JJ Gregarius writes...

Thoughts on issue #3:
The general trends in the comments about this issue seemed right. Like others, I am wondering about what will happen with Demona and Thailog, what mysteries the Illuminati hold, the future of Goliath and Elisa, etc. etc..

Here are my thoughts, in particular

* Sometimes David Hedgecock's drawing looks good; at other times it is hard for me to read facial expressions. Characters seem to have a default "bored" expression.

* Unfortunately, as you must know well, words have different meanings for different people. I gather that for you, "(male) mate" and "husband" refer to different cultural expectations? Could you clarify this?

I sense it depends on what a "husband" is: I assume, then, you mean "husband" in the typical American sense, as opposed to its generalization to other cultures: "a male participant in a somewhat formalized sexually based relation between/amongst intelligent beings, possibly including polygamy."

* When Elisa talks about marriage, I can't help hearing the song "Our House" rolling through my mind.

* "Send in the clones"; so Talon and Maggie seem to be of one mind on this one...

* I see Brooklyn is still not comfortable with his clone.

* Interesting little pickle you've set up amongst Goliath, Brooklyn, and Delilah. Goliath and Brooklyn do not seem interested in Delilah except out of biological imperative (and only half-heartedly at that), and Delilah is merely doing what she is programmed to do; in a sense, you could argue the same thing about Brooklyn and Delilah.

* Considering Goliath and Brooklyn's plight: assuming clans are not always balanced sexually, what did unmatched gargoyles typically do?

* "An entertainment at the castle": nice phraseology. Very Goliath.

Final thought: Throughout the end of the show (ignoring Goliath Chronicles) and the beginning of this comic book series, almost all of the plot concerning Brooklyn deals with finding a mate. However, it could be projection on my part, but I sense a general dismay at life emanating from him. I know he's frustrated at the humans' response to him: are there other things bothering him as well?

Antiyonder writes...

Got issue 4 today. Picked up an additional copy for a friend in my neighborhood (He's up for recieving more issues). I also got him #1 and 3 (They're out of issue 2 at the comic store, I'll work at getting a copy for him).

- Looks like you were going for a reversal of Jackal and Hyena. That being Susan being the calmer/mature one. Or she'd probably thinks she's more mature.

- The other reviews mention Sarah's nervous reaction to the Quarrymen, makes me wonder if members are required to be well acquainted with each other.

- While we did see Margot in #1-2, it's just not a party without her or Brendan. Have to say that's another improvement with the comics over TGC. We get to see supporting characters like Morgan and Brendan more often.

- I wonder if Owen got to see Lex's Halloween costume.

Between the art for #3 and 4 they both seem to do well in resemblance to the show. Nir did pretty well as a guest artist for this issue. Looking forward to seeing how Karine and Gordon do for issues 5-6.

Great job on the story. Looking forward to issue 5.

Harvester of Eyes writes...

Issue #4, "Masque": Ramble/Review

Overall, this issue was very fun. For some reason, a lot of the panels felt more confining than they did in previous issues, but if Paniry is a storyboard artist, that might be where that comes from. I think he is better with facial expressions, though.

I like Billy and Susan's costumes. So their mom is a Quarryman and she lets her kids dress up as convicted felons. I'm surprised stores were still stocking Pack costumes, unless she made them herself or saved them from another holiday. Still, I got the sense that it was either that or gargoyles, and ironically, she went with what she probably imagined was the lesser of two evils. Unless I'm reading too much into it.

I liked the way Thailog's guns work. Would stand to reason that he'd probably have a few items stored for a rainy day in case things didn't go as planned in "The Reckoning." And he had some great dialogue. The attitude remains. And he did something quite surprising at the end. Wow.

Owen also had some good dialogue. Liked the game of poker he was playing with Thailog. Xanatos's security force also seems to have grown in size. And I get the feeling that Delilah's line close to the end of the third issue might be some foreshadowing as to what choice she'll make in #5. But I've been wrong before. For some reason, I had thought that Elisa already knew about Delilah. Nice little moment between them, hopefully they'll get more interesting (the moments, I mean).

And we cut away from Xanatos just when things were getting interesting. Hopefully, he'll have a bigger part in future issues. Not that I'm complaining about this one. As I said, Thailog's attitude rocks.

And the Labyrinth Girl's going on an adventure. I too have to wonder when she'll be getting a name. Unless there's a dramatic setup revolving around that.

Here's hoping Issue #5 comes out on time.

