Shame about Michael Reaves, a talented creator whose voice will be missed.

Now, time for thoughts on issue #4, won't be too long, most everyone else has covered what I wanted to discuss.
[SPOILER] When reading Dino Dracon, I was getting some serious Silvermane vibes from Spectacular Spider-Man. His presence ups the anxiety in the criminal underworld as he challenges the status quo. The difference is that most of the anxiety is coming from his family rather than his adversaries (for now). If that was him under the Brooklyn mask that just ups the comparison; when Silvermane first met Spidey he made a comment about being unimpressed with the superhero, much like how the masked crook was unimpressed with Goliath.

The continuing gang war has taken an interesting turn. The kidnapping of Sanchez and Choi could very well get two members of the Five Families to retaliate and break rank so to speak, cause a bit of disunity that weakens the group if you get my meaning. And if this is the work of Dino this alliance of convenience with the Quarrymen could spell trouble. They're already pretty militant so the Dracons using them as hired muscle could turn this from gang warfare to an all out war.

The bit with Gnash and his history lessons is a fascinating one. We still know very little about the Time Dancer arc and how much time the family spent in one particular place or time. This makes me think that Gnash might be the time-traveling equivalent to a military brat. Someone who hasn't had much opportunity to settle down and have some roots because they moved all the time. I'm hoping for some more details in the future.

And finally I'd like to discuss what's going on with Lex and how the Trio has drifted apart. Broadway and Angela are still pretty wrapped up in their new relationship and Brooklyn? Well, I don't think he's had enough time to readjust to to the 20th century. He's stuck pretty close to his family because odds are that's been his only consistent relationship for all these years. And poor Lex is feeling left out. Judging by Greg's comments, he might be chatting online with Staghart and we'll see where that goes. But there's also a chance that he's driving himself away because he doesn't know where he stands with his friends at the moment. Maybe this upcoming crisis will help them all figure this out. [/SPOILER]

Overall, I like the issue and I'm curious to see where it goes.
Matthew
Ain't nothing crazy 'bout me but my brain!
posted @ Wed, Mar 22, 2023 6:27:46 pm EDT from 64.85.245.77

B> (Gargoyles #4 spoilers)
[SPOILER]
I assume what Antiyonder meant is that the song from Beauty & the Beast is entitled, "Tale As Old As Time." This issue's title is missing the first "as," which is somewhat confusing. But I agree that it was probably intended as a reference nonetheless.

Nice catch on the "striped" hair on "Brooklyn." I think this is actually shadows/shading, but very well might be an intentional art choice to tie him to Dino. I don't think this person is actually Dino though as was theorized on reddit. He does seem to be wearing an identical suit, but this person seems to be depicted as noticeably slimmer than Dino. Unless that was just an art error.
[/SPOILER]
Craig
posted @ Wed, Mar 22, 2023 5:50:13 pm EDT from 63.143.195.252

More on Gargoyles #4:
[SPOILER]
On my first read-through, I thought the Travis Marshall news broadcast was being watched by the Dracons. But now that I look at it again, it appears to be an entirely different room. And the silhouette of the person watching it looks an awful lot like...Halcyon Renard?! Does anyone agree with this, and if so, what could he mean about something being done about "this"?

Oh, and we learn that Anthony Dracon's father was named...Anthony. So he named both his son and his daughter after himself. Textbook narcissism. Hope we get to see this guy at some point, even if just in a flashback.

A minor nitpick...although I overall really like Kambadais's art, he draws characters' glasses strangely, comically large. I noticed this first with Owen, and now with Glasses. They are HUGE, impractically so. What is up with that?

Glasses's line about a war "against the other four families and Dane" is confusing. Shouldn't that be Brod, not Dane? Although, speaking of Jack Dane, who could have predicted that such a throwaway character would have ended up playing such a pivotal role in this early run of the comic?

