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Blaise writes...

GARGOYLES
BAD GUYS
LOUSE

There were a number of scenes in this issue that just made me say, "Oh...my god."
The first one was, of course, the revelation of the "New Mutates." This is shocking, because we've seen at least three of them (Tasha, Benny, and Thug) as humans. It becomes even more shocking because of the nature of their mutations. The original Mutates, despite having six working limbs and enough eel DNA to channel electricity, don't seem anywhere near as strange as these four. Perhaps that's because their main body ("anthropomorphic big cats" if you will) is still...I don't know. Beautiful? Acceptable? My point is, in comparison what happened to these four seems even more outlandish and strange. Tasha at least is a mammal (albeit not a pretty one), but Thug is now reptilian, and so is Erin I think (a turtle with hair it looks like). But Benny's the weirdest out of all of them. HE'S A FRICKEN' INSECT! How the hell did Sevarius manage that? You know, it's strange--out of all the things I willingly suspend my disbelief for, this one takes the cake. Are insects even considered vertebrates? Still, if Sevarius can isolate and manipulate the genetic code for hexopodial limbs, I guess it's not too much of a stretch for him to do this, too.
The next shocking thing would seem to be the kids' reactions to their predicament--they don't seem that phased. Benny actually seems somewhat proud of being a "roly-poly bug." Erin is more interested in arguing with her brother.
The final shocking thing about this scene to me is...those are GREG'S KIDS! Good god, man! What did they do to you? ;-)

Of course, all of these shocks pale in comparison to the suicide. It's a very powerful scene (despite, or maybe because, we don't see the noose or anything). The shocked reactions of the squad (minus the largely emotionless Matrix), and the reactions of Thug and the kids are well done. Poor Benny can't hug Thug, so he goes into the wood louse version of a fetal position. As if they weren't traumatized enough--homeless, then mutated, now witness to a suicide. I ask again: Greg, what the HELL did your kids do to you?!
Unfortunately, "Fridge Logic"--what you think about after the fact, usually while looking through your fridge for a snack--leaves me wondering how exactly she hung herself.
At any rate, those were the big ones for me. The rest of my impressions will be listed, more or less in the order they occurred.

Fang takes out the robot with a double blast of both gun and electricity. Nice. I liked the "Gigantor" reference.

I love Fang's expression in the 4th panel of page 3. I knew that Fang would get a cliff-hanger, but I never thought the (apparent) threat would be from Yama. Given later (earlier) events, that resonates all the better, though.

"5 Days Ago." Wow...that doesn't sound like a lot of time in the grand scheme of things, does it?

Fang's line about sending Robyn packing "in pieces small enough to pack" made me go "Yikes!"
I wonder if Robyn quite took in the irony of her life being saved by a gargoyle.

I was tickled to get a confirmation that a gargoyle's sense of smell is better (or at least more sensitive) than a human's. Yama knows Fang isn't a gargoyle just by the scent. "Fish," eh? I wonder if that's from Fang's genetic make-up, or his diet.

I was a bit surprised when Yama's attack seemed to knock out Fang. Of course, it didn't.

Matrix and Dingo are fun! I found Matrix's line about "taking matters into my own nanobots" a rather interesting twist on the old phrase.

I'm ashamed to admit that I had forgotten that Sevarius knew Robyn previously.

It never occurred to me that the client Sevarius spoke of might be someone we knew until others mentioned the possibility. Whether it is or not, this new client has certainly helped the good doctor out--right down to apparently providing a lab with holding cells in New York's sewer system (how many "Labyrinths" do they have down there?).

As others have mentioned, we now know what motivates Sevarius: science, money, and...DRAMA!!!!! That last part actually becomes important to the plot, what with Sevarius's device set to go off at exactly midnight and no way to speed it up (much to Fang's annoyance). Of course, mutating all the people in times square, while dramatic, also seems a little...stupid. I mean, cameras are rolling, police are there..is no one REALLY going to notice thousands of people spontaneously mutating? But screw logic, this is...DRAMA!!!!!
He even numbers the carrier virus after the new year number (1997).

