I've met Drew Moss twice this year at two different comic cons in Kansas City and Charlotte. He was really nice and signed all my Dark Ages comics. He even had a nifty little blow dryer that dried the signatures that I wish other artists had.
KC
posted @ Fri, Jul 4, 2025 8:56:18 pm EDT from 209.74.237.9

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

MATTHEW - I read a fairy-tale when I was a small boy (about a little man who goes to live with a band of giants and unwittingly ends up awing them) which had a similar beginning, "Once there was and once there wasn't". That opening was the part that lingered longest with me.
Todd Jensen
posted @ Fri, Jul 4, 2025 8:45:03 am EDT from 68.99.93.213

For starters, congratulations Keith David for (finally) getting a star on the Walk of Fame. I once saw James Hong at a convention who mentioned how much he wanted to get his own. He finally did, twelve years later.

Todd> Thanks for the tale of Magnusson's expedition. Such voyages before the Age of Sail aren't talked about enough it seems. As for Genghis Khan's tomb, that's pretty common unfortunately. The Egyptians of course had a tradition of executing servants and workers for their ruler's tombs. Not just so that they'd follow the ruler into the afterlife but to reduce the amount of information possibly getting out and increasing the chance of tomb robbing. There's a chance something like that was also the case with Genghis Khan's tomb.

Incidentally, the episode about Vandal Savage being Genghis Khan is lifted from the comics. It was established that he's been most of history's famous warlords and dictators. In the show itself he's a bit more nuanced and not just a simple butcher, undertaking a great and terrible purpose all for the benefit of mankind. But not without removing potential threats to it along the way, not even his own family is safe in that regard.

Anonymous> That's pretty interesting. There's certain turns of phrases used for storytelling and I had never heard of that one before. I've heard that in old Persian folk tales they would begin with "Once was, once wasn't."
Matthew the Fedora Guy
You're Gonna Carry That Weight
posted @ Fri, Jul 4, 2025 1:30:40 am EDT from 184.23.35.150

One little note on Dan Jones' work (since I mentioned him as a major source for my research into Sigurd Magnusson); another book of his I've read, "Powers and Thrones", an overall history of the Middle Ages, contains a tidbit that ties in well with another of Greg Weisman's projects. Jones mentioned that the cause of Genghis Khan's death is unknown, with various different stories about how he died, including getting struck by lightning or slain with a poisoned arrow. And in "Young Justice", Genghis Khan was a past alias of Vandal Savage's (I haven't seen the episode which made that revelation, but I've read about it), suggesting (assuming that the same clashing stories about Genghis Khan's passing were told in Earth-16) that apparently he ran into some unexpected trouble with a consistent cover story about his passing. (A bit like one of those moments in sit-coms where two people have concocted a story together but didn't work out all the details in advance, leading to something like, say, the invented story involving a dog, and when they're asked what kind of dog it was, one says it was a poodle, the other a cocker spaniel - simultaneously.)

On a more somber note, Dan Jones reports that Genghis Khan had everyone who worked on his tomb put to death afterwards - from the "Young Justice" perspective, it's tempting to see that as Vandal Savage's way of keeping his survival a secret.
Todd Jensen
posted @ Thu, Jul 3, 2025 10:05:20 pm EDT from 68.99.93.213

So how can I tie this into something Gargoyles related? I guess it was when I was doing a bit of research on Korean mythology after learning about the Pukhan Clan (the last Gargoyle Clan in Korea), and I learned that Korean introductions to their myths literally start with, “Back when Tigers used to smoke”

And I think that’s pretty metal… that and the Pukhan Clan’s protectorate being “their sense of justice” makes me think they’re all “lawyer-types” Phoenix Wright, Saul Goodman, etc.

Just wanted to say, I just came from watching K-Pop Demon Hunters. Not really into K-Pop, but I thought the movie was good, characters were fun, and the music was alright. A solid 7. The thoughts of the Pukhan Clan wouldn’t leave me alone
Anonymous
posted @ Thu, Jul 3, 2025 9:45:06 pm EDT from 70.173.68.31

Jurgan> Ha!

