she has trouble articulating - uncomfortable with this traditional lack of names. The following exchange takes place between Elisa and the clan's elderly mentor:

ELISA: Are you coming on the tour…uh, what do I call you, anyway?
GARGOYLE: Must you humans name everything? Nothing's real to you till you've named it, given it limits!
ELISA: It's not like that! It's just that…well, uh…things need names.
GARGOYLE: Does the sky need a name? Does the river?
ELISA: The river's called the Hudson.
GARGOYLE: (sighs) Fine, lass…then I will be 'the Hudson' as well.
ELISA: Great! Hudson it is.

From that point onward, that particular gargoyle is known as Hudson, and only Hudson.

The younger gargoyles who survived the centuries follow suit; the two who conversed with Tom become Lexington and Brooklyn, for example. And Goliath more-or-less fully accepts the moniker afforded him by the Dark Age humans.

As Gargoyles creator Greg Weisman points out, "naming is clearly addictive," and once they are established the convenience they offer makes doing away with them virtually impossible. Thus, for the Manhattan Clan of gargoyles, namelessness largely remains a thing of the past for the remainder of the series.

In "You Are Not a Gadget," Jaron Lanier describes the phenomenon experienced by these gargoyles using the term "lock-in."

As Lanier puts it, "lock-in…removes design options based on what is easiest to program, what is politically feasible, what is fashionable, or what is created by chance." Furthermore, the process "also reduces or narrows the ideas it immortalizes, by cutting away the unfathomable penumbra of meaning."

Despite originally referring to programming language, this is a perfect description of the process that "Hudson" has been subjected to in the previous scene.

Names are a method of defining identity, which necessarily must involve "giving it limits." But in traditional gargoyle culture, identity has greater meaning than that; it is amorphous, and changes with the circumstances.

The gargoyle who first made a compact with the humans at Castle Wyvern is the same gargoyle who mated three times and produced three progeny; he is the same gargoyle who fought the evil Archmage and received a wound that blinded him in one eye; he is the same gargoyle who slept for centuries and once awakened, found himself fascinated with the television show "Celebrity Hockey."

Does one name - Hudson - really encapsulate all of these aspects of his identity?

In-and-of-itself, all it signifies is that the place Hudson awoke in was modern-day New York (a cut line from the episode's script even has Elisa commenting, "Good thing we weren't facing Queens," emphasizing with humor how off-hand and esoteric the choice was).

That name was "locked-in" as the full and entire representation of the character from that point onward, solely because it was politically feasible (it makes dealing with Elisa and later human allies far more expedient), it was fashionable (every other intelligent being in 1994 New York has a name, so why not the gargoyles?), and it was created by chance (quite literally in this case, as the "Queens" quote illustrates).

And the result is that the very meaning of his identity is narrowed. He is no longer capable of being someone at a particular moment, and someone else in the next.

He is always Hudson.

There is an even greater story here, however, which Weisman's later musings have helped to illuminate. As he once observed, "Gargoyles don't seem to have a native language. They acquire human language, perhaps much the same way that they acquire names…And language, in many ways, is just sophisticated naming."

This is a compelling point. As he later notes, a different and arguably much more persuasive response that Elisa could have offered is that the river is called "the river."

Languages are systems for describing objects, concepts, actions, etc. using strict and uniform definitions, confining them to names that society calls words.

But does a name like "the sky" really fully encapsulate the meaning inherent within the depths that humans observe from below? Does it even begin to provoke a holistic understanding of its astronomical, religious, chemical, or poetic contexts?

And even more to the point, what of metaphysical concepts like "justice"? Can a single clear definition even exist for such a weighty and nebulous notion - and if not, does sticking the name "justice" to it not necessarily limit it?

Lanier certainly appears to believe so. As he conceives it, the system of symbology under which all current human languages operate is itself a lock-in; at best, a "middleman" between intent and "directly creating shared experience" that he wants to work to cut out.

His method for doing so is improvements on virtual reality, until researchers develop "the ability to morph at will, as fast as we can think."