And now the term "gargate" is cannon. Sevarius wonders what would happen to a human mutated with gargate DNA, and vice versa...and I'm wondering how many of us, like Matt, have paused to consider that, over the years.
The reactions are intriguing. Robyn is disgusted (maybe even afraid?). No matter how she interacts with Yama, the old prejudice still has it's hold. Yama, on the other hand, just calmly inquires into the identity of the "donor." That surprised me--when it's a normal animal, nobody inquires beyond species, but with a sentient questions of identity arise. We learn the name of the gargoyle (and with it, one of the uses the samples are maybe being put towards), but Sevarius never mentions the human.

Dingo (wearing Matrix) saves the day! Hands up everyone who saw that coming.

Oh that Sevarius.... As soon as they left him in the cell, with that smug look on his face, I knew he'd escape somehow. Tasha immediately jumps on the idea that now Sevarius HAS to cure them. Poor lady....

Spot the cameo in Times Square! Naturally, we have Brendan and Margot. Tri Chung, and I guess his little brother Terry, are there as well. And Karine's roster of garg-fans.

I understood that Fang's electric attack reset Dingo's memory back a couple of seconds on the first incident. As if Dingo didn't need another reason to be wary of joining with Matrix.

"Damn drama." No, I will not get tired of every minor profanity that shows up in these books! Of course, the suicide will kind of steal the thunder....

"Flamin Gallah." We just don't use that insult enough.
Poor Dingo, though. His partner made a logical decision (and a good impression of the New Year's Ball) that left him in free fall. And even though Hunter saves him, his momentum is enough to swing him face-first into a wall. By the handkerchief a few panels later, I guess he got at least a bloody nose.

Love the Eyrie Building in the back ground.

Go Yama! I wonder how Fang's attacks hold up against Taro's electric fans.

I enjoyed the dicotomy between Fang's first reaction to Tasha's death, and his immediate switch to a joke (in extremely poor taste). A defense mechanism, I guess. Not a good one, since it nearly gets him beheaded. Fang's enthusiastic support of Dingo's "He's not worth it" line is in character and extremely funny. Hunter's reaction intrigued me the most, though. Her expression when Yama tries to kill Fang, and then her calming Yama down by...whispering something in his ear.
Great, as if "What the #$^& did Titania whisper" wasn't enough, now we've got "What the #$^& did Hunter whisper." You better answer ONE of those SOON, Greg! ;-)

Now Dingo gets some confirmation that Hunter isn't the top dog, after all. I wonder if her boss's interest in Thug and the kids was altruistic or pragmatic.

"Guess who made the team!" Fang almost seems like a high schooler who just made running back. The rest of the team seems less than thrilled, especially Yama (who's furious).

Good one. And definitely making use of the medium.

Greg responds...

My kids chose the animals they wanted to be mutated into. I was both surprised and somewhat proud of their interesting and pragmatic choices. I built the armor theme around their choices.

The lab that Sevarius is using is part of the old Cyberbiotics complex. (It isn't called a labyrinth for nothing.)

And of course people would notice.

Terry and Tri are first cousins.

The answer to what Hunter whispered is (I think) so obvious in the context of the issue, that I'm NEVER going to reveal it.

Response recorded on October 14, 2008

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Litwolf writes...

A few questions about Sphinx (all I know about her is her GargWiki profile and Im dying to know more):
1) Despite her appearance looking very much like an English gargoyle (wings, tail, humanoid body with cat features), she's not actaully a gargoyle, right? She's just pure New Olympian?
2) Can she fly, unlike a gargoyle's glide?
3) Do you think she has the physical strength to carry Terry in the air? (I ask this question because, given how the romance reminds me a lot of Goliath and Elisa, I wonder if we'll ever see Sphinx carrying Terry like Goliath carries Elisa)
4) How fast does she age as compared to a human? And how old is she when she meets Terry?

And, since Im sure Sphinx would be upset if I ignored her Terry, a quick question about him: any idea what kind of boat takes him to New Olympus? I think you've said he's going to sail around the world, so Im gonna guess a sailboat, is that right?

I hope Sphinx and Terry get a chance to have their story told in comic form!

Greg responds...

