BLAISE - Thank you for that very in-depth analysis of "Demona" #3. [SPOILER] I'd been particularly curious about your thoughts on the guest lead in that story sharing your name - though that was thanks to Clark Ashton Smith, of course.

I was amused by your speculation that the Gargoyles Universe version of the Arthurian Blaise (Merlin's tutor) might be named "Belasius" to ensure he wouldn't be confused with the stonemason in this story, since "Belasius" was the name that Mary Stewart's "The Crystal Cave" - which Greg Weisman's read, by the way - used for his counterpart (though Galapas struck me as more the true "mentor figure" to Merlin in that book). I might add that one minor detail - also from Clark Ashton Smith - that struck me was the bishop's name being "Ambrosius", a nickname of Merlin's. I suspect it was just a coincidence, though. [/SPOILER]
Todd Jensen
posted @ Mon, Sep 15, 2025 9:11:33 am EDT from 68.99.93.213

Looking forward to Blaise's thoughts when I get a chance to read them, but in the meantime...

THIRD!
Matt
"My daughter?! How dare you mock me! I have no daughter." - Demona, 1996
posted @ Mon, Sep 15, 2025 8:14:33 am EDT from 204.184.178.1

Blaise> Thanks for the birthday wishes.

[SPOILER] And you are right about the grimalkin having close connections to witchcraft. "Malkin" is simply an old word for cat but grimalkin can mean either an old cat or an old woman, both are indicative of witchcraft.

I hadn't really considered mental casting in the Demona series thus far, and Ben Diskin is a good choice from Greg's usual suspects. But when it comes to French characters I usually go to the (small) number of French actors that I know of. In this case I was hearing Tcheky Karyo for both Blaise (not you, the other Blaise) and his creations.

I decided to read another of Clark Ashton Smith's stories to see if there might be other themes that Greg drew from, and I went with "The Satyr." There isn't too much but it does involve another man named Raoul and the subject of infidelity. But in the story his wife is carried off by the titular Satyr not unlike Nicolette in the comic.

Honestly I should've realized this earlier but of course the Satyre golem would communicate in unearthly laughter. Myths often tell how satyrs are beings of pure merriment, revelry....and defilement. [/SPOILER]
Matthew the Fedora Guy
You're Gonna Carry That Weight
posted @ Mon, Sep 15, 2025 2:20:06 am EDT from 184.23.35.150

****Blaise enters the Comment Room and stops, looking around with a very confused expression on his face. At which point Blaise also enters the Comment Room and places an arm around Blaise's shoulders, saying, "No, no, Monsieur Reynard, this is for me." Blaise then gently escorts Blaise Reynard out of the Room and walks back in.****
Yeah, this isn't going to be confusing at all!

Obligatory FIRST!!!

With that out of the way:
MATTHEW THE FEDORA GUY> A belated Happy Birthday wish to you! I hope it was good.

LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK> I made sure to order it the first day it was available to do so, of course, and I've been meaning to talk about it for a while now, but I just haven't found the time. And this post will be long enough with just my thoughts on the latest issue, so maybe a little later this week.

Speaking of the latest issue:
FOR NOT EVERYTHING WITH WINGS...>[SPOILER] Jumping to the title page for a moment, simply because it confirms what this Room had suspected earlier: Clark Ashton Smith's "The Maker of Gargoyles" was indeed the basis (or inspiration, rather) for this issue's story. I read the short story as soon as this came up and will be making the occasional obligatory observation of differences between this issue and the source material, of course. However, while I do enjoy the perspective that reading the original short story first gave me, I can't help but also wonder what my reaction might have been if I came to this story completely cold. It's times like this I wish I could split myself into two individuals who could have separate experiences and then recombine into one individual who would have *both* POVs remembered. Ah, well...onto the issue.
(And just to silence the little pedantic voice that exists in my head if nowhere else--yes, the statues here should technically be called "grotesques" and yadda, yadda, yadda. Let's just stick with "gargoyles" for simplicity (and just because I like it better).)