Anonymous> I suspect that since it is always summer in Avalon, the tropical plants will do well enough. How they respond to Avalon's magic and Oberon's commands is unknown.

The rest of your questions:
1). I suspect when there was clans all over the world, extra-clan communication was fairly common. And I suspect that gargoyles moving from clan to clan was also not unheard of, particularly if they found a mate among another clan. Given how gargoyles are so gregarious and do not seem to be as tribalistic as humans, I think they would accept newcomers happily. We've never seen any clan wary of outsider gargoyles, and look how happy The Manhattan Clan was to welcome in Angela, Katana, etc. Also, you can look at the [SPOILER] Northumbria Clan to see that clans do indeed mix and migrate. [/SPOILER]

2). I think that in most cases a clan that splits due to size still views their home clan as family. See my answer for Question 1 and note that any two clans are likely to be friendly and two clans that have a common origin would perhaps be even more so. And, yes, I suspect that the first few decades after the split there would be more joint participation in rituals and common causes.

3). I'm sure all sorts of circumstances happen over the years. That said, from what we know about gargoyles, it seems that if a gargoyle came along with an egg and no safe place to keep it, a clan would happily allow it to be in their rookery and the clan would raise it as one of their own whether the biological mother in around or not. If Brooklyn and Katana ever encountered a clan while carrying around their eggs, they clearly chose not to leave their eggs with them for whatever reason.

4). This is a interesting question and one that I have considered before since, as you noted, rookeries can be hard to establish. Sounds like it is more complex than just finding a cave or whatever. Looking at the rookeries we've seen, it does appear that they have been modified to some extent. The "nests" are clearly shaped from stone somehow and for some purpose. And then theres the glowing algae. I wonder if that is something common or even preferable in rookeries to maintain an optimal environment for the eggs or if it is just something that occurs in those conditions. So, yeah, unknown, but the stone nest-shaping and the glowing moss seem to be relevant and make a gargoyle rookery more than just a cave.

Great questions! Love talking about this stuff!
Matt
"My daughter?! How dare you mock me! I have no daughter." - Demona, 1996
posted @ Thu, Jul 3, 2025 9:05:19 am EDT from 69.229.197.48

What could be strong enough to leave star marks in solid stone? Apparently the acting talent of Mr. Keith David!

So, is Demona #1 out in physical form yet? I don't know how to check these things.
Jurgan - [jurgan6 at yahoo dot com]
posted @ Wed, Jul 2, 2025 10:39:35 pm EDT from 75.233.134.187

Heard about Keith David getting a star on Hollywood. Congrats Keith!
Anonymous
posted @ Wed, Jul 2, 2025 10:32:15 pm EDT from 70.173.68.31

Nope didn’t to the Spoiler thing right... sorry!
Anonymous
posted @ Wed, Jul 2, 2025 8:34:59 pm EDT from 70.173.68.31

Just learned about and came from the latest Voices From The Eyrie Podcast, and it looks like I got something new to listen to - will definitely be tuning in for more. I always love to hear about the production of things, commentary about the final product from the people involved, even things they regret like Greg (if he knew the animation team handling the episode would be from Japan) pulling the trigger on making the Mayan Clan all have serpentine bottoms... maybe even (in my opinion) give another Pendant Bearer feathered wings too beyond Zafiro to diversify appearances, maybe Jade since I agree that he was mostly in the background.

Speaking of, it also reminded me that Jade and Turquesa also went to Avalon in a bid of conservation to save some of the endangered plants and planting them there. But that made me wonder: Did they encounter or were they introduced to the Avalon Clan and they taught them for a while on how to care for the plants? That is if Avalon’s magical properties don’t do anything weird to the plants.

[SPOILER]/[SPOILER] I also know that Avalon will do it’s thing and throws Jade and Turquesa around for a bit and they eventually get the Sun Amulet back from the Manhattan Clan [SPOILER]/[SPOILER] before it (hopefully) brings them home immediately after.

It also sent me down a little thought path on Gargoyle Clan Interaction and Dynamics and a few other things. Might put these down into an Ask Greg too but I also want to hear other’s speculations too:

1). How rare or often was it for Gargoyle Clans to make contact with other Gargoyle Clans way back when? Would/Could member(s) leave their Mother Clan to align themselves to a neighboring clan if they knew one they were in contact with? How does a Clan treat these newcomers wishing to join?

