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Gargoyles

The Phoenix Gate

Comment Room Archive

Comments for the week ending November 3, 2013

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Paul> That's the principle. Kevlar is excellent at taking a bullet, but you still can shape it into the vest, after all (and though I'd have to look up the specific capabilities of the material to give an answer on stabbing weapons, I can tell you Kevlar's shear modulus is less than that of aluminum). If you want to have protection from both stabbing weapons and projectiles like bullet, you need to interweave different types of fibers.

Basically, a rule of thumb to remember is this: In general, ductile materials fail in shear (such as aluminium), whereas brittle materials (like cast iron) fail in tension.

Brainiac - [OSUBrainiac at gmail dot com]
There is balance in all things. Live in symmetry with the world around you. If you must blow things up and steal from those around you, THAT'S WHAT RPGS ARE FOR!

Brainiac: That's why armors that are useful in stopping blunt weapons (though the only one that comes to my mind is bullet-proof vests) are rather less useful in stopping cutting or piercing weapons, and vice versa, isn't it?
Paul - [nampahcfluap at yahoo dot com]

ESG> Not necessarily. Spider silk can have very impressive tensile strength on par with high-grade alloy steel or beyond, depending on multiple variables. However, tensile strength is in dealing with stretching/pulling stresses. The panthers and gargoyles were clawing while the humans were using sharpened objects for cutting purposes. That's shear strength and a whole different principle.

Consider for a moment a piece of dental floss. Try and pull it between your hands from each end. Now fold it end to end and try again, pulling from the ends and the looped center. Now, leaving it folded end to end, take the looped side and use a pair of scissors on it. See the difference?

In other words, the web is perfectly designed to support Anansi's weight as well as that of anything captured upon it...but a good pair of pruning shears could very well take it out. All the compression forces forced onto a narrow plane, whether through talons, claws, a pointed stone, or a spearhead, could allow one to cut it.

Or, if you would prefer a more humorous demonstration of the difference between tensile and shear strengths...http://xkcd.com/697/

Brainiac - [OSBrainiac at gmail dot com]
There is balance in all things. Live in symmetry with the world around you. If you must blow things up and steal from those around you, THAT'S WHAT RPGS ARE FOR!

It occurs to me that Annansi's webbing is quite pathetic. I mean, even regular humans were tearing through it without much trouble. As is, it's probably barely enough to support his weight. Real webbing wouldn't be nearly as fragile.
ESG

1: Dark Ages
2: 2198
3: Gargoyles
4: Timedancer
5: New Olympians
6: Heroes of Ulster
7: Bad Guys
8: Pendragon

ESG

my list looks like this:

1. The Dark Ages
2. Heroes of Ulster
3. Pendragon
4. Timedancer
5. The New Olympians
6. Gargoyles 2198

I love medieval stuff way too much.

Comet
Double, double, toil and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

I share your interest in the Dark Ages spin-off. That's one of the ones I want to see the most.

Here is my lineup of the spin-offs in descending order based on my interest and desire to see them:

1. The Dark Ages
2. Gargoyles 2198
3. Timedancer
4. The New Olympians
5. Pendragon
6. Heroes of Ulster

I didn't include Bad Guys because we've already seen some of that, and I enjoyed it, and would like to see more. But it has an advantage over the others in that I already know I like it, so it didn't seem fair to include it with the others when it already has a "headstart" so to speak. Before I ever read any Bad Guys I probably would have included it between Timedancer and The New Olympians.

Rebel - [rebelfornea at gmail dot com]

Argh, my yearning for Gargoyles is stronger than usual. Right now the one I most want to see is Dark Ages. Why? Because the direction it would take is less than clear.

Think about it. Gargoyles has a lot going for it besides just action, but it is largely an action drama. Fights tend to take up a third of the episode: sometimes more. Every episode needs to have an opposing, physical threat, to the point where a largely pointless fight was added to Avalon part 2 for just that reason.