1. Correct.

2. Yes.

3. Yes.

4. I'm not saying.

5. Yes, it's a sailboat.

Response recorded on September 25, 2008

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Rebel writes...

Hi Greg, this is something I meant to ask in my earlier comment, but I forgot to. For the comic, how much direction do you give to your artists in coming up with the designs for new canon characters?

I am specifically referring to the two new London Gargoyles at the end of #7. I know you had mentioned before that the London gargs would look like unicorns, lions, or griffins. Did you change your mind recently, or had it always been your plan to make them look like other heraldry animals, and you were just teasing us? Did David Hedgecock talk you out of it? Did the two of you decide together what animals they would resemble, or had you already decided? If you chose beforehand, did you give him specific details about their appearance, or relatively vague details and let him come up with them himself? I would be interested to know any information you can tell me about this. I find the process of creating a character's look to be very interesting.

Also, feel free to volunteer information about the development of the designs of other new characters which have appeared in the comic. Shari, the Tasmanian tiger villain in Bad Guys, Coyote's new look, etc. Whatever comes to mind.

Greg responds...

Here's my description in the script of the two characters, minus a couple of personal details that I don't choose to reveal at this time:

• [New Male Gargoyle] - Biologically age 19. [New Male Gargoyle] is a gargoyle of the London Clan. His head is modeled off a large stag (i.e. male deer) with fairly magnificent silver antlers. He should have feathered white wings. And deer-like hooves for feet, but his hands should look like normal gargoyle hands. He should be tall (and feel even taller thanks to the antlers) and slim in build. Not so slim that he looks fragile, but he's definitely not the bulky type. This is a new character, but for inspiration take a look at UNA at http://lynativerse.artchicks.org/Screencaps/GL_Una.htm.
• [New Female Gargoyle] - Biologically age 19. [New Female Gargoyle] is another gargoyle of the London Clan, this one modeled off a wild boar or sow. She has a pig-snout and tusks. She is brown. Her wings are the more traditional bat-like wings we're familiar with. Normal gargoyle hands, more pig-like feet. She's medium-height, muscled and burly - nothing fragile about [New Female Gargoyle].

As you can see, the basic choices were mine, but I give Dave full credit for bringing them to life.

Here's my descriptions of the other characters you asked about (and some you didn't)...

• COYOTE 5.0 - This is only SORT OF a new character. Basically, there have been four Coyote robots that preceded this one. They all have a lot in common thematically, but they're all different too. And lucky you get to design the new one! To see Coyotes 1-4, check out: http://gargoyles.dracandros.com/Coyote_%28robot%29 or the episodes "Leader of the Pack" (for Coyote 1.0) and "Upgrade" (for Coyote 2.0) both on the Season Two, Volume One DVD. (Coyotes 3.0 & 4.0 aren't out on DVD yet.) Note the basic color scheme and the coyote-head motif. And the fact that all the later robots have a circular VID-SCREEN that displays an image of a robotic head. The head appears to be half-Xanatos and half-robot-skull. This version of the robot will have the large Coyote Diamond inside its chest cavity… with lasers shooting into it. We may want a transparent cover for that, so we can see the Diamond even after the cavity is closed. Or not. In either case, Coyote 5.0 should be BIG.
• SHARI - Arabic female, age 18. A pretty, goth-teen runaway type. She wears a lot of chains, necklaces, pendants, etc. around her neck. [Shari was also visually inspired by a real person, and I provided Dave with a photo as reference.]
• DETECTIVE CEDRIC HARRIS - African-American male.
• DETECTIVE TRI CHUNG - Chinese-Vietnamese male.
• TERRY CHUNG - Asian-American boy, age 12. He's wearing a GOLIATH Halloween costume.
• AMBASSADOR CHUNG - Terry's mother, age 42. She's a short Asian-American woman, wearing a white evening gown and carrying a white, feathered mask on a stick.
• QUINCY HEMINGS - He appears to be about 60. African-American. Gray hair, trim build. He's dressed in a white tuxedo jacket with epaulets and gold buttons. White gloves, a red bow tie, black pants. He has for decades been the "Chief Steward" at the White House, a job loosely based on the job of Chief Usher. See http://www.whitehousehistory.org/06/subs/06_a07.html for info on Chief Ushers.
• TASMANIAN TIGER - (Age 24.) The Tasmanian Tiger is a somewhat clichéd costumed super-villain. His garb is inspired by the extinct Tasmanian Tiger (a.k.a. the Thylacine), and he's flanked by two actual (cloned) THYLACINES (Benjamin & Natasha). (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thylacine.) His costume is largely form fitting with black tiger stripes and a cowl with Tiger ears and clawed gauntlets. On his chest is a symbol with two interlocking letter Ts. (Similar to the interlocking Ds on Daredevil's costume: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Daredevil41.jpg.) The Tasmanian Tiger also carries a large blaster weapon.
• BENJAMIN - A male Thylacine, one of Tasmanian Tiger's trained pets. To see how wide a thylacine's jaw can open, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tasmanian_tiger.gif.
• NATASHA - A female Thylacine; the Tiger's other trained pet.