KingCobra_582 writes...

What a time for comic books. Especially when they're adaptations of unaired seasons. In this case, Buffy Season 8 (picked up Buffy #3 and Gargs #4 today) and (the real) Gargoyles Season 3. But since this is a Gargoyles site and not a Buffy one, I'll leave a review on Gargs #4, and maybe I'll discuss Buffy later. Maybe at the con or something.

Anyway.

**WARNING. SPOILERS.**

It was a fun issue. The artwork seemed (to me, anyway) to be a little more cartoon-ish. It was a little hard for me to tell just what was going on in some panels. At least, not right away. Though on the other hand, it was a different kind of artwork, and who doesn't appreciate variety? So the art did not bother me. In fact, I somewhat enjoyed it.

And nice props on 'Cyborg Lex' too. Made me flash back to Future Tense, which is/was one of my favorite episodes. I wonder if it creeped Goliath out any? Though I have to admit I (at first glance) thought Lex WAS going as the Tin Man, to collaborate with Broadway and Angela's Wizard Of Oz costumes. But now that I think about it, Lex conveinently (albeit unknowingly) dressing up as the Evil Lex of Goliath's worst nightmare made more sense. You obviously did that to mess with the fans, Greg, and I applaud you for it. Bravo for the WTF moment you drew out of me. :D

And of course we can't leave Margot Yale. Berating poor Brendan. Plus, I guess that, despite all their encounters in the past, she can't even recognize a Gargoyle in costume, going so far as to praise Lex for it. It's either short-term memory issues or her inability to believe that the 'monsters' are anything but or both.

Thailog in the Labyrinth was a treat. Just as bad-assed as ever. That's what makes him one of my favorite characters. He's Goliath's evil side. I guess he never changes and never will. Shooting at Maggie and being able to manipulate his 'property' into helping him attack Goliath at the end. Claw, another of my beloved characters, came into play a bit here as well. I dunno what I expected to happen next after #3's climax, but it definitely wasn't that. Claw is so cool. Too bad he can't overpower Thailog.

And when Thailog STABS Goliath at the end! Holy. Crap...!

More Elisa and Goliath angst, too. Ho hum.

More Illuminati greeting too. Now if only I knew what the numbers represented. I'm guessing rank, but you're the only one who really knows. And knowing you, you're not saying.

What's Xanatos' mission at the White House anyway?

Oh, and it took me a little bit to remember who Judge Roebling was. Is he going to slowly and over time develop more?

Nice little Brooklyn/Angela moment too. Even if she's mated and she only wants to see his costume, it's nice that Brooklyn finally gets SOME kind of positive time with a female. It's not the romantic kind that he wants, but it's better then him being used, rejected, or attacked.

Hopefully the events of Timedancer will come soon, but that's my own personal anticipation, and there's no rush.

**END SPOILERS**

Another great issue, Greg. Cool story, decent animation, Thailog at his best, and some great moments of irony ('Future Tense' Lex) all chalk up to another great installment. I'm definitely psyched for #5.

Oh, and I'm definitely bringing all my comics (Buffy in the chance you might want to read it, and Gargoyles for autographing.) to the con next month.

See you then.

Cobra out.

Jason Aiken writes...

Hey Greg,

Just got done reading Gargoyles #4...it was a great balance between drama and all out action.

I liked the scenes with Thailog the best... he's got to be my favorite "villain" in the series, as he thinks he's doing the right thing, but he's just got it all wrong.

It also seems like the Illuminati plot is thickening... this time Xanatos said "thirty-six" and the waiter said "two", not "thirty-two"... I'm looking forward to seeing what this all means.

Also, I was wondering why the comic now has a floppier paper cover and still costs the same. The first three had solid stock covers which I assumed is why it was 3.50 instead of the normal 2.99 price that most comics are..

Keep up the great work, it's great to see the Gargs storyline moving forward.

Matt writes...

My Review For Gargoyles #4, "Masque"...

- First off, after reading it and beginning my review, I can't help notice that there isn't a title page for this issue. I can't find the title "Masque" anywhere in the book. That's not really a problem, but it did make me wonder why not.

- So, we left off with Trick or Treat and we pick back up with Trick or Treaters. Billy and Susan have obviously aged a couple years. They seem to still be big Pack fans, which is pretty cool. And then there is Billy's friend Terry. Now, I don't think any of the more hardcore fans of the series have any doubts about who he is (though Greg could throw us a curveball). I'm actually pleased that something I guessed about a long time ago is correct: "The New Olympians" spinoff is probably gonna take place roughly a decade or more after "Hunter's Moon". Terry's apparent age confirms that. It is cool that we know this kid is gonna end up being a major figure, but at the moment he is just a kid dressed up for Halloween as Goliath, as many kids were in the mid-90s.