Lanier envisions a world where the rather simplistic words "I'm hungry" will not be the only way to communicate the sensation which has brought them on - instead, he sees potential in the power of virtual reality technology to place us in the bodies of others, as a way to intimate the sensation itself.

Humanity would no longer have to be limited to extracting some piece of the concept it calls "hunger," giving it that name, and using it as code so that others who know the symbology of the English language will understand some approximation of that concept.

The concept would simply be understood, and communication would be a straightforward matter of imparting that understanding.

But perhaps there is an even better solution than this - although one that is, unfortunately, largely forgotten.

Presented with the puzzle that gargoyles are highly gregarious and intelligent by nature and yet appear to lack any notion of their own language, Weisman has mused that perhaps, long before human language evolved and became the locked-in method for communication, the gargoyle species possessed "mild psychic abilities that left them with no need to create language."

While emphasizing that he was only asserting a possibility, the communication he imagines - where it was not "words that they intuited (or transmitted or read or whatever) but emotions, maybe images or sensations" - sounds exceedingly similar to what Lanier hopes to achieve through virtual reality.

Such communication would be consistent with what audience knows about pre-human gargoyle culture, where definition and identity are situational as opposed to consistently codified.

But if that is the case, it leads to a rather lamentable conclusion. As Weisman puts it, "perhaps the very language skills that gargoyles learned from the human race dampened their psychic intuitiveness;" in other words, lock-in of a very particular method of communication (symbology) "locked-out" another method that presented communicative possibilities human technology can currently only dream of.

The initial insistence on not using personal names, then, can be considered a lingering hold-out of a bygone era where every concept was considered unlimited, and every sensation intimated in their full depth.

In dealing with nascent human cultures, gargoyles must have gradually accepted the limiting of concepts like "sky" or "river" because this made interspecies congress significantly more efficient, but they resisted the longest on the limiting of the very depths of the self.

But with the permanent instatement of "Hudson" and the rest, there does not appear to be room to return to the possibilities an unlimited identity presents. Human language has killed them.

Of course, both the gargoyle race and their culture are fantastical constructions, but that does not necessarily mean that humans cannot learn from their fictional example.

While humans do not seem to share these "mild psychic abilities" (although there are some who would vehemently disagree with that statement) that Weisman hypothesizes, that there are methods of sensation and communication which precede language skills is clearly documented.

As with gargoyles, members of the species Homo sapiens did exist well before the development of the earliest known language, and while current understanding of those early cultures is limited at best, there is also a much more immediate example to turn to.

Newborns spend a few years before they learn to define the world around them in the code of words - the sun is an experience to them long before the strictly defined, limiting name of "the sun" is ever applied to it.

The depths of what could be learned from observing children raised without learning language skills, interpreting sensations and intimating them to others via methods of their own device, are boundless; of course, the enormous ethical travesty presented by such experiments means they are not a viable avenue for inquiry.

So instead, humans turn to fiction - attempting to realize through others what that they have long since lost, and yearn to find again.

Greg Weisman has often described gargoyle culture, and pre-human gargoyle culture specifically, as something of a wish fulfillment for him. "I'm such a human," he laments with a written-out sigh, "But I aspire to gargoylosity."

Well, if the virtual reality morphing that so excites Jaron Lanier can indeed allow humans to experience sensation as a pre-human gargoyle (or a pre-language human, or a baby, or even a cephalopod) did/does - if it has the potential to turn the clock back as well as forward, and show what it is like for things simply to be, without the cumbersome and restrictive middleman of naming them - then perhaps that is an aspiration that more humans should share.

Greg responds...

At first, when you mentioned 'You Are Not a Gadget', I couldn't help thinking the follow-up statement would be 'You Are a Chip, a Dale or a Monterey Jack'. Talk about lock-in.

Anyway, is it immodest to say that your essay warmed my heart? I enjoyed reading it. And I found it quite insightful. I do believe my own thinking has evolved since I wrote that ramble on gargoyles' latent psychic abilities. My thinking now is less psychic and more intuitive based on sensory clues.

