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Gargoyles

The Phoenix Gate

Comment Room Archive

Comments for the week ending May 19, 2008

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I don't think acrophobics actually fear heights, but in actuality, fear falling from them and either being seriously hurt or end up dying.

I don't see how any species born with wings could have any fear of heights.

(The Gargoyles Pulse - updated Mondays)
~ Anthony Tini

I think a gargoyle could survive with acrophobia, though it would probably be difficult. After all, they're pretty quick on their feet (especially when they run on all fours) so I would imagine a clever gargoyle could still capture food. A gargoyle in this situation would probably develop stronger legs and arms than a normal gargoyle. He or she would probably be unable to participate in many clan rituals, but as far as survival itself goes, I think he/she might could make it. The clan might be a little annoyed at what they perceive as an irrational fear, but they would probably tolerate such a member and be willing to be accommodating when necessary, especially if that gargoyle distinguished himself or herself in other ways that didn't involve heights.

I'd imagine acrophobia would occur much less often in gargoyles than in humans. After all, humans rarely need to be at particular heights, so acrophobia isn't selected against, biologically. But, I would imagine acrophobia would be sexually selected against among gargoyles. After all, I imagine a glide would be much more intimate and romantic for a gargoyle than a stroll. Also, it would probably be naturally selected against somewhat. (This is presuming phobias are genetic, which they may not be, I dunno. It also presumes that said gargoyle cannot overcome the phobia. Maybe they can).

Rebel

**Ask Greg related**
Fresh from Ask Greg,

bwyell writes...

If I buy 30 copies of every issue of the Gargoyles comic book, will you promise not to kill Gwen Stacey?

**End Ask Greg related**

Algernon - Yes, I have a tendacy to over analyze details. But seriously, there are levels of pain that can not be hidden from facial expressions/body movement no matter what. If somebody tells me that he/she is in real pain and I can't see signs, I don't believe it's that severe. It comes from experience.

Oh yea, got a question that isn't worth asking: How do gargoyles with acrophobia surive? Given their abilities, I would think gargoyles wouldn't have acrophobia.

dph_of_rules
Whatever happened to simplicity?

Bagpipes> That's actually my drawing of Constance. I'm really glad you like it, after I read #8 there was no way I wasn't drawing her. The page where she rips the arms of the Steel Clan robot was pure genius.

I'm hoping to get to Amp soon, maybe next week after finals are over.

Ricky

An awesome fan drawing of Constance I found on Deviant Art:

http://czechoslovakian7.deviantart.com/art/Constance-a-k-a-Coco-81372842

Bagpipes5K - [bagpipes5k2 at sbcglobal dot net]

I don't want to see another Spider-Man movie for a very, very long time.
Greg Bishansky - [<---- The Twelfth Annual Gathering of the Gargoyles]
"I have publically praised Putin and not just because I love not being poisoned."

Greg B.> Speaking of ignoring Spiderman 3, any news on Spiderman 4 (Yes, there will be one, according to IMDb) as of yet?

With any luck, Spidey 4 will pull a Halloween: H20 and ignore the crappy part 3. Let's hope that happens.

KingCobra_582 - [KingCobra_582 at hotmail dot com]
Grr. Arg.

Tini> My advice, ignore that awful Spider-Man 3 movie ;)
Greg Bishansky - [<---- The Twelfth Annual Gathering of the Gargoyles]
"I have publically praised Putin and not just because I love not being poisoned."

Greg B> That Spider-man youtube video was hilarious.

Prince Caspian> The jury is still out on my overall enjoyment of the movie. I thought it was good, but I wasn't as entertained as I thought I would be. I'll have to give it a second watch eventually.

*** SS-M SPOILERS ***

Since I'm not familiar with the comic storyline, my main frames of reference concerning Spider-man are the films. Therefore, when the symbiote bonded with the suit, I expected it to turn Peter into a huge, cocky jerk. While I observed that it made him slightly more arrogant in this recent episode, I was surprised that his attitude switch wasn't more grand. So it makes me question if the shift in attitude was supposed to be more grand, or was it made less grand because of the introduction and influence of the Black Cat. I'm sure that question will be answered in a future episode(s).

Overall, I did enjoy the introduction of the Black Cat and I really liked her and Peter's candor. Her voice almost sounded like Laura San Giacomo; I didn't realize who it was until Greg B mentioned in his review. Thanks GB.

I don't know much about Chameleon but throwing him into the mix will make things interesting.

Speaking of the Chameleon, anyone else notice the tiny animation blooper? When "Dr. Connors" enters there lab you can see for a split second that he's accidentally drawn with a good hand instead of the robotic one.

*** END SPOILERS ***

If BG #3 comes out Wednesday and I go to the midnight showing of Indiana Jones, then it's going to be an awesome day!

(The Gargoyles Pulse - updated Mondays)
~ Anthony Tini

Todd> Ok. Thanks.
KingCobra_582 - [KingCobra_582 at hotmail dot com]
Grr. Arg.

It was a joke, just kidding around.
Greg Bishansky - [<---- The Twelfth Annual Gathering of the Gargoyles]
"I have publically praised Putin and not just because I love not being poisoned."

Greg B> This is a forum were we spend most of our time debating obscure plot points in saturday morning cartoons, who here isn't detail obsessed?
Algernon
"Nobody can say I wasn't a perfect father, do you hear..? Nobody !" - Norman Osborn

Algernon> Ignore DPH when he gets detail obsessed like that. Trust me.
Greg Bishansky - [<---- The Twelfth Annual Gathering of the Gargoyles]
"I have publically praised Putin and not just because I love not being poisoned."

DPH> What kind of subtle signs? Anyway the Goblin only had to fool Spider-Man and I doubt that Pete would have been too attentive to that sort of thing in the heat of battle.

Just one more thing DPH, are you by chance a member of the medical profession? Because if so, your training and expertise might let you pick up on things that the casual observer (or a sixteen year old fighting for his life) might miss.

Algernon
"Nobody can say I wasn't a perfect father, do you hear..? Nobody !" - Norman Osborn

Algernon - In an animated cartoon, it might be hard to tell when somebody is faking a limp, but, trust me, there are subtle signs that pain is being faked.
dph_of_rules
Whatever happened to simplicity?

Demonskrye> I still don't think Norman's lack of a limp is that big a problem. The Goblin could have easily faked that limp during his final battle. Don't belive me, then try walking around the room for a bit while prtending to have a limp. with a little practice it's ridiculesely easy. No goblin healing factors or shapshifting dopplegangers required.
Algernon
"Nobody can say I wasn't a perfect father, do you hear..? Nobody !" - Norman Osborn

Spectacular Spider-SPOILERS

I'll keep this short since a lot of my thoughts on this episode have already been touched on by other people.

I'm with Greg B in that I was not particularly looking forward to the black costume/Venom storyline, plus I was worried that it was too early in the series to be doing this story. But so far, it's working pretty well. The episode does a nice job of showing how tempting it is for Peter to keep the symbiote and how quickly it gets into his head. The fact that Peter hears it speaking to him in his own voice and not a different one tells me that poor Peter doesn't remotely know that it's getting crowded in his brain.

Bringing in the Black Cat is certainly helping this story work. Along with the temptation provided by the symbiote, Peter has to deal with the more external temptation of a very alluring villain coaxing him into putting down the great responsibility for a while. Strange that we haven't seen her civilian identity, but I imagine that's coming.

Anyone else catch Peter's line about his and Eddie's parents while he was chasing down the crashing plane? More exposition-y than I've come to expect from this series. Is the point to establish Eddie as both even more like Peter than we knew and an orphan whose absence may not be greatly noticed should he happen to hook up with some alien mud?

Chameleon playing Spidey was a lot of fun. I'm now fully on board with your Norman is the Goblin theory, Greg B., as there doesn't seem to be much other reason to have Chameleon imporesonating Norman here and not just Generic Wealthy New Yorker. A tip of the hat to you for sticking with your theory. (Though unless the Norman Spidey was talking to was the Chameleon, we still have that limp issue to work out.) And a nice foreshadowing of Mysterio to boot.

Demonskrye - [demonskrye(at)gmail(dot)com]

Greg B> Personally I've always thought Venom was pretty cool as a concept, it's Eddie Brock whose the real problem. They really should have gone with a host with a solid charachtar. Fortunately this show has done a good job of building Eddie's charachtar, so I'm pretty optimistic regarding Venom.

