Charisma82 writes...

Hey! I'm really glad to have the new comic book, but I have to say that I really hate having to order the comic book online because it takes forever to get it compared to going to a comic book store and buying it, but there are no comic book stores near where I live. What makes it really bad is that I love coming here to read all the new answers you give each day to fans about their questions, but when the comic book comes out, everything is a review on the comic book, so I can't read any of them until I get the comic book. But that doesn't matter now, 'cause I have the comic book. YES!!! Here is the first half of my ramble on the Gargoyles #4 comic book, even though it is late (I didn't get it done in time to post because ASK GREG filled up with questions & reviews so fast and was closed down when I finished my review).

Gargoyles: Clan-Building
Part Four: Masque

Part 1 Pages 1-12

Page 1: The first thing I noticed is that the drawings were different in this comic compared to those of the past. It looks more like the show WITCH and how it was drawn. I'm not complaining at all though. Lots of people have ideas on who draws better than others in comic books, but I'm more about the story myself. As long as the comics aren't done in stick figures, I'll be okay with it. I had forgotten that Terry Chung was the guy in the spin off New Olympians and didn't put the connection together until I read someone else's review online. I also didn't get that this was Ambassador Chung's son that shows up later in the comic, but I'll get to why I didn't think of that later. I laughed when I noticed that the kids were dressed like Hyena & Jackal. I love their fake claws. Billy seems pretty bratty to me, so I can figure he got his way when he wanted to dress like a criminal. His mom: (After being at a Quarrymen meeting) "Honey, wouldn't you rather go as something else?" Billy: "I WANT TO BE JACKAL!" "But he's a felon, sweetheart…" (Crying) "I DON'T CARE!!!"… Anyways, that's how I see it.

Page 2: By the way, how does Terry's mother know Billy & Suzie's mother? Not through the Quarrymen I hope… Billy roles his eyes at a disciplining mom. Then she sees the Quarrymen. I wouldn't feel comfortable if I were her, taking a kid around in a gargoyle costume. At least the Quarrymen are doing as Castaway asked them. They seem to be making a presence on the street known. Hopefully they don't have hammers that we can't see in the shot we get of them. Nothing more on this page except for kids bickering.

Page 3: "Nice mask…" HA! I love it. That's your line (but you already know that). And here is Hudson, towering over the kids. I love how you can still get the feeling that he is talking in his accent with his "ye" stuff. I also like how the kids are stunned and speechless for the moment at seeing him. Terry even takes off his mask to get a better look at this "costume".

Page 4: IT'S JEFFREY!!! I knew this is where Hudson was going, and I'm so glad to see him again, as he's one of my favorite characters from the Gargoyle's universe. I love the shot with the two "dogs" (so to speak). I don't know if it is just me, but Jeffrey looks a bit upset in his first shot. That' s unusual. He's always wise, thoughtful, happy, content… these are just a few things I think of when I think of the guy. I like Hudson's line "We all wear masks." He avoids the question. I, personally, think that Jeffrey knows about Hudson. I think he had to get up some courage to ask Hudson about the mask thing, knowing the truth, but not wanting to come out with "You're a gargoyle." I think Jeffrey would rather have Hudson tell him the truth than admit he knows what Hudson is. That's my thoughts on it.

Page 5: It's a party! What else is there to say? Margot is being her usual self. You can already guess whom she is yelling at without looking at the next page.

Page 6: The costumes! I love Angela's costume. It fits her perfectly. I know the whole meaning behind it, but even without the meaning, it still fits her personality. Lex's costume is great, too. It's just too bad that we didn't get to see Goliath's reaction to it. I don't care too much for Broadway's costume. I liked him better in the detective coat in Eye of the Beholder.

Page 7: Morgan looks happy while Elisa looks uncomfortable. I can only imagine why… I really like Elisa as Jasmine. The first time I saw it, I had a whole theory of why she dressed that way, and then I read a post where you wrote that she'd already picked out her costume before hand when she and Goliath were going to go to the party together. I don't know what the reasoning would be behind her dressing as Jasmine when with Goliath besides her loving the costume, so I'm going to write my theory on why she'd dress that way going with Morgan. (*NOTE* My sister was just in the Aladdin play, so it helped me out a bit with this since I haven't seen the movie in a while). In the movie, Jasmine's whole thing is feeling trapped. She doesn't get to make her own decisions on what she wants to do. She is being forced to find someone to marry when she truly doesn't want to be with the choices she's given. When she escapes her "prison" and goes out onto the streets, she finds Aladdin, but then circumstances lead to them being separated and she is put back in her old situation of having to find someone to marry. This seems a lot like Elisa to me. She found her "Aladdin", but, due to circumstances, she is back to being trapped because of wanting a normal life. I kind of see Jason from the 3rd comic book being like Jasmine's father in telling her she needs to find someone worthy to be with. I see Morgan as one of the "suitors" coming to call on her. The main thing I see is Elisa (forcing herself) to be in a trapped situation as Jasmine was also trapped. She has to find a partner who she really doesn't want to be with, like Jasmine, even though she's found her "Aladdin". There are other comparisons that come to mind between the two, but I feel I've gotten the main point across here. Then again, I could be totally off. Because, as you said, she'd picked the costume when she was still with Goliath… even so, I like the Jasmine and Elisa comparison. I also have to mention Angela's upsetting tone on this page. Does she not know that her father is bring a date too?

Page 8: THAILOG!!! Okay, that's out of my system. Poor Al. And the girl is in the middle of Thailog and Talon. Not a great place to be at this time. I love the lines exchanged between Talon and herself. "Move, girl!" "Moving!"

