Mark from Steamboat.ie writes...

Hi Greg, Mark Carey here, owner of an indie comic and music store in Ireland called Steamboat. I have in my hands here a DC Comic Collection No1 digest and the fan letters on the back page are moderated 'for the first time', taking over from Barbara Randall, by presumably you? Not really much of a question but just wanted to say hello and congratulate you on all of your literary achievements. And to be my surprise finding this wonderful website and that 40 years on, you're still taking the time to respond to fan letters.

Ryan Leger writes...

If the Lords of Order killed Arion's clone and drained his crown of its power, why didn't they destroy the Starro-tech that Vandal and Klarion were using to control Doctor Fate?

Ryan Leger writes...

How many members of the Light have a Psy-Back? Ocean-Master's Psy-Back was use for Project Thrinos. Do all 7 members have one? Vandal Savage and Klarion don't need any because they're immortal and Ultra-Humanite and the Brain are brains that can be transferred. But what about thee others? Did Deathstroke, Black Manta, Gretchen Goode and the Bad Samaritan get one when they joined?

Paul writes...

If none of the Grimorum's pages had been torn out before the Archmage ate it, would the Archmage have gained noticeably more power from eating it?

Phoenician writes...

Happy three year anniversary of "The Oath"! As usual, here are my initial reactions from 2023, with more recent contemplations occasionally spliced in brackets, with thoughts covering details up to the most recent issue from earlier this week: "Because They Look For It..." (although I think the most recent comic I actually reference below is the last issue of Demona #5). Anyways, back to 2023 and Dark Ages #3:

Twelve issues of Gargoyles in ten months -- even with the schedule shifting every now and again, it continues to be wonderful!

After the Stone of Destiny arc, I'm wishing the timestamps were just the norm. That, and I'm wondering if there's any historical association with the stronghold that Culen retreated to after the battle with Kenneth's forces and the Wyvern Clan. For that matter, I'm wondering if there's any name associated with the battles and skirmishes Culen and Kenneth had in 971. [I previously (and officially!) asked about this in my post about "The Draw", so I'll need to be patient if it is indeed answered in the future . . . either on AskGreg or in a future comic.] Research for another day, I guess for my human habits of naming (and, for the GargWiki's benefit).

The Archmage really loves that spell, but you gotta love the classics. Also, for those wondering about the Grimorum's durability, I figure a 10th century tome wouldn't be made with paper. But to be fair, I've no idea how ink and vellum/animal skin would handle the elements either. 'Magically protected' is a good an in-universe logic as any.

Constantine never disappoints. Great observation, Matt, pointing out the irony that he was saved by a gargoyle, and the probability that he grew up with that knowledge.

This is more of a quibble, but an additional small panel showing Culen's silhouetted limp body after his final screams is a beat that might have worked here. Considering how many Scottish monarchs Greg Weisman's toppled in this property (he's definitely pushing the Bard's English stats, lol), I'm undecided if such a panel would echo Kenneth II and Macbeth's death scenes in "Avalon" Part Two and "City of Stone" Part Four or if it would feel redundant. Constantine's death in "Phoenix" was off-screen, for what it's worth. And of course, nothing will match Duncan's death, hoo-boy.

The Stone of Destiny doesn't match the shape we saw in the series or SLG comics, but hey, wasn't that the point? Any stone can be THE Stone :--)

Alesand is adorable and I can't wait to see how her arc in the main story ties into "The Tale of the Three Brothers" frame story. Considering her names for the Trio and Antiope, I don't think its too much of a stretch to think that she might have been the one to name Goliath, not Prince Malcolm. Hyppolyta too, for that matter. Any gargoyle with a name from antiquity is certainly a suspect.

Maol Chalvim's eye roll is a riot. Given the cumulative royal family history, his future grandson Duncan's line from "City of Stone" continually rings true across time and space: "SOME cousins are not as close . . ."

"Sacrifice" leading the Wind Ceremony was a pleasant surprise, and I'm curious if it is customary that the Leader and Second-in-Command always participate as "Lefty" and "Mentor" did, or if that was because they were particularly close to the deceased.

I've also always figured the Canon-in-Training script for the Wind Ceremony rite was adaptive to the given circumstances, thinking that if those dead were cremated to ash or pulverized to dust they would alternate between the lines "ashes to ashes"/"dust to dust". But the full rite was moving nonetheless.

The time to stand vigil while the fire burns now makes me wonder if there's any additional symbolism significance with the Sun they never truly see, casting the ashes to the winds just before dawn . . .

Also, I'm greedy and wish we had a panel to see more of the faces of the gargoyles in attendance.

Prince Malcolm's enthusiasm (as far as we know for this region) really sells how unprecedented this alliance is. And it'll leave quite the legacy that will endure through 994 and resurface once more in 997 and again from 1040-1057. One of my favorite lines from the Three Brothers prose (that I hope to see adapted in the upcoming issues) is how Robbie describes the Wyvern Clan as 'rougher' and 'harder' to Prince Malcolm, insinuating that our favorite Scottish Clan was more isolated than other gargoyle clans even by 10th century standards.

Which makes me all the more curious about how other clans in Scotland interacted with humanity -- because while the gargoyles in areas like Scone and Loch Ness might have adopted human customs like naming, the implication remains that a gargoyle-human alliance is simply unheard of. Taking this thought-train to its final destination, I can't wait for Brooklyn to visit and interact with the humans and gargoyles in Rome 900-odd years before this alliance, and maybe even those inhabiting Babylon centuries before Rome popped up.

[Thanks to the Demona: Better Angels comic, and now I'm happy to add the Northumbrian Clan and Norse gargoyles into the mix as contemporary examples. The former provides us another unfortunate case of 'human problems become gargoyle problems' (although Malcolm Canmore's motivations are certainly more complicated than that), and the latter serves to show just how tenuous an alliance can be, if it could even be called that. But there I go, trying to name everything like a human again, hehehe.]