2). When a Clan gets too big and splits, would those who have chosen to leave still keep contact with their original Clan? Can/Do members occasionally come back for specific or ritualistic reasons (i.e. Eggs hatching in the Rookery, attending a Wind Ceremony, etc.)?

3). In the scenario where a female Garg lays an egg and she’s from a Split Clan with no Rookery or is a Rouge Gargoyle, can she ask her mother clan or (if desperate) a neighboring clan if she can place her egg into their Rookery? Or would she just be like Katana in her, Brooklyn, and Fu-Dog’s Timedancing; she keeps the egg on her at all times?

4). What are the bare minimum and most optimal conditions for a promising area to be claimed as a Gargoyle Rookery, since they’re allegedly very hard to establish? Can the Gargoyles shape the environment to make it more favorable? (Consensus on their Landscaping or Stonemasonry... which is ever the more appropriate practice?)

I also hope I wrapped that little spoiler (maybe) right. It’s not a big thing, but just covering bases.
Anonymous
posted @ Wed, Jul 2, 2025 8:34:09 pm EDT from 70.173.68.31

I might add that [SPOILER] the notion of Norwegian gargoyles resembling the dragon-heads on Viking ships and on Norwegian stave-churches is all the more appealing now that we know that gargoyles and dragons are related. (Indeed, we know already now about Zafiro having a "dragon-ish" look - though in his case, the "Feathered Serpent" - and the Gargoyles Series Bible speculated that the Chinese gargoyles resemble Chinese dragons.) [/SPOILER]
Todd Jensen
posted @ Wed, Jul 2, 2025 8:27:47 pm EDT from 68.99.93.213

CRAIG - Yes. Although "Demona" #1 was the one billed as "historical fiction", "Demona" #2 is also clearly rooted in an actual historical event (and one I was far less familiar with than Canmore's reign and death before reading the solicitation). (The "Demona" mini-series has already been compared to "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck", and one thing it shared with him is working actual history and historical figures into its lead's adventures.)

[SPOILER] The evidence already points to "Demona" #3 being rooted in early 20th century "weird fiction", of course; we don't know enough about "Demona" #4 to know whether actual history - in this case, from the Byzantine Empire in the late 12th century - will feature in it. Nor, for that matter, with "Demona" #5. We'll have to wait and see. But we've still got two-fifths of the mini-series definitely drawing on history. [/SPOILER]
Todd Jensen
posted @ Wed, Jul 2, 2025 8:14:42 pm EDT from 68.99.93.213

Sorry about that failed SPOILER tag in my previous post! Hope it doesn't reveal too much.
Matt
"My daughter?! How dare you mock me! I have no daughter." - Demona, 1996
posted @ Wed, Jul 2, 2025 8:12:22 pm EDT from 69.229.197.48

Todd> Thanks for all of that history! Very interesting stuff. Reading your thoughts and having the solicitations in mind, I had the same idea that [SPOILER]Sigurd might be leaving "his" gargoyles in Constantinople as a gift for the Emperor. Now I'm off to research Norwegian dragon-heads![SPOILER]
Matt
"My daughter?! How dare you mock me! I have no daughter." - Demona, 1996
posted @ Wed, Jul 2, 2025 8:11:33 pm EDT from 69.229.197.48

Thanks for that backstory, Todd. I'll definitely be keeping that in mind as I read Demona #2. And here I thought 17-year-olds in my day knew how to get in trouble!

And a belated happy birthday to Masterdramon.
Craig
posted @ Wed, Jul 2, 2025 6:01:39 pm EDT from 69.118.30.106

I've been reading up on Sigurd Magnusson's expedition lately, since it's the background event of "Demona" #2, and thought I'd share what I've learned about it here. No spoiler tags except for one or two specific moments, since: a) the solicitation for that issue came out some time ago, and I assume that by now everyone here's read it, and b) it was an actual historical event rather than an invention of the comic (though I'll be including spoilers for a couple of speculations on Demona and Angelika's experiences on it.