Of course I've always beloved that execution is way more important then concept anyway. Compare the Adam West Batman show of the sixties with the Bruce Timm show of the nineties, same basic concept with most of the same supporting cast and rogues gallery, yet you'd be hard pressed to find any to shows more different in terms of style or tone. Execution is everything

Algernon
"Nobody can say I wasn't a perfect father, do you hear..? Nobody !" - Norman Osborn

KING COBRA - Sorry, I haven't gotten around to looking over the most recent batch of questions yet.
Todd Jensen
Gargoyles - did for monstrous-looking statues what "Watership Down" did for rabbits!

Todd> Asking this again, (just in case you missed it the first time) but could you please delete my Spiderman review?

It's the one right before yours, signed 'Anonymous'. I want to re-post it with my name attached. I'm probably being annoyingly repetitive about it, and my apologies if I am, but thanks anyhow.

KingCobra_582 - [KingCobra_582 at hotmail dot com]
Grr. Arg.

Saw Prince Caspian tonight. Kinda slow at parts and the ending was weak and it was annoyingly "cute" at times, but all in all not too bad and much better than the first movie.
Matt - [St Louis, Missouri, USA]
"Let this mark the beginning of a Golden Age! Between all our clans, both Human and Gargoyle!!!" - Macbeth, "City of Stone"

Sort of off topic, but since we've been discussing Spider-Man.

Watch this!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=iPZNCNRC3OU

Greg Bishansky - [<---- The Twelfth Annual Gathering of the Gargoyles]
"I have publically praised Putin and not just because I love not being poisoned."

* SPOILERS FOR THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN *

Another fun episode.

Even though I'd heard about the Chameleon showing up, I was still surprised when Dr. Connors turned out to be him - and then when he impersonated Norman Osborn on the boat as well.

J. Jonah Jameson was in as great form as usual - telling Peter to get out of his office in seventeen words (with Peter amazed that he'd worked out that many), shouting "Spider-Man's not a fraud!" and then feeling amazed that he'd just said that, and printing the retraction - but burying it on page 42 in small type!

I haven't seen any of the "Spiderman" movies, but I definitely recognized the allusion to the upside-down kiss. Black Cat made a fun enemy/ally.

I was amazed to see Mary Jane replace Harry in the opening credits, even after knowing that Harry had been sent away at the end of the last episode.

And we see more development for the Venom story, in the form of the black spider-suit. (I wonder if Bishansky will wind up liking this treatment of Venom, in spite of himself.)

I also liked the references back to the Lizard episode - with everyone still upset with Peter over it, and Eddie Brock having all the more reason to be angry at Peter after this week's episode.

And poor Peter - finding that Flash Thompson is one of Spidey's biggest defenders! The absolute irony!

* SPOILERS END *

Todd Jensen
Gargoyles - did for monstrous-looking statues what "Watership Down" did for rabbits!

***POSSIBLE SSM SPOILERS***

Eddie Brock's making assumptions, like he did in the comics, but here it's less from stupidity and more from the fact that he feels betrayed by a friend. That's already a good start.

Something about Captain Stacy's remarks to Jonah has me wondering if he has suspicions of who Spider Man is. Greg Weisman seems to be drawing a lot from the early Stan Lee era.

Harvester of Eyes - [Minstrel75 at gmail dot com]
"You know what date is on this coin? 1958. It's been traveling twenty-two years to get here. And now it's here. And it's either heads or tails. And you have to say. Call it." -Anton Chigurh ("No Country For Old Men")

Phoenician> "Sorry -- meant to say KC and not Todd at the bottom of that post."

Heh. You're forgiven.

And thanks for clearing me up on today's ep. I'll probably still re-submit my review to Greg W. as is, (I'm just too damn lazy sometimes) once Todd deletes that last flub, but thanks.

KingCobra_582 - [KingCobra_582 at hotmail dot com]
Grr. Arg.

Sorry -- meant to say KC and not Todd at the bottom of that post.

Guess it's my turn to smack my forehead (**Smack**)

Phoenician
"The Suspense is Terrible . . . I Hope it Lasts" -- Willy Wonka

***Spidey-Spoilers***

I, too enjoyed this episode. My little brother loved it too, whom I've been letting him catch up via YouTube.

I also noticed the sudden addition to MJ in the opening sequence, but I thought Harry was still there? Oh well, when the next episode pops up, I'll take a closer look . . . guess I was too busy singing the theme song ;)

I thought about Greg's theory when I saw the Chameleon pull of the Norman-mask. Man, the revelation for that arc's going to be big, no?

Chameleon as Spidey was just painful to watch if just for the way he spoke. Argh, my head still hhurt from some of them.

"Ready for some Spidey-Punch?!"
"Please tell me I don't sound that way, or at least provide a better quip."

Jonah was great as always, loved Spidey calling him "pickle-puss" or something similar again. Reminded me of "Invisible Hand" (the Rhino ep).

"Yes a retraction! . . . er, on page 24 and in 4-point font."

Speaking of the Bugle . . . can't beleive that I feel for Flash, of the fact that Peter actually felt for Flash. That's just the brilliance of Mr. Weisman and his team right there, isn't it? You see a jock, let him make jock-like jokes and be a jerk for most of the season, a funny jerk at that, and then you see that he too, like most of New York, looked to Spidey as a true hero and he simply can't see him otherwise. Ashley telling Flash to get over it was like telling a kid there was no Santa Claus or something.

Black Cat was awesome, I must say. The flirting between the two had a banter level near equal to that of Gobby and Spidey, except that those guys were quipping and not flirting XD

We also got to see Captain Stacy, with his name referenced too. When I saw both father and daughter at the Connors Lab, I thought they would have had some exchange, but I guess not. :( Oh well, maybe next time.

Greg - those purrs weren't so bad, in my opinion. But then again, I'm an avid fan of "Pearls Before Swine" and I live for bad puns :D

Oh and Todd - the season isn't over yet. Not sure if there's a new episode next week, but the season's still has three episodes left.

Phoenician
"The Suspense is Terrible . . . I Hope it Lasts" -- Willy Wonka

Todd Jensen> Can you delete the current Spiderman review from AG (by Anonymous, dated today)? I got distracted and forgot to tack my name onto it. Thanks.

*forehead smack*

KingCobra_582 - [KingCobra_582 at hotmail dot com]
Grr. Arg.

*** SPECTACULAR SPOILERS ***

"Persona"
... And so it begins, the Venom arc. I'll admit right off the bat, this is not a story arc I've been looking forward to. But, I'll save my ramble on Venom and everything that I think is wrong with him as a character and a concept for my review of the season finale, when Venom actually appears.

Peter is such a geek, alien life is discovered and no one seems to care. Not Aunt May, but she's got other things on her mind. Good to see him and Eddie on speaking terms again, but honestly, can you blame Martha Connors for not wanting him there? I can't.

Nice change to the title sequence. Harry's out and Mary Jane is in. That's funny considering that she did not even appear in the episode itself.

And here we have our favorite feline, the Black Cat. Tricia Helfer did an awesome, purrfect job with that character. Oh. My. God. What have I done? Did I just type "purrfect?" Yes, I did. I hate myself for doing that, as I genuinely think puns are the lowest, least funny form of humor there is. But, I can't help myself here, because Cat was indeed purrfect. Argh, I'm doing it again!

The Black Cat has always been one of my favorite characters in the Spider-Mythos. So, I've been anticipating her almost as much as I was anticipating the Green Goblin. I think she was done purrfectly here (Ugh, I'm still doing it?), from her moves to her lines.

Speaking of those lines...

"My kitty sense is purring."
"Try not to get your goop in my hair." .... and I thought Mary Jane and Rand's line about being randy was pushing S&P. How did that get on the air?

Yes, I like Black Cat better than Catwoman and I always have. There, I said it.

Loved Steve Blum as the Chameleon. It's also refreshing to see a more old school take on him, as opposed to him just being a standard, Mystique-like shape shifter. I suppose he could eventually become one, but I'm glad he's not starting out that way. "So, which captain of industry are you going to masquerade as this time?" ... hmm, I know I should be focusing on this episode, so, I'll just do that. La di dah. Oh, what the hell, I can't resist... when he shows up at the party later as Norman Osborn, my mind went back to last week's episode where for a brief time the Green Goblin and "Norman Osborn" were face to face and I shouted "I KNEW IT!" so loud, I think I woke up the neighbors. The Goblin mystery is definitely not over... but, enough of that, I've now indulged myself. Back to "Persona."

