Mostly Harmless writes...

If Terry Chung currently is just a kid in Gargoyes judging by his appearance in issue number four, are we to assume that New Olympians is suppose to take place in the near future in relations to Gargoyles? Was that always planned or is that a recent idea?

Mostly Harmless writes...

In regards to issue #4, could you have gotten away with the last page if it was for television? If so how?

UKHoneyb writes...

Follow-up to my earlier question:

In earlier questions/answers you've alluded to such things as Dread being akin to Xanatos and you having ideas for him that never bore fruit; Mairot being a triple-agent (giving information from Smith to Dread and then back to Smith again) and the 'mole' being N-Tek's own technology and computers; that Laura would find out in some way or another about Josh's dual identity; that there was a reason behind the first series episode titles beginning with 's' which was never fulfilled (but would have been in a later series); we would have met Berto's family; that there were three prior missions to the one we saw in "Strangers".

Basically, anything you can tell me about the above situations, if you can :)

SomeGuy writes...

What does gargoyle meat taste like?
My guess is chicken.

Todd Jensen writes...

I noticed that in #3 and #4, we got to see a lot of familiar faces from the "minor characters", more than we usually saw in the average episode of "Gargoyles" in its first two seasons. These two issues, put together, included the following cast members (all ones from the first two seasons) besides the clan, Elisa, and the Xanatoses (including Owen): Matt Bluestone, Officer Morgan, Phil Travanti (in the sense that he showed up as Morgan's partner in a couple of episodes such as "Temptation", though unnamed), Margot and Brendan, Agent Hacker, Jason Canmore, Demona, Al, the Mutates (except for Fang), the Clones, Castaway, Thailog, Billy and Susan and their mother, Jeffrey Robbins, Gilgamesh, and Judge Roebling. Perhaps it's only my imagination, but this seems like a larger cross-section of the characters than I remember seeing in the televised episodes.

Does this have anything to do with the fact that you're now telling the story in the medium of a comic book, which means that you don't have to worry about paying voice actors and can thus freely bring more people into each episode? Or is this merely the result of the accumulation of characters in the original 65 episodes? ("The Journey", even in its televised form, itself had a substantial cast, including, alongside the clan, Elisa, the Xanatoses and Castaway, the following figures: Travis Marshall, the Jogger, Vinnie, Sarah Greene, Matt Bluestone, Banquo and Fleance, Margot, and Macbeth.)

Cboy305 writes...

While working on season 2 of W.I.T.C.H., did you ever think about doing a croosover with Gargoyles? I know it wouldn't have been one of the most logical crossovers, but it still would have been nice to see Gargoyles on the small screen again.

Thoth writes...

What date does Gargoyles #5 come out? Will it be available at the Gathering?

Anonymous writes...

I know that when Puck takes on a role he tries to completely become that character, but when he's Owen does he also think to himself in his Owen persona at all times? Once he stops being able to change back, it seems like he would at least want to think like he normally would (since he so loves to have fun and play tricks on people, while Owen does not). Just something that I started wondering after a while.

Charisma82 writes...

Hey! I asked you what your favorite rides are at Disneyland and when you said a Small World and the one where you go into the snowflake, I had to write back. (I might as well put in here that we were at Disneyland over Spring Break and it was great; the scavenger hunt made it even more interesting). For the snowflake one, I asked my parents and they said it was called the molecule ride. They said there was some sort of microscope involved. I think that's the ride where Star Tours is now. I know this because they pay tribute to the molecule ride by putting the microscope on the Star Tours ride. I don't know if you've been on the Star Tours ride or not, but when you first take off in the space station and drop for the first time, look to the bottom right corner and you'll see the microscope on the screen. I didn't think it'd be a big deal, but I looked for it, and sure enough, there it was!

Now for the Small World. I'll never be the same since the last time I rode it. I got on with my family and I ended up in the very back seat. I stepped in and water poured in over the edge and got me soaked! I had no idea why until I looked ahead of me and saw that there were 3 men who were over 300 pounds each in the middle seats. You'd think the people working on the ride would've caught this, but they didn't. We got into the first room and our boat stopped. I could hear the boat scraping the bottom of the ride. Every time someone moved, more water sloshed into the back of the boat. The people sitting on the sides of the boat had to grab the sides of the ride and push the boat along. It took us over 45 minutes to get to the end of the ride. There were no boats in front of us and a lot of boats held up behind us. When we finally finished the ride and heard the song "It's a small world after all…" over 20 times, all the people in the boats behind us started clapping and cheering while we took turns giving bows and waved as we crossed the bridge into the Small World store. That is why I won't get on the ride for another 10 years.

Thank you for you time.

-Charisma82

Valintino writes...

Hello, Your site is great. Regards, Valintino Guxxi

Arondight writes...

