dph writes...

Thank you very much for sharing the dates for the various stops along the world tour. Obviously, we didn't get to see every stop along the world tour.

1)On the average, was each stop on the world tour (including the ones we don't know about) roughly 1-2 days?

2)Aside from the traveler's meeting up with Coldstone, do you have any more of the off-screen world tour stops worked out?

Hypnotoad writes...

That tatoo on Fox's eye, is there a story on how, why, when and where she got it?

Incisivis writes...

Hi. Longtime reader, first time poster. I love the work you've done.

A belated review of Gargoyles #3

Pause to reflect: This is the first new Gargoyles story in a decade. Nothing could live up to that amount of anticipation, but this is still a very good issue. As it must it's mostly an establishment of things to come, but what a series of hints they are.

Bringing another Halloween story into the Gargoyles universe is a lovely concept. Perhaps it's not as hard to tell the difference between costumes and living creatures as cartoons like to make it out to be, but the characters need to have their fun, especially hunted as they are right now. And plus, it's great fun for fans who just love the holiday.

Of course, the holiday also sets up the "Double Date" storyline, which has been planned for years, and it's wonderful how this is handled. Elisa's crushing change of heart might seem too abrupt, but this capricious indecision which, while not pretty, is realistic. At least the series is dealing with it than assuming such relationships are a given, sucking all the interesting potential out of cross-species relationships as a lot of popular fantasy and sci-fi seems to do.

More Illuminati material; watching Hacker play to the interests of three different characters was intriguing, and hopefully something really strong and cohesive is done with this. Not to mention that the Xanatoses are going to the White House.

Demona's first SLG comic appearance was a one-page one without dialogue, but it was the beginning of something, and there's too much going on already to justify paying attention to her...yet. By Demona retrieving the crystal, it looks like the Praying Gargoyle, which, when the TV series is taken on its own, seemed just like a random plot device, might get its behind-the-scenes backstory developed. Demona, too, though a well-crafted character, still feels like her story isn't done yet, that she's not "complete" and hopefully the comic will continue to build on her.

Brooklyn is just having a bad day, isn't he? His perpetual grumpy scowl as he watches the other females being "taken" before his eyes (though Goliath is obviously uncomfortable with Delilah) is darkly funny. His development into a more enlightened person, romantically speaking, will be interesting to see, if "Timedancer" is ever published.

Nothing new or different is going to be said about Hedgecock's art: the colouring makes it look a little better this time, but just a little. Characters change proportion quickly, can be asymmetrical, and off-model in other ways (Malibu's tusks, the Mutates with tails). There are some fun bits like Brooklyn staring at Malibu in the background while Al and the Labyrinth Girl talk, and a few good expressions, but trouble still continues.

The colouring, though as mentioned above, has improved, but there are problems. Brentwood's skin is black, the same as Thailog's, when it should be lighter. The gargoyles all have darkened interiors on their ears, and Goliath's wings are still entirely dark purple, instead of having lighter arms and ribs. Brooklyn and Broadway have light brown loincloths instead of blue ones, and Demona now sports blue wing membranes. Angela has blue lips, but these actualy look better, an extension of her skin colour rather than the faux-lipstic on most female cartoon characters.

"Send in the clones". Augh. The timing for that scene is a little weird, too. An entrance prompted by a bad pun?

As always Greg Guler's cover art looks much nicer than the interior, but like #1 the cover art is a generic character group shot that doesn't say much about the issue's contents, something that will thankfully change with issue #4. Angela's outfit in the book isn't changed as drastically as the one on the cover; can't say that's displeasing, when one wonders the point of Guler wanting to go back and change a character's outfit to the original skimpier design several years after the fact.

Overall it's a very good story, even if it's just an aperitif. The thrill is in thiking about where things are going to go from here.

K9: The First writes...

By the time of Gargoyles 2198, what will Demona and Macbeth's relationship be? By that I mean: Will they still hate eachothers guts, or will their relationship be more aimiable in nature?

Chip writes...

Thoth is a lock you say? AWESOME! (This kind of thing really gets me excited) God of the Moon, Wisdom, Writing, and Time. No question, just an excited response.

Justin writes...