Eddie Brock now hates both Peter and Spider-Man. Too birds, one stone. So far, this has been the best depiction of Eddie Brock I have seen yet, but... I am still apprehensive about the whole Venom story. As I've said before, Venom is a character I've never liked. I'm going to give the character and concept another chance in this universe, but I am remaining skeptical.

Chameleon disguised as Spider-Man cracked me up with his faux Spider-Wit. "My amazing insect sense is tingling." And I loved how Jameson just knew that the real Spidey was real, yet was still slandering him. Daran Norris is great.

And now we meet Mayor Waters. Okay, first thing I want to know is, was she in the comics? I don't recall her, and Marvel always preferred to depict the real Mayor of New York (Giuliani appeared as mayor several times in the 90s comics). She also reminds me of Senator Hillary Clinton, and with that, I'll refrain from going any further. Best not to bring politics into this review.

I liked seeing Quentin Beck and Phineas Mason as the Chameleon Goon Squad. Looking forward to them popping up again. Beck looks kine of like Moe. Wait... Bowl Cut Beck. Balding Mason and no hair Chameleon... no, too easy. ;)

The symbiote itself was well done. I like how it subtly took over Peter's costume, and seems to be playing evil Jiminy Cricket on his shoulder. Peter is going to go dark, and I'm hoping for some wacky malicious hijincks and no dancing and strutting in the streets.

Finally, the infamous upside down kiss between Spidey and Black Cat. Purrfect... I promise you, and I promise myself, I will never do that again.

*** END SPOILERS ***

Greg Bishansky - [<---- The Twelfth Annual Gathering of the Gargoyles]
"I have publically praised Putin and not just because I love not being poisoned."

Off-topic> So, any thoughts on today's Spider-man?

*SPOILERS*

I enjoyed it. Venom, being one of my favorite spidey villains, made a strong entry into the series here, as it slowly absorbed Spiderman, turning him into a badass. Really looking forward to more Venom action.

Nice moment at the end with Black Cat. Definite echos of a certain infamous alleyway scene from the 2002 film. Thanks for that throwback, Greg.

Chameleon also made a strong showing, with his frequent impersonations (Dr. Connors, Spidey, Norman) that make it obvious where he got his name from. Kudos.

So Mason makes his first appearance. Forgive me for asking (I'm not AS MUCH of a Spider-man fan as other people here seem to be.) but who was the dark-haired guy working with Chameleon? His name escapes me. :(

Is this the season finale? There was no promo for the next episode. If it was, thanks for a great first season. If not, I still can't wait for more.

So, either way, great job on this episode and the series in particular.

KingCobra_582 - [KingCobra_582 at hotmail dot com]
Grr. Arg.

Patrick: You can still make the 37 day mark. Thirty-seven's my favorite prime number, largely because of Kevin Smith.
Harvester of Eyes - [Minstrel75 at gmail dot com]
"You know what date is on this coin? 1958. It's been traveling twenty-two years to get here. And now it's here. And it's either heads or tails. And you have to say. Call it." -Anton Chigurh ("No Country For Old Men")

GATHERING 2008 IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts for the band members, the Keith David concert, previously scheduled for Friday, June 27, 2008, has been regrettably been canceled.

Happily, Keith David will still be able to attend The Gathering 2008 as a guest, and he is still scheduled to participate in many convention events, including the Radio Play and the Mug-a-Guest sessions.

Those people who have already ordered tickets for the concert will receive full refunds. We intend to issue refunds via the same method by which payment was originally made. We will contact all purchasers of tickets directly within the next few days with further details. Thank you in advance for your patience.

Anyone with questions can contact us at: staff@gatheringofthegargoyles.com

Patrick - [<-- The Gathering 2008]
"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men." - Willy Wonka

Todd > It's a sexual position:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/69_%28sex_position%29

Rebel

PATRICK - Because "69" looks the same upside down? Or for a different reason that I haven't got yet?

* PRINCE CASPIAN SPOILERS *

I enjoyed the movie. I do think, though, that it could have done more with the "Narnians have almost forgotten Aslan" concept, which was almost buried under the battle scenes (though those were exciting). It did bring some of it in, though, including Lucy's amazement at finding Aslan bigger - because she's gotten older - and his telling her that nobody ever finds out what would have happened - but it's easy to discover what *will* happen, on the other hand.

The Telmarines' accents were too thick at times; it made it difficult to understand some of their remarks.

I liked the concept of Miraz still being Lord Protector at first, but using the emergency of "Old Narnia isn't as dead as we thought it was" to get the noblemen to declare him king.

A few elements that I was glad to see get in:
Reepicheep's lost tail.
Edmund discovering at the end that his torch had gotten left behind in Narnia.
Lucy's comment on why girls can't carry maps in their heads: "That's because we've already got something in them."

A couple of additions that I liked were Lucy's realization that all of their old friends in Narnia (except for Aslan, of course) are long since gone, and the White Witch telling Caspian that he and his followers can't defeat the Telmarines on their own (evidence, once again, of how evil often, instead of outright lying, tells a half-truth; she's right that they need help, but the proper help would be from Aslan rather than from herself).

I was pleasantly surprised at how they handled the issue of the Pevensies' arrival, by having Caspian blow Susan's horn earlier than in the book.

One slight change from the book that I thought was a good idea was having the planetary conjunction happen the night that Caspian flees the castle, thus making it a more convincing omen of Old Narnia's restoration than in the book (where it takes place a few years earlier).

I realized one new thing during the movie that I had never thought of before; the Telmarines are descended from pirates, sea-marauders - but wound up turning their backs on the sea and ships (though their fear of the sea isn't shown as much in the movie as in the book).

I've already planned to see the movie a second time.

* SPOILERS END *

Todd Jensen
Gargoyles - did for monstrous-looking statues what "Watership Down" did for rabbits!

Todd > I'm still sad that I didn't get to the computer to post on the day that was "69 days until The Gathering..." :P
Patrick - [<-- The Gathering 2008]
"I can haz cheesburger?" - LoLcat

If GBD #3 is coming out, I'll inform any comic buyers I see on GameFAQs and tv.com.

Tini> I believe Lex will not be making anymore appearances, but we will be introduced to a female associate of his called Tess (who's sexual appeal will be more lethal to Clark than Kryptonite).

Antiyonder - [antiyonder at yahoo dot com]

Meg> Awesome news.

Antiyonder> I really only caught the last half hour of the show, so I'll have to watch it again, but since Michael Rosenbaum is out, will they be replacing the Lex character with some other actor?

The Gargoyles Pulse
~ Anthony Tini

Good news, guys. BG#3 is on midtown's newsletter for next week, so I think the chances of it coming out Wednesday are pretty darn good. Sweet!
Meg

*Yawns loudly and wanders into the comment room*

Rough night. Went to see "Prince Caspian" at midnight...then had to get up early to watch my girlfriend's graduation. *Yawns again*

Todd> The beavers may have been mistaken. Yes, C.S. Lewis did say he wanted to go back and make some edits for continuity...but it could simply be that Jadis destroyed records of the first rulers of Narnia. That's not uncommon with conquerers.

The Heraldry connection to gargoyles is interesting, and there COULD be Hyppogriffs...hmm. One of my fanfictions is a Kingdom Hearts story about a London Gargoyle who winds up traveling to other worlds. The first world I sent him to was Narnia during the Golden Age, and he bears the appearance of a Heraldic Lion (with black fur, though)

And now:

**SPOILERS FOR PRINCE CASPIAN**

This was an excellent movie...for so many reasons.

The movie opens with Professor Cornelius helping to escape Miraz's castle after the birth of his son...and they escape through a secret passageway in Caspian's Wardrobe...something that tickled me. There were a number of lines and character moments that delighted me. Such as when Lucy meets Reepicheep she says to Susan in a hushed voice. "Oh my gosh, he's so cute."

To which Reep replied: "Who said that?!!" draws his sword, and looks flustered when he realizes that it was the former Queen of Narnia.

Also the scene before the Council of Lords when Miraz is talking about the destruction of Narnians and Trumpkin comments "And you wonder why we don't like you."