Interesting that Katana says Gnash needs a history lesson. If she's originally from feudal Japan, wouldn't she also have a lot of catching-up to do? And for that matter, even Brooklyn had only been in the 20th century for a couple of years before his time jump. I'd imagine it would be more of a group study, as opposed to a "lesson" for Gnash.
[/SPOILER]
Craig
posted @ Wed, Mar 22, 2023 5:38:28 pm EDT from 63.143.195.252

Antiyonder> Re:Gargoyles #4 [SPOILER] Off how? I'm pretty sure it's a Beauty and the Beast reference. [/SPOILER]

Todd Jensen> I copy and paste the tags from the example beneath the comment box to avoid typos. Jameson is always calling Spider-Man "a menace" in other versions.

Jurgan> Karen Beecher first appeared in Season 1 as the head of Happy Harbor High's cheerleading team, the Bumblebees, which M'gann joined. After the timeskip to Season 2, she was part of the Team as Bumblebee and studying under Dr Ray Palmer (the Atom). Robbie Draymond is one of the favorites. I forgot that Condiment King had been referenced on this show. Yeah, Jack Kirby had thing for creating casts of techno-magical super-gods (Fourth World, Asgardians, Eternals, Inhumans).

Craig> Re:Gargoyles #4 [SPOILER] I also enjoyed Nash's line about having lived history, but I hope he gains an appreciation for education. And that Lex is talking to Staghart. Not only as an alternative to something more sinister but because they should be talking. I noticed the "Brooklyn" one has striped hair. [/SPOILER]

luxuri> Don't think I will.

RIP, Michael Reeves. Other people have already eulogized more eloquently.
B
B
posted @ Wed, Mar 22, 2023 5:24:31 pm EDT from 74.74.246.146

Visit our website
luxuri - [moneymachine828 at yahoo dot com]
Jordan
posted @ Wed, Mar 22, 2023 2:56:05 pm EDT from 147.135.77.241

Thanks, Adam. Will definitely watch "The Price" tonight, then. The line, "True immortality isn't about living forever. It's about what you do with the time you have," ran through my head as soon as I heard that the incomparable Ed Asner had passed. It applies equally to the man who wrote that line. Truly a remarkable body of work that he left behind. I'd been wondering for quite some time how he was doing, although I expected it was not great. My thoughts are with his daughter and any other loved ones.
Craig
posted @ Wed, Mar 22, 2023 2:43:48 pm EDT from 63.143.199.200

I'm sorry to hear about his passing.
Todd Jensen
posted @ Wed, Mar 22, 2023 2:37:45 pm EDT from 163.116.139.113

Craig - Here is the tweet that Gret retweeted:

https://twitter.com/FromEyrie/status/1638334579814572034
Adam
posted @ Wed, Mar 22, 2023 2:35:04 pm EDT from 208.87.237.201

Adam > Are you able to disclose your source for that? I'm not seeing anything online about it yet.

All due respect to Greg, but Reaves was an instrumental part of what made Gargoyles great, and reading the Dynamite issues, I have missed Reaves's touch with the dialogue. A true artist, and the fact that such a brilliant mind could no longer express itself due to Parkinson's was really heartbreaking. I still periodically check his blog to see if he or a family member has updated it, although there hasn't been a new entry in ten years now. Maybe I'll give "The Price" a watch tonight.
Craig
posted @ Wed, Mar 22, 2023 2:25:07 pm EDT from 63.143.199.200

I just found out that Michael Reaves died on Monday. RIP to a great writer.
Adam
posted @ Wed, Mar 22, 2023 2:12:23 pm EDT from 208.87.237.201

Oh, one thought on Gargoyles #4 I forgot to mention...
[SPOILER]
Another issue without Bronx. Greg is really letting Nate Crosby down here.
[/SPOILER]
Craig
posted @ Wed, Mar 22, 2023 1:43:01 pm EDT from 63.143.199.200

Gargoyles #4
[SPOILER] As Greg told us, the action is picking up! Still some awkward exposition, but also a lot of good character and story stuff.