But it doesn't change my positive response to your thesis. And it also speaks to one of my goals - perhaps even needs (NEEDS) - as a writer. Using words, multiple, multiple words, in an attempt to reach beyond the lock-in that comes with words like river or sun or Hudson or, most especially, Greg. The original version of Hudson's line was something like: 'Nothing is real to you until you've named it, defined it, given it limits.' More words to more fully illustrate the concept. And often in my writing I find myself trying to paint pictures with more and more words in an almost poetic sense. That verbosity is often counterproductive when writing dialogue. But I LIKE to think it lends - even when cut back and cut down - a certain depth to the dialogue. But it's a constant push and pull in my writing between trying to find just the one right word and using many, many to paint that fuller picture.

Response recorded on December 30, 2012

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Rikki writes...

I've browsed through the archives and didn't come across a question like this but apologize if I did miss something simliar to this question that has been previously answered.

Do gargoyles ever mate just for the sake of being intimate with their mate and receiving pleasure or do they usually just mate when it comes time for reproduction?

Greg responds...

The former. (And did you check the "Gargoyle Biology" section of the ASK GREG archives? I find it hard to believe it wasn't answered there.)

Response recorded on December 12, 2012

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Derek writes...

I have a question about Gargoyle genetics and cloning. Apologies if this makes your head hurt, it's made mine hurt.
In Marvel comics, when they cloned X-23 they used just Wolverine's X chromosomes as the Y sample was damaged and a male clone wasn't viable.

I was looking up reptiles, as Gargoyles as I understand it are closer to reptiles than mammals. In reptile genetics it's the females(ZW) that have two different chromosomes not males(ZZ). So if Sevarius had a sample of say Angela, but only the Z was viable would he'd still be able to create a male clone of her, right? Females clones for Gargoyles would be the trickier of the two?

Greg responds...

Gargoyles are NOT closer to reptiles than mammals. They are GARGATES. So your entire question is pretty much moot.

Response recorded on October 03, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Are gargoyles classified as mammals?

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"Gargoyles pre-date mammals in my mind. Whether they evolved from dinosaurs or beside dinosaurs is another question."

[Response recorded March 7, 2001.]

Response recorded on May 25, 2012

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Anthrokid writes...

What happens to a gargoyle's body in the daytime when it dies a natural death (not being smashed up during the day)? Does the body still turn to stone in the daytime and just remain that way? Or nothing happens, meaning there would have been evidence to gargoyle bodies.

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

The dead would not turn to stone at dawn. Because the body's dead. Not breathing. Not doing any of the things a live gargoyle would do, like turn to stone.

[Response recorded on August 21, 2000.]

Response recorded on March 19, 2012

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Mel Cel writes...

Hi there! First and foremost, thanks so much for creating this show (and everyone else who worked on it). It was the main trigger that set me down the path of the animation industry. Loving it!
Q1: Are the gargoyles truly natives to planet earth?
Q2: What have they evolved from, and do they have their own version of 'Adam & Eve'?
Q3: (Continuation of Q2) Did their race's stone sleep originated from there on? how and why (spell/curse)?
Q4: How do female gargoyles retain their ability to nurse their young, considering that their young would only hatch a decade later?

Greg responds...

1. Yes.

2. There's been much discussion about this, particularly at Gatherings-past. I'd recommend checking the 'Gargoyle Biology' archive here at ASK GREG and/or raising the question in the Station 8 Comment Room. (http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/comment/index.php) A number of people there have theories on this topic.

3. It evolved. It's natural. Not a curse/spell.

4. Their biological clocks are designed to accommodate this.

Response recorded on February 13, 2012

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Comet writes...

Sorry if this has already been asked. I searched the archives but didn't find what I was looking for.
Gargoyles can dream in stone sleep, but what happens if they have a nightmare that would a human cause to wake up? Gargoyles can't normally wake up outside of their biological rhythm, as far as I know.

Greg responds...

True.

Response recorded on February 10, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Do gargoyles age at the same rate as humans?