As you can see, sometimes I gave quite a bit of detail, sometime I pretty much left nearly the entire design to Dave or Karine or Nir's imagination. Usually, the artist does a design and sends it to me. We might do a bit of back and forth on it... but honestly, looking at the above list, with the exception of Quincy (who started out looking a bit too old and jowly for my tastes), I feel like the artists hit all of these characters on the first time out.

Response recorded on January 17, 2008

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OCTOBER 31

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

October 31st...

1994
In part because both he and Elisa want to conceal the gargoyles' existence, Xanatos and the D.A.'s office agree to a plea bargain. He pleads guilty to the sole count of Receiving Stolen Property. He will be sentenced to six months in county jail including time served, with every hope that the sentence will be reduced to three months for good behavior.

1995
Xanatos confronts Fox and attempts to get the Eye back from her. She transforms in front of him and escapes. Xanatos intentionally involves Goliath and Elisa in an attempt to manipulate them into helping Fox and retrieving the Eye. Goliath quickly catches on and initially refuses to help. Later that night, the Trio, Goliath, Elisa, Vinnie, Brendan and Margot all attend a Greenwich Village Halloween block party. When the Werefox attacks, Goliath and Elisa agree to help Xanatos save Fox. Together, they manage to remove the Eye from the creature, which reverts to Fox. Goliath takes possession of the Eye.

1996
Matt Bluestone convenes a meeting of the Gargoyle Taskforce (including himself, Elisa, Officers Morgan & Travanti, Detectives Harris & Chung, Margot Yale and Martin Hacker). Hacker has Illuminati meetings with Matt, Xanatos and Castaway. Morgan asks Elisa on a date. After turning him down and spending time with Jason in the hospital prison ward, she goes to the Eyrie. The gargoyles awaken at sunset. Fox has Halloween costumes for Brooklyn, Lexington, Broadway and Angela in anticipation of the Masque that Xanatos is throwing later that night. Elisa breaks up with Goliath. Demona recovers the Atlantean crystal that was at the heart of the Praying Gargoyle. In, the Labyrinth, Al is showing Shari around. Goliath and Brooklyn arrive. Brooklyn wants to ask Delilah to the party, but Goliath does instead. Goliath, Brooklyn and Delilah depart. Thailog attacks. Terry Chung, Billy Greene, Susan Greene and Sarah Browne trick-or-treat at Jeffrey Robbins' home, where Hudson and Bronx are visiting. Following Illuminati orders, Xanatos takes Fox and Alexander to a party at the White House. They chat with Ambassador Chung, and David meets Illuminatus Quincy Hemings. Meanwhile, Xanatos' Masque goes on without him at the Eyrie. Attendees include Judge Roebling, Doctor Sato, Brendan, Margot, Lexington, Brooklyn, Angela and Broadway. Elisa and Morgan arrive together, as do Goliath and Delilah. Thailog, having taken the male clones from the Labyrinth, arrives to collect Delilah and stabs Goliath.

1997
Xanatos' probation expires.


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Blaise writes...

A little later than everyone else's, but here are my thoughts on Issue #4 (mostly they're a reprint of my stuff from the Comment Room, with a few changes and other thoughts).

