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Tyler writes...

Why are Goliath and his took brothers so much bigger than the next generation of gargoyles

Greg responds...

They're older? (I assume you meant "rookery" brothers.)

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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stranger59 writes...

Just a few questions regarding Gargoyle teeth and dental care:

1: Can they get cavities and chipped/missing teeth, or is that something the stone sleep's healing properties would take care of?

2: If they need any dental care at all, did Xanatos ever arrange a modern dentist for them, and would such care extend their lives the way it would for a Medieval human given such care?

3: Do gargoyles have baby and adult teeth as humans do, one set throughout life, or some other arrangement?

Greg responds...

1. All of the above.

2. It hasn't happened as of 1997, anything else would be a spoiler.

2a. Good dental care is important for all.

3. Haven't thought about it, honestly.

Response recorded on August 12, 2021

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JERNEJ writes...

So let's say Gargoyles is brought into live action. What does them changing into stone look like? Is it like a magical fading effect or would it look like a bodily reaction that produces stone around them? I know it's a weird question I just think about these things.

Greg responds...

I assume it would look like a biological transformation.

Response recorded on August 12, 2021

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Anonymous writes...

Are Gargoyles born with foreskins? Do any see the need for circumsicion if they are?

Greg responds...

I'm going to respect their privacy here.

Response recorded on August 06, 2021

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Geri writes...

Hi,

Sorry, I asked a question but forgot to put a link to the ramble it refers to and thought you might have trouble finding it. My question refers to this ramble where you discuss the idea that Gargoyles might have originally not used language and communicated psychically instead, an extension of how they didn't used to have names.

https://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=387

I thought it was fascinating and I was wondering whether you've given it any more thought since then. Thanks.

Greg responds...

Thanks for the link. Yeah, the ideas still interest me. Something to explore someday, maybe.

Response recorded on July 26, 2021

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Geri writes...

Dear Greg,

I'm a big fan of yours. I have a question, but first I just wanted to express my gratitude. I recently lost my grandfather. It was the first time someone close to me passed away, so it was especially difficult. It prompted me to reread Rain of the Ghosts and I found it very comforting during a difficult time. I thought your portrayal of the grieving process was very vivid and true to life, and I appreciate that you didn't just rush through it the way other works of fiction often do. I'd give anything for my grandfather to be in a bracelet so I could talk to him every night like Papa Bastian. I hope I get to read the rest of the books in the series and hear the audioplay version of the second book someday, but until then I'll happily support the other projects you're working on, especially Young Justice: Outsiders.

As for my question, a while ago I saw this ramble all the way from 2004 about whether Gargoyles might have communicated psychically rather than through words. I was really fascinated by it at the time and it spurred me to think about the nature and limitations of language. I even did some study of the philosophy of language when I got to college partly because of seeing that ramble. I was wondering, have you given that idea any more thought? For example, is it any closer or farther away from something you'd consider bringing into the text if you ever get a chance to make more Gargoyles stories? Thanks!

Greg responds...

Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad Rain and Bastian could help you through a difficult time.

As for your question, I haven't really pursued that idea. I'm leaning more toward instinct than telepathy. But I also haven't had a need to explore it further. So we'll see.

Response recorded on July 26, 2021

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Iluvendure writes...

We know that Children of Oberon and humans can have children among them (Fox is the greatest example), while gargoyles and humans can not reproduce:
1. My question is this: Could a Gargoyle and a Children of Oberon together conceive a child in a supposed relationship?... after all the living nature of the "fairies" is strange

Thank you very much and forgive the inconvenience

Greg responds...

1. In theory.

Response recorded on July 26, 2021

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Anonymous writes...

When the eggs hatch, do expecting mother gargoyles know instinctively which hatchling is theirs to nurse? Or do they just nurse any hatchling?

Greg responds...

The latter, in essence. They are all rookery mothers to all the hatchlings.

Response recorded on July 23, 2021

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draph91 writes...

do solar and/or lunar eclipses affect gargoyles in any way when it comes to the stone sleep process?

Greg responds...

No spoilers.

Response recorded on July 14, 2021

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DS writes...

You mentioned that gargoyles and gargoyle beasts are distinct from most mammals and are classified as "gargates." Given their traits of milk production and warm bloodedness while laying eggs, I'd be tempted to classify gargoyles as monotremes, a subset of mammals that includes platupi and the echidnas, though I would need to look at their biochemistry to be absolutely certain (which has obvious logistical issues). I remember reading in the archives that gargoyles are the first "sentient" race, emerging sometime in the same time magnitude as dinosaurs. Classing gargoyles as monotremes could fit in with that time frame, because birds/dinosaurs and mammals diverged some time in the Carboniferous, significantly before the Triassic. This would put them in the same ecological classification as other monotremes (which you had demonstrated reluctance to accept before vis a vis platupi), but given the long time period, I would EXPECT them to look more and be more different from other monotremes than, say, a sparrow does from a T-rex, since their most recent common ancestor was much longer ago. Oddly enough, the most difficult thing about figuring gargoyles out is the difference between Lexington and the rest of the clan, because four vs six limbs is a major difference, and figuring out that phenotypic difference that still leaves the two types of gargoyles able to create viable offspring wasn't very easy. However, I think I managed to crack it. It is most probably a trait of the MOTHER of the gargoyle, not the gargoyle in question proper (so if Lexington decided he wanted a kid and found a willing female gargoyle (ignoring for thought experiment purposes that he wouldn't be interested in women), he probably wouldn't be able to pass it on). At some point, some female proto-gargate from just as gargoyles and gargoyle beasts were starting to diverge had a mutation that probably added an extra pair of limbs on their back. These extra limbs could have been useful, and could have evolved over time to help gargoyles fly (well, glide) through the power of "jazz hands" (like how bats fly proper). Eventually, another female gargoyle had another mutation that essentially told her kid's biological plan to omit the first pair of "arms" and only have the second kind (the ones that look wingish). Both phenotypes produced viable offspring with roughly the same ability to reproduce, but the second mutation probably started out rarer because it came later. So the general timeline looks like this:

Mammals and dinosaurs diverge -> Platupi diverge from other monotremes -> Gargates diverge from other monotremes (this comes after platupi because female gargoyles have mammary glands, and probably came about as a result of developing the first rudiments of stone sleep) -> Dinosaurs come on the scene -> Gargoyles and gargoyle beasts diverge from each other (probably via gargoyles becoming bipedal) -> Gargoyles evolve six limbs and this variant overtakes the population while the two back arms become more winglike -> the Lexington variant of gargoyles evolves -> Dinosaurs kick it -> Gargoyles gradually become more intelligent as their longer lifespans and lack of natural predators (thanks giant meteor) makes intelligence a more viable strategy for survival to make them more cooperative.

I don't know if this perfectly fits with what you have, but I did the best I could with the information (both show/FAQ-wise and through a degree in biochemistry) I had. What are your thoughts?

Greg responds...

I love all this.

A couple thoughts that might or might not influence your thinking...

Lex has six limbs. The middle "rib" of his wings is actually a limb. In original development art (which you may have seen on the first season DVD) he has four hands: the two we're all used to and two more coming off those mid-wing arms. So what you're seeing in his final version his six limbs, but the middle two limbs have, uh... devolved into ribs.

We've discussed in the past that Gargoyle Beasts have vestigial wing bones beneath the skin.

Response recorded on July 12, 2021


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