- Little things I liked about this first scene: Sarah glancing at the Quarrymen (who are, by the way, making a presence as Castaway said, but NOT smashing Jeffrey's gargoyles), the "Nice mask" line was such a homage to one more of our great voice actors: Greg Weisman!, Gilly and Bronx by the fire.

- Since "Invitation Only", I, and others, have suspected Hudson and Bronx were on their ways to Robbins' house for the night, so that wasn't much of a shock. The conversation between Jeffrey and Hudson was fun. This is a very interesting relationship. Hudson's face in the last frame is the best part for me. I studied it for a while trying to figure out what Hudson was thinking and feeling. It seems to me that he wants to tell Robbins but is a little afraid. He is happy to have a friend, but sad that he has to cover up the truth. Feeling you can't be truthful to a friend because you'll lose the friend is an awful feeling. I hope Hudson figures out what to do. I wonder what he told Jeffrey about Bronx... "This is my shaved giant web-eared dog... don't worry, he's house trained..."

- It is weird to see so many people at the Eyrie. I believe most often we see very small groups of people there and the large crowds tend to be fleeing the building. Broadway and Angela are fun and they bring in yet another Wizard of Oz reference to the series. (As a side note: I loved seeing the stuffed Toto because Toto was a Cairn Terrier and my dog Gus is descended from him. The many Wiz Of Oz lines in "Hound of Ulster", not to mention the cairns in the episode, are a part of the reason that Cuchullain is my Comment Room avatar. He's a reference to my dog, sorta. Anyway, now I know what my dog would look like as a Gargoyles comic character.)

- And then we have Lexington... boy, THAT'S an interesting costume. Where have we seen THAT before. Oh, fun.

- Not sure how I feel about Elisa as Jasmine... Give me some time to think about that.

- There are so many neat little touches in this one I don't know if I could mention them all, but a short list is Morgan and Broadway chatting and Angela's dissaproval of Elisa bringing a date. Great stuff.

- Back to the Labyrinth. Thailog starts mowing everyone down. Glad Thailog was prepared for Talon's eel blast. Thailog vs. Claw was a lot of fun.

- I didn't expect to see Judge Roebling again. He was fun here, a very different side of him than we saw in "Vows".

- And then things get awkward. The meeting we've all been waiting for. Goliath, Delilah, Elisa and Morgan. Oh Lord. I love how the crowd seems to dissappear as these four live out their awkward moment.

- Brooklyn... Here we go again. Poor, poor Brooklyn. And Angela's attempt to make him feel better looks like it's backfiring.

- I didn't like the Broadway and Lex chowing down frame. It was kinda gross. Suddenly these two are acting like animals.

- Off to the White House and we meet Ambassador Chung, thats neat. I'm sure we'll see more of her. And Alex... I'm glad that Greg is addressing what appears to be the rapid aging of little Alex. Very interesting.

- The Illuminati Waiter is neat. "Two", eh? Greg got an eyebrow raise out of me with that one.

- Back to Claw vs. Thailog. I do wonder why Claw didn't use his eel blast against the Clones. Maybe he didn't want to hurt them. And Maggie trying to talk sense into the Clones is neat. But they don't even really consider her opinion, they just are not programmed that way, I guess. Pisses Thailog off anyway, Maggie is nearly killed. Wow.

- Probably one of the neatest moments in this episode is when Malibu tells Thailog that Goliath took Delilah on a date and for a moment Thailog gets this face like he feels rejected or shocked or something... and then he laughs! What a great character. I think that laugh is hiding something though. Jealousy at least.

- Delilah and Morgan standing on their own. How awkward is that?

- More Elisa and Goliath drama. I mean really, they have their feelings for each other, but what are they supposed to do? I have no clue. At this point I'm not sure how it's gonna work out.

- And then we have our closing scene. Owen shines in this one, so cool and collected, and his comment about endlessly rebuilding the Castle was hilarious. I kinda wondered if Bruno is among those troops. And then Thailog takes his cheap shot. Ouch. That has gotta hurt. Goliath has had a rough few nights. First his wing gets shot up, then the next night his heart is broken and he gets stabbed by his own flesh and blood. Talk about a bad week.