MASQUES

This is definitely the middle act. No beginnings or resolutions, just action and advancement all the way.

--Billy and Susan (dressed as Jackal and Hyena, of ALL people!) are trick-or-treating with a boy named Terry (who has an Asian cast to his features--this, coupled with a comment from Ambassador Chung(!) later in the comic leads me to wonder if we may not see "The New Olympians" for a while...either that, or you're REALLY yanking our chains, Greg). Sarah is there, along with a couple of silent Quarrymen on patrol. And who should answer their knock at the door but...Hudson ("Nice mask" indeed). And yes, we were right, he IS spending the evening with his friend Jeffrey Robbins, who is surprised to hear that the kids thought Hudson was wearing a mask.... Hudson just ducks the question with a "We all wear masks" line. I wonder if Jeffery will figure things out within the next few issues.
--We FINALLY learn Brendan's last name!
--It's fun to see anti-gargoyle Margot chatting with the clan. And nice costumes for Angela (Dorothy), Broadway (Lion) and Lexington (Post-modern Tin Man--er, cyborg...a very "Future Tense"-like cyborg!). I do wonder how Angela managed to pull off that hair-do, though--it just looks like her hair is so much shorter than it usually is!
--Morgan and Elisa show up. Morgan as Sherlock Holmes, and Elisa...well, "last" Halloween Elisa was dressed as Belle, from "Beauty and the Beast" and this year she's dressed as Jasmine.... I'll say one thing for her: she knows what she looks GOOD in!
Actually, I have to admit, when I first saw her in costume, my mind threw itself back to that one TGC episode with the animation by Diz-Oz in which Elisa really did look like Jasmine (at least as she was usually animated in the TV series). I know you only watched that episode ONCE, Greg, so I don't think it had much of an influence on you, but still...it made my eyes go wide.
Angela is none too happy about Elisa being on a date (and she refers to Goliath as "Father" here--I only notice that because she usually calls him by name).
--Cut to the Labyrinth where all hell is breaking loose. Apparantly, Thailog's blasters are able to absorb the Mutate's electric discharges and redirect them right back again. And yes, he is there to reclaim his "property".
--Judge Roebling returns! I wondered when we'd see him again. A bit of an awkward moment when he thinks Delilah is Demona. Poor bastard had the right idea of getting out of there. Especially when Morgan and Elisa show up...and Elisa truly meets Delilah for the first time. Nice panel of the four of them all alone in a little pool of light.
By the way, did I detect a "Monty Python" vibe from Roebling's "Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more"?
--Of course, my favorite garg, Brooklyn isn't wearing a costume at the moment...he's too depressed, apparantly. And yet, a smile and a few words from Angela provide all the motivation he needs to hurry off to change.
Before Angela starts talking to him, Brooklyn seems to be watching Goliath and Delilah. Is he mentally replacing Goliath with himself on Delilah's arm? Just a thought I had.
--We're off to the White House where not just Xanatos, but Fox and Alex as well, are attending another party (love Fox's little "tattoo-mask"!). And who should they meet there but Ambassador Chung(!), who notes that Alex seems pretty big for his age. While dinner is served, Xanatos moves off to meet with one of the serving staff. We have a sort of repeat of the "Number Greeting"--Xanatos greets with 36, as usual and the server responds with...2. Uh-oh.
--Hell is continuing to break loose at the Labyrinth, with the clones obeying Thailog's command. Maggie tries to give them an inspirational about free will, and Thailog prepares to shoot her. So Talon attacks Thailog...and the shot goes wild causing part of the wall to collapse on Maggie. I really am concerned for Maggie here--she looks pretty bad off, and I don't know if they have any medical help down there in the Labyrinth.
Anyway, with her injured, Talon occupied trying to help her, and Claw restrained by the clones, Thailog finally notices he's missing someone. Malibu tells him about Goliath and Delilah, and Thailog has his first good maniacal laugh in weeks before heading off with the clones to crash the party. Al suggests sending someone to warn Goliath, and who volunteers but...the new kid. Hmmm.