Dear Greg,
I have been meaning to write you this comment for a very long time. It seems that the longer things go on, the more my life parallels things you presented on Gargoyles. Not everything mind you, haha, but somethings certainly strike a new chord than when I watched the show at 13.

To start this off, on Sept. 28th, 2005 my mother passed away. It was hard but my sisters and I got through it. Eventually around the holidays, both my sisters left for verying educational pursuits while I was tasked with taking care of our home. This officially happened in January 2006. I thought I could handle it but all of a sudden the sheer realization that I was all alone in my childhood home ( save our 2 cats and a dog) became too much to bare.

Eventually I started feeling like I was losing myself. Well this went on for a few weeks then a month or so like this and then early february, our heat went out. I had no job then and I couldn't afford the bill. It just so happened this was the coldest time of the winter that this occured.

Anyway, my little sister was attending Indiana University at the time, got wind of the situation and arranged to get me out of there, to stay the night with a family friend. I had known this family for years and I didn't want to burden them. Nor did I want to abandon my pets to the cold. So in an insane headspace I told my sister no. That I was not leaving.

Long story short I left my house that night and stayed a few days with the friends mentioned above. Here is the kicker... this is the only Gargoyles reference I have made so far but I hope if I illustrated the story well enough you see the similarities already..

When I got to my friend's home they set me up on the couch and gave me free reign over the TV. I turned to Toon Disney knowing Gargoyles would be on soon, and you know what episode was running that night? HAHA, you guessed it, Enter Macbeth.

My little sister convinced me it was suicide to stay at my home, and I ended staying with family friends that were truly more like extended family. Hudson's line struck a deep chord.. "Where we can be together and safe" It wasn't my house I was protecting, althought I thought so.. I was protecting what I felt was all I had left. Eerily similar.

In any event, I felt I would pass that along. I won't be able to attend Pigeon Forge but now I live in Chicago, so I hope to see you next year!

Peace, Love, and Empathy,

Justin M. Lindley

Antiyonder writes...

1. While #1 and 2 gave us some new scenes and had some occuring in a different order than "The Journey", was there anything that just didn't make the cut in the episode or the comic?

2. Do any of the voice actors as well as others who worked on the show pick up the comic as well?

Dustin writes...

Hey Greg
I have really been enjoying the comic and am very impressed with how you have stuck with the Gargoyles and also the fans all this time. I recently got a dvr and have been enjoying episodes I never saw from the latter part of season 2 (what isn't out on DVD) on toon Disney. You probably know this by now but they do air Lethal Force these days. I have also caught a couple episodes of The Goliath Chronicles (The Journey, Runaways, and the last episode), but not enough to form a real opinion on the overall quality. It seems to me though that animation as a medium gets a lot more viewers than comics attracts readers so I guess it feels sort of odd to discount those episodes when more people will watch those than read the comics I am guessing. I mean I am not saying you have to pick up where they left off, but it is sort of like in other comics continuity, you can ignore events without contradicting them. They are your creation and I trust your judgement, it just goes against my geeky continuity obsessed mind. It also makes me wonder what people who actually worked on that season think of the negativity surrounding their work. Maybe it was just a pay check to them, but maybe they actually did try to do right by what you had set up. They were also probably under more pressure with BS+P that year which may have affected what they could do. It also seems like it puts you at risk of burning certain bridges, but I do not know about animation so maybe it is a big enough world where it doesn't matter too much to express opinions like that. Alright questions.
1) I couldn't find it anywhere in the archive and maybe its none of my business but since you clearly love the universe you created so much, why did you leave Disney in the 1st place assuming you could have stayed and run season 3 the way you had wanted?