1. For Bruno the mercenary, is he still working for Xanatos during the time that the comics are occuring?
2. Do you have any major plans for him in the ongoing comic? Is he going to make any appearances soon?

Arondight writes...

Why did Sevarius switch his employment from Xanatos to Nightstone after Loch Ness? Given what Demona did with his virus, is he still at Nightstone at the time of the comic?

Alex Garg writes...

My review of issue the fourth, SPOILERS a plenty.

There's an emerging axiom in politics during presidential cycles: The candidate whose visage sells as a Halloween mask more than the other's wins the election. Well, maybe "axiom" is too strong a word for the trend, but if the same trendy-coincidental thing applies to the gargoyles, then the people of New York, despite their fears, appear to really like the gargoyles.

And Broadway is winning the "election" by my count of the socialites' costume choices.

Yet I suppose that when Sarah Browne was presented with the choice of having her children dress up as gargoyles or convicted felons, the decision was easy for her; although I wonder if that glance she gave the patrolling Quarrymen was one of continued concern about the gargoyles or concern about what she's gotten herself into.

I'm glad to see Terry introduced as a child in order to leave plenty of room for character development - in the hopes of the license's longevity, of course - but I was most excited by the (re)introduction of Robbins, even if it did make me sad that Paul Winfield is no longer with us. Robbins' appearance, however brief, does make me wonder though just how much he knows about Hudson. I view Robbins as a perceptive fellow, and so I wonder if, perhaps, tonight is a tipping point in Robbins' understanding of who Hudson really is.

To party Wyvern and the sudden boom in the gargoyle population: Again, it would appear that deep down at least New York's ruling elite are pretty warm to gargoyles - or at least the concept of them - Judge Roebling not least among that crowd. I also find myself sympathizing with the anonymous partygoers who spotted the waitress in the center of the bottom panel on page five.

I mean, seriously.

Of course, it's not at all lost on me the humor in Margot digging the gargoyles. She may hate that everybody has dressed up as gargoyles, but she's not taken aback enough to engage in passive conversation with at least one of them, despite having "seen them up close" as the monsters they really are. I wonder how much emphasis she places on the reliability of eyewitness testimony in her trials.

The gargoyles' costumes are appropriate to their characters, although Lex's in particular gave me the greatest reason to smile. Angela as Dorothy makes plenty of sense - her Kansas is long gone - although I'm curious as to when she got a chance to see the "Wizard of Oz." But of all the costumes sported by both gargoyles and humans I like Morgan's the best, and he seems comfortable enough - even in the awkwardness that ensues, and boy is there awkwardness.

And again, awkwardness settles heavy over Brooklyn. Granted, it's still the same night as the last issue, but for someone who is obviously pained by the closeness of Angela and Broadway it seems logical that he would stay far away from them, not lurk nearby, much less near them *and* Delilah. Frankly, though, I think Angela's response to his lurking is inappropriate, and then her reaction to Elisa's escorting Morgan to the party is just downright hypocritical. Sure, she's okay if her relationship with Broadway is hitting an obvious sore spot with Brooklyn, whose choice of mates (at present) is even slimmer than Goliath's, but it's not cool for Elisa to show up with a new suitor. If not hypocritical, it shows that Angela crosses that thin line separating naïve and just plain dense towards the latter camp.

Jumping over the Labyrinth at the moment to go to the White House: Greg, is that how you see the parties of D.C.'s elite going down? I understand the value of juxtapositioning as a literary device, don't get me wrong, and I'm not saying the Clinton White House was "Animal House" gone political, but it's hard to get people to show up to parties around here in large numbers if there *isn't* an open bar, especially the ruling elite.

All I'm saying. That and I was amused by Fox holding a replica of her tattoo as a "mask" in order to fit in with the party's subdued nature.

I was also unsurprised to find out that Xanatos' high-level Illuminati contact in the White House was a "lowly" servant. The personal staffers of powerful people tend to have the best access to said powerful people, so it doesn't surprise me in the least that the Illuminati would choose to put one of its higher-echelon members in such a capacity to remain connected to the administration.

To the Labyrinth, and combat! Clearly Talon's clone reprogramming initiative has not gone as planned, nor has Maggie seen much cause to step up her combat training, to her painful detriment. And if Thailog didn't let out a maniacal laugh upon learning about Goliath's date with Delilah, I would have been immensely disappointed. Immensely.

I'm still ambivalent about New Girl. Granted, I want to know why she's decided to take it upon herself to at least make the effort, however futile by issue's end, to warn Goliath about Thailog's impending attack, but at the same time I just have a hard time seeing what new role she can play in the gargoyles' universe that isn't in some way already cast.

I'll keep my faith in you on that front.