The title is interesting. I assume it's a Beauty and the Beast reference. If so, I wonder why Greg decided to leave out the "as"?

I note that there is now a colorist credited (Arancia Studio). I gather that Kambadais was doing his own coloring previously? Should we assume that this is a measure to allow him to concentrate solely on the line work and streamline the process? In any event, I didn't notice any change in quality or consistency.

I haven't been a huge fan of the narration gimmick in the past couple of issues, but this issue with Goliath is easily the most successful since issue 1. Perhaps it's not a coincidence that Elisa and Goliath's worked best for me because I'm a romantic sap, and both of them eloquently expressed some emotional truths, whereas Angela and Broadway seemed to just kind of be narrating the story and providing exposition.

As some have predicted from his build-up, Dino Dracon seems a bit in the mode of "Tommy DeVito meets Lalo Salamanca." He's cool and collected, but when the smallest thing sets him off, like Pal Joey splashing water on his shoe, he becomes explosive and unpredictable. Good introduction to the character.

Have we seen this Charles Chalmers, who filmed the gargoyles, before? Or is he an entirely new character?

Glasses is great. I love that he's suitably deferential to Dino but not remotely a yes-man. Very much in the "Owen" mode of telling it like it is, but knowing how to do so in a way that won't set off Dino. And he stands up for Tony.

This idea of the "five families" is rather strange. In reality, and in The Godfather, the five families were all part of the Italian Mafia. But here, it seems that five groups of criminals from varying ethnicities have all entered into some sort of alliance where they (coincidentally?) also refer to themselves as the "five families"? Not sure what to make of that.

Some interesting mysteries for future issues. What did Dino read in prison? What does Margot show Matt? What does Angela want to talk to Coldfire about?

And most significantly, where on Earth did Chavez get those giant scissors? :) Do those actually exist in real life, or are they just in movies and cartoons?

Page 9, and the gargoyles finally enter the story! (Not counting the opening narration by Goliath.) It's a credit to the storytelling that we can go this long without seeing any of our main characters, and it's still engaging.

The "history lesson" banter with Gnash is really fun. It's seeming more and more like Lex is beginning down a dark path of isolation that scares me. I really hope he's going on AOL Instant Messenger and communicating with Amp, and not doing something more sinister in the computer lab.

Great to get some quality Goliath-Hudson time. It's been far too long since we saw these two just talking and bonding. Although it made me heartsick to know that we'll never hear Ed Asner speak these lines, except in our imaginations.

OK, so we've now learned the last names of the criminal "family" bosses we met in the prior issue. And here, we have Pete (Choi) and Rose (Sanchez), presumably the teenagers who rescued a kid from drowning, as read in a news article in "High Noon." Definitely a deep cut. So, we can infer that Pete is the son of Yingpei Choi and Rose is the daughter of Huracan Sanchez...or at least, that they are somehow related to those two. So, who is kidnapping them? Are those Dracon henchmen behind those masks, or someone else? (The "Brooklyn" one does speak Italian.) They imply that they WANT Choi and Sanchez's families to retaliate, and they also don't expect anyone to actually mistake them for gargoyles despite the fact that they wear gargoyles masks. A lot going on here, in classic Gargoyles fashion.

And then, as if that weren't enough, the Quarrymen show up! With some snazzy helicopters presumably bought with that sweet Illuminati money.
[/SPOILER]
Craig
posted @ Wed, Mar 22, 2023 1:23:09 pm EDT from 63.143.199.200

And the deaths of Thor and the rest of the Norse gods pre-dates Marvel, as a major part of the Norse myths. Though I can see why the people who run Marvel would be uneasy about a "lasting" Ragnarok as killing off "franchise characters".