Greg responds...

Nope. Check the Gargoyle Biology archive at ASK GREG.

Response recorded on December 28, 2011

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Vaevictis Asmadi writes...

Well, I can't claim to be a biology major, though I've studied it in an amateur way. But I would like to respond to Caitlin's post about stone sleep.

In most ways, gargoyles' metabolisms probably slow down a lot while in stone sleep. But I think Caitlin missed/forgot about one thing: they can't be 100% inactive, because their healing kicks into overdrive during the day. So some process, which uses up nutrients to build new tissue, must continue during sleep. Since they heal so quickly during the day, this process might use up a good chunk of the energy that would run the regular metabolism during the day.

Personally, I just assume that the blood still flows and they still breathe, however slowly, while they sleep. It was a Disney cartoon, so it's not like the stone rubble could bleed rivers of red during the Wyvern Massacre!

Greg responds...

It's all beyond my scientific knowledge... but I'll admit that, for example, the discussions about this we used to have at the Gatherings were always extremely fascinating to me.

Response recorded on December 09, 2011

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Caitlin writes...

Ok, this is not so much question as it is theory, but follow me for a bit if you like.

I've been reading through the biology archives and I had some thoughts regarding the stone sleep. Being a Zoology major, I tried to analyze some things, such as one particular factor- bodily functions like metabolism. A fan once asked if the metabolic functions still took place while they were in the stone slumber, and you were unable to answer, not being a biologist. I mean that in no harmful or derogatory way. I am just giving some insight from a biologist's perspective (I hope). I think that we can look at some analogues from real life- bats. I know it's not a perfect analogy, but some bats do go into a state of torpor (semi-hibernation) and some others actually go into a true state of hibernation. During hibernation, body temperature drops and metabolism slows to a near stop. The heart rate may also drop significantly.
Now, given that all of a gargate's tissues become the organic stone-like material, this means that even the blood is stilled, seeing as the muscles of the heart no longer pump. This seems like a hibernation to me. The fact that the tissues are "stone" probably means that the tissues do not need to constantly be fed oxygen or other nutrients via blood, and therefore do not need blood to flow or metabolism to run.
The "stone" state of the cells is also reminiscent of the dormant states of some bacteria. Essentially, the bacteria will create a "shell" when conditions are not right for survival and will become active again once conditions improve (if). The dormant state has no biological functions going on (that is if I remember correctly).

In short, the gargates are completely dormant until they awaken, and therefore are, for all intensive purposes, "stone".
I hope this was insightful/useful. I love thinking about these kinds of things. Feel free to ask me to elaborate or de-mystify anything biological (in this post or otherwise, if you'd like). My email is dbznut@carolina.rr.com

Greg responds...

Thanks, Caitlin. It sounds good to me.

Response recorded on December 05, 2011

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Joe writes...

Greg,
I've looked for the answer to this question and couldn't find it. Maybe you've already answered it but can the Gargoyles see when their eyes are glowing or do they have some extra sense that humans don't have?

Greg responds...

Yes, they can.

Response recorded on December 01, 2011

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Greg Bishansky writes...

And now, here's a question about gargoyles, clones, attraction, and gender traits. I really miss the Blue Mug A Guests, this would have been a perfect question for them.
Male gargoyle clones' eyes glow red, and the female clones' glow white. The complete opposite of natural hatched gargoyles. I was just wondering, how would gargoyles who might attempt to mate with clones deal with this?
The only way I can extrapolate is by picturing human women with gender specific traits that only a man would have, or vice-versa. Most heterosexuals would consider such things to be massive turn-offs, unless they're a bit kinky. I know it's not as extreme as a female with a penis, or a male with a vagina. But I'm trying to extrapolate. Maybe like a beard on a woman, or breasts on a man. Okay, that feels a bit off too.
Now, we didn't see Brooklyn get anywhere with Delilah, he probably never even saw her eyes glow. And considering he was just seeing her as a body, an available female, I wonder just how much of a turn-off that would have been for him if he did make even a little progress.
On the other hand, we have Demona who was with Thailog for at least half a year, and assuming she is 100% heterosexual, I am wondering if that would have unnerved her at all. But, she definitely seemed very physically into him, so maybe she has bisexual tendencies, or she's just really kinky, or maybe she just didn't care one iota. I don't know.
What are your thoughts on this?