Other little quotes tickled me as well:

"You're a mouse!" --Telmarine Soldier
"Can't you people think of something more original"--Reepicheep
"You're acting like you've forgotten who really defeated the White Witch."--Lucy
Aslan Roars in Trumpkin's face.
"Do you see him now?"--Lucy
"It would never have worked out between us, I'm 1300 years older than you,"--Susan

This last quote stems from the Caspian/Susan romance that the movie has. I was aware that they were going to do this from the get go, but was reserving judgment till I saw it. I decided pretty early on that I didn't care for it...however that line there at the end kinda made up for it.

There is also a sequence not found in the book where Peter and Caspian storm Miraz's castle. I disliked this and felt that it was unnessesary and it lasted too long, though there were individual points within the sequence that I did like.

I also enjoyed Peter's characterization and development. And that sad look on Lucy's face when she mentions Tumnus and the Beavers.

While the movie does have the book's major plot points...almost none of it was in the correct order, but that didn't bother me as much as I thought it would, and it actually puts the movie in a faster pace than the book...which is good for the big screen.

The Pevensie's were called into Narnia earlier in the storyline than they were in the book...and there's a lot of focus on Queen Susan's horn.

To my delight, some of the best lines from the book were preserved. And Aslan's sequence with Reepicheep's tail at the end was almost exactly translated from the book.

Ironically enough...the quote below that I have been using on this forum with my avatar...was not used.

**End Spoilers**

In the end I give it two thumbs up, 5 stars, and/or a 91% high rating. I look forward to "THE VOGAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER." which may translate to the silver screen more easily than any of the other books. An epic on the high seas...should be good. They may do more with the Island where Dreams Come True...aka Nightmare Island.

"Bother, I left my new Torch in Narnia," --King Edmund the Just.

Chip - [Dragonhunter723 at yahoo dot com]
"'You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve,' said Aslan. 'And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor in earth.'"--C.S. Lewis, From Prince Caspian

PATRICK - I hope you realize that you've just opened the door to a lot of "Hitchhiker's Guide" jokes related to the upcoming Gathering.

*remembers the time last year that I speculated over what would happen in the comment room when we reached "36 days until the Gathering" and then "32 days until the Gathering"*

Todd Jensen
Gargoyles - did for monstrous-looking statues what "Watership Down" did for rabbits!

Just six weeks (42 days) left until The Gathering 2008 in Chicago, Illinois!
Patrick - [<-- The Gathering 2008]
"We

The finale was okay, but I'm wondering if it was done before Rosenbaum made his final decision to leave the show. Because otherwise, the confrontation between Clark and Lex should have been longer rather than crammed into the last few minutes of the episode.

But since the next season is definitely the last of Smallville, I'm going to see where things end up.

Antiyonder - [antiyonder at yahoo dot com]

The Office - best episode of the season! Great finale!
LOST - the pieces are in place for the two hour finale! Can't wait two weeks! Arrrgg!
Smallville - thank GOD there is only one season left. I don't know how they are going to do it without Lex; bring on Doomsday!
My Name is Earl - didn't watch it yet, too tired to, going to bed, g'night!

P.S. Make sure to label those Prince Caspian spoilers, I'm going to see it Saturday at 11:30 AM. P'ce!

(The Gargoyles Pulse - updated Mondays)
~ Anthony Tini

Todd : Thank you!
Spen
"I should say something Shakespearean now." - Goliath

Yes, I remember Jewel. (I heard it suggested once that Jewel's loyalty to Aslan might be a symbol of old enemies being reconciled; in legend, lions and unicorns were bitter opponents.)

SPEN - To briefly summarize the last episode:

* SPOILERS FOLLOW *

The Green Goblin shows up on Halloween and kidnaps Hammerhead to lure both the Big Man/Tombstone and Spider-Man into a trap. Spidey gets suspicious that the Green Goblin is really Norman Osborn, but it "apparently" turns out to be Harry Osborn (who's been taking a drug from Oscorp in the hopes that it would make him better in his academic and athletic endeavors at school) - however, there's some suspicions that Norman is framing Harry.

Also, John Jameson's space shuttle lands - after some difficulties that make his father nervous - but brings the future Venom back with it.

Not very long, but I've only seen it once so far. The second time around, I might be able to summarize it with more detail.

* SPOILERS END *

Todd Jensen
Gargoyles - did for monstrous-looking statues what "Watership Down" did for rabbits!

Todd> Jewel the unicorn features prominently in The Last Battle as well.
Kerry (Kth) Boyd - [Kth_dragon at hotmail dot com]

Since Youtube only has the first nine minutes, and next weeks' rerun is "Natural Selection", could someone maybe post a synopsis of last weeks' Spider-man episode?
Spen
"I should say something Shakespearean now." - Goliath

Yes, the whole "humans in Narnia" issue is one of the leading inconsistencies of the books. (Lewis was planning on revising them to make them more consistent with each other shortly before he passed on; we'll never know how he planned to resolve that issue.) In "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", the Beavers say that there've never been any humans in Narnia before the children showed up, which clearly clashes with Frank and Helen (but Lewis didn't write "The Magician's Nephew" until some time after that and had probably forgotten that comment at the time). On the other hand, the description of the Pevensies' rule over Narnia (including the indication that Susan and Lucy receive marriage proposals from foreign royalty) suggests that there were other humans in the Narnian universe, if outside the land of Narnia itself.

The Telmarines have their own consistency issue with "The Magician's Nephew"; they're supposed to be descended from Earth pirates that stumbled into Telmar through a crack between worlds on a South Sea island, but "The Magician's Nephew" has Narnia created around the end of the Victorian Age. There might have still been pirates around even then (Lewis never stated that these pirates were contemporaries of Captain Kidd or Blackbeard, say, after all), but it does seem like a squeeze in time.

Lewis never seems to have addressed the issue of what kept Archenland from helping Narnia out during the White Witch's reign (though Jadis's eternal winter might have made crossing the mountains between Narnia and Archenland difficult). We do know (from "The Horse and his Boy") why the Calormenes left Narnia alone during that time: who'd want to try conquering a land governed by a witch who can turn people to stone - and which is trapped in everlasting winter, so that even if you *do* succeed in taking it over, you'd just be ruling over a frozen wasteland? Better to try conquering the lands ruled by normal monarchs and with more promising natural resources.

Of course, the fun of humans being viewed as mythical in Narnia in the first book is the reversal aspect; creatures whom *we* look upon as mythical (such as fauns) wonder if humans actually exist. (J.R.R. Tolkien used a similar concept in his short story, "Farmer Giles of Ham", where a group of dragons are talking excitedly about the possibility that knights are mythical. And there's Taurus's "humans of legend" remark in "The New Olympians" - though the New Olympians knew that humans were real, and very few of them would have invited one whom they'd met over to their house for tea.)

I like starting with "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" too. "The Magician's Nephew" reads more like "Now that you know the basic story about Narnia, here's some explanation for where that lamppost came from and why the wardrobe was an entrance to Narnia" - though it makes a good story in itself. Kind of like how we needed to get acquainted with Macbeth first in the present day for a while, and then got his backstory in "City of Stone".

Speaking of griffons (since somebody brought them up) - griffons are one mythical species that never got mentioned in the books, but I think they'd be at home in Narnia (where you've already got unicorns, centaurs, fauns, dryads, naiads, dwarfs, giants, even a Phoenix). Incidentally, this means that there are representatives of all the London gargoyle templates that we know of (except maybe hippogriffs) in Narnia. Lions get in, obviously, via Aslan (and there's at least one regular talking lion, the one whom the White Witch turned to stone and Edmund doodled on). Unicorns are mentioned a few times, there's at least one talking wild boar (in "The Last Battle"), and there's the White Stag who shows up at the end of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". Come to think of it, the London clan's introduction story is also connected to the Blitz (which resulted in the Pevensies being evacuated to the Professor's house). Hmm....

Todd Jensen
Gargoyles - did for monstrous-looking statues what "Watership Down" did for rabbits!