Elisa appears to be having a particularly, and really peculiarly, difficult time coming to grips with her emotions about how her relationship with Goliath has unfolded - or hasn't as the case may be. What's disturbing about that is how level-headed she's typically been in times of crisis, and so to see her unravel about something that was *her* decision is bothersome.

Thailog's timing and attack are brutal - and, again, I would expect no less from him. Owen also handles the situation well within his boundaries, even if Goliath doesn't ultimately fare too well. Although by that last panel I have to admit that I wasn't thinking about how much pain Goliath was in as much as I was wondering about what Delilah's going to think of the whole affair once she arrives on scene.

On the whole, I liked this issue a lot. We're finally making some mileage on new canon, and we're getting to see some more-than-interesting developments on both the story level and the character level. But I have to admit that I'm not too hot on the artist combination in this one. I like it well enough, don't get me wrong, it's just a matter of personal preference - I'm not big on thick outlines, I'm more of a thin line/detail kind of person. The coloring works, but the thick penciling/ink work seems to rob some of that away.

Oh well.

One real gripe, though, is on quality control. Wrong name in the credits? Missing title and logo? I appreciate your coming forward with the errors in a ramble block here on Ask Greg, and having been in an editing gig myself for a while I can appreciate that "it" happens, but these strike me as some very easy-to-catch problems. It's not much of a trade-off for the fans if regular updates are coming at the cost of quality.

I'm certainly looking forward to the next issue, however, and I'm still very much enjoying the series' return. Thank you and your team for all your work!

And to offer my own mea culpa: I confused Al as one of Fang's cronies from "Kingdom," hence my "minor villain" comment in my last review, which you caught and I didn't. Sorry.

Phoenician writes...

Hey, Greg!

It's that time again for another Comic Review (I'm still in shock of having new Gargoyles stories. I still think I don't really know how good we have it!)

So okay, here it is. My #4 review:

First off, I LOVED this issue. Better yet, I really enjoyed the experience of being Masque! As I mentioned earlier, when I went to grab my copy of Masque, the Comic clerk smiled and said, "Oh! You're a fan of that series, are you? Be happy you got a copy now -- I doubt I'll have any at the end of the day."

To which I could only reply: "Really? THAT'S GREAT!" He replied, "Oh yes, that's a very popular title for us."

So four issues into Clan Building, and my comic shop's pretty confidant about it. As I wrote earlier in the CR: "Oh happy day." Though it DOES make me feel sorry for those who've had problems trying to get ANY of the comics (like VA's idiotic comic dudes). Shame they can't come to my Comic Shop in Phoenix . . . .

The first thing I noticed (besides the lighter cover, and if its a minor cost issue, I'll live.) was the darker inside cover. The previous issues had some yellow text and the main GARGOYLES title had that usual Gold-ish glow to it. Not in Masque: It's all in gray-scale. But I don't mind: The story is in full swing like the sun has finally set and we're well into night now.

Which couldn't be any more true. Within the first eight pages the Brownes are trick-or-treating at Robbin's House, Hudson is dishing OUT the candy at Robbin's House, the Xanatos Masque is in full swing, and Thailog's having a ball in the Labyrinth. Good lord.

It was great to see Jeffrey Robbins again. He reminds me alot like my own grandfather (who fought in Korea and is paralyzed . . . though not from the war.) Besides the physical and historical similarities, my grandpa has the same fire-in-the-belly that gives him the will to work and learn ("I learned Braille when I was nearly (50?) and I'll learn a whole NEW way of reading at 80 if I have to!"). So yes, great to him relaxing by the fire and obviously aware of Hudson's "lie of omission."

I'm a geek about the Eyrie Building since I first saw City of Stone (seeing them crash into that little park behind the glass was SO cool), so I love Xanatos hosting a party right there. But I do wonder -- Has he the chance to host other parties since "Awakening?" I kinda doubt it . . . what with prison and the constant destruction of the Castle (more on this later).

I LOVE Margot Yale and Brendan Quarters (Yay! Last name!) I remember asking about Brendan when reading "Invitation Only" so I was glad to be treated with him here. Man . . . how does he put UP with that woman??

Anyways, all the costumes were great (and I can only imagine which Disney Princess Elisa will become NEXT Halloween :P ), though Lex's DID scare me just a tad. (I wonder if Owen helped with the costume making . . . .)

It was also great to see Judge Roebling, and I honestly was surprised to see him, after having nothing more than a guest spot in "VOWS" (yeah, no one gets just a "guest spot" in Gargoyles!). He does seem more comfortable with the gargoyles, which I was happy to see.

I absolutely love the writing because while the comic still isn't the same as the TV show, some parts just ring absolutely perfect -- which bring back the stellar voice cast. Best Examples: When Morgan asks Elisa if he even IS getting his shot, when Xanatos finishes Ambassador Chung's sentence, when Talon shouts he's not leaving Maggie, Thailog's maniacal laugh, and of course: Owen's monologue to Goliath and Thailog.