We begin with the full Moon becoming obscured as a thunderstorm gathers. Our as yet unnamed human protagonist (a bit of a chage of pace, that) wakes from an apparent dream of carving something beginning with "HEL--" on what appears to be a tombstone to then go start carving two huge chunks of stone. You must answer the muse when she calls, I guess. We get a nice montage of panels here with the changing phases of the Moon indicating the passage of time. While carving the first gargoyle (with a cat face), the artist accidentally(?) hits himself while envisioning a woman yelling in his face (sorry buddy, we've all dealt with Karens (and apologies to all the perfectly nice people named "Karen" out there, I'm sorry your name got associated with that kind of person)). The blood from this seems to seep into the gargoyle he's carving. Something similar happens on another night, this time with a different gargoyle and a different vision--a much more pleasant one of a friendly-looking young woman with reddish-gold hair and an apple-green dress. The art here is great at telling us story with no dialogue (other than “ssss” whenever the carver starts to bleed).

After the full page telling us we are now in the year 1138, we finally learn the name of our protagonist: Blaise Reynard. For the sake of simplicity I should maybe refer to him by his last name...but for the sake of *fun* I want to call him by his first name as often as possible! Anyway, Blaise is being hailed by the local cathedral's Archbishop, Ambrosius, who wants to wish him a good "Feast Day of Castorius, Patron Saint of Sculptors" (something which Blaise admits he didn't know with some measure of apparent embarrassment) and to ask about Blaise's two new gargoyles. Blaise is confused, as the ones we saw him carving had been up for some weeks now, but Archie Amby is asking about the two brand new ones seen front and center this morning. And don't they just look familiar to us?
For all the times the Gargoyles have roosted in plain sight with no one noticing "Hey, those statues weren't there before" (other than the Jogger, of course, and then mostly as a running gag), I love that it's a bit of a plot point here and actually becomes an issue for Blaise Reynard as nobody believes him when he truthfully says, "I didn't do it." As for Demona and Angelika themselves, they definitely have the fearsome aspect down, and are probably always sleeping with weapons drawn these days.
Slight tangent here: before "Better Angels," the melee weapon I most associated with Demona was the spiked mace (or would it be called a morning star?), as that's what she wielded both in "City of Stone" flashbacks and her modern day battles. It looks like she switched to the sword sometime after splitting with Macbeth (and being inspired by her run-in with Brooklyn from before even that) and I find myself wondering when and why she will switch back...
Back to the humans, though, as Blaise reacts to the new additions that are not his (that is quite a look on his face), but Ambrosius, though otherwise very kind to the stone mason, believes they must be Blaise's because they certainly could not have been made by Gerome Mazzal, the "good enough" counterpart to Blaise Reynard's "good." We also get some insight into the local politics here, what with the Town Council apparently taking the contract for making the cathedral's statues away from Blaise and giving it to Gerome.

But for now, we flashback to the previous night where Angelika (wearing *the* locket) is chiding Demona for their choice of roosting spot. I find the wording of the dialogue most interesting here not only because it is sounding more "old-timey" to me than I am used to from these two (especially with the accent over "cursed" in Demona's dialogue, telling me it’s supposed to be pronounced "curs-ed" here), but also because of the mention of their "treasures" in the forest (just how much swag have they bagged by now?) and Angelika's very pointed remarks about how Demona "strongly affirm[s]" that France and the humans within hate gargoyles. Maybe it's just Angelika pointing out the obvious hypocrisy, but I also feel it's a mark that, despite living with Demona for 45 years by this point, Angelika has not completely bought into her worldview. Demona, of course, condemns the humans for hunting gargoyles and then carving replacements out of superstition, but says the statues make for good camouflage. Sure, maybe...if you weren't striking bold poses front and center where everyone can see you! And you had no trouble hiding yourself in the forest before. I find myself wondering how much of this is Demona lying to herself again. Does she just want to sleep surrounded by gargoyles, even fake ones, just for a day?

Anyway, back to the current present of the story with Ambrosius voicing concern for Blaise having carved these new "statues" and without any compensation from the Council for parts and labor. Blaise avoids the conversation by saying that he has to get home to his wife and son (definitely different from the original short story), and Ambrosius sighs and chalks this all up to Blaise just being an "artist."