Well I guess thats all I have for questions. No further questions. Other things....you mentioned #6 is a stand alone issue, which sounds like a great idea to me. Comics is different medium than animation/television. Sometimes storytelling has to be compressed a bit. If each 3 issues=1 episode that is like $10 bucks an episode (that is like 3-4 episodes for the price of the entire Sedason 2 Vol.1 DVD, not that its not worth it ). There are a lot of great comics that tell complete stories in one issue. Especially with a bi-monthly schedule it is nice when each issue packs a lot of story (not at the sacrifice of character or pace or anything). I also sort of dislike the decision to use to 1st 2 issues to retell a story that has already been in the series. I understand why it was probably a necessary evil for bringing back a 10 year old world, but it just feels like it had the potential to kill the excitment and momentum of a new series for the loyal fans who will be the primary audience of the series most likely. And I thought if you were doing it anyway it would have been nice to have Vinnie decide not to go to Japan in the end since there is all this talk of him being your surrogate and now you are back with the characters. Seems like a missed opportunity for a nice little wink towards the die hard fans. Maybe you have plans for him in Japan? I am looking forward to having a consistent artist in the upcoming issues. Fill-ins really do have a negative effect on a series in my mind, but weighed against huge delays I suppose they are a better option in this case. Overall I am very excited to have new Gargoyles stories around and I hope the run ends up being very successful because I feel like once you guys get into the groove, it could end up being pretty fantastic and I would hate to see it get cancelled before you even really get into it. And at the end of an arc if time is an issue it seems like it would be pretty easy to skip ahead a few years to catch us up to the present. I personally do not mind it being set in the 90's and I think just not mentioning the year works just fine for casual readers and the loyal fanbase. I guess skipping ahead might ruin your whole timeline you have mapped out as well. I sort of wish a bigger publisher had teamed up with Disney because the issues seem to get shoved in the independent and or kids sections in some shops, when they would probably do much better just mixed in on the shelf with all the other titles.

How about a Northwest Gathering. Portland, Seattle? Maybe even somewhere in Montana.

I think your post about "second base" was probably one of the most entertaining read on this whole page. If you want an example of tv broaching the topic the OC comes to mind 1st when Seth has a hilariously awkward conversation with his father about "preheating the oven".

And you are one episode away from finishing your ramblings on your seasons of the series. Let's get that done. I really enjoy the commentary like feel to those. It might even be interesting to do The Goliath Chronicles to hear what you had to say about those, or at least The Journey.

Well thanks a lot for sticking with these characters and indulging the fans. I was planning just write something as a letter to the comic but my thoughts kind of spilled over into all things Gargoyle. Sorry to go on so long. Hope I didn't come off really critical, the show has been one of my favorites since I was a kid and one of the few shows from then that still holds up to regular viewings. Thanks for your time.
The letters page is called written in stone right? I do not have an issue with me, but if its not it should be. How is that for a ramble...
Dustin

Brigadoon Traveller writes...

Gargoyles #4

Thailog's back - and by the looks of things he's been taking steroids! Wide eyed cutesy trick or treaters, gargoyles with bags of muscle and comical facial expressions when getting knifed aside, Paniry's artwork on this issue is actually quite interesting. Just as I was starting to get used to Hedgecock's work on the comic, we get treated to this new artist's take on the Gargoyles Universe; and whilst the inking might be quite too thick and unsightly for some people, and some of the characters are hard to recognise, personally I quite like Paniry's art in 'Masque'. Surprisingly I was starting to miss David Hedgecock when I first read through this issue; but there are some really good moments - the half Goliath/half Thailog facial on page 23, the moments when Elisa meets Delilah (esp the panel when the double daters are all alone), Talon running to Maggie after she gets buried alive. On the whole the artwork's looking different but still as always looking good.

Enough of the aesthetics - if the story is lacking, there's no point in having stellar art. But as the Clan Building arc continues with Chapter 4: 'Masque', I have to say things just keep getting better and better. Like 'Invitation Only' this issue has a huge supporting cast; Robbins makes his long overdue return, Brendan Quarters is back with a sore ear as always, a slightly tipsy Judge Roebling unexpectedly pops along, as do Sarah Browne and her kids. And whilst old faces are popping up so are new ones, particularly that of Billy's friend Terry and Ambassador Chung (who incidentally also has a son named Terry, hmmm). Whether this new Terry Chung is the Terry Chung of New Olympians fame remains to be seen but if they are one and the same (and my bet is that they are) then the first major revelation of Clan Building is that the events of the New Olympians spin-off will not be happening until at least another decade or so. For some reason I was under the impression that the New Olympians would reveal themselves at the end of the 1990s not long after the Manhattan clan met them. But this delay in their revelation seems more logical and is unlikely to detract from the revelation of the gargoyles; I'm sure the New Olympians along with the rest of the world are watching how the Manhattan residents react to the new gargoyle threat - how this plays out over the years will most likely influence the New Olympians' choice to reveal themselves.