While I can't find reference to an ice wall, I don't doubt Jadis had a very vested interest in keeping humans from entering her domain. As is evident in the first book, she had an army she could raise at very short notice. If humans from outside (namely Archenland) had attempted to come to Narnia's aid, she'd have done her best to intercept and slaughter them. Perhaps they tried at the beginning of her regin, but by the end had chosen not to continue, having lost too many men to the venture. And of course no news of the Archenlanders' failure would ever reach Narnian ears (or if it had, new statues would be adorning Jadis' courtyard).
Kerry (Kth) Boyd - [Kth_dragon at hotmail dot com]

Algernon> I don't particularly recall a giant ice-wall cutting off Narnia from the rest of the world, but I could easily see Jadis doing something like that to solidify her rule and keep any humans from the neighboring kingdoms from trying to fulfill the prophecy, end her reign, and win the thrones of Narnia in the process. By the time the Pevensie kids showed up, Jadis had been in power for about 100 years. Since we don't know anything about the average lifespans of the various Narnian species, it is possible - especially if humans were already becoming a rare sight in Narnia before Jadis returned - that most Narnians would have concluded that humans were extinct or never existed at all. I'm sure Jadis would have made it quite worth their while to do so, if a all possible.

If the explanation is actually mentioned in a later book (I doubt it's in the first one since the other kingdoms aren't really touched on yet), so much the better. If it's not, I agree it is one of a few holes in the logic of the Chronicles. But I tend to enjoy trying to make up a plausible explanation when a story I enjoy includes something that doesn't quite make sense. I'm not saying that excuses it if Lewis didn't explain why humans from neighboring countries didn't come to Narnia's aid, but it isn't impossible for the reader to come up with an explanation that works.

Demonskrye - [demonskrye(at)gmail(dot)com]

Kerry> It wouldn't bother me if it had just been the Calormen scince as you said they lived across the big ass desert. Archenland was pretty nuch just next door to Narnia. To me it would seem lik the equivelent of the English believing Scots to be some extinct, quasi-mythical race. Plus I don't remember anything about a giant ice wall.
Algernon
"Nobody can say I wasn't a perfect father, do you hear..? Nobody !" - Norman Osborn

Kerry...you beat me to the punch. Everything Kerry said, Plus:

When Narnia was deadlocked in winter, there was a wall of Ice surrounding it's borders (ostensibly to keep humans out) And Calormen was accross a huge desert...the Narnians were forest dwellers, and aren't really prepped for desert life.

Sorry if this seems rushed...I'm kinda rushed.

Chip - [Dragonhunter723 at yahoo dot com]
"'You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve,' said Aslan. 'And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor in earth.'"--C.S. Lewis, From Prince Caspian

Algernon> Well, there's Narnia the country and then the world at large. In the beginning, the cabby and his wife were made the royal couple of the world and they had lots of kids. Also, given the Telmarine example, it could be possible that there were other times that humans crossed over (but it can also be assumed that this was a very rare ocurrance).

Obviously by the time the first book takes place, humans have moved out of that particular country, and left it to the talking beasts, etc (or they were driven out by Jadis' magical winter). Archenlanders are described as being related to Narnians (referred to as "northerners" and paler than the Calormenes), so it can be assumed that the original human population swelled enough to occupy both countries and the Eastern Islands before Narnia was abandoned. I'm tempted to assert that the Calormenes crossed over like the Talmarines did, only they originated in the vicinity of the Middle East or India, but I don't have documented support of that. I don't know if it's more likely that in the time that the world existed, the Calormene coloring could have arisen out of the original English stock, but I'm thinking not.

Anyway, while humans were not rare in the world at large, they had certainly deserted Narnia as a country. Thus, it's not really a betrayal of the older books to include other humans. Those beings left in Narnia, imprisoned by the magical winter, would have no way of knowing the world was really full of humans and they were the rarity (Calormenes having exterminated theirs long ago). They didn't have any contact with anywhere outside the Witch's rule, so I'm not surprised they remained ignorant.

Admittedly, it's harder to accept the Calormenes, not having a documented origin and being apparently a different race than the original, uh, colonizers. I just always told myself that their antecedents crossed over like the Telmarines did.

Kerry (Kth) Boyd - [Kth-dragon at hotmail dot com]

RE: Humans in Narnia

That was something that kind of bugged me back when I first read the Narnia books a couple of years back. "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" seemed to make a huge deal about how humans were supposed to be super rare in Narnia to the point of being almost mythical. Then Lewis introduced Archenland and Calormen in later books, so it turns out there were a whole bunch of humies living right next door the whole time. It just bugs me when fictional universes ignore their own rules.

P.S. I didn't mind the Tellarites, because Lewis explained where they came from.

Algernon
"Nobody can say I wasn't a perfect father, do you hear..? Nobody !" - Norman Osborn

Sorry for the double post. I didn't see Demonskrye's post till after I had posted.

I agree, for your first trip into Narnia, one should read the books in the order that they were published: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian (and the Return to Narnia); The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; The Horse and his Boy; The Magician's Nephew; and The Last Battle.

After you've read the books though...you should read them in the order C.S. Lewis wanted them read in. (TMN,TLTWATW,THAHB,PC(ATRTN),TVOTDT,TSC, and TLB)

The Horse and his Boy is probably my favorite...I just like a story set in Narnia's past with no appearance of our world. Dawn Treader is simply a beautiful book though.

As for Caspian, Lewis likened the Pevensie's return to Narnia to King Arthur's return in Britan's greatest hour of need, an image he was fond of. (He even said in Dawn Treader, the sooner Arthur comes back the better)

Chip - [Dragonhunter723 at yahoo dot com]
"'You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve,' said Aslan. 'And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor in earth.'"--C.S. Lewis, From Prince Caspian

Ooooh! I leave the comment room, come back and find people are talking about Narnia. Yay!

The Narnian timeline says that the "Golden Age" of Narnia ie, The Pevensie's reign, lasted about 14/15 years. I expect that they expected to keep on living in Narnia for some time. They had all but forgotten earth, and well probably expected to marry eventually and provide heirs that way.

Aslan probably stepped in after they left and helped out, and it may be that new humans from earth came through and set up shop in Narnia as well. All we know for sure is that there were no humans living in Narnia at the time the Telmarines invaded. (and considering that Narnia only existed for 2555 years, that's a long time--relatively)

I know that the movie is indeed going to send the Pevensie's on a guilt trip about leaving Narnia. I also know that there is going to be a romance between Caspian and Susan...I'm not sure how I feel about that considering Caspian marries Ramandu's daughter...of course I've dated several girls and I'm not yet married. It depends on how they portray it I suppose.

Incidently...When I watched "TLTWATW" two years ago and Jadis was turning all those griffins and other Narnians (especially the Griffins though) and the griffins fell to the earth and shattered...I couldn't help but wince because of my gargoyles background...those griffins DIED.

Anywho...I watch Prince Caspian tonight. I shall report back to you on the movie tomorrow. (That does not mean that I won't poke my head in hear from time to time today though.)

Chip - [Dragonhunter723 at yahoo dot com]
"'You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve,' said Aslan. 'And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor in earth.'"--C.S. Lewis, From Prince Caspian

Todd> I don't think I much considered the emotional ramifications of the Pevensie children returning to Narnia hundreds of years after they left until very recently. I don't recall Lewis touching on it too much in the original book, as he probably didn't want to make the kids too depressed to continue reading (at least until "The Last Battle", where I literally did become too depressed to continue reading.) But with the previous film adding a lot to the book and the trailers for "Prince Caspian" focusing a lot on the shock of Narnia being so much older and so very changed, I can't help but wonder if Lucy is going to realize that she's never going to see her dear friend Mr. Tumnus again.

Since we're on the subject, my impression is that Lewis wrote the books without a whole lot of idea that there would be more, explaining and expanding the world as necessary. I don't recall if we ever learn in the context of the books themselves how humans (presumably all descended from King Frank I and Queen Helen) came to colonize the lands around Narnia. Certainly there is no indication in "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" that humans are any closer than an entire world away. One thing I find particularly odd is how, in "The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe", much is made of Aslan being the "son of the Emperor-Over-The-Sea," driving home the point that he is a Christ figure. But in later books, Aslan's parentage is mentioned less and less and by the time we hit "The Magician's Nephew", which explains the creation of Narnia, te Emperor is nowhere to be found and Aslan is seeming more like the father, the son, and the holy lion all as one.

Incidentally, I think that "The Magician's Nephew" works much better as a prequel read after the first book than as an introduction to the world of Narnia. The first line in "The Magician's Nephew" is something along the lines of "This is the story of how Narnia began and how all the comings and goings between that world and ours got started," which is not particularly compelling unless the reader already knows about Narnia and is interested in how it came to exist.