I always geek out about Owen, and I've been doing so whenever I see him simply APPEAR in the past issues, but here, I can REALLY be proud of him, where he's able to take Thailog's weapons AND critize how he has to take care of repairing the castle time and time again (I think the ONLY other time this was addressed was when Xanatos called Owen to bring up the cleaning crew in AWAKENING: PART II . . . or was it III? I've lost count. :P ).

But yes, Owen's stern manner in front of creatures that would send shivers down the spine of nearly ANYONE (Thailog of course, but even Goliath's rage is impressive -- hey, it did make Dracon prematurely white haired!) always earns my praise. So yes, LOVED Owen in this issue.

Other randomn thoughts:
- Alex's costume is STILL so adorable I wish I had one as a baby. I actually told my mother this! Her reply, "Well, you DID have some cute costumes." But a gargoyle? "Well, no . . . how was I supposed to know?!"

- Sarah's children as Jackel and Hyena -- that made me laugh.

- The Chung family seems to grow. It's quite clear that Ambassador Chung and Terry are related, but I'm still wary on adding Tri (from the Gargoyles Taskforce) into the tree as well . . . maybe an older brother??

- Ambassador Chung doesn't LOOK like a gargoyle, but she does look older than what I would have imagined, at least if Terry is so young, thus why I think Tri's maybe an older brother to Terry.

- Thailog's hovering/gliding down on Goliath was some nice art, IMO. Very menacing and commanding!

- I got a kick out of Fox's eye mask . . . someone said it looked redundant. I think it was more coy on Fox's part.

- 36/2: The mystery continues! Maybe a ranking system??

- New Girl is intriguing me, and I wish I got to see her face when someone tells her "Just go to the tallest tower in the world!"

- Finally, Goliath is having a REAL rough night. Getting dumped pratically twice by Elisa and being stabbed by your "son." Oy.

Finally, after finishing the comic the first time through, I looked at the cover again, and I finally realized, "Hey that WASN'T Demona . . . it was Delilah the whole time!" So I'm slow at times . . . at least I finally got it (should have realized earlier -- Demona doesn't have a glass-shard shaped earing like Delilah's)

So yep, I'm done. Thanks again for writing a great comic, for allowing us to comment on the comic, AND for commenting on out comments! What a cycle it must be . . . .

ON TO BASH!!!

Maria writes...

Hi Greg, I've got a question about Matt.

We know that the Illuminati partnered him with Hacker so that Hacker could keep an eye on him (they guided the FBI's hand in that decision in any case). Stick to wild goose chases and all that. But my question is WHY? Why'd they bother to do that at all? Matt couldn't have been the only person in a position of power (and by that I just mean FBI, CIA, government official types. A rung or two above a CIVILIAN with a conspiracy theory for example)to have cottoned on to the Illuminati's exsistence.

So why? Who would have bothered to listen to another conspiracy nut's nutty conspiracy theories? Why the (seemingly) special attention?

Or, if you can't answer that for whatever mysterious!Greg reason how about a "yes or no" type of question: Did the Illuminati have a specific reason for keeping an eye on Matt when they partnered him with Hacker?

If you wanna throw an old Matt fan a bone and answer in more detail that'd be awesome too :)

Anonymous writes...

what is lady macbeths plan to kill duncan?

TiniTinyTony writes...

From what I can gather from the timeline, it appears that Matt Bluestone joins the Illuminati sometime around Nov/Dec 1995. Do you have an exact date for him at this time?

Also, what was the date that Xanatos joined the Illuminati? Thank you for your time.

Juan writes...

I Wondering (hi agian) Was there any gargoyles in the middle east particularly during reign babylonia mesotomia i dont know how u spell but where we call iraq in ancient

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.

Anybody writes...

Hi there! Im having these proyect in college, im studing programming computers and im planning to do some kind of video game (with no monetary gain of course, just for the proyect ;)) about the gargoyles and maybe you could give me your opinion in one of the things i have planned so far :)
Its going to be like a Mortal Combat video game, with fights between the character. Here are a few questions, (i really want to do it as much accuretly as possible)
So far the only gargoyle able to defeat Demona in a one by one fight is Bronx, so can i considered him physicaly stronger than the rest of the gargoyles (except Goliath, i guess)
Wich of the gargoyles have the best skills in gliding?
Who is faster when gliding?
Are the mutates better on the air than the gargoyles?
Well those are my little doubts, the rest i can take it from the show. Thanks again for your time, Greg, and gargoyles comic 4 was just AWESOME :D

brooklyn the red one writes...

hay Greg,i have a qustion about the gargoyles live action movie and it is , did Touch stone pitchers just give up on the gargoyles L A M
or are they "looking at it for the futer"

thank you for your time.