As I said before it was good to see Billy and Susan again (I think this is the first time we've met them again since "Thrill of the Hunt"). It took me a while to figure out that they were dressed as Jackal and Hyena. Sarah seems concerned when she sees the Quarrymen patrolling - I wonder whether she is having second thoughts about joining them.

And it's only a matter of time before Robbins figures out that his Scottish friend is in fact an urban legend come to life - I liked seeing Bronx and Gilly lying next to the fire.

Onto the party - and what a party! Such revelry, such merriment, such debauchery - everyone certainly looks like they're having a good time; I wonder how much Xanatos pay that waitress on page 5? Maybe he should pay her more so that she can afford to buy the rest of her outfit!

I was pleasantly surprised that Angela reprimanded Elisa for bringing Morgan; I'm glad that she spoke out against her, but how much does she know at that point about her and her father breaking up? I doubt that Goliath told any of the clan before he left for the Labyrinth. I'm sure Angela could probably tell something was up from the way Goliath left the Castle. Aside from Hudson, Angela is probably the one most aware of the couple's relationship and feelings for each other, and so it seems right that she would defend her father whilst he's away.

Some have said that her advice to Elisa is hypocritical considering the way she and Broadway have acted around Brooklyn; I disagree - Angela made it clear at the end of "Turf" that she was not a trophy to be one and that if anything was to happen it would happen in its own time.

Brooklyn as usual is moping again - that is until Angela goes up to him; poor girl doesn't realise what signals she's sending him - hopefully next issue Angela will let him down gently and Brook will be out of his depressive moods. Timedancer can't come soon enough for him.

Lexington's "post-modern tin man" - I wonder how much influence Owen had in that costume design.

Speaking of costumes, Elisa carries on her Disney Princesses affiliation by dressing as Jasmine. Nice!

For some reason I was unsure whether Delilah and Elisa had met yet; I'm glad that the first time Elisa saw her was when she was with Goliath and not at a prior off-screen occasion. Make's their meeting all the more awkward and interesting.

Thailog has some neat lines;

"No treat for poor little Thailog? Then trick it is!"
"That's quite enough, Norma Rae."
"Wow, haven't had a good maniacal laugh in weeks."

For a split second the pain, betrayal, jealousy is plain to see on Thailog's face when he learns where Delilah has gone.

Maggie shows her courageous side again by standing up to Thailog - it's a shame it almost cost her her life. She looks so badly hurt in that blast that I'm unsure whether she'll survive or not.

When I first saw Alex in his gargoyle suit last issue I thought to myself Hedgecock's drawing this kid likes he's older than he really is; I'm glad that Ambassador Chung agrees with me on that. Make's me wonder whether Fox also looked older than she was and whether Renard picked up on it?

You've delivered another brilliantly scripted episode! Can't wait until #5 and the conclusion of this story!

Brigadoon Traveller writes...

Finally got my copy of #3 (and #4 as well more on that later) And I have to say that I'm loving every single moment of this brand new canon story. 11 years of waiting (more like 7 for me as I first started to watch the series properly back in 2000) and finally we have new Gargoyles stories.

I love the opening sequence - the Xanatos family playing happy families makes a beautiful picture perfect opening.

Let's get straight into the meat of this issue; Elisa and Goliath. Elisa does a big 180 here by going from saying "Funny, I feel the exact same way" in response to Goliath's feelings in "The Journey" to the next night saying that they need to break up. But does it feel contrived? No not in the least - why? Because Elisa's suddenly realised that she doesn't live in a fantasy world where she can realistically play guardian angel with Goliath night after night and at the same time balance that with her job at the precinct during the day. Like we saw in "High noon" Elisa just wants a normal life - she would much rather have preferred to live out normalcy and all the perks that that comes with - a house with a yard and kids etc than have investigated those falling rocks from the Eyrie building all the way back in "Awakening".

Throughout the day she's had reminders from people she feels close to that there is a whole different life outside of the gargoyles that she has to live and there's no way she can combine the two. I'm sure she would have loved to have brought Goliath to the precinct picnic but there's no chance at all that she ever would or even could for that matter.

