Vaevictis Asmadi writes...

Hello Greg,

I questions about magic in Gargoyles. To quote an older question:

<<1.What kind of magic powers the Holy Grail? Fay magic? Location magic?>>
<<Greg responds...>>
<<"1. There are other categories. Talisman magic for one.">>

I'm guessing there is much to this that we don't know. I'm a bit confused because in other responses, you identified certain talismans as being of one specific type of magic or another: for example the Phoenix Gate and Eye of Oberon are said to be Third Race magic; the Maya amulets are mortal magic; and the Grimorum was seemingly mortal magic, since it could not be (safely) taken to Avalon, and I think you said it was created by the Roman Magus.

1. What is meant by "talisman magic" in the Gargoyles verse? It seems that this means another form of magic other than to mortal, Third Race, and ghost magic. Does it mean that some talismans are neither mortal nor Third Race in origin? Or that talisman magic as a category doesn't depend on who/what made the talisman?

2. The Weird Sisters, on Avalon, said (paraphrase) "No magic may enter here, save Avalon's own." Does that mean that ghost magic and Space-Spawn magic can't be brought to Avalon? Or does it only apply to mortal (gargoyle and human) magic?

Thank you for talking to us.

P.S. I am really looking forward to the Gathering coming to CONvergence next year!

Greg Bishansky writes...

Chip Coffin and I were having a debate, and I thought you might be able to settle this.

When a spell like the one Demona cast in "City of Stone" is broken, can the spell be used again? In theory, let's say Demona wanted to cast it again, would it work? Would Xanatos need to light the sky on fire again?

Paul writes...

I have a couple of questions about the "teleport to Avalon" spell cast by the Magus and later Tom in "Avalon, Part One".

Tom was able to cast the spell without using the Grimorum. Can anybody who knows the incantation cast the spell, or was Tom a special case because he had previously seen and heard the Magus cast it from the Grimorum? Or was he a special case for some other reason?

Did Elisa, Goliath, and/or Angela cast the spell to return to Avalon during their World Tour, or did the boat take them back to Avalon on its own?

no name writes...

Can halflings with a Gargoyle and a Third Race parent have children with humans - or human/Third Race halflings with Gargoyles?

Otho Fernandes Damasceno writes...

I would like to make a few questions about The Children of Oberon's weakness: Iron.
1) Why they are vunerable to it to begin with?
2) Is iron COMPLETLY inmune to their magic, or only highly resistent to it?
3) If so, how much iron composition other substances (like Steel) would need to be at least resistent to their magic?
4) If a Children of Oberon turn itself into a creature stronger than an average Gargoyle, would he/she be able to break a iron chain with it's bare hands?
5) If the Children of Oberon can't affect iron with magic, how did Oberon managed to do things like levitating Xanatos' laser-gun, shockwave several robotic gargoyles and melt a lamppost with his bare hands?

Kevyn writes...

Did Demona carefully think through her Operation Clean Slate plan? If the virus was meant to eliminate all human beings, wouldn't that kill Macbeth, as well? If so, that would mean that by her killing him she would be engineering her own death due to their magical link.

Kevin writes...

1. What is the difference between a wizard/witch and sorcerer/sorceress in the Young Justice Universe?
2. What is an alchemist in the Young Justice universe?
3. Is it more difficult for a magic user to use nonverbal spells then verbal spells on Earth 16?
4. What type of magic users are Zatanna and Zatara before he become Doctor Fate?
5. What were the main influences in how you decided to portray magic in Gargoyles and Young Justice?

The Greenman writes...

Hi Mr. Greg Weisman,

I have been a fan of yours since Gargoyles. One of the things that interest me is the basic structure of the themes and world building in the series. One of the styles I see continue to pop up in your series is the relationship between science and sorcery. This is something I have been a fan of in comics like Iron Man and Fantastic Four (specifically Dr. Doom versus Reed Richards). I love the simple explanation that energy is energy.

1. Now I didn't see much of this argument come up in your Spectacular Spider-Man series, because Peter debunked Mysterio, but can you say that you ever planned to and who you would've used to explore that science versus mystic aspect?

2. I am upset that directors such as Jon Favreau and Shane Black have knocked down the very idea of Mandarin showing up as not to approach the so-called mystic aspect. Though, it could be be alien in origin or something, as they claim and prove that even super-science isn't allowed in the MCU. Have you read and understand the Iron Man comics specific to Mandarin and Tony's relationship to science versus sorcery? Was it influential at all in your writing?

Ryan writes...

I forget to include a question mark on the last post,I try to write proper English so writing a declarative statement on site where you ask questions is quite embarrassing.
But since I do not want to waste your time are the terms magic/sorcery used in your shows different from each other or are they just the same thing.

alfred writes...

I just wanted to ask something about the gargoyles episode The Gathering part 2.

Was Xanatos wearing an iron suit?If the suit is iron,how was Titania able to freeze him?

Richard Jackson writes...

In "Golem", when Vogel reads the spell to transfer Renard's consciousness into the Golem, was he reading Hebrew in the original alphabet or a Latin alphabet transliteration?

A Gargoyles Fan writes...

First and foremost, I probably should've looked more carefully when asking the previous question, and I'm sorry for that.

I've checked around the archives, and taken a better look, and haven't found an answer for this.