- My overall opinions on this episode are very good. The story was great, and it'll leave me lots to think about before our next issue. I did not hate the art, but I think Issue #3 was the best we've seen so far. The characters look pretty good all in all though, very dynamic. It is also neat to see shots like the half Thailog, half Goliath face and the double date couples alone in a crowded room. I'm eagerly awaiting Issue #5. Thanks for another great one Greg, David, Dustin, Greg Stephanie, Dan, Jennifer and Scott!!!!

Todd Jensen writes...

My ramble-review of #4.

I thought that this was another fun one. I was amused by a lot of the little tidbits (Billy and Susan's trick-or-treating partner being Terry Chung, Billy and Susan going trick-or-treating as Jackal and Hyena, the "nice mask" line, Lexington's costume, the revelation - at last- of Brendan's surname, Judge Roebling's cameo, Owen's remark about repairing the damage done to the castle, Thailog's "maniacal laugh" line, etc.).

So now we know that Elisa's partner for the Double Date is Officer Morgan. Not only does it make sense (since I don't think that Jason's current legal situation would make him that appropriate for the role), but it provides the great symmetry of both males involved in the Double Date being voiced by Keith David and both females by Salli Richardson. (I remember thinking, back before the comics came out, about how that would make Officer Morgan the more appropriate candidate, and that it would be even better if Thailog was to be the antagonist in that episode - then Keith David could have really earned his paycheck if it had been made on television. And now that we know that Thailog *is* the antagonist of this story, I can safely say that here.)

Maggie urging the Clones to think for themselves rather than blindly following Thailog was a great moment. So, too, was Owen's interaction with Thailog, and readiness to have Delilah make her own choice over whom to be with.

There'll certainly be much to look forward to in #5: obviously, Goliath will survive Thailog's attack on him (given how important he is to the series, I doubt that you'd dare kill him off so soon after its revival), but there's so much else to find out (what Delilah's choice will be, what the Illuminati want to talk to Xanatos about at the White House, even what Brooklyn's costume will be). Thanks for another issue, Greg.

Meg writes...

Just a few things I forgot....

-Speaking of Owen, BOY he has a pair of brass balls.
-Elisa's costume choices are constantly very symbolic. When she was Belle, it was for her relationship with Goliath. Now, she's Jasmine, the princess who just wants a "normal" life. And Elisa having a thing for Disney princesses is too cute.
-I wonder if Billy and Susan's mother is starting to re-think her Quarryman membership; that glance at the two on the street seemed uneasy. Perhaps she's starting to realize what the Quarrymen really are all about. Castaway looks like a genius, now, too--so many little kids are running around in garg costumes, all it takes is the inevitable one idiot with a hammer to completely destroy the Quarrymen and make the gargs (or at least their champions) sympathetic.
-It makes sense that Broadway would like Morgan's costume; he's a detective buff, after all. Little continuity things like that please me. Part of what made this show so good was the little moments/details that added up.
-I don't find Margot's costume gaffe all that surprising, though; I mean, you see a Cowardly Lion and a Dorothy, you assume the one in shiny silver-looking stuff is some sort of Tin Man. Love Angela's Toto; like the symbolism of her as Dorothy; she's definitely not in Kansas anymore. Broadway's, I wonder if Fox wasn't just looking to make them a matched set. (Also, I wonder if Lex's cyborg costume was intended to also double as possibly a Tin Man-ish thing, and if so, if Brook will have a costume that's vaguely Scarecrow-ish.)
-A little thing I liked: Hudson looking HUGE on the third page from the kids' point of view. To them, he probably DOES seem like a giant!
-Man, poor Hudson gets no love! Very few costumes of him; Brook and Goliath seem to be the most popular. (And no one gets Lex's wings right, either.)
-I realize it's probably a large age gap, but I wonder if Ambassador/Terry Chung are related to Tri Chung from issue #3.
-The new girl seems a little quick to be suddenly jumping into the action, given that she found out all this backstory about five minutes ago; something's clearly up with her. I, too, liked the "Moving!" line.

Both the cover and the interior pages are (for my issue, at least) thinner and flimsier than the cover/pages of the previous three issues, especially the cover. I am guessing that that's a cost-cutting measure and hoping it doesn't indicate poor sales. :\

Still looking forward to #5!

Jack Johnson writes...

Dear Greg,
How many of the Gargoyles from Ishimura have names? We know Kai, Yama, Sora, and from their past Katana, but what about the rest?