--I love Morgan here. He's a very perceptive guy. He figures out that "G" is Elisa's ex...the one she broke up with that day...the reason he's getting his shot..."Assuming I AM getting my shot...?" Like I said, perceptive. And I just love his "So, we having fun yet?" to Delilah when both their respective dates head off for another heart-to-heart.
Some have called Morgan a bit thick for bringing up what is obviously a sore spot for Elisa, but I actually don't see it that way. I mean, here's Morgan finally on a date with a woman he's interested in (and she's HOT), but I think he knows he's something of a "rebound relationship"--which is never a fun thing to be--and I think he's trying to let Elisa know that he knows that. Or at least let Elisa know that that's what she's doing.
--We have another Goliath/Elisa discussion where Elisa admits that seeing Goliath with Delilah hurt, and that "tonight was a mistake." More specifically, HER mistake. But that it still doesn't change anything. I get the feeling Elisa is pretty much swinging back and forth between denials at this stage.
Well, she runs off...which is when Thailog shows up complimenting Goliath on the show.
--Thailog (who refers to Golaith as "Father" as well) has brought the rest of the clones, and his two guns. Of course, only the guns displease Owen, who has called out the (obviously re-staffed) Xanatos Goon Squad. Owen has a great line here about having "transcended any pleasure received from supervising the endless reconstruction of this castle." A nice nod to how often the Eyrie got trashed in the series. However, Owen is no saint, offering to call off security and send up Delilah in exchange for disarmament. This, naturally, outrages Goliath, but Owen points out that he's not trading Delilah...she will still have a choice (that whole "free will" thing again.)
--While they wait (and there's a great half-n-half shot of Goliath and Thailog's faces) Thailog decides to satisfy some curiosity...what would happen if he popped a blade from his wristguard and stabbed Goliath in the abdomen! :-o
And that's where the comic ends...for TWO MONTHS (at least). Man, I really HATE bi-monthly schedules.
--Well, now that the summary is done, I must say the art was a little...uneven for me here. For the most part I thought it was good (I like the gang in their costumes...especially Elisa and Angela). However, I did think the faces of the kids at the beginning were a little too cutsey for me. And Broadway's (and even Lexington's!) salivating over food (complete with tongues hanging out) on page 12 seemed a little overboard. And I'm not too sure about Goliath's expression in the last panel of the last page (but then again, what look WOULD a person being stabbed have on their face, anyway?). Overall, though, it's pretty nice. Thailog looks great!
I did notice the wrong name was on the credits page, and that the title was missing. That is unfortunate, but it will be corrected in the trade paperback I'm sure (yes, I am being very optimistic).
--Other notes: I STILL want to see Talon's full reaction to the clan being back with Xanatos. Also, I feel sorry for Morgan and Delilah since this evening will probably end with their respective dates essentially dumping them.
Oh, I LOVED that you guys managed to keep the art continuity of Thailog wearing the domino mask!
I'm going practically crazy wondering what Brooklyn's costume will be. I don't THINK it's going to be the Scarecrow, but I won't know until July.
It may be just me, but it seems that a lot of this story seems centered on the theme of "relationships"--specifically, in the romantic sense. I mean, right off the bat, we have Goliath and Elisa's relationship, which of course branches off into the relationships (or lack thereof) between Elisa and Morgan (and Elisa and Jason, even) and Goliath and Delilah, which further extrapolates into the relationship between Delilah and Thailog. As for happy, healthy couples, we started issue #3 with the Xanatos Family, and we see a lot of Broadway and Angela, as well as Talon and Maggie. And all throughout the background of this we have Brooklyn in his SEARCH for a relationship.

Impatient for the next issue!

Greg responds...

I'm not above yanking your chains, but Terry is Terry Chung.

Response recorded on June 13, 2007

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Greg Bishansky writes...

Just three questions on the Chungs.

1. At the time of "Masque", how old is Terry Chung?
2. What is Tri Chung's relation to Terry? Is he his father? Older brother? Cousin?
3. Where does Ambassador Chung represent the United States?

Greg responds...

1. 12.
2. I'm not responding to this at this time.
3. Ditto.

Response recorded on June 11, 2007