I've read that one comics writer (I forget who it was) commented once that a major difference between the familiar comic book super-heroes and the heroes of old myths and legends (King Arthur and his knights, Robin Hood, Beowulf, etc.) was that the heroes of the old myths and legends had death-stories, but nobody is going to dare give a genuine "death-story" to Superman or Batman because it'd be killing a source or revenue. Maybe someone else here will know just who said it and more about that statement.
Todd Jensen
posted @ Wed, Mar 22, 2023 8:37:59 am EDT from 70.176.217.135

Nowadays killing off Thor's whole cast has been done so frequently it's hard to imagine there was any pushback at all. Guess ol' Jack was just a few decades early.
They're like the Green Lantern Corp of Marvel.
Matthew
Ain't nothing crazy 'bout me but my brain!
posted @ Wed, Mar 22, 2023 2:57:02 am EDT from 64.85.245.77

My understanding is that Kirby’s original idea while working for Marvel was to kill off Thor and his pantheon (the old gods) and replace them with his new ones. But Stan Lee and Marvel management would not allow him to do that, so he eventually created a modified version at DC.
Jurgan
posted @ Wed, Mar 22, 2023 2:02:48 am EDT from 174.205.103.157

Yeah, Robbie's great, there's a reason Critical Role fans are always excited to see him.

"Unknown Factors" So Bumblebee was a fairly big character in season 2 but obviously has taken a step back in terms of the narrative. She actually showed up in "Home Fires" as part of the big hero family get-together. Her conundrum about whether to tweak baby Rhea's DNA set us on a big conversation on the ethics of it all. Or the Gattaca Argument as it were.

The big albino ape is Ultra-Humanite, who has a seat at the Light's table and was established to have taken over for The Brain. He's actually the very first supervillain Superman ever fought in the comics.

As for the Old Gods, that's a Jack Kirby creation and we'll be seeing them soon enough.
Matthew
Ain't nothing crazy 'bout me but my brain!
posted @ Wed, Mar 22, 2023 1:50:54 am EDT from 64.85.245.77

Personally, I've long said Macbeth was my favorite Gargoyles character.

Young Justice 3x21: Unknown Factors

Wasn't wild about this episode. I think the B-plot about Bumblebee having a baby didn't thrill me. This is another character I didn't even remember being in this show, though it looks like she was in some recent episodes as a civilian. The image of her grabbing on to DNA ladders and poking them was silly to me. I assume it's more symbolic, but I don't buy it's that easy to give someone meta-genes even if you have studied them. But I think it's really just that I don't like when we have to keep cutting away from the main plot to something completely unrelated.

The A-plot was better. We got to see Granny fully unleashed, trapping some of the heroes in her torture dungeon. She also tries to kill a Motherbox, setting off alarms and bringing the group to her home. Halo casts a spell and Granny calls it "the tongue of the Old Gods." "Old Gods" don't come up a lot, though I think they got a few mentions here and there. Also, we saw Kaldur and Wyynde together, and Wyynde has a line about not enjoying "sucking and blowing," which was a kind of gross double entendre. My wife was excited to see he was voiced by Robbie Daymond, one of their favorite voice actors since playing Persona 5. He's really good with his fans.

C-plot: Garfield had a fight with the Condiment King, oh dear. And Jace was acting suspicious throughout, trying to keep Halo and Brion apart, though they eventually reconcile despite it. Something about it made me uncomfortable, and I was right, she's in league with... a giant Mongolian ape with an exposed brain. Why not. This is another case where I don't remember the character, but I'm just gonna roll with it. I think he was part of The Light.
Jurgan - [jurgan6 at yahoo dot com]
posted @ Wed, Mar 22, 2023 12:55:13 am EDT from 98.60.149.57

I remember The Resurrection of Doom. There was also an ongoing Roger Rabbit comic book series from Disney Comics. They didn't have permission to use Bob Hoskins's image in that series, so they introduced a new detective character named Rick Flint. There were also Roger stories in the early issues of Disney Adventures. Roger was everywhere for awhile, then basically disappeared. Obviously, none of that stuff came close to matching the quality or the uniqueness of the movie.
Craig
posted @ Tue, Mar 21, 2023 10:12:35 pm EDT from 63.143.193.92