Greg responds...

I don't get monolithic about this stuff. Different gargoyles would respond differently. To some, maybe to most, it might just seem exotic.

Response recorded on August 29, 2011

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anon writes...

I realize this may have been answered before, but would the manhattan clan be tolerant of homosexuality? What about other clans?

Greg responds...

Dude... if you REALIZE this... why don't you check out the ASK GREG archives and get your answer there - instead of bogging down the queue with already answered questions!

Response recorded on May 05, 2011

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Justin writes...

Hello Greg,
Just a musing/ question based on a post of Matt's

<Matt writes...

3. Aside from Hudson, were any of True and "Kermit"'s rookery parents still alive as of 997?
Thanks, Greg!
Greg responds...

3. Potentially.>

My question is this...
Hudson hatched in 878. So as of 997 most of the surviving members of his rookery would be pushing the bio equivalent of 60.

So it stands to reason that the 898 and potentially the 918 rookery generations may also have had eggs lain in 968 resulting in the 978 gen.

Take the Wyvern Cell as our place holder here. We see Second and Sacrifice ( whom we can assume they had there 2nd egg in the 998 rookery as there is a garg on Avalon who looks almost identical to Second)

So again, it stands to reason they wouldn't start breeding on Sacrifice's 2nd heat.
Same I suppose goes for Chomp and Chaw, they most likely had a kid in the 978 and 998 rookeries too.

Just a thought

Greg responds...

I'm afraid I'm not following you.

Response recorded on May 05, 2011

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Anonymous writes...

My sisters and I have recently had a huge Gargoyles marathon and some things I noticed made me wonder about how they sleep. So the Gargoyles turn to stone and at sunset their skin cracks and breaks off. Now I noticed that when they strike poses you can see into their mouths and even that is stone. So at sunset, when they awaken, are they chewing and spitting out Gargoyle flakes or do they slowly thaw from the inside out and crack like a hard boiled egg?

Greg responds...

From the inside out, leaving only a thin layer.

Response recorded on May 03, 2011

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A Gargoyles Fan writes...

First and foremost, I probably should've looked more carefully when asking the previous question, and I'm sorry for that.

I've checked around the archives, and taken a better look, and haven't found an answer for this.

Sevarius stated once that if a Gargoyle didn't go through stone sleep, they would have to eat several cows in order to get the energy they need. Demona doesn't go through stone sleep anymore, so how does she get the energy she needs for when she becomes a gargoyle once more?

Greg responds...

I'm not sure you're quoting Sevarius correctly, but in any case... magic compensates for Demona's lack of stone sleep.

Response recorded on April 12, 2011

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Matt writes...

In the time long ago when there were gargoyle clans all over the world, how common was mating between members of different clans? Did gargoyles nearly always choose a mate from their own clan or was inter-clan mating fairly common when multiple clans existed in a general area?

Thanks Greg!

Greg responds...

I don't know about "fairly common", but it was not rare. Though of course, geography plays a role here. You aren't going to see Mayan gargoyles mating with Loch Ness gargoyles in the first century.

Response recorded on March 16, 2011

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Anonymous writes...

About gargoyle's senses:

1-Their hearing seems sharper than humans, but just how much? Can they hear as well as a dog does? A cat? (like a gargate, I know, lol, but just to give a general idea :D)

2-Their night sight seem to also be far sharper than humans, for obvious reasons. Can they see as well as a cat does in the dark? Or less or more?

3-Brooklyn sniffs at Elisa, so maybe scent is an important factor for them? Just how acute is their scence of smell?

Thank you!

Greg responds...

1. Depends on the dog... or cat, I guess.

2. I don't know.

3. Acute enough.

Response recorded on March 09, 2011

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Anonymous writes...