My chief source is Chapter Ten of "Crusaders: the Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Lands" by Dan Jones (published in 2019 by Penguin Books), which recounted this adventure in much detail.

Sigurd set out from Norway with a fleet of sixty ships in 1107. The official goal was a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but it seems likely that he and his followers (enough Vikings to man those sixty ships) also wanted some adventure and plundering along the way. (He was quite young, by the way, only around seventeen when he began the journey. He'd been only thirteen when he became King of Norway, in fact - as a result of his father King Magnus being slain in battle against the Irish.)

Sigurd's first stop was in England, where he was a guest of the then-king Henry I (William Rufus's younger brother and successor, and the husband of Canmore and Margaret's daughter Edith, once she left the convent). His time in England was entirely peaceful; the next step of the journey, when he reached the Iberian peninsula, much less so. He got into a fight with a Spanish nobleman (who'd apparently gone back on a promise to supply Sigurd and his men with provisions) and sacked his castle. He then fought a Moorish pirate fleet and defeated it (even capturing eight of its ships and presumably adding them to his fleet). After that, he fought the Moors in Portugal (even pillaging Lisbon), then attacked a pirate fortress at Formentera in the Balearic Islands. The pirates taunted Sigurd and his men by waving the loot they'd acquired from the battlements; it backfired, however, for Sigurd and his men were all the more eager to seize the pirates' treasure after that, climbed the cliff on which the fortress was built, and managed to break in and sack the place.

After a few more such raids, Sigurd rested up in Sicily where he made friends with the local ruler, Count Roger (who was only fourteen, even younger than Sigurd); according to Snorri Sturluson (the author of the "Prose Edda", a major source for Norse mythology - and maybe a distant cousin of Erik and Gunther - he also wrote a history of the Kings of Norway called "Heimskringla", which gave a full account of Sigurd Magnusson's journey), Roger even waited on him personally at the banquet table, a great honor. Refreshed, Sigurd sailed on to the Holy Land (which had been won by the Crusaders from the Muslims only a few years before) and was received by King Baldwin of Jerusalem, who also treated him as an honored guest. Baldwin even gave Sigurd a holy relic, a splinter of the True Cross. They then besieged and captured the city of Sidon, which was held by the Muslims, in late 1110.

The following year, Sigurd decided to head home, and led his fleet to Constantinople. There, the Emperor, Alexius Comnenus, received him with more festivities. Sigurd left his ships at Constantinople (even giving their dragon-figureheads to the Emperor as a present), and many of his men decided to stay there and join the Varangian Guard (a sort of honor guard for the Byzantine Emperor, mostly composed of Vikings, and very prestigious). Sigurd headed home through mainland Europe.

I suspect that the account of this event in "Demona" #2 will focus on the freebooting side of the expedition (as we saw above, there was a lot of it) rather than the religious side. We know from the solicitation that the conclusion of the expedition at Constantinople will play a major role in it. [SPOILER] After reading the solicitation for #4, I also suspect that the gargoyle Magni was one of Sigurd's followers - we know from the solicitation for #2 that Sigurd has other gargoyles on board besides Demona and Angelika - and chose to stay in Constantinople, while Demona and Angelika apparently do not. (I wonder whether Magni had a rookery brother named Modi, by the way.) I've mentioned this before, by the way, but I've noted that Norwegian stave-churches bore dragon-heads which had a function similar to that of architectural gargoyles, scaring away evil spirits, and have wondered whether Norwegian gargoyles might have a "Norse dragon" look, similar not only to the stave-church dragon-heads but also the familiar dragon-heads on Viking longships - and as I said above, Sigurd chose to give the dragon-figureheads of his ships to the Byzantine Emperor, raising the possibility that there might be some connection here to some of the gargoyles on this expedition apparently choosing to stay in Constantinople. [/SPOILER]
Todd Jensen
posted @ Tue, Jul 1, 2025 9:29:45 pm EDT from 68.99.93.213

Happy Birthday from me as well.
Antiyonder
posted @ Tue, Jul 1, 2025 7:31:13 pm EDT from 68.119.3.1

Masterdramon: Happy belated, man.