Now, who can oppose the Gargoyles in he Dark Ages? In a time without advanced technology, one gargoyle is often worth a dozen armed men. Cullen might match them with superior numbers, but I doubt there will be many other forces capable of such a feet. Sorcerers might prove to be worthy opponents, as well as other gargoyles and a select few human warriors. There's also Oberon's children, though I imagine their presence will be very limited, Oberon's banisment not even occurring yet. Even the recurring villains we're aware of; Iago, The Archmage, The Illuminati, all lend themselves to less direct threats than we're used to seeing from the show.

So, in a series with relatively few physical threats, what will be the focus? I imagine Dark Ages would, even more strongly than Gargoyles, focus on the characters and their relationships. Also of note would be an abundance of political and living problems that come about naturally. It would be a great showcase of Weisman's subtlety, attention to detail, realism, cohesiveness, arc-building etc.

ESG

http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=370493&page=5

Dread's covers Mark of the Panther & Pendragon.

Antiyonder
"Remember, this is Demona Classic. Tenth century and... Still the traitor who caused The Wyvern Massacre!" (Brooklyn reminding himself and the audience that Ancient Scotland Demona isn't a total Angel.)

Happy day before All Saints' Day everyone.
Matthew
"Shall we their fond pageant see? Lord, what fools these mortals be!"-Puck

So, I have the Weird Sisters on the brain. I have the impression that they are less three separate people than three parts of a whole, with each sister representing different aspects. I don't know if I'd classify them as just a single being, but they are much more connected than just three magical people who happen to be triplets. Right? (Note: I've only gotten as far as "City of Stone" in my re-watch and my memories of any their later doings are fuzzy at best.)

In "City of Stone, Part Three," the dark-haired Sister (sorry, I can't keep their names straight) appears to wait until the other two are gone to give Macbeth the Duncan-killing orb and tell him he sent the Hunter after his father. Now, granted, I don't think the Vengeance Sister was actually going behind her Sisters' backs in this instance - I think she was following their overall plan, whatever it is - but it made me wonder if it was possible. How independent do y'all think the Sisters are? Can they work against each other, or have separate agendas?

Melissa
Rewatching Gargoyles and blogging about it - http://ramblingsofpicturebox.blogspot.com/

At the risk of inflaming unwholesome religious debate, I think Luther's complaints about the Catholic Church are pretty valid even today, though applicable more broadly...

...but I don't think I could do better than Monty Python's take on that particular issue, so I won't even try. Those who take offense at jokes about religious greed and corruption may feel free not to follow the Youtube link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWXWsPXVZiA

Blessed be Monty Python, and all its subsidiaries, limited. :)

Paul - [nampahcfluap at yahoo dot com]

Um - Greg? You accidentally posted the August convention schedule, not the early November convention schedule.

CHIP - Sorry to break the news, but Martin Luther just handed out the 95 theses as pamphlets; the nailing them on the door was a legend.

Todd Jensen
Hufflepuffs are really good finders

All Hallow's Eve? Well...I guess it's time for me to go nail 95 theses to the door of the local Catholic Church.
Chip - [Sir_Griff723 at yahoo dot com]
Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.~~C.S. Lewis

Happy All Hallow's Eve.
Matt - [Saint Louis, Missouri, USA]
"For science, which, as my associate Fang indicated, must move ever forward. Plus there's the money... and I do love the drama!" - Sevarius, "Louse"

Happy Halloween!
Todd Jensen
Hufflepuffs are really good finders

Greg B. - True, of course. But then again, Mister J says lots of things...
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NC16orUje4M
;D

Anonymous
"Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right...stuck in the middle with you..."

Or, as the Joker said: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYMnAUGFuG0
Greg Bishansky
Here's the problem with most fanfic writers: they seem to think Dominique is a second life. It isn't. Demona spelled it plainly in "High Noon." She's a gargoyle. Dominique is just a tool to help her in her goals. She'll use the form because she changes into a human, whether she likes it or not, but Dominique is not another life for her.

Forelone Wolf - What you or I might think I "should" have has nothing to do with what I DO have, which is NOTHING. Disney doesn't own a majority stake in GARGOYLES. They own it outright. Period.