Demonskrye - [demonskrye(at)gmail(dot)com]

PHOENICIAN - I looked at a couple of copies of "The Arabian Nights" (different translations), to see if any of Scheherazade's stories began with "The story is told - though who can say if it be true". Alas, they didn't. I suppose that opening must be Greg's invention.

DEMONSKRYE - Thanks for your story about "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". I hadn't thought about the "everyone we knew in Narnia but Aslan's been dead for several hundred years" element until a couple of years ago (and only because others brought it up first), but I'm curious to see if that gets explored or not. I've found myself wondering if there'll be a moment in the movie where the Pevensies, after learning about the Telmarine conquest of Narnia, wonder whether perhaps they should have drawn up some provisions for the succession to the thrones at Cair Paravel before heading off to hunt that White Stag. (Though it doesn't say in the book how much time took place between the Pevensies' return to England and the Telmarine invasion. Lewis eventually drew up a Narnian timeline which stated that the Telmarines took over Narnia over nine hundred years after the Pevensies left, so it probably wouldn't have made that much difference.)

Todd Jensen
Gargoyles - did for monstrous-looking statues what "Watership Down" did for rabbits!

Battle Beast> Ditto.
KingCobra_582 - [KingCobra_582 at hotmail dot com]
Grr. Arg.

IRON MAN Spoilers

I saw Iron Man tonight. It was great, though some things got to me... like when obadiah fights Iron man... he doesn't have time to try out the armour, but is surprisinglygifted in manouvreability in it while it took Stark a while to figure out.

Still, I loved the film and I thought Paltrow was great and especially Robert Downy Jr. He brought the character to life! Fit the description I had of Iron man to a tee.

Can't wait for a sequal.

Battle Beast - [Canada]
That is all I will say.

Off-Topic -- Kudos to Greg for his Smart-@ss response concerning Naught. Gave me a chuckle.

Oh, and for those interested, I'm ten pages into reading "The Book of One Thousand Nights and One Night" (basically the John Payne version, circa 1882/84). I can honestly say it is because of Gargoyles that I'm reading this giant tome :)

(Goes back to lurking/reading)

Phoenician
"The Suspense is Terrible . . . I Hope it Lasts" -- Willy Wonka

Heh, since we're on the subject of Narnia, I can share the story of when I saw the recent movie adaptation of "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe."

I'm a pretty big Narnia fan myself going back many years. I recently reread a couple of the books and found that they had an even bigger influence on me than I remembered. So needless to say, I was looking forward to the first movie, enough to pester my then-boyfriend now-husband into going on the first day. (I think my argument went along the lines of "But I wanna see it NO-OW!") The forcast was for 2 to 4 inches of snow that day but we weren't concerned. We're New Englanders. We could deal. So we took the short drive to the nearest theater showing the movie and settled in.

The movie was great and I only had to grumble at someone's kid to keep quiet once. But when we got out - jalapena. It was like Jadis had decided to take over the parking lot. There was a ton of snow covering everything and it wa still coming down. We brushed off our car, loaned our brush and scraper to a fellow movie patron, and set out slowly for home. We had a bit of trouble getting through the snow in a few places, though we got a good laugh at the big SUVs struggling to get traction stuck while our little Prius cruised on by. I can't recall if we made it up our exceedingly long driveway, probably not. But once we were safely home, we both agreed that the weather was rather appropriate for the movie. And I think my husband is happy that "Prince Caspian" is having a spring debut.

I don't know if we'll make it on opening day this time, but the trailers definitely have me excited. I wonder how much of a point the movie will make of the fact that every Narnian friend the Pevensie children made (aside from Aslan, of course) is probably long dead by now. Also, hooray for Reepicheep. He rules.

Demonskrye - [demonskrye(at)gmail(dot)com]

Heh...now I've scared you. Sorry.
Chip - [Dragonhunter723 at yahoo dot com]
"'You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve,' said Aslan. 'And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor in earth.'"--C.S. Lewis, From Prince Caspian

CHIP - Thanks. I'm looking forward to the movie too.
Todd Jensen
Gargoyles - did for monstrous-looking statues what "Watership Down" did for rabbits!

Sorry for the double Post...but incidently...that's why I chose Leo as my Avatar, because he's British and evocative of a Lion, like Aslan.
Chip - [Dragonhunter723 at yahoo dot com]
"'You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve,' said Aslan. 'And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor in earth.'"--C.S. Lewis, From Prince Caspian

Todd> Heck Yeah! Thanks for noticing. I am an AVID Narnia Fan, and an avid C.S. Lewis fan. When "Lion" came out I caught the Opening Night (Midnight) showing...and I shall catch the Opening Night showing tomorrow (Night...Midnight)as well. I've already got my tickets. I love Narnia as much as I love Gargoyles:) and I await the movie with as much anticipation as I do Bad Guys #3 and Gargoyles #9
Chip - [Dragonhunter723 at yahoo dot com]
"'You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve,' said Aslan. 'And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor in earth.'"--C.S. Lewis, From Prince Caspian

CHIP - Off-topic, I know, but does your choice of signature have anything to do with the movie adaptation of "Prince Caspian" due out in two days? (I'm definitely going to see it, incidentally.)
Todd Jensen
Gargoyles - did for monstrous-looking statues what "Watership Down" did for rabbits!

I dunno, dph's phrasing might have confused Greg and he may not have understood the question...I know I didn't until I read it several times.
Chip - [Dragonhunter723 at yahoo dot com]
"'You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve,' said Aslan. 'And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor in earth.'"--C.S. Lewis, From Prince Caspian

Egg Laying> If this is true, in addition to what it would mean for the Avalon Clan, it would require Brooklyn and Katana to travel to an egg-laying year (if not the correct egg-laying year) for Nashville's egg and Tachi's egg to be laid.
Demonskrye - [demonskrye(at)gmail(dot)com]

I received the latest Gathering news update in my inbox this morning, and while glancing over the "Items of Enchantment Anthology" section, realized just how many of these have already gotten into the comic book. So far, on the list we've got:

The Praying Gargoyle (Demona returns to St. Damien's Cathedral for the crystal inside it in #3)
The Coyote Diamond (powering or improving Coyote 5.0)
The Stone of Destiny
Excalibur
Gae Bolga (in Shari's stories about the Stone's past)

A few of the others on the list will probably not show up in the comic (unless in flashbacks) such as Titania's Mirror and the Cauldron of Life, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Scrolls of Merlin were to show up in the "Pendragon" spin-off if it gets made (Arthur would almost certainly want to consult them for clues about Merlin's whereabouts), and Greg's past remarks at "Ask Greg" suggest that the Mayan Sun Amulet will return at some point (to be returned to the Mayan clan).

Todd Jensen
Gargoyles - did for monstrous-looking statues what "Watership Down" did for rabbits!

So, if the answer were yes, which I doubt, wouldn't that mean the gestation of everything was tied to the Earth?

If anything, I'm more amused by Avator's little speech on cloning. Funny thing about that is all the animals he's listed, in which the cloning of them is difficult, are all mammals and are thus not oviporous. Plus, as VA pointed out, mammals are probably the only class of animal that possess denucleated red blood cells. Judging by what we saw in "The Reckoning," it just looked like the process was largely automated, anyway.

Harvester of Eyes - [Minstrel75 at gmail dot com]
"You know what date is on this coin? 1958. It's been traveling twenty-two years to get here. And now it's here. And it's either heads or tails. And you have to say. Call it." -Anton Chigurh ("No Country For Old Men")

<<It's wonderful for when you want your opponent to misunderestimate you.>>

Oh. My. God.

Spen is really President Bush. I knew it!!!

;)

Greg Bishansky - [<---- The Twelfth Annual Gathering of the Gargoyles]
"I have publically praised Putin and not just because I love not being poisoned."

Happy Dance Like a Chicken Day, everyone!

I'm dead serious there. Today really is "National Dance Like a Chicken Day". Oddly enough, it's quite appropriate for me, since we'll be playing at the health center this afternoon, and the staff and I will be expected to do "The Chicken Dance".

Losing a queen : Actually, purposefully losing the queen early on is one of my traditional chess moves. It's wonderful for when you want your opponent to misunderestimate you.

Spen
"Come along. You belong. Feel the fizz."

I agree with Rebel. It doesn't really make sense for the egg-laying to be tied to the earth's cycles. Presumably the egg-laying occurs six months later (right?) because that's how long it takes the egg to form and fertilize, or what have you.

My hand is asleep.

Samuel - [AnglOfHellO at AOL dot com]
Noodles, anyone?