Oops, left a comment unfinished. But yeah, unless Disney sees any profit in doing so, RR reprints might not be as likely due to Amblin co-owning the stuff.
Antiyonder
posted @ Tue, Mar 21, 2023 9:01:18 pm EDT from 71.84.183.196

So not sure if anyone here read it, but besides the graphic novel adaptation of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, there was a GN sequel to it (well the movie) by Marvel titled "Resurrection of Doom".

Yep 2 Roger Rabbit GNs being the first times that Marvel and Disney were professionally involved with each other.*

It featured the return of and origin of Judge Doom in that he was [SPOILER] a toon star that played villain roles until an injury pushed into being a real bad guy [/SPOILER].

Well due to this YT video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWYQGYVWBwU

I found these links to a behind the scenes blog post on it:

- https://bob-foster.blogspot.com/2009/07/resurrection-of-doom.html?m=1

- https://bob-foster.blogspot.com/2009/07/resurrection-of-doom-part-2.html?m=1

- https://bob-foster.blogspot.com/2009/07/resurrection-of-doom-part-3.html?m=1

I recommend the video also. And yeah if you see any RR comics and have money to spare, it probably is good to purchase some as otherwise Disney and Amblin would have to cooperate with one another.

A notable change in the GN is [SPOILER] Doom having played all classic Disney villains including the Queen of Hearts [/SPOILER].
Antiyonder
posted @ Tue, Mar 21, 2023 9:00:00 pm EDT from 71.84.183.196

Sorry for the missing slash in the "end SPOILER' tag. I don't know how I forgot to include it.
Todd Jensen
posted @ Tue, Mar 21, 2023 8:41:23 pm EDT from 70.176.217.135

Sorry for the double post, but a couple of other things.

ARLO - That was a good analysis on Macbeth and "City of Stone" - and I'm actually one of the apparently few who considers Macbeth among my favorite "Gargoyles" characters. I found your description of Macbeth as a prince seeking to avenge his father amusing, since it's a great description of another Shakespearean lead - though I don't know if that was intentional or not.

I've now had a look at the preview pages that Phoenician linked to. [SPOILER] One part that stood out to me was the guy describing gargoyles as menaces and threats; I assume that's intended as an allusion to J. Jonah Jameson's proposed headline in "The Spectacular Spider-Man" - "Spiderman: Threat or Menace?" I'm not enough of a Spiderman expert to know if Jonah was describing Spiderman with those words in earlier versions - though I recall Goliath quoting them in his first encounter with Spiderman in the Radio Play - but it does look as if Greg's paying a tribute to another of his animated series, at least. (And this alongside the Batman reference in the first issue.) [SPOILER]
Todd Jensen
posted @ Tue, Mar 21, 2023 8:40:26 pm EDT from 70.176.217.135

MATTHEW - I first learned about "Bone" through "Disney Adventures" too, though I'd forgotten that the early parts of it had appeared in its pages until you mentioned it.
Todd Jensen
posted @ Tue, Mar 21, 2023 8:13:49 pm EDT from 70.176.217.135

Nevermind. Checked the title on GargWiki and found I was off.
Antiyonder
posted @ Tue, Mar 21, 2023 8:07:49 pm EDT from 71.84.183.196

Craig> Thanks for the shout out last week, and ironically I'll be getting my copy of Volume 2 just a bit later.

Phoenician> Also minor, but [SPOILER] nice little Beauty and the Beast reference with the title [/SPOILER].
Antiyonder
posted @ Tue, Mar 21, 2023 8:04:54 pm EDT from 71.84.183.196

Here's an observation. Feel free to correct me if anyone feels I'm wrong, but when the question has come up of who everyone's favorite character is, I see surprisingly few people list Macbeth. The reason I find this surprising is because when the question is asked what everyone's favorite episodes are, City of Stone almost invariably comes up as everyone's top favorite.