Brian writes...
If I could pet a gargoyle's wings, what's the closest thing they would feel like?
Greg responds...
Depends on whose wings.

Say...Demona's?

Greg responds...

Leather, I guess.

Or suede maybe. Blue suede. ;)

Response recorded on March 09, 2011

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VoLpE writes...

Hi Greg. Hope your 2011 is off to a good start. Gotta question for ya. Are Gargoyles with feathered wings (such as Griff, Zaphiro) susceptible to molting?

Thanks :)

Greg responds...

Don't know.

Response recorded on February 25, 2011

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Kyle writes...

Hey Greg, I have a question about the ageing of Gargoyles. Do they age slower or at the same rate as humans?

Greg responds...

They age at half the rate of human beings.

Response recorded on December 03, 2010

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Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

A recent question about the relationship between Hudson and Demona got me thinking...

There was one off note in the question (the rest of the analysis was pretty cool)- Hudson would not have any discomfort at the idea that his rookery children were mated to each other. Given that the chance of multiple births is statistically zero and the strong predilection to marry within ones own rookery there is nearly no chance of biological incest ever happening so there would be no sibling taboo.

I recalled a factotum that caught my attention a few months back- Even the most gung-ho kibutzes in Israel got rid of true communal child raising in the 70's because their children were forming sibling bonds and not marrying. Of the thousands of children raised in the system, about 30 married within their own community and not even one married within his or her age group. (err... I suppose, by definition, two would be the minimum for that....) These children were raised with the intention of being future potential spouses but humans are hardwired not to look at siblings that way, even none biological siblings. A similar problem arises in some endangered animal sanctuaries - I remember a documentary mentioning that if male and female rhinos are housed together they eventually stop mating completely - it may have been anthropomorphizing, but they called it developing a sibling relationship. Obviously there are degenerates and incest does happen, Egyptian royalty was designed with sibling marriage, but we are biologically wired against it even when it is not based on blood and therefore dangerous on a Darwinian level.

It makes sense that Gargates, having evolved as very different species with different circumstances would be fundamentally different at times, but they are so very similar in some ways is it surprising when the differences pop up.

1) Do gargoyles have an incest taboo or does it just not come up?
2) If they do not have it, or, at least no strong one, what do they think of it when it occurs with humans? (I don't mean abuse, rather, for example, if they read about Egyptian kings marrying siblings does it give them pause or it just passes as an oddity.)
3) Are there any other instances that come to mind of there being a basic difference between humans and gargoyles? Not a culturally based one - or if it is culturally, it as outgrowth of their biological reality.

Sorry this last one is so vague. It is hard to think of examples. You once answered that racism puzzles Goliath. It makes sense that a species that seems to have nearly uinlimited skin color possibiilities even within a small and relatively isolated population would think the human skin tone based racism is plain odd. (Granted, gargoyles might have their own version of nonsensicle racism that makes no sense to humans.) I can think of where similar differences would be rooted- they are completely nocturnal, they have wings, the do not share the sleeping experience in any way etc…- but it still seems more the sort of thing that occasionally pops up and surprises you. Maybe...a creature with usable wings would be hardwired against agoraphobia or fear of heights. err. Maybe, not so much, they can still fall if their wings get bound up, so at minimum the concept of falling might lurk somewhere even in their minds.

thanks

Greg responds...

1. For the biological reasons you stated above, it's a non-issue. Obviously, some rookery siblings develop sibling relationships. Others do not.

2. It depends on their understanding level.

3. Not at the moment.

Response recorded on November 06, 2010

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Ariell Choy writes...

As humans, we can express ourselves culturally, emotionally and even spiritually through the arts (music, dance, drama, literature, etc). Do gargoyles practice the arts? Do gargoyles even have the capacity to create art? I have always wanted to know since having seen the episode "Kingdom" in which Broadway, Lexington, and Brooklyn return home to the Clock Tower after having attended a rock concert in which Brooklyn proclaims "did you hear that guitarist wail?"