The night before she and her "boyfriend" (it feels so weird calling Goliath her boyfriend - I suppose in the same vein that Goliath makes the distinction between husband and mate) were chased by racially motivated zealots who not only tried to kill her, but nearly succeeded. Goliath was badly injured in that battle and it looks like she took a nasty blow from Castaway's hammer as well. But the difference between the two is that whilst Goliath can hide up in the castle and heal throughout the day, Elisa has to attend to her career with all the paperwork, liaisons and meetings that come with it, bruises and all.

Morgan with his simple look of surprise at her hiding this guy she's supposedly involved with shows her that despite the fact that she's know acknowledging that she has been involved with Goliath for a couple of years, she could never, at least not any time soon, come out with him in public at any time other than Halloween. For all we know, she could have been planning to spend her night off with Goliath on the streets of New York on the one night where she could pretend things were normal. But what about the night after that? And the months and the years after that? Where does Goliath fit in with her idealistic view of her future? She wants kids - and not half gargoyle, half human kids - kids that she can take to school and show off to her friends and drive to football practice with their friends. Unfortunately she can't do that with Goliath's kids.

Then we have her meeting with Jason. I'm sure she didn't stay long with him - but in that brief moment he showed her that again her other half was a mystery to her friends; he probably has an inkling that it might have been Goliath and that's probably what he's alluding to when he talks of the man that can give her everything she's wanted. (I have a feeling though that he hasn't even thought about Goliath being her boyfriend and is referring to himself in that speech - in that he feels he can't give her everything she wants and telling her to stick with her boyfriend who he presumes to be human. Considering that up until a week ago Jason thought that all gargoyles were evil demons and even though he has reformed and changed his views I doubt that even the thought of a cross-species relationship has occurred to him. Prejudices sometimes are hard to remove and I doubt that Jason has done it overnight.)

The feel nail in the Goliath Elisa coffin is I think when Jason grasps Elisa's hand. I'm sure some of the feelings she had for him are still there, probably making her realise that if she could be attracted to Jason, she could still find someone within her own species who could provide her with everything that Goliath can't.

I suppose though that the Xanatos family in the opening pages provide a counterpoint to Elisa's argument. If an amoral billionaire who is obsessed with immortality and is driven by his desire for power, influence and domination coupled with an ex-felon/Half magical being who both spent their honeymoon in 10th century Scotland can have a "normal family", then why can't she?

But like she did in "High Noon" I'm sure Elisa will realise during the course of this double date that it doesn't matter whether she wanted to be thrown into the world of the gargoyles, what matters is that they need her and more especially Goliath needs her just as much as she needs him. But that remains to be seen.

Anyway onto the rest of the issue; Hacker playing everyone - loving it. Can't wait to find out what the Illuminati really want with the gargoyles.

Personally I like the back story exposition of the mutates and the clones; granted I would have loved two pages of new stuff but if it helps out new readers understand then so be it. Is that a growing Thailog in the background in the first panel with Sevarius? I like that continuity.

And finally… He's back!!! Thailog is back and I'm sure with a vengeance! I'm sure he's come back for nothing more than to collect his property. He probably sees the clones as an investment - one that he probably feels Talon is polluting with his education. I doubt Talon's had much of an influence on them though; they've only been down there for two weeks, but it'll be interesting to see what their reaction to Thailog will be.

Goliath and Delilah luckily are out of sight on their way to the Castle. Speaking of which, has Elisa actually gone down into the labyrinth to see Delilah? If not that means that the first time she'll see her will be with Goliath. Now that's going to make things awkward!

I have to say the art on the whole is absolutely stunning on some pages (when Goliath and Elisa are having "the conversation" Goliath looks amazing; wish I could say the same about Elisa though - she looks like an old hag in some of the panels). Hedgecock brilliantly captures the emotion and the pain on Goliath's face - his shock when Elisa says their feelings "are not enough" is priceless. One tiny little point I have to say which really won me over - the moon in the background… it's not full! And so it shouldn't be considering that the hunter's moon was a week ago. This is the kind of continuity that I hope can be carried on throughout the comic book's run.

I especially love the cliffhanger ending - Thailog never looked better!

No review would be complete without mentioning Demona's cameo. No dialogue, one page only - but it sets up so much for future stories. Demona's up to something no doubt about it. I like that even after Operation 'Clean Slate', a plan that she's been hatching for 500 years fails, she's still planning new schemes a few nights later.

On the whole a brilliant issue 5/5