Blaise: [SPOILER] That Weird Sisters bit for me was a riot of the side-splitting laughter variety. Thank you for that. [/SPOILER]
Phoenician
Gus: "I always forget you're there." Hooty: "I forget I'm here toooooo."
posted @ Tue, Jul 1, 2025 5:38:07 pm EDT from 68.2.64.232

Mahalo everyone for the well wishes! :)
Masterdramon - [kmc12009 at mymail dot pomona dot edu]
"If someone ever tells me it's a mistake to have hope, well then, I'll just tell them they're wrong. And I'll keep telling them until they believe. No matter how many times it takes." - Madoka Kaname
posted @ Tue, Jul 1, 2025 1:51:02 pm EDT from 76.173.137.179

Happy Birthday, Masterdramon!

And yes, thank you for your thoughts, Blaise! Love hearing the different perspectives and occasionally hearing things I missed.
Matt
"My daughter?! How dare you mock me! I have no daughter." - Demona, 1996
posted @ Tue, Jul 1, 2025 8:50:04 am EDT from 69.229.197.48

A very merry unbirthday to you, Masterdramon!
Matthew the Fedora Guy
You're Gonna Carry That Weight
posted @ Mon, Jun 30, 2025 11:54:06 pm EDT from 184.23.35.150

Welcome back, Blaise, and thanks for your review of "Demona" #1.

And happy birthday, Masterdramon!
Todd Jensen
posted @ Mon, Jun 30, 2025 8:23:53 pm EDT from 68.99.93.213

****Blaise's head pops back into existence.****

Sorry for the double post, but a few more things:
1) YAY! It worked!
2) FIFTH!
3) Happy Birthday, Masterdramon!

****Blaise's head pops back out of existence.****
Blaise
"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."--The Doctor
posted @ Mon, Jun 30, 2025 8:02:13 pm EDT from 174.243.147.158

****There is the sound of something tapping on the walls before, eventually, a hole opens in one of the walls and Blaise makes his way into the room with a little hammer in one hand and a smartphone in the other.****
FINALLY!! I've had my thoughts on the latest comic written up and waiting to post for over a week, but every time I tried to access the Comment Room I kept getting a 403/Forbidden error. I've discovered that this only seems to happen whenever I try to access the Room from my home internet or most Wi-Fi networks, though. I'm using my phone's network (4G, yeah, it's old) and an emailed copy of my notes to post this now.
Hopefully I'll be able to get all I want to say out while I have access. And there is A LOT to talk about with this issue (sorry for the wall of text). And I've read the whole thing on my Kindle app as we are still waiting for physical copies here.... Sounds like Dynamite is finally cutting themselves loose from Diamond's sinking ship, though, so hopefully this will be one of the last delays. Anyway, on with the comic!


FOOLS RUSH IN...>[SPOILER] One thing that I love about Frank’s art is the details that just enrich the whole experience, like the central panel of the first page where the Weird Sisters morph from their gargoyle crone forms on Angelika's side to the human hag forms on Domnall's side (*literally* in the case of Pheobe who is right in the middle). Granted, it is possible to miss some of these on a first read (especially on a smartphone), but that's what re-reads and commenting about it here is for.

And yes, this issue has narration, and it is provided in part by the as-yet-unnamed Angelika in this intro and Domnall, son of Canmore, throughout. Here in the opening, we see how both Demona and Canmore have...creatively told their pasts to their children. Demona's has a bit less creativity, just leaving out that the "betrayal" that destroyed her second clan was *her* betraying her human allies. Canmore (now officially crowned Malcolm III of Scotland, so that's finally in there) is a lot more extravagant, painting Demona as an actual "demon straight from Hell" and not only teaching his children to hate gargoyles as "minions" of the Demon, but warning them to guard against the "Demon's inevitable return." This fascinates me because in "City of Stone" Canmore didn't seem to view Demona as separate from other gargoyles (saying "her kind" in reference to them) but has told his children she was some kind of demonic master of them that will someday return. I wonder how much of that is an actual belief of his formed over the decades, or if this was his way of keeping his kids "in line" as it were. A particularly darker version of Prince Malcolm's use of gargoyles to get young Katharine to behave. I tend to think it's a bit more of the latter because (jumping ahead) when Canmore sees Demona again, he outright says "I thought you were dead," as opposed to something like "I knew you’d return." Of course, we have another layer to this: Domnall himself as narrator. Given what we see of him towards the end of the issue, I find myself wondering how much of his father's tales he's remembering correctly. Memory is a funny thing. Still, no reason to tie myself in knots doubting him now. On with the issue!