We then meet Blaise Reynard's son, Martin, who appears to be following in his father's footsteps, having made his own miniature gargoyle statue...that looks like one of the new additions to the cathedral. Blaise's warm embrace of his son gets a dose of cold water poured on it as he once again starts to say he didn't carve the new statues, but he switches it to a lesson about artistic integrity and I COMPLETELY MISSED that connection to the modern Renard until it was brought up here in the Comment Room. And the additional detail of Martin's full name including "Pecheur" and how that connects to Halcyon. I was *wondering* if Greg was going to connect Reynard with Renard, and here seems to be the link!
Unfortunately, another dose of cold water is poured over any warm familial interactions with the arrival of Blaise's wife, Heloise, who appears to be the woman he envisioned screaming at him in the prologue while carving the first gargoyle. Having read the original story, I had figured that image was a stand-in for the general cruelty of the town, but I did wonder if it was going to be a specific character, and lo and behold it is. I must admit, another thing I missed until it was brought up in the Room was that he was probably dreaming of carving Heloise’s name on a tombstone earlier. And yeah, my calling her a Karen earlier seems to be a bit on the nose as she lambasts him in front of their child for not being a "cheap and fast/quantity over quality" worker, accuses him of creating two gargoyles for free and then not believing him when he says he didn’t do it (does he regularly plant statues on roofs for fun?), and then just taking their son away while disparaging the boy's father one last time. And now Blaise, who left the Archbiship because he said his wife and son had been expecting him, says he's off to the tavern instead while the weather turns to rain. I can't blame you for not wanting to be near your wife right now, buddy, but your boy is reaching for you...

At said tavern, Blaise receives a far warmer greeting from Nicolette Villom, the daughter of the tavern keeper who serves him with a smile and, after he greets her formally, asks him to call her by her first name. She is also the other woman we saw him envision in the prologue, when he carved the second gargoyle. This is another departure from the source material as there Nicolette Villom was "disdainful and a little cold" toward Reynard whom she did not like and did not conceal it. Of course, the Blaise Reynard there was a lot more unpleasant in general, too. Here, we see that she is one of probably the only two people in the town (the other being Ambrosius) who treat Reynard with any kindness. Something that probably fuels Blaise's desire for her, unfortunately. She even asks her father to step in when Blaise starts getting hassled by some bullies: the aforementioned Gerome Mazzal and a Monsieur Maspier (we'll later learn his first name is Guillaume...wow, their initials match), who apparently runs the city council and makes sure Mazzal gets the stone carving contracts (and recieves kickbacks from Mazzal for that favor--yeah, I believe Blaise Reynard here). They think Blaise carved the new gargoyles, too (how would he have carved them and then gotten them up there in one night with no one knowing?!), and deride him for both that and for making them too frightening. By this point Blaise doesn't even bother to correct these two jerks about his role in adding the new gargoyles (I suppose pinning it on him is more belivable than moving statues...currently) and instead counters that gargoyles are supposed to be frightening (I tend to agree). Gerome just says that Blaise must be as monstrous as the things he carves. Yeah, I don't like these guys, either.

I love the transition from Blaise Reynard’s face in the tavern to on the cathedral roof in the rain. Turns out, he's known all along what these new statues really are and has come to greet them when they wake. Demona is probably ready to end him right there, but Angelika points out the obvious: that he would have attacked them while they slept if he really meant them harm. Blaise had seen real Gargoyles as a boy, is "truly sorry" that humans have hunted and destroyed them (I respect that he doesn't get defensive and say something like "not all humans,") and sought to do them justice in his recreations of them: Grimalkin (a bit of a Shakespeare reference there, but also an archaic term for cat, one particularly associated with witchcraft, I think) and Satyre. Angelika and Demona pause to admire the statues (well, Demona still has to be Demona about it and put them down before she can give a compliment), until Grimalkin, which Angelika just said gave her the chills, starts glowing golden light from its eyes and mouth and animates with a growling roar. It takes off into the night to the shock of the three on the roof...or maybe not all of them, as Blaise doesn't look too shocked.

The next few pages have split actions between the left and right columns as things are now starting to happen simultaneously, starting with Demona confronting Blaise for this sorcery, which she recognizes as animating golems to do the caster’s bidding (and that would explain the golden light) happening at the same time as GM and GM are drunkenly stumbling their way back home, happy to not be stuck outside in the rain all night like gargoyles. This is where Grimalkin finds them and attacks. It's a small moment, but I love the "Run...RUN!!" Gerome gives.
TV Tropes would probably classify these two as "@$$hole Victims" and they certainly deserved some comeuppance for their condescending and underhanded treatment of Reynard, but (and this really bears saying) not being mauled to death by an animated stone monster. Actually, this kind of reminds me of an episode of "Darkwing Duck," specifically the Bushroot origin episode "Beauty and the Beet" where Bushroot's first truly villainous act is using his new plant powers to trap and smother his bullies/rivals Drs. Gary and Larson (something that stood out to me as a kid because that kind of thing didn't happen often in kids' cartoons!). That was a little more intentional than what Blaise has set in motion here, though, I think.