Granted, the episode is about both Macbeth and Demona, and a number of people do tend to list Demona as a favorite character a bit more than Macbeth. And for understandable reasons. Not only is she a rare example of a complex female character in television, one who doesn't fit into any cookie-cutter mold of female characters without sacrificing any of her femininity, but she also leads the series in exploring aspects of bigotry and explores complex situations in a way that makes her interesting in her own right, regardless of gender. In terms of being interesting, she can hold her own against any male character.

Nevertheless, while City of Stone is about both Macbeth and Demona, I do think the case can be made that in a way, it's almost more Macbeth's story. If you think about the fairy tale trope of the young prince whose father is slain growing up to avenge his father and ultimately becoming king, and then the tragic end of being betrayed in the end, even though Demona's story is interesting and even though it does draw us in, I would argue that, while seeing the background scenes from Awakening draws us in, it's the story of young Macbeth that intrigues us further and makes us want to keep tooning in to watch the next episode in each of the four parts. Gargoyles as a series first draws us in by being a show about the medieval ages, while still being a little different. This isn't the typical story about prince and the princess. Instead, it's a story about other creatures, the kind most shows cast as the bad guys, yet here they're the good guys. They have no kings or princes like other stories. The unexplored factor is enough to draw us in. Then, when it's gotten us hooked, it turns the tables again by giving us Macbeth's story about the young prince who grows up to avenge his father's murder. Paradoxically, it becomes different and intriguing again by being a different and intriguing show that comes full circle to go back to the standard fairy tale trope.

So TL;DR: Why do you suppose it is that Macbeth doesn't seem to be listed as most fans' favorite character, despite City of Stone consistently being listed as their favorite set of episodes?
Arlo
Gargoyles need not apply.
posted @ Tue, Mar 21, 2023 7:46:32 pm EDT from 68.81.192.19

I recall a lot of the Disney Adventures, at least vaguely, and when I read them the details come flooding back. It's a nice little nostalgia hit. I particularly recall a Darkwing Duck series of stories where he confronts a nemesis exclusive to those comics (I won't spoil the name of the nemesis, as I believe some of those stories are due to be reprinted in the upcoming third volume of the Fantagraphics series). I also pretty vividly recall a TaleSpin multi-parter that was sort of a Lost Horizon kind of story where Baloo and company are searching for Shambahla, which I'd love to read again.

Very excited for the new Gargoyles tomorrow. Will hopefully be able to read it first thing in the morning.
Craig
posted @ Tue, Mar 21, 2023 6:56:02 pm EDT from 209.140.41.23

So based on previews for tomorrow's issue (if you wish to partake: https://bleedingcool.com/comics/gargoyles-4-preview-dino-dracon-uncaged/ ), [SPOILER] looks like we have last names for some of our rival gang leaders. Can't help but remember the last names of Sanchez and Choi -- In "High Noon", there was the follow-up to the "Lighthouse in the Sea of Time" with Hudson and Broadway practicing their reading and learning about a boy named Ollie getting rescued by a Rosaria Sanchez and Peter Choy. GargWiki has Peter's last name listed as Choy, but it was only ever heard, not shown, if memory serves correctly . . . ? [/SPOILER]
Phoenician
Gus: "I always forget you're there." Hooty: "I forget I'm here toooooo."
posted @ Tue, Mar 21, 2023 6:53:45 pm EDT from 72.216.220.229

I didn't read the Disney Adventure magazine, but one time in college a friend let me look through his back issues and I kept the one that inspired The Price.
Jurgan - [jurgan6 at yahoo dot com]
posted @ Tue, Mar 21, 2023 6:01:34 pm EDT from 64.106.38.254

The Disney Adventures magazine occupies an odd place for me. It was such a large part of my childhood but I don't remember all that much about it. The two biggest things that stuck with me was the crossover "Legend of the Chaos God" and that it was my introduction to Bone.
Matthew
Ain't nothing crazy 'bout me but my brain!
posted @ Tue, Mar 21, 2023 4:47:54 pm EDT from 64.85.245.77

Thanks for the latest review, Craig.