We return to the...uh, "flashback-present" (I guess?) of 1093, roughly 36 years after Demona's betrayal of Macbeth. She's wearing the armor (or at least a similar make) that we saw in the preview, leading me once again to believe she chose to wore it during the locket retrieval because she had worn it when she first met her other daughter (but no, *Goliath* is the "sentimental fool"...). I had missed Hadrian's Wall initially, but that is a great detail in the artwork and helps, along with the small caption saying "Northumbria," to establish setting.

A never-before-seen clan of gargoyles! And after this issue, never seen again but for one. :-(
Regardless, here near the border between England and Scotland we get a nice mix of gargoyle designs, especially with the very English looking Second-in-Command. The leader's design is also striking to me just because he has a very toothsome face (I don't recall seeing gums like that too often). And I love the detail that he remembers the term "Rhydderch" but hasn’t heard it in decades (language moves on...). And as others have commented, this clan appears to farm, growing roughage. I wonder how much of this is for food and how much they might use for trading. But if Mowbray's remark of them keeping to themselves is true, then they probably don’t trade much. At any rate, Demona is happy to see other living gargoyles (and I think it is a sincere happiness, uncolored as of yet by thoughts of converting them to her viewpoint), and one young blonde hatchling (or would it be "rookling"?) is very interested in the newcomer.

We now cut to Edinburgh Castle and resume Domnall's narration. Normally with "Gargoyles" only Period and Place is identified by captions, not People. However, with so many named characters in this issue, particularly among Malcolm's *many* children, I do not look down on Domnall's narration breaking with that practice. Seriously, two stepsons and two sons from the first wife (with a third not shown or mentioned here, from what I've read elsewhere), and eight kids from the second wife (six sons and two daughters)! I keep forgetting just how big families could get, especially when you couldn't be sure how many would survive to adulthood. At least there’s some color coding, with the stepsons having brown hair, the first two sons having black like their father, and the children from the second marriage being mostly blonde (like their mother, I guess?). That is some interesting genetics, but it helps keep characters straight!
Domnall’s narration notes that Canmore would summon them all not just as "dinner guests" but "primarily as an audience," which says a lot to me about how he rules. He can do things for show and to make an impression. Here he is saying that all the princes will accompany him to England for...educational purposes, let's say. The stepsons, joint Earls of Orkney, can apparently just say "no" to this, but the rest of the princes will go, even over the objections of their mother, Queen Margaret. Of course, her oldest son, Crown Prince Edward, is champing at the bit go, and Canmore says he was no older than his youngest (Dauid) when he went to battle with Duncan (I love Margaret's sarcastic "and look how that turned out..."), so only the princesses will remain at home. I will say I find it interesting that Canmore passed over his original firstborn son, Donnchad (named for Duncan) for his firstborn with Margaret, and amusing that they seemed to want to keep to certain naming conventions (his first two sons' names begin with "D" and his first four with Margaret all begin with "Ed") but this is where I can start to feel weird speculating at motivations and characterizations for fictional versions of historical personages. The real people really did these things in real life, and trying to puzzle them out like I would completely original creations whose life histories are made from scratch can feel...reductive, I guess. So, I'll just leave it there.
Oh yeah, and Canmore's brother, Donalbain, is here, too. He at least tries to mollify Margaret by saying he will look after her "brood" (nice word choice!).

Back among the Northumbria Clan, Demona's earlier happiness has given way somewhat to disdain, as she watches the clan and calls them "sheep." And when a certain precocious gargoyle child surprises Demona by asking her a question (as children do), Demona nearly goes into rage mode--no glowing eyes (that way we can see the reflection in them when she turns), but her sword is out and she figuratively bites the hatchling's head off for sneaking up on her. Said hatchling however is *very* unfazed by this and just elaborates on her question: why does a gargoyle, with claws, use a sword? And it’s because of Brooklyn, and I love how he's brought into this, with his reflection on the blade and his epithet of "the Gargoyle of the Sword" coming back. Not to mention the whole "vanished in flame" bit. Very mythical. But Demona mentions that she learned the worth of the weapon from him, and I found myself wondering what exactly that worth might be. That it's easier to cut someone's hand off with a sword than your claws?