Anyway, Blaise seems to be having a headache (or is just giving a huge face palm) as he starts to deny bringing Grimalkin to life with sorcery before turning around and admitting (at sword point) that yes, he is a "practitioner of the Dark Arts" (though he seems to have needed to think about it before using that terminology) and proposes that the Gargoyles keep that secret of his from the "narrow-minded and cruel" people of Vyones and in return he will keep the secret of their existence. Pretty gutsy (or desperate) considering Demona is the one with all the power in this situation. And I find myself wondering how much of what's happening he's really doing on purpose--his admission to being a sorcerer kind of reads like he's trying to say something to get Demona to not kill him outright. If he did knowingly use magic, I'm guessing it was not really well studied and more a "let's try it and see if it works" sort of thing. At the very least, we’ll see that he does not have the control a true wizard should have....

Scant minutes later, it seems, a young man bursts into the tavern to call for Monsieur Villom while Angelika voices surprise at how quickly Demona accepted Reynard's terms.
The young man is named Raoul, which would make him this story's version of Raoul Coupain, the object of Nicolette's affections from the original short story. That relationship seems to be the same here as she seeks comfort in his arms from the grisly sight of the two GMs' bodies. What I really like here is that this helps to highlight something that wasn't in the source material due to the difference in Nicolette's manner there: that being kind to someone is not the same thing as "having feelings for" them. Nicolette was friendly with Blaise Reynard, warm and kind and concerned for him when he was being tormented, but that did not mean she had romantic feelings for him. She certainly didn't feel towards him the way he seemed to feel towards her.
As for the real Gargoyles, Demona doesn't really answer Angelika's unspoken question about *why* she accepted Blaise's alliance so quickly and merely opines that "all humans" hide their cruelty, even from themselves. Angelika starts to challenge Demona's attributing that attitude to *only* humans (the kid's turning out all right), but before anything can come of that Satyre comes to life just like Grimalkin did. There is one key difference, though: Satyre isn't growling, it's laughing. Angelika leaps after it to follow where this one is off to, with Demona ultimately following Angelika while chiding her for being too rash. She's also still calling her a child, despite the fact that Angelika is now the Gargoyle equivalent of 30 years old (catching up to Demona's age), something Angelika calls her out on while also stating that Demona taught her to make her own decisions. I'm reminded of something I'd heard as a joke when it comes to parents "raising kids to think for themselves": "when we did that we didn't know you were going to think like this!"

Back in the tavern, Blaise arrives in time to hear the news about Mazzal and Maspier. Villom and a guardsman there think it was an animal from the forest and tell Blaise to grab a weapon and join the hunting party. While Blaise is apparently still processing all that's happening right now, Nicolette is still seeking solace in Raoul's embrace, and from the close-up of Blaise's eyes it looks like the carver does not care for that. Maybe it's just coincidence (HA!), but it is at that moment that Satyre bursts through one of the windows and goes after Nicolette. Monsieur Villom, the guardsman and Raoul attempt to fight it off, but it just knocks them aside, grabs her and flies off into the night, with Blaise stumbling out of the tavern afterwards, marking its passage.

In the sky, Angelika attempts to intervene but Satyre just bats her away (getting hit in the face with a fist-sized rock is not fun). It's successful in stopping the Gargoyles from pursing it, but it also succeeds in making Demona angry....

At the Reynard household, Martin is asking to wait up for his father, but Heloise says there's no telling when Blaise will be home and the boy should go to sleep...as Grimalkin advances on them from behind. Heloise's expression when talking to Martin really stands out to me here. It is not the same face she wears with her husband. It looks softer, more fond and even a bit sad. I gave her grief earlier for the needlessly combative and demeaning way she talked to Blaise (in front of their son no less), but her concerns for the family's financial security were understandable, and we don't see her speaking that way to Martin. Was her and Blaise's marriage an arranged one that never warmed? Or did they love each other once (or at least thought they did) and things turned sour? Does Heloise know or suspect Blaise’s thoughts about Nicolette? I feel sad for her in this instant, especially as none of that matters anymore as Grimalkin strikes. We don't see it, but we do see Blaise running home as Heloise screams, dropping his son's statue (which he's been holding onto since the morning) and taking up his sledgehammer.

