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Matt writes...

My Issue #3 Review, mostly a collection of random thoughts:

- First off, I have to say. I was (and still am) extremely excited to finally have the first canon story in 11 years! Ask my boyfriend, for the last couple days I've been running around the apartment, usually with the comic in hand, saying things like "It's TOO good." and laughing like a kid. I had no idea I'd be this excited. Thank you so much to Greg, the rest of the fandom, the comic staff and Disney. This is wonderful.

- The cover is very nice. Coloring is gorgeous and it is kinda cool having the group "pose" for the "camera. I do wonder, however, why Hudson is all darkly put in the background. It makes him look like he is going to be the villain in this issue or something.

- I noticed that the invitation to the White House states the month and day but not the year. That seems different from most invites, even when the year is understood. I'm guessing Greg didn't mention the year so as not to date the series much and keep it relatively "current". Of course, we sadly don't get a street address for the Eyrie, so I can't send them anything. Pity.

- Okay, Alex is adorable in his gargoyle costume. I was sad to no longer see the winged teddy bear that we saw in "The Journey" TGC episode, but Alex's costume more than makes up in the cuteness department.

- The radio (?) dialogue gives a nice sense of what the mainstream public is thinking about gargoyles. "Infested... monsters... can't talk, right?" Clearly the public is still uncertain what these things are, though the prevailing feeling is negative. "Humans fear what they do not understand." Too true. Also, I know Greg's writing well enough that when I read "So if the creature knocking at your door tonight roars "Trick or Treat", odds are you're safe!" I had a pretty good idea how the issue would end, though I wasn't sure exactly who would be saying the line... or whether they'd be friend or foe.

- The Gargoyle Taskforce. It is so exciting to see this group developed more. Elisa and Morgan are members, which is pretty cool, but we also have Margot and Hacker, so we know there is plenty of opportunity for conflict within the group. Then of course there are the new characters, who knows what they'll be like. Can't say much about Detective Harris yet. Tri Chung makes me think or Terry Chung, though I doubt Greg is gonna reveal the connection there is any at this point. Officer Travanti looks familiar. Is he Morgan's partner, the guy we saw with Morgan in "Temptation"? Are Harris and Chung partners as well?

- Looking at the Gargoyles Taskforce, I can't help but get the sense that Season 3 is going to be a big one for Matt Bluestone. Heading the Taskforce with both his current police partner and former FBI partner as members is interesting. Moreover, I think having him pulled in the different directions (allegiance to Chavez and the NYPD, friendship with the gargoyles, membership in the Illuminati) will really be hard for him, and a lot of fun for us fans to watch.

- As for Hacker himself... well, honestly, I can't help but think about the Weird Sisters. See, when we first saw the Sisters in "City of Stone", they seemed so benevolent, like they were trying to help. They definitely seemed like the "good guys". Of course, we come to find out that things and people are not often so black in white, not in real life and not in Gargoyles. Hacker in "The Silver Falcon" seemed like such a good guy. Trying to help Elisa out and all that. In the beginning of "Revelations" he still seemed like a pretty good guy until the ending, where I began to feel like maybe he had his dark side too, or at least his dark secrets. Now in "Invitation Only", I'm really feeling the same "Is he a good guy or bad guy?" feeling I had with the Sisters. He seems to be yanking a lot of people around. Is he just "following orders"? I dunno, Hacker has me worried now. The Illuminati is up to something, and I don't know whether to feel sorry for Hacker or not.

- Having Jason in the episode was nice. It seems that in a lot of ways he understands Elisa a lot better than Goliath does. I think this is largely a cultural issue. Goliath thinks like a gargoyle. Elisa is like his mate. Jason knows that Elisa is human and has human needs and wants. This is all very heart-breaking. Jason loves Elisa but doesn't feel like he can give her what she wants, and maybe has felt he lost his chance. Goliath loves Elisa and is starting to realize that he may not be able to give her what she wants either "You do not want a mate. You want a husband." Ugh, brutal, Greg, brutal! And Elisa herself may be starting to wonder what it is she really wants in life. It's sad stuff, and I must say that I've never been as interested in the Goliath-Elisa relationship as I am right now after reading "Invitation Only". Can't wait to watch the development. I'm only happy that at least Goliath and Elisa are finally talking about their feelings, even if they might be holding back a little too.

- I remember saying something to the effect of "Poor Brooklyn" when I reviewed "The Journey". I have a feeling I'll be saying that a few more times... Poor Brooklyn. Even before Delilah enters the picture you could see that he is still very distracted by Angela and Broadway. And then this episode really stabs him hard. He goes to the Labyrinth and gets to see Maggie... with Talon and then sees Delilah... and she goes off with Goliath. He must feel that life is terribly unfair. I keep wanting to say, "Stick it out Brooklyn, keep the faith! She is out there... somewhere."

- Demona's first real appearance in Season 3. Nice to see what happened to the Praying Gargoyle remnants, and nice to have the crystal inside be recognized as canon.

- One thing about this episode... it has SOO many characters in it. I have the feeling the reason we didn't see TV episodes with this many characters in it was the cost of all the voice actors, and now the pages are exploding with characters. By the time I was half-way through the book, I was beginning to think I'd turn the page to see Oberon or Zafiro or Nokkar or Dracon! It is kinda fun to have such a big cast in this one though. Gives us a lot to think about. It is fun to see Al again, and fun to see him take a more prominent position in the Labyrinth. I love his omission of Fang when he is talking to the new girl. Who is she anyway? We also hear a mention of Chaz, who apparently is a Quarryman now. Swell. It's a lot of fun to see the Mutates and the Clones. I noticed the weird black teeth are gone from the Clones. A lot of fans actually suspected this would change in time for purely biological reasons, so it is cool to see they have more normal mouths, like Thailog. The cloning must've really weirded up their hormones. All the male clone's eyes glow red and Delilah's glow white. I'm really interested in Burbank. It is fun to see a younger version of Hudson, though I sometimes feel that with the beard this isn't neccesarily visually obvious.

- And finally, Thailog makes his first appearance since "The Reckoning". What is after in the Labyrinth? The Clones? Delilah in particular? Maybe even revenge? I dunno, but I find it interesting that he enters with laser guns blazing. The homeless can't get a break...

So, thats my thoughts on this episode. I'm excited to learn what is coming up next!!!!

Greg responds...

Hudson on the cover - It's simply a composition thing of Guler's. Don't read too much into it.

Travanti is indeed Morgan's partner from "Temptation" and "Upgrade". And Harris and Chung are indeed partners. (FYI, the real Cedric Harris and Tri Chung were my freshman roommates. In real life, however, neither are currently members of the NYPD or their Gargoyle Taskforce. )

"Stick it out Brooklyn, keep the faith! She is out there... somewhere." Didn't you mean "someWHEN"?

Quantity of characters... my artists HATE me. Wait until you see issue #7. Talk about cast of thousands.

Response recorded on April 17, 2007