Page 9: It's so like Thailog to come prepared. He's thought it all through… at least so far. We still don't know how his plan will work out in the next issue. I like that Claw tackled Thailog and actually pinned him down. It's also cool that Thailog continues on his conversation after this happens and during his whole battle like the fighting isn't a big deal for him. I also like how Thailog called Maggie "Miss Cat." It sounds funny.

Page 10: Back to the party. And now entering is Goliath with Delilah. Judge Roebling didn't look like the guy I remember off the show, so that threw me a bit. I had to think back to who he was, and finally remembered after a while of contemplating. Also, is there any significance in the name he chose, "Sir Ian of Oxford"? I don't know if that refers to someone who actually existed or not, but I was just wondering. I find Roebling's part humorous when Delilah explains all the genetics stuff about Demona and Elisa. If it had been any other guest, they'd have though Delilah was on something.

Page 11: Delilah meet Elisa. Elisa, Delilah. Morgan meet Delilah. Delilah, Morgan. Morgan meet… "G". If I were Morgan, I'd think "G" was a weird name for someone. Then I'd think that maybe it was a nickname. Still, it's a weird nickname. But that's not nearly as weird as meeting your gargoyle clone. Poor Elisa. That had to give her a shock. I also noticed more so in the comics than in the show how Delilah looks a lot like Elisa when Elisa was a gargoyle. Interesting. I love the scene with all four of them standing alone with no one around. It's great. I also like the fact that all four characters, if done in a show, would only need the two voice actors Keith and Salli. I'd have really liked to see that, as I'm sure a lot of Gargoyle fans would have.

Page 12: And here's poor Brooklyn. With his wings draped over his shoulders! YES!!! That's how it's supposed to look. I hated how the other comics had his wings under his arms. It wasn't right. I'm glad it's back to normal now. Broadway and Lex look like dogs in this scene. It's not very appealing on them. Angela still looks as cute in her costume as ever. It's too bad she's giving Brooklyn the wrong ideas here, even though it's not intentional. I can't wait to see Brooklyn's costume.

So there you have it. The first half of the comic book analyzed by yours truly. I'll start on the second half as soon as possible.

Thank you for your time and all that you do.

-Charisma82

Grey Wolf writes...

First off, I'd like to thank you for including strong female characters in Gargoyles. To this day, there aren't enough out there in cartoons/anime or comics/manga. It's expecialy pleasing to me because, being female, I've had to fight off the 'weaker gender' stereotype all my life! In martial arts class, a boy refused to 'contact spar' with me when our master told us to. Why? Because he'd "Never hit a girl and wasn't going to start now." Him being my friend, that stung a bit; but him being my friend was also what kept me from kicking him through the wall. Characters like Elisa, Angela and Demona made Maggie the Cat tollerable. Which, by the way, is the subject of my post.

I neither love nor hate Maggie. I suppose I sort of like her though, at least she's not exactly a coward. But she irritates me a little, she refuses to fight even though she can, she's easily frightened, she didn't react well to the gargoyles after they saved her, ect. I don't really know what Talon sees in her. Maybe you could tell me? And I have a couple more questions.

1. Does Maggie accept her Mutate form by the time of 'Masque'? She seems okay, but I'm not sure.
2. Do the Mutates have tails or not? Comics #3 and #4 have conflicting art. Are their tails retractable?

Anonymous writes...

I was just wondering, if there was a Season 3 of W.I.T.C.H., what it would be about? I am also wondering about the end of W.I.T.C.H. Season 2. I was wondering who the new professor was at the end of "Z is for Zenith". Thanks for your help!

Moeen writes...

Hi Greg. You said earlier concerning BVHE that "I don't have a phone number either, believe it or not. At the moment, I don't even have an e-mail address, because my previous contact on the project at BVHE has been reassigned, and she hasn't been able to tell me who has taken over."

In that case, I thought I would pass on a contact phone number for BVHE I got from someone else: 818-295-5200.
I hope you find it helpful!

dph writes...

There is one question I have about the episode Bushido that I have been meaning to ask. After Elisa & the rest of the protectors of the Japanese clan are knocked unconcious, wake up, realize Taro has taken the gargoyles, and determine the location that Taro has taken the gargoyles, why does it take them seemingly to near sun-rise to get there? Was Taro's gargoyle theme park that far away from their village?

Michael writes...

Is Nick Maza (in 2198) blood related to Nick/Natsilane from the episode "Heritage"?

If so, when or at what point in the ancestry of Nick Maza do the bloodlines of the Maza family and Nick/Natsilane meet? If you won't say when specifically then is it closer to the year 2198 or 1998?

dph writes...

First, I want to thank you for doing Today in Gargoyle Universe History. It really is fun.

I have some question about Princess Elena's parents. In a TIGUH for June 6th, you said "Hardicanute dies suddenly at a wedding, perhaps due to poison. He is succeeded by his half-brother, Edward the Confessor, son of Aethelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, as King of England. Edward locks his mother Emma (Princess Katharine's aunt) up in a nunnery.".

I did take the time to look up Emma of Normandy and found these sites from which I am going to make my conjecture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_of_Normandy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_I_of_Normandy
http://www.robertsewell.ca/normandy.html

Sadly, I couldn't find much info about Emma of Paris.

1)Is Princess Elena's father Richard I of Normandy?
2)Is Princess Elena's mother either Gunnor of Crêpon or Emma of Paris?
2a)Assuming the answer to #2 is yes, which one is Prince Elena's mother?

Thank you for answering this question.