I would think that the abilities of females to conceive is most definitely tied to earth's cycles. However, I see no reason why their ability to lay an egg should be tied to earth's cycles. To me, that just sounds silly. If conception is tied to earth's cycles, egg laying doesn't NEED to be tied to earth's cycles.

Also, if egg laying is indeed tied to earth's cycles....wouldn't that be a disaster for the Avalon clan? The fetuses surely couldn't survive such extended pregnancies/incubation.

I'm extremely tired right now, I hope that made sense. If it didn't, I'm sure I'll realize it in the morning.

Rebel

Matt - I'm somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 asleep at this moment and consequently my logic might fail me. If Greg had cleared stated 'yes' as the answer to my question, then Ophelia's pregnancy would have been as long as I thought possible. On the other hand, a clear 'no' answer to my question opens up a big can of worms. If the answer had been "no", then the possibility exists of a female gargoyle being implanted in an off-year on the right date and start the process of growing a fertilized egg inside her body. Given Greg's inclination towards simplicity, the answer should be "no". <This is getting more and more complex> Hence, my signature.
dph_of_rules
Whatever happened to simplicity?

DPH> I noticed and figured you'd be saying something about it soon. This is getting more and more complex...
Matt - [St Louis, Missouri, USA]
"Let this mark the beginning of a Golden Age! Between all our clans, both Human and Gargoyle!!!" - Macbeth, "City of Stone"

Anybody notice the recent answers in Ask Greg?

dph writes . . .
Are the abilities of female gargoyles and female gargoyle beasts to lay eggs also tied to Earth's natural cycles?
Greg responds...
Uh... probably.

This might prove a theory that gargoyle/gargoyle beast pregnancies on Avalon would be longer (even accounting for the time differential) than those in the real world. A female gargoyle couldn't be artificially inseminated and expected to lay an egg in an odd year.

dph_of_rules
Whatever happened to simplicity?

Todd: I actually haven't seen any of the Harry Potter movies. The Lewis design would be a good guess, though.. I know that it didn't really take off until about the thirteenth century, but I also know that a lot of the records concerning designs of chessmen have been lost. The Lewis is one of the few designs that we know of in the present day.
Harvester of Eyes - [Minstrel75 at gmail dot com]
"I do not apologize, old man!" -Norman Osborn ("Spectacular Spider-Man").

I'd tend to think that Thailog would sacrifice his queen to draw attention away from what his real objective is or what is really going on.
Matt - [St Louis, Missouri, USA]
"Let this mark the beginning of a Golden Age! Between all our clans, both Human and Gargoyle!!!" - Macbeth, "City of Stone"

Thailog in Chess and Life> "Reckless" might be a better word to described Thailog. He's capable of underestimating his foes (and allies) at times and I think he has a flair for the dramatic that has gotten him int trouble and could continue to do so. He's not quite a "Let me take a few minutes to explain my brilliant plan, giving you heroes just enough time to foil my scheme" villain, but he does like showing off. Sometimes it's small stuff, like the Halloween mask, just a little joke in a situation everyone else would find to be no time for joking. And there are the bigger examples. He just can't resist showing off Delilah and showing Demona how replaceable she is to him, even when she still poses a threat. And he could have easily reused the robot mosquitoes to get DNA samples from the Manhattan Clan, as they never figured out what was going on there. Or if he didn't want to repeat himself, he could have figured out some equally subtle way to get what he needed. But paying a visit to Goliath's intestines is far more dramatic and Thailog just wanted to try stabbing one of his three dads in the stomach. Chess-wise, he's the kind of guy who would sacrifice his queen just to prove he can still win with a king, two pawns, and a bishop.
Demonskrye - [demonskrye(at)gmail(dot)com]

Todd : I assumed that the pieces self-repaired at the end of a game.
Spen
"Come along. You belong. Feel the fizz."

Of course, we might be overanalyzing the position on the chessboard. Maybe Hedgecock just forgot to draw a queen among Thailog's pieces. We don't know if its absence was deliberate.

HARVESTER - I hadn't thought of that before, but good point. The chess pieces at Castle Moray might have looked more like, say, the Lewis Chessmen. (The Lewis Chessmen were the originals, incidentally, for the design of Ron's wizard chess set in the first Harry Potter movie, which was a nice touch - though I didn't like the notion of having them smash each other whenever making a capture. You could only use a chess set like that once - not very economical, especially for the Weasleys.)

Todd Jensen
Gargoyles - did for monstrous-looking statues what "Watership Down" did for rabbits!

Chip > Yeah, I agree. I think if Brentwood ever overthrows Thailog, it will be because Thailog (carelessly) underestimated him. If Brentwood keeps up the facade of being a dumb, obedient clone even after he becomes more educated, this is even more likely.
Rebel

I was wondering...who do you guys mentally cast for Staghart and Coco's voices?
Chip - [Dragonhunter723 at yahoo dot com]
"God is dead."--Neitche "Neitche is dead."--God

I'm just going to see if Thailog's strategy pays off. I'm a chess player myself, and a good general knows when to sacrifice a few troops in order to achieve a certain end. Thailog has already shown that he's one of the smartest characters in the series. Granted, he's playing a Nine and she has him in check, so this is even assuming he LET Shari take the Queen.

Speaking of chess, I always wondered about the chess board in Castle Moray. I know that there's evidence that the game began circulating through Western Europe as early as the tenth century. But I always thought it a pity that the chessmen on Findlaech's board didn't look more elaborate, as they did on a lot of the boards owned by nobility (which also has to do with the fact that the traditional design for chess pieces we see today wasn't invented by Nathaniel Cook until the mid 19th Century). It's kind of a stupid nit, I know, but it stems largely from my love of the game. :P

Harvester of Eyes - [Minstrel75 at gmail dot com]
"I do not apologize, old man!" -Norman Osborn ("Spectacular Spider-Man").

That's very insightful Rebel-- It makes me think about "Brentwood overthrows Thailog theory".

Phil> Ah okay...how do they know?

Chip - [Dragonhunter723 at yahoo dot com]
"God is dead."--Neitche "Neitche is dead."--God

I think Thailog has already done some things that show he's quite capable of carelessness. Letting Demona and Macbeth go at each other in "Sanctuary" was careless...Thailog himself could have been hurt. Revealing Delilah while Demona was still around and perfectly capable of retaliating (in fact, wasn't she holding a huge gun?)...that was quite careless. Attacking the Manhattan Clan to get Delilah back and to get those blood samples...that was careless. Thailog himself could have been seriously injured if things hadn't gone according to plan.

So yeah, Thailog is definitely a careless guy. I think maybe HE doesn't think he is, because he overestimates himself as well as his own luck. Thus far, it seems like things have mostly gone his way...but his carelessness could easily catch up to him some day. Keep in mind, he is still very new to this world.

Rebel

Algernon: Well if we assume similar traits to Xanatos are alive and well in Thailog we might look at Xanatos for an example of carelessness, such as Xanatos giving the Eye of Odin to Fox without understanding how it would affect her.

At the same time one might argue Xanatos either knew perfectly well what it might do, but wanted to see if the legend of the eye was true.

Algernon

Chip> You asked earlier how we knew before Diamond updated their list that BG#3 wasn't coming out this week. My comic store sends out a weekly e-mail (usually on Saturday, but sometimes Friday) that lists the titles coming out the next Wednesday. I don't know where they get their info, but they've never been wrong (at least about the titles I get).
Phil - [p1anderson at go dot com]

Thailog's queen (in the sense that Patrick means) probably removed herself from the board after Thailog decided to queen one of his pawns and make it her replacement. :)
Todd Jensen
Gargoyles - did for monstrous-looking statues what "Watership Down" did for rabbits!

Perhaps Macbeth took Thailog's queen. ;)

45 days left until The Gathering 2008 in Chicago, Illinois!

Patrick - [<-- The Gathering 2008]
"You'll have to do better than that!" - Macbeth

Gorebash> Thailog, overly agressive? Maybe. Careless? I doubt that.
Algernon
"Nobody can say I wasn't a perfect father, do you hear..? Nobody !" - Norman Osborn

****Blaise walks in with a cake. After depositing the cake on the table, he removes a card from his pocket and looks it over (the card, not the pocket).****

Okay, let's see...

HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY MATT!

CONGRATS ASATIRA!!

HAPPY (belated) MOTHER'S DAY to all the mothers in the fandom.