We return to Canmore and Co. at Bamburgh Castle, where they speak with the Earl there, Robert de Mowbray. Apparently, King Malcolm III of Scotland is willing to play the heavy for the English King William Rufus and "teach lessons" to vassals that "failed to show sufficient loyalty" to the latter. He even spouts an "I don’t like it any more than you" and promises to do "no real harm" by only attacking the peasants. Mowbray doesn’t like any of this, and Arkil Morel, Steward of the castle, at least asks if they should warn the villagers. Mowbray is playing his own game, however, and will allow these deaths to happen just to justify what he plans to do next. Yeah, as others have said, none of these people come off well here (including Domnall who, if he has any misgivings about this, doesn’t voice them).
Oh, and Canmore notices the gargoyle clan in the distance...

Before dawn on November 13, 1093 (very specific, so something is happening today!), the young hatchling is exploring some small caves (dang, I'd be claustrophobic there) but pokes her head out just in time to hear Demona exhorting the leader of the Northumbria Clan to scatter the clan during the day for safety (like her old system of cells). However, clans stay together, and these gargoyles have never been hunted or harmed by the local humans before, so they choose to ignore Demona’s urging and she leaves in frustration. But the little gargoyle seems to be considering her words.
It's kind of funny: Demona is right here, but for the wrong reasons. She doesn't know that Canmore, a Hunter, is nearby, she just thinks humans killing gargoyles is inevitable. Likewise, the clan don't know that there are humans from outside Northumbria that would want to wipe them out upon learning about them. Any other day, they would be safe. But this is not any other day...

We see a burning village as Canmore and his family look upon their handiwork from a nearby hill. Edward seems...unreasonably gleeful here, calling it a "triumph" (the Heir to the Throne, everyone!), which is a sentiment that Donalbain seems to disagree with. Likewise, Edmund can’t find triumph in the strong victimizing the weak, and Edelred calls it an offense against heaven. These three are not at all happy with these proceedings, though they seem to have still participated in them. That is a question, though: how much could they have done against their King and family in this instance? They do seem to be outnumbered, with Canmore (and all his soldiers we don't really focus on) and Edward on the "pillage and burn" side along with at least Donnchad--sure, he calls it a "necessary evil," but he's smiling while saying it...
Everyone else is silent, including Domnall, so hard to tell what they think.
But Canmore is not done yet, and leads his band to the roosting place of the Northumbria Clan.

Canmore walks among the sleeping gargoyles, talks about it feeling like old times and saying he will enjoy this as he puts on the Hunter's mask. There is no tactical reason for him to do this: he just wants to murder gargoyles. There's been some discussion here in the past about how Duncan and Canmore wiped out gargoyle clans more as collateral damage over their fighting for the crown of Scotland, however they both held hatred for gargoyles beyond that. Even before Duncan thought Macbeth would use gargoyle aid to take the crown from him, he was going to just smash gargoyles to pieces upon finding them. I don't know why he hated them so much already at that point (he couldn't have been *too* fond of Gillecomgain to want revenge for him), but I can imagine Canmore already inheriting some of that hatred from his father even before Demona and her clan fighting his father's army in 1040, which would only have intensified it. He really meant it when he said gargoyles "did not deserve to live." Bottom line: though not descended from him, Canmore proves to be a very appropriate inheritor of Gillecomgain's mantle.
Strangely enough, in a move similar to the Captain's, Donalbain stops Canmore's hand, decries the upcoming murder as "wanton and unnecessary," and mentions appreciating the gargoyle clans of Ireland where he had been exiled. It doesn't do any good, though, as Canmore coldly orders Donalbain to let go and the latter resignedly walks away from the upcoming massacre, either accompanied or escorted away by Edward. And we hear the death of gargoyles as we see two particular ones sleeping in hiding. Demona must really like that sword, too, as it looks like stone!