Greg responds...

They have the capacity. And I'm sure some are artists.

Response recorded on September 18, 2010

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Dax Orbit writes...

I did a little looking around the frequently asked questions list and searched through the archives, so my apologies if I missed this question being answered.

Looking over the clans seen in Gargoyles, I noticed that only the Mutates had any markings. In example, stripes, spots, anything of that caliber. Is it possible for a natural gargoyle to possess these types of markings?

Thanks very much.

Greg responds...

Shrug. I'd rather not state anything that would limit designers one way or another.

Response recorded on August 25, 2010

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Vaevictis Asmadi writes...

Bad Guys #5 & 6: I wanted to post my Bad Guys reactions all at once, but I wrote my #4 reaction long before this one. So here's the rest, in no particular order.

I just noticed that nobody is willing to sit next to Fang. I wouldn't either!

I continue to wonder about the (constrained) choices made by the members of the squad -- there's lots of tension in Losers about this. They don't know any more about their boss than they do about the Illuminati. Less, in fact, and it's the revelation that Oldcastle and Thailog work for the Illuminati that persuades the Squad not to join. But they still know so little about their own boss... for all they (and I) know, he's could be just as bad. If Robyn knows more she isn't telling, and the rest know basically nothing. They've been given very little choice, of course. They know the Illuminati are untrustworthy... but they can only hope that their mysterious boss is any better. Dingo finally asks, but somehow I doubt Interpol is the truth!
Of course I know the Illuminati are bad news. But I don't know any more about the Director than the Squad do. From what I've seen, they take an "ends justify the means" attitude just like the Illuminati does.
I was seriously worried that Matrix would join the Illuminati and spell Bad Things for basically the whole planet. The Redemption Squad is composed of criminals on the run from the law, and if anyone pointed out to Matrix that the Australian shaman's logic in Issue #1 wasn't actually logical (Dingo can't fight for law and order if he's breaking the law!) then the Illuminati might have looked more attractive to Matrix than its current situation. Fortunately the Matrix isn't bright enough to figure that out. At this point, Matrix is largely at the mercy of whoever controls its access to information about how laws actually work!

Humorous moments: Yama falling asleep mid-sentence, Matrix eating a fork, Yama freaking out over his broken sword, and Doll calling Matrix "that thing."

Yama being impaled on a sword and continuing to fight with no noticeable weakness is hard to believe, especially since Goliath was so much worse off after a much less serious wound in Long Way Till Morning, and completely incapacitated in Bash by a knife wound that definitely did not impale him. It shows how tough a warrior Yama is, but... makes him look literally immortal, Highlander style. This is one place where gargoyle healing abilities are not believable to me without magic.

And Dingo's childhood was finally revealed ... the creep who raised him is the same guy who murdered his mother! That's creepy, ick. The look on John's face is suspicious from the start, but I did not expect that. No wonder Dingo became a criminal.

Yama continues to be impressive. And the scene with Matrix holding up the light under the huge Illuminati banner just looks cool.

I have to wonder why the Illuminati is hoarding priceless art objects, and not even using them for anything. I'm impressed but surprised that Dingo cares enough to prevent their destruction.

Overall, Bad Guys is a good comic, but it leans heavily towards the superhero genre (Oldcastle's gang even seems to include super powers) and as with the Pack, that doesn't appeal to me nearly as much as the other elements of Gargoyles. (Fortunately, nobody except Tasmanian Tiger has a goofy supervillain costume). Not that I wouldn't buy more Bad Guys, if more were published and I could afford it.

Thanks for the stories.

Greg responds...

I'd argue that BOTH of Goliath's wounds that you mentioned were WAY MORE serious. Yama intentionally guided that blade to go through organ-free tissue -- a through and through cut that did minimal damage to his side -- which wasn't the case with either of Goliath's injuries: he had internal damage/internal organ injuries both times.

Just look at the visuals again, and it should be clearer. There's nothing magical or Highlander about what Yama does. He's just a tough s.o.b.

Response recorded on August 17, 2010


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