I haven't read the "Disney Adventures" collections from Fantagraphics Books, but I have collected their reprints of the Carl Barks and Don Rosa Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck comics, which I highly recommend. (Also their reprints of the Mickey Mouse newspaper strip back in the 30's to 50's - as well as a few non-Disney reprints such as "Peanuts" and "Prince Valiant"). Some of the Carl Barks stories were familiar to me - I'd seen adaptations of them in a weekly "Mickey Mouse" comic I read in England as a boy; adapted since they slightly "Britishized" it, changing all the allusions to U.S. money to British currency, so that Scrooge's No. 1 Dime was now called his "Lucky Penny", for example - but others were new to me. (Speaking of that dime, I was amused to discover, in the story that introduced Magica de Spell in one of the more recent reprints, that her plan for turning the dime into a money-controlling amulet involved harnessing the heat of Mt. Vesuviua. I couldn't help thinking "What is it with using the heat of a volcano to create powerful magical artifacts?" - and then recalled, in the original "Duck Tales" series, a scene where Magica, having stolen the No. 1 Dime and preparing to turn it into that amulet, was eagerly crying "One dime to rule them all! One dime to bind them!" Those words seemed all the more appropriate after that.)
Todd Jensen
posted @ Tue, Mar 21, 2023 10:04:26 am EDT from 70.176.217.135

One other oddity I forgot to mention in the second Gummi Bears comic is that the final panel seems to imply that the Gummis live in a cottage, as opposed to Gummi Glen as depicted on the show. Another indication that the writer and artist were not terribly familiar with the show, unfortunately.
Craig
posted @ Tue, Mar 21, 2023 1:06:24 am EDT from 63.143.202.115

I got the second volume of Fantagraphics's Disney Afternoon Adventures and enjoyed it. I'll be more brief than I was for the first.

The two Gummi Bears stories are the main reason I bought it, as they're new to the USA. They're both bridge-themed (and in fact bridges figure into central sequences in a couple of other stories in this volume as well; unclear if this was an intentional motif). They're also both a bit odd. In particular, the first one (written by veteran Looney Tunes/Walter Lantz animator/story man/occasional director Cal Howard) has a number of anachronisms (a modern-day scale, a bowling ball, a reference to donuts), as well as the characters breaking the fourth wall and behaving out of character (Zummi is oddly dominant and Gruffi is oddly submissive, very weird). The second one is odd due to the implication that Cubbi can just go to the store, whereas the Gummis were very reclusive and avoided humanity on the show. It also features a 'Laverne & Shirley' reference as well as a somewhat scandalous reference (for Disney during that era) to a woman being pregnant (there's a reason Disney characters always had uncles but rarely had parents, particularly mothers...Disney seemed REALLY squeamish about even hinting at the realities of human reproduction. Thankfully they've gotten better about that). The second story does have Igthorn, who's always fun. Both stories have art by the ubiquitous Jaime Diaz Studio who did so much work for Disney during that period (including most of the stories in this volume), and are characteristically functional and on-model but don't bring a lot to the table in terms of expressiveness. The only other story that was completely new to me in this one was a one-page DuckTales gag from Denmark.

The cover features TaleSpin, and after being short-changed in the first volume, TaleSpin certainly dominates here, with three long stories which are the highlights. In particular, "It's a Plunderful Life" (from Disney Adventures) has a lovely and unusual art style by Luciano Gatto and the legendary Romano Scarpa, who together did the coloring in addition to the art, in a style that makes the backgrounds look almost painted, very different from the other stories in the book. And "The Long Flight Home" (from Disney Comics's TaleSpin comic book) is a really nice deep dive into Kit Cloudkicker's past with some good emotional beats.