Sevarius stated once that if a Gargoyle didn't go through stone sleep, they would have to eat several cows in order to get the energy they need. Demona doesn't go through stone sleep anymore, so how does she get the energy she needs for when she becomes a gargoyle once more?

Vaevictis Asmadi writes...

Hello Greg,

I have a question for you about the half-mortal, half-Third Race hybrids. I know that the Children of Oberon cannot use their magic directly on iron. But can half-mortal hybrids use Third Race magic to directly affect iron?

Thank you!

Matt writes...

Hey Greg.

In "Heritage" Natsilane battles Raven using a shield and spear. In the course of the battle, we see Nick wield the shield almost as if it was a magical force field and he shoots some sort of lighting bolt from the spear.

Are the spear and shield themselves magically powerful? Or are the just ordinary battle gear that have channeled magic because they are being used by Natsilane the Chief of this Haida tribe? In other words, is the magic coming from the tools themselves or from Natsilane due to his heritage?

Thanks Greg!

Gold writes...

How does magic work in the Young Justice cartoon? Is it similar to how it worked in Gargoyles?

Vaevictis Asmadi writes...

Hello again Greg,

A while ago, before I got a hold of Clan Building vol. 2, I asked you this question:

<<Following up on what Clark asked, how is it that such a powerful artifact, the Phoenix Gate, is used by such a simple incantation that even Goliath, certainly no trained sorcerer, quickly learned it? Maybe I'm conditioned by role-playing games to assume that more powerful magic will always be harder to learn than relatively weak magic, but it seems quite strange to me that the Phoenix Gate incantation, and for that matter the incantation to enter Avalon, are so quickly learned when they seem to be quite powerful spells.>>

You replied:
<<It has to do with the nature of the Gate and of Avalon. I don't want to go into too many details (particularly on the former) when we're so close to the release of the Trade.>>

Reading the vol. 2 trade paperback nicely cleared up for me why the Phoenix Gate is so easy to use and just how dangerous it is! In fact it makes me wonder whether the "incantation" is really an incantation in the usual sense... However, the other half of my question doesn't relate to the Gate, and if there was something in the trade paperback that answered my question... I missed it. Now that the three trades have been out for a while and the Phoenix Gate's nature has been (partially) revealed, I hope that you are in the mood to answer the other half of my question:

What is the reason that the Avalon incantation used by the Magus and Tom, seemingly a quite powerful spell, is so easy to use and to learn? Angela and Goliath seemed to pick it up rather easily.

Thanks and have a nice day.

Vaevictis Asmadi writes...

Hello Greg. Congratulations on clearing out that gigantic queue, and thank you for opening for more questions.

I have a question or two in response to answers you gave relatively recently here.

Rebel asked you if Lexington and Hudson got to watch the sun rise in London due to jetlag, and you said yes.
http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=11957

That must have been an awesome and memorable experience for them. I remember Hudson remarked at the end of The Mirror that he wished he could have seen the sun, just once, before changing back into a gargoyle. Goliath actually spent a whole day awake thanks to the Eye of Odin, but I don't imagine he's eager to describe that particular experience to the others...

I wonder about Brooklyn, Katana, and Nashville, too -- whether they ever saw the sun. Unless the Phoenix took care to deposit them during the same time of day that it plucked them from every time it moved them, they probably experienced at least some jetlag. For that matter Goliath, Angela, and Bronx must have had jetlag during the World Tour. Or did Avalon compensate for that somehow?

Wendel writes...

I still don't understand how magic works in the world of the Gargoyles?

Human magic seems to be incantation based, but mystical beings/creatures also could use incantations or thought magic at whim?

Is there a difference between magic users' power if they speak a spell versus just thinking of it, kind of like the old English belief in word magic?

I was watching the Magus fighting against the weird sisters and it looked like they were evenly matched with the Grimorum giving the Magus an advantage over them.

Todd Jensen writes...

In "The Gate" and "Tyrants", Brother Valmont summons up fiery arrows with the word "Saeth". Is this word an invention of yours, or an actual word from some ancient language (presumably Gaelic, by the look of it)?

Paul writes...

1. Does Demona absorb thermal energy while in human form, the way other gargoyles absorb thermal energy while in "stone" form?

2. If not, how has Demona adapted?

Anthrokid writes...

For the Mayan Clan, those who wear the magical prevention-turn-to-stone pendants, how does sleep work for them, or is it no longer needed? Also, to follow this how do they contain their gargoyle strength with out stone sleep?

Lauren writes...

Hey, I was just curious as to the exact incantation and the proper spelling of it for the Phoenix Gate, I've seen many different versions and I just want to know which is the true one. I've scoured the archives and I've seen nothing on that specific topic and I apologize if I missed it. Thanks so much!

Geoff writes...

Did all the foreign people & gargoyles in "The Green" & "Bushido" that got to speak know how to speak English or are Goliath, Angela, & Elisa for some reason trilingual? (It just piqued my curiosity that you couldn't really have everyone speak English without some explanation for dubbing purposes.)

This also kinda raises a question on why the Emir read the scroll to capture Anubis in English instead of Arabic. (Unless the scroll weren't written in Arabic. Was it?)

Clark Cradic writes...

Can no magic, in the Gargoyle Universe, bring the dead back to life? Even Oberon's? I ask cause I remember while Anubis said he wouldn't bring the Vizer's son back to life (it would upset the natural order) I don't remember if he ever said he couldn't.