His Grimalkin and Satyre deliver their tribute to their maker. Nicolette groans, showing she's still alive, but Heloise....
Blaise is shocked by their actions and protests that he didn't want this, but his two gargoyle golems do something we haven't heard the other Golem do: they speak, and in an unearthly word bubble.
"YOU DID."
I'll speak about my mental casting for this one: I mentally cast Ben Diskin for Blaise Reynard before I knew his manifested Id Beasts (thank you Matthew TFG for that comparison) would talk, but when they did it just felt even more appropriate for the voice of Eddie Brock/Venom.
Well, Blaise does not take kindly to this revelation of his inner darkness and attempts to bring the hammer down (sorry!), but his gargoyles apparently decide just being on the ground is no place for a climactic battle (how else can someone have a falling death?) and fly him to the top of the cathedral. Joking aside, maybe they flew him there because that is "home" for them. Well, they're kind enough to wait until he's just above the tower before dropping him, giving him a chance to hit Grimalkin in the arm with the hammer. But these are truly unnatural creatures, and the hand just latches onto Blaise's neck, sending him stumbling back and over the edge. Thus, Blaise Renard joins the list of "Gargoyles" characters who perish by falling (it's a decent sized list). You even see the "THUD" onomatopoeia on the next page.

By now, our actual heroines (well, one heroine and one...fallen) arrive. This is what makes this issue truly unique: our main characters are acting as supporting players in another character's story. The main series did this with the "Hound of Ulster" (Rory Dugan/Cu Chullain was the real main character of that episode), but this is the clearest example of it in the new comics that I can think of.
Angelika has enough clarity and empathy to consider that these monsters must be what Gargoyles can look like to humans, but Demona just calls humans "too corrupt" to see any difference between real Gargoyles and these golems (projection?). I don’t think that's the point Angelika was making, Demona....
Demona then grabs the dropped sledgehammer to finish smashing the golems, to the surprise and consternation of Angelika, who notes the similarity of the act to what was done to their own clans. Demona just says she does what she must, but I don’t think Angelika is sold. I’m wondering if it's the ease with which Demona goes to smash them and the lack of hesitation that bother her. To be fair, the golems probably do need to be destroyed (no telling what might happen with their maker gone), but I don't know if Demona is doing this out of a desire to stop them from harming anyone else. Maybe she's doing this because she feels they are an insult and a perversion of "true Gargoyles," and this would be restoring her kind's purity. Either way, Demona pulverize's them and is ready to depart the "cursed" town of Vyones, leaving the smashed golems behind in a panel that seems to echo the earlier one with Mazzal's and Maspier's remains.

The issue ends as it began, with no dialogue. The survivors pick-up the pieces. Villom and Raoul are Spared by the Adaptation here. Nicolette comforts a crying and now orphaned Martin (Heloise's body is covered off to the side). The little statue lies broken, just like Blaise Reynard's body when it is discovered by the guardsman and Archbishop Ambrosius, with Grimalkin's hand still around his throat. And out in the forest, Angelika and Demona sleep in stone, though neither are striking their usual fearsome poses. And based on their body language as well as panel composition, I can't help but feel that a gap is growing between the two. We already saw some of that throughout this issue with Angelika's various challenges (subtle and not) to Demona's statements and worldview. It can be a hard thing to grow up and find that a person who raised you and who you love may hold views (and may have always held them) that you find...disagreeable.
An appropriately somber ending, I think.

Originally, I didn’t think I would have as much to say about this issue. It was very well done, and I'd been looking forward to the "horror-themed" issue since Greg mentioned it, but I felt most of it was pretty self-explanatory. Once I started writing, however, I just found more and more layers and interesting ideas and potential questions. While this seems to be the most "stand-alone" of the "Better Angels" arc so far, I feel like the events here may have further repercussions. Maybe they will at least color Angelika's interactions with Demona in the remaining issues. We've started to see the young gargoyle pushing back a bit more now.

Last, but not least, my old S8 moniker is now the name of an actual, official character in the "Gargoyles" universe! Though, now I find myself wondering if any newcomers to this Room might think I named myself after Reynard instead of the Blaise from Arthurian legend. Come to think of it, if that character winds up appearing in "Gargoyles" what would he be called now? I think "Belasius" is supposed to be a variant of the "Blaise" name? Oh, well. Either way, even if it becomes confusing, it's still fun! [/SPOILER]

Looking forward to the next issue and, of course, the first Fantastic Four crossover comic!
****Blaise morphs into Blaise (Reynard) just to be extra confusing and walks out of the Room.****
Blaise
"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."--The Doctor
posted @ Mon, Sep 15, 2025 1:03:53 am EDT from 45.48.46.39