Other than that, there's a Rescue Rangers story from their Disney Comics book which delves into Monty's past (and Gadget's as well, a bit). The other stories are from Disney Adventures, including a couple of fun Darkwing Duck adventures and a short Timon & Pumbaa story.
Craig
posted @ Tue, Mar 21, 2023 12:54:54 am EDT from 63.143.202.115

Happy Equinox! According to the math, five more years before the next generation of gargoyle eggs are laid. The second generation after Egwardo's compared to where we are in the comics d:

I am giddy that we are getting issue #4 this week and (while it is somewhat old news) I'm thrilled we are indeed getting more than six issues!
Phoenician
Gus: "I always forget you're there." Hooty: "I forget I'm here toooooo."
posted @ Mon, Mar 20, 2023 11:31:20 pm EDT from 18.236.165.182

Good points on the gargoyles being hunters themselves - though still, their past history with humans and the hunters in "Bambi" being humans (forever off-stage humans, which might make them creepier) might raise a bit of unease.

We've now got the "logline" for #7. Judging from it, [SPOILER] the troubles raised in the next issue - Dino Dracon threatening both the clan and New York, and Goliath imprisoned, apparently by the city authorities - aren't going to be resolved by the end of #6; I wonder if this is going to be the comics equivalent of what would have been a multi-part episode in the "Disney Afternoon" period. And I'm curious about the three new objects of power that Demona's after; what are the successors to the Grimorum Arcanorum, Eye of Odin, and Phoenix Gate? [/SPOILER]
Todd Jensen
posted @ Mon, Mar 20, 2023 8:17:05 pm EDT from 70.176.217.135

I think it bears mentioning that gargoyles themselves are hunters. Second told Demona, "The hunting there was good!" The Trio might be less bothered by deer being hunted than the typical New Yorker might be!

Also, I think the destruction of Scottish Clans had already begun to a degree by the time of the Wyvern Massacre. I'm not sure what I'm basing it on, but Goliath at least felt fairly isolated when the others were cursed ("now I am truly alone..." I suspect the Wyvern Splinter Clan was already known to be gone (or at least broken up to some extent) by this point or certainly Goliath would've had the eggs taken to them (afterall, they were their children!) and perhaps would've joined joined that clan.

Constantine and Gillecomgain obviously accelerated the destruction, but I can't see the Wyvern Massacre being the first in the region.

And yes, looking forward to the next issue this week! A day and a half to go!
Matt
"Well, I'm back..." -Samwise Gamgee, Lord of the Rings
posted @ Mon, Mar 20, 2023 6:52:33 pm EDT from 24.107.111.141

Third.

Naturally, the Clan wouldn't have the same negative connotations towards hunting and hunters (up until they were...you know, hunted) that most kids would. They did just recently come out of medieval ages where hunting was a necessary way of life, plus the stone sleep had them miss out on the purge and subsequent hunting of the Scottish Clans.
Matthew
Ain't nothing crazy 'bout me but my brain!
posted @ Mon, Mar 20, 2023 6:03:44 pm EDT from 64.85.245.77

Second.

A leftover thought from the posts about "Bambi" and hunters. The trio had gone to see "Bambi" in "Re-Awakening"; I wonder how they responded to the hunting/"man is in the forest" element. (The Hunters hadn't been introduced into the series at that point, of course, but the element of humans hunting gargoyles had, particularly with the Pack.)
Todd Jensen
posted @ Mon, Mar 20, 2023 8:29:27 am EDT from 70.176.217.135

First, in the name of getting a new issue this week!
Jurgan - [jurgan6 at yahoo dot com]
posted @ Mon, Mar 20, 2023 12:09:14 am EDT from 98.60.149.57