And in any case, I wouldn't be interested in your proposal, much as I'd like to do more GARGOYLES, I need to be paid for my work. I made almost nothing on the SLG comics, but I made a little something, which allowed me to justify doing it. I wouldn't do it for free.

I know all of the above sounds harsh, and I don't mean it too. But I figured you'd want the truth.

Greg Weisman

<<As the creator of gargoyles, you should have partial control over the series even though disney has a majority share.>>

Only a majority?

Greg Bishansky
Here's the problem with most fanfic writers: they seem to think Dominique is a second life. It isn't. Demona spelled it plainly in "High Noon." She's a gargoyle. Dominique is just a tool to help her in her goals. She'll use the form because she changes into a human, whether she likes it or not, but Dominique is not another life for her.

Mr. Wiseman,
As the creator of gargoyles, you should have partial control over the series even though disney has a majority share. So is it possible for you to write and pose the continuing storylines that you wanted to do for gargoyles under a fan basis much like what they do on Deviantart or Fanfiction.net?
That way we the people can still enjoy this great show and you get around the copyright laws that disney has constricted you with

forlone wolf - [nkohler0278 at students dot mc3 dot edu]
forelone wolf

Ninth ninth
Phil - [p1anderson at yahoo dot com]

8th? Slow morning.
Jurgan - [jurgan6 at yahoo dot com]

Seventh!
Phoenician
"The suspense is terrible, I hope it lasts" -- Willy Wonka

Xanatos? Overconfident? Say it ain't so!

It's not like that's his big weakness or anything...Being overconfident in his ability to control Goliath/The Clan/Mutates/Thailog. Or his overconfidence in his steel clan robots being able to take down the clan in Awakenings. Or his overconfidence in thinking that he could try and fool the Illuminati with a fake rock in Clan Building...Or his overconfidence in his ability to--

Xanatos is very smart. And unlike a lot of villains, he learns from his defeats, and has backup plans within backup plans, knowing that if A) doesn't succeed, B) probably will, etc. But that doesn't mean he's flawless, and his hubris is definitely his fatal flaw.

In other words, he's one cocky SOB.

Chip - [Sir_Griff723 at yahoo dot com]
Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.~~C.S. Lewis

Confidence that you'll discover other opportunities is no excuse for passing up good opportunities in the now. And if it's a matter of confidence, you must admit that it's a matter of overconfidence.
ESG

Sixth in the name of those who come sixth! (not all that enviable of a position).
Matt - [Saint Louis, Missouri, USA]
"For science, which, as my associate Fang indicated, must move ever forward. Plus there's the money... and I do love the drama!" - Sevarius, "Louse"

I mean FIFTH in the name of the Coffin House.
Chip - [Sir_Griff723 at yahoo dot com]
Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.~~C.S. Lewis

Fourth in the name of the Coffin House.
Chip - [Sir_Griff723 at yahoo dot com]
Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.~~C.S. Lewis

FOURTH!

Xanatos was a risk taker on this the moment he chose Owen over Puck. Maybe the guy is just more confident than us, and doesn't feel the need to treat every situation as if it's life or death.

Greg Bishansky
Here's the problem with most fanfic writers: they seem to think Dominique is a second life. It isn't. Demona spelled it plainly in "High Noon." She's a gargoyle. Dominique is just a tool to help her in her goals. She'll use the form because she changes into a human, whether she likes it or not, but Dominique is not another life for her.

This is Hallow-third!

This is Hallow-third!

Pumpkin scream in the dead of third!

Masterdramon - [kmc12009 at mymail dot pomona dot edu]
"I feel like I've been tied to the Whipping Post..." - The Allman Brothers Band

Second.

<Peredur fab Ragnal, Duval, Blanchefleur, Nimue, Shari, Macbeth, Demona, and Quincy Hemings say hi.>

Right. Was thinking about the real world, silly me. Anyway, it's still exceptionally rare, he should take every chance he gets.

ESG

First in the name of Halloween week! Now where's my candy?
Brainiac - [OSUBrainiac at gmail dot com]
There is balance in all things. Live in symmetry with the world around you. If you must blow things up and steal from those around you, THAT'S WHAT RPGS ARE FOR!