Indulf seems to be the rare Scottish King in this series to live to an old age. I really wish we had some old-man Maol Chalvim time in "City of Stone", but I know that was plenty packed already.

And by the Dragon, I can't wait for issue four!

Back to 2026:

Kenneth II's cape almost camouflages himself with the Wyvern gargoyles. I've forgotten how it began to rain at Culen's fortress, but that's obviously something I would have been aware of before, since the Archmage channels that storm's energy for all that it's worth.

I'm somewhat bummed that "Mentor" didn't heed the recommendation from Kenneth and "Lefty" to send their full forces, if only to see more of the Wyvern Clan. But "Mentor" obviously knew what he was doing, and I'm sure Drew Moss appreciated one less deluge of winged warriors descending from the sky.

"My lass" is a small touch, but it does remind me how, yes, Demona is Hudson's daughter, even in the modern day. And that's even before "Angel" vows to never disobey him again.

And no doubt I didn't bring it up in my initial reaction from 2023 because so many others in the Comment Room already shared similar sentiments, but boy, did Robbie learn a ton about "Mentor" and Goliath with that "Not a man within perished by the flame" comment. Chilling.

"We owe them our very lives." I'm recalling it's echo from "Awakening: Part One", but I am reminded once more the fandom's collective anxiety over the fate of Alesand. Here's to more stories from the Dark Ages, and hopefully nothing too tragic (I'm not fishing for any revelation here, I know that this particular character's fate -- or any character's fate -- would not be something you'd ever reveal).

And now we've had two Wind Ceremonies since the comics returned. Both emotional, poignant moments, and I'm reminded that for now, the last known time that Demona ever participated in one would not be here, but Magni's sometime before the events of 1274. Hmmm, is there a date for Magni's Wind Ceremony? OK, that one I'm officially asking.

Eerie to see the Archmage and Demona together. We've seen them together before, sure, but I'm revisiting this the first time since she joined him in the really exclusive club of uniting and wielding Three Keys to Power.

Hudson's eyeroll can rival Maol Chalvim's hehehe.

Knowing Wyvern's proclivities, I'm wondering now if he woke up at the word 'fortune'.

And yes, I'm wondering if the Players performed a comedy that any of us in the Comment Room would recognize, lol.

I'll also add that this particular part of the Three Brothers tale was my favorite back when it was Canon-in-Training. Katharine's plan had me scrolling as fast as I could back in the day, but also because the Three Brothers were finally together! But now that it's canon little would any of us realize how much could be revealed by adding a narrator (or, more accurately, revealing who the narrator is), and now rival my new favorite bit in the whole Tale.

But those thoughts can wait until next time when I revisit "The Promise". No wait, I have "New Rules" to revisit first! No, wait again! It'll actually be time to revisit "Trick-Or-Treat", our first (and to date, only) Halloween Special! And somewhere in all that fun, there's the next chapter of The Children to enjoy!

Fred writes...

Hi Greg. Appreciate your seemingly infinite patience with these asks.

I'm rewatching Phantoms (yes, in 2026) and I still find Zatanna's arc to be so fun. Couple of questions.

1. Is it implied the Chaos lords gave Klarion the power to sink Atlantis (like they shared their power with Child)?

2. It seems like Mary frequently relies on drawing on external sources of energy to fuel her magic during this arc and can siphon from the unwilling. Is this something other magic users are capable of doing? Or is it unique to her?

Anonymous writes...

Hola greg soy un gran fan de tu trabajo me gustaría preguntar si hay alguna manera de trabajar contigo o para ti me gustaría aportar ideas para futuros proyectos tuyos en especial con espectacular spiderman esa es mi serie favorita muchas gracias greg y muchos éxitos

Brent H. writes...

You've introduced the Monkey God being partially responsible for Beast Boy's powers as a nod to The Red. Is it fair to say the other elements (The Black, Blue, Green, etc) all exist on Earth-16 and have avatars as well?

raph writes...

hi I don't know if you still answer questions, the latest one was at 2022 and I haven't really seen anything that suggests otherwise but I apologise in advance if I've missed the fact you've made it clear that you weren't answering any questions

1) I'm 99% sure its been stated that the flash in earth 16 can run up to or at the speed of light, I was just curious, without knowledge of the speed force in earth 16 would there be any in universe explanation for why the flash can withstand such speeds and how running at that speed just doesnt destroy the earth, is it just because the Barry's recreation of jay's accident worked so well, he became just durable?

2) Also you've said that due to Barry's recreation of the experiment working so well [I think when you said this you meant the powers or smething] "infused every molecule of his being, down to the genetic level and gave him much more advanced speed and molecular control over his powers than Jay had" other than the ability to successfully phase through solid objects and start and stop almost instantly when running, can Barry and impulse do anything else that wally and jay cant?

3) Did Barry actually tell wally how he got his powers and not expect a 14yr old to try to get super speed, I really hope thats the case cuz thats just hilarious

Thanks

Anonymous writes...

Hola greg me gustaría pedirte en lo personal y a nombre de la comunidad de spiderman que la relación definitiva sea con Gwen y Peter sería increíble ver cómo si hay alguna continuidad con la serie ya sea en cómic serie o película como esa relación se hace más fuerte como Peter madura y ese amor crece en lo personal creo que sería increíble de ver esa relación como en un universo Peter si pudo ser feliz con Gwen ademas que que Gwen si fue la que amo a Peter de corazón se lo pido que la relación de Gwen y Peter sea la definitiva y también me gustaría ver cómo esa relación y ese amor crece mas y mas con cada episodio comic o lo que sea la comunidad de lo pide muchas gracias por leer ésto