PS - got #4 today, and I loved it! Cant wait to see what Brooklyn's costume looks like, though I have a decent guess.

Meg writes...

Issue #4: "Masque" My long, rambling thoughts (in no particular order):

-I had forgotten that Nir Paniry was going to be the guest artist for this issue, so you can imagine my reaction when I flipped open to the first page and went "...buh?"
-Speaking of the art, I actually liked it more than I thought I would. It's heavily stylized, obviously, but something about it seems to mesh well with Gargoyles, even if it is a little overly "cartoonish" at times. (The fact that it's a Halloween issue probably helps, too.) Paniry is excellent at showing emotion, especially in distance shots; in particular, Brooklyn's grin when he tells Angela he'll get his costume on and Angela as she pulls Elisa away from Broadway and Morgan. I don't think I'd enjoy his style as much if he were the regular artist, but as a fill-in, it does very well. (And, on a personal level, Paniry draws the best Brooklyn we're seen in the comics thus far; as Brooklyn's my favorite character, that's always a plus.) The colors are okay; sometimes they mesh well with the art, other times not so much.
-Hudson was awesome in this issue. In his own way, he's mingling and breaking down prejudice just as much as the gargs at the party. And he's such a grandfather at heart, he's great with the kids. You wonder how much Robbins suspects; it was nice to see him and Gilly again.
-I love Angela's anger with Elisa. (Also love her excuse to the boys: "Girl talk!" Hee! So true.) It's appropriate and in-character; Angela, more than anyone, knows what Elisa and Goliath feel for each other, and she's very protective of her father.
-If/when the clones shake off Thailog's control, my money's on Brentwood being the first to break free; he repeats "free will" after Maggie says it (possibly in a thoughtful tone--can't know without a voice actor), and when Owen and Goliath debate Delilah's free will, Brentwood is in the background watching them. I wonder if, like in the real clan where Lex is probably the most naturally academically brilliant of the clan, Brentwood is the sharpest of the clones. He certainly speaks much more than anyone else.
-Poor Brook. I think he meant his "no point" in a different way than Angela took it; I think he was thinking of his dateless status.
-Loved Fox holding the fox-head masquerade mini-mask. Nice touch.
-Goliath's resounding "NO!" to Roebling's "So this is Demona?" is amusing, as is Delilah's response and Roebling's face. Roebling's question doesn't make much sense to me, though, as he officiated at David and Fox's wedding and has already met Demona. Also loved Roebling scampering out of there when he felt the tension between the two couples. He's fun here.
-"Post-modern tinman." HAH. Oh, Margot. Such a yuppie.
-I actually liked Angela and Brook's little moment. Angela is very much the "mother" of the clan; in addition to being protective of her father, she knows what to say to a guy when he's down in the dumps to make him feel better. Goliath might be the clan's soul, and Brook/Lex its brains, but Angela's its heart.
-I generally don't care for Thailog, but I did like his "Haven't had a good maniacal laugh in weeks" line.
-Morgan's pretty clueless about romance. I mean, he put the pieces together, but if I were Elisa, I'd be thinking that (even unintentionally) rubbing her nose in a painful, awkward breakup isn't the way to win a girl. Props to him for trying to chat to Delilah, though. Poor them! Nice moment there. He's a nice guy.
-Ah, little Terry Chung, nice to meet you....
-Maggie's come a long way from her first appearance. Like in KINGDOM, you see that she's not a fighter, but helps out in her own way. Too bad she gets a wall dumped on her for showing her newly developed backbone. You can tell Talon really loves her.
-I'm really curious as to what Brook's costume will be next issue. Probably Pepe LePew or some such, poor guy!
-Owen's free will question was interesting, and his point well-taken; if someone has free will, they have to be given a choice to decide what they want. (Although, if the clones were conditioned/manipulated to follow Thailog, that complicates that whole question.) Owen is much more practical than Goliath, as well; he realizes that, if nothing else, it will be impossible to hold Delilah/the clones if they really want to leave. What is the clan going to do, guard Delilah 24/7 as they guarded Demona? It's impractical. Goliath gets caught up in the principle of the matter (which is to his credit), but he doesn't always think through the details. That's more Brook's forte.

Overall, this is probably, to my way of thinking, the best issue of the comic to date. It seemed more pulled-together than the last issue, it's got very interesting storylines, the art compliments the story...definitely the best of the comic so far. Looking forward to #5 and seeing the resolution of this storyline!