Until next time, farewell. ****Blaise scarfs down a piece of cake and vanishes.****

Blaise
"Build a man a fire, keep him warm for a day. Set a man on fire, keep him warm for the rest of his life."--Terry Pratchett's "Jingo"

So I was suffering a moment of boredom recently and had a copy of #8 handy and notice that Thailog has no queen on the chess board. I wonder if that's just what Hedgecock drew or if Greg had such a specific instruction when drawing the scene.

If you want to really push the limits of drawing water from a rock you might take the view that losing a queen while your opponent still has her's might indicate overly aggressive and/or careless play.

Gorebash

Amusing little story from work. Like any truly "efficient" company, I have way too many bosses. The Claims Managers are directly above my Supervisor, and my manager is named Gregg with two Gs. Anyway, someone taped a pink sheet of paper with the words ASK GREGG typed on it to one of the interoffice correspondence boxes. It got a smile out of me.
Harvester of Eyes - [Minstrel75 at gmail dot com]
"I do not apologize, old man!" -Norman Osborn ("Spectacular Spider-Man").

*** BAD GUYS #2 ***

Finally was able to pick up BG #2 this weekend. A real blast. Brimming with cool moments (especially the action stuff with Matrix and the drama of Yama's situation), a lovely twist ending. The art is dynamic, attractive and hits the right emotional beats. It's not as dense and intense as Gargoyles but in some respects I like that better. Certainly, Sevarius' long walk brought a great deal of tension, especially seeing Shari and some new characters. I know Greg is trying to utilise the new medium, but this story felt really filmic and I enjoyed that.

I also think, contrary to the review discussed last week, that BG #2 is by quite a distance the most accessible comic Greg's done so far. Generally I agree that these stories are so dense that it amazes me that any casual readers could follow it. But the criticism seems so misplaced here. High-octane action scenes, strong characterisations which are clear without any understanding of continuity. Reveals that work on multiple levels (the duality of the "time to meet your maker" line was discussed earlier). It's just such a good story. I think perhaps the problem is that if you know the world intimitely, you're golden; if you don't know the world at all, you've got all you need. But if you sorta know what happened but don't remember, you may feel like you're missing out. Perhaps that explains the negative review. Oh well, hopefully it won't damage us too badly.

Also, Karine -- sorry to hear you're taking a break from the comics since I've really enjoyed your work, but I hope you enjoy the extra time with your family!

*** END BAD GUYS #2 TALK ***

Ed

5/21? That's still really good, considering when #2 came out.
Rebel

Okay...*Sigh* now I believe it.

http://www.previewsworld.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=6&s=475&ai=70076

Chip - [Dragonhunter723 at yahoo dot com]
"God is dead."--Neitche "Neitche is dead."--God

Greg B is friends with the artist so he may have some kind of advanced knowledge. I don't know.

I DO know that Diamond just updated their shipping lists and it has "Gargoyles Bad Guys #3" listed for next week 3/21, but of course, that can always change.

The Gargoyles Pulse
~ Anthony Tini

If it was a pie, it would be banana creme, but I don't think there's any cake precedent in "Gargoyles".

Yes, would someone please explain how we're certain that BG #3 is not coming this week before Diamond has updated their shipping lists? Did Greg or SLG confirm it was not going to ship? It's not that I doubt it, I jus want to know where this came from.

Demonskrye - [demonskrye(at)gmail(dot)com]

Ooo... Cake... What kind is it? ;)
The One Known As Mochi - [shogi dot keima dot 08 at gmail dot com]
Current Mood: (>TT)> Still under the cookie table until #8, BG #2, and/or the TBP is in hand...

I still don't understand. How do we know that GBG#3 isn't coming out yet? Diamond hasn't updated it's release list yet. How do you know this? I'm not trying to be difficult, I just want confirmation...

Matt> Happy Belated Birthday dude. And Congrats to Asatira, my sister graduates in two weeks.

Chip - [Dragonhunter723 at yahoo dot com]
"God is dead."--Neitche "Neitche is dead."--God

I'm so confused. Happy Congratulations Birthday Mother's Day to everyone!
The Gargoyles Pulse
~ Anthony Tini

Happy Birthday Matt!
Purplegoldfish

Thank you, guys. Happy birthday, Matt!
Asatira

Happy belated birthday to Matt!

Congratulations to Asatira!

Happy belated Mother's Day to Siren, Karine, and any other moms!

Rebel

Matt> I know it's a day late but happy bithday dude. I'll have you r present sent once I get my time machine up and running.
Algernon
"Nobody can say I wasn't a perfect father, do you hear..? Nobody !" - Norman Osborn

Matt> Happy birthday! *hands over a balloon*

Asatira> Congratulations! ^..^

Kerry (Kth) Boyd - [Kth-dragon at hotmail dot com]

Happy Birthday Matt and Happy Graduation Asatira. And Happy Birthday (one day belated) to my husband - my Transformers Animated and Spectacular Spider-Man watching buddy who is very indulgent of my love of "Gargoyles", even if it's not his cup of Nightstone coffeehouse tea.
Demonskrye - [demonskrye(at)gmail(dot)com]

Matt: Happy Birthday.
Harvester of Eyes - [Minstrel75 at gmail dot com]
"I do not apologize, old man!" -Norman Osborn ("Spectacular Spider-Man").

Happy birthday, Matt!

I'm not surprised about the announcement; as I said last week, I've come to expect that when Diamond says it'll be coming out on a certain week, it'll come out the week after that.

Todd Jensen
Gargoyles - did for monstrous-looking statues what "Watership Down" did for rabbits!

Tenth in the name of Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos!

46 days left until The Gathering 2008 in Chicago, Illinois!

Patrick - [<-- The Gathering 2008]
"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men." - Willy Wonka

Doh, missed it. Happy Birthday, dude.
Greg Bishansky - [<---- The Twelfth Annual Gathering of the Gargoyles]
"In 1977, George Lucas' "Star Wars" was released, and the intellectual and art side of filmmaking and filmgoing has been scattered to the four winds ever since."

Damn. Thats too bad.

Oh, and thanks for the birthday well-wishes.

Matt - [St Louis, Missouri, USA]
"Let this mark the beginning of a Golden Age! Between all our clans, both Human and Gargoyle!!!" - Macbeth, "City of Stone"

Chip & Greg B.> Figured as much a week ago. *sighs*

I take it that also means there's no confirmed date as well?

KingCobra_582 - [KingCobra_582 at hotmail dot com]
Grr. Arg.

You're sure? *Sighs*
Chip - [Dragonhunter723 at yahoo dot com]
"God is dead."--Neitche "Neitche is dead."--God

Which won't be coming out this week.
Greg Bishansky - [<---- The Twelfth Annual Gathering of the Gargoyles]
"In 1977, George Lucas' "Star Wars" was released, and the intellectual and art side of filmmaking and filmgoing has been scattered to the four winds ever since."

9th in the name of Gargoyles: Bad Guys #3 Estranged
Chip - [Dragonhunter723 at yahoo dot com]
"God is dead."--Neitche "Neitche is dead."--God

Eigth! Happy birthday Matt, Happy Mother's Day and congradulations to Asatira as well!

(starts cutting cake, passing out slices, even one under the table for Mochi . . . .)

Phoenician
"The Suspense is Terrible . . . I Hope it Lasts" -- Willy Wonka

Seventh!

Happy Mother's Day! (It's still Sunday, now)

Battle Beast - [Canada]
That is all I will say.

Sixth! Happy birthday, Matt!
Spen
"Come along. You belong. Feel the fizz."

5th.

And a happy birthday, Matt.

KingCobra_582 - [KingCobra_582 at hotmail dot com]
Grr. Arg.

4th~!
The One Known As Mochi - [shogi dot keima dot 08 at gmail dot com]
Current Mood: (>T.T)> My eyes...

P.S.: Happy birthday, Matt.
Samuel - [AnglOfHellO at AOL dot com]
Noodles, anyone?

3rd
dph_of_rules
Whatever happened to simplicity

1st in the name of bg #3
dph_of_rules
Whatever happened to simplicity

Second!
Samuel - [AnglOfHellO at AOL dot com]
Noodles, anyone?

First! I hope. In the name of Bad Guys 3 coming out this week, and me getting Bad guys #2 in the mail.
Belated happy 26th Birthday Matt! *leaves cake*

Wingless