The sun is setting and Canmore and Co. are making their way back. He must be feeling pretty good about now, which makes it so satisfying when he gets surprised by the ambush Mowbray has set up at Alnwick. At the same time, the sun sets and Demona awakens. I love the contrasting panels of Mowbray’s "Now" with Demona’s "No...". I really do feel for Demona here: as bad as she is (or will be), living through this many mass slaughters is not something I would wish on anyone. Still she is always more comfortable with rage, seeing how quickly her eyes start glowing once she hears crying nearby. Meanwhile, Edward actually does something *not* petulant or sadistic for once and pushes his father out of the path of arrows, dying himself instead. Well, I guess that's *one* good thing you can say about him.

Events are split between two columns on this page, so I'll do one side at a time. First, the human side:
Canmore bravely runs away from the battle and the corpse of son, calling out for his family/guards/anybody to save him. You manage to live as a king for 35 years, you probably start to feel a bit invincible, and once disabused of that notion it probably comes as something of a shock. So yeah, not surprised he's falling apart here and probably wishing for his brown pants now. He does knock one of his attackers down on the way out, though.
Morel reports on Canmore escaping, but Mowbray shuts that down. Canmore must die, both to keep him from retaliating in force and to plunge Scotland into chaos (since the Heir is dead already). He orders Morel to seek and destroy.
Domnall sees an opening to follow the king, though, and Donnchad (who seems to have lost his facial hair here...) yells at him to go protect their father.

Back at the clan's...rookery....
Wow. I hadn't expected this. Though logically this sort of thing would have to have happened throughout history, this is the first time we're really seeing it. And if you think about it, there would have to have been more rooklings the same age as our curious blonde one, too. Canmore was a lot more thorough than Hakon was, that's for sure. And that same young gargoyle's crying seems to have gotten through Demona's rage enough for the older gargoyle to have a flash of empathy.
But as soon as the rookling turns around, she (futilely) attacks Demona in a rage, saying it's all her fault. Demona, confused, says that these horrors were not her doing, and she is actually more right than wrong here (for once). But it turns out that the rookling wasn't talking about the massacre, but about listening to Demona's warning and hiding, and thus surviving to deal with all of this death. I can't help but think about Goliath's own suicidal thoughts in "Awakening" here.
But whatever empathy Demona has is now pushed beneath her vengeful rage as she coldly tells the young one that survival is all that matters and shoves her aside as she takes off for vengeance (and that gliding off for vengeance bit is something else that reminds me of Goliath after the massacre in "Awakening"--I'm loving seeing these parallels, or echoes, or whatever you want to call them).

Demona very quickly finds Canmore, who has probably identified a new "worst night of my life so far." He pulls out the Hunter's mask in an attempt to throw off Demona by taunting her about it haunting her dreams, or in other words:
"Canmore uses Psychological Warfare! It's not very effective..."
Yeah, older Canmore against Demona ends about as quickly as you would expect. I think Demona's jibe about expecting some epic final battle is a little meta, too (in a good way). I love that full page image of her taking him down (even though, for obvious reasons, the fatal blow has to be obscured). I almost thought she was going to give him a Glasgow Grin there. This is another time where Demona is probably more...well, if not "heroic" then at least more fully aligned with the audience as I can't imagine anyone thinking Canmore didn’t finally get what he deserved here.

Of course, Domnall saw the whole thing (love the brief glimpse of him on horseback through the "frame" made by Canmore's sword on page 18) and narrates the fallout:
*The rookling pulls Demona away afterward and Morel claims credit for the kill, which he can easily do since Demona only used a sword to kill Canmore (ah, now that is a use for human weapons I can see Demona liking).
*Margaret dies of grief (we only saw a little of her, and I don’t know if she was as bad as her husband and eldest son, so I’ll feel sorry for her for now), and Donalbain and Donnchad start fighting over the crown themselves. Edmund sides with Donalbain (yeah, I would, too, out of all this lot), Edelred goes into the clergy (makes sense from his earlier line) and Edgar just outright declares himself the rightful king (he's got guts, this kid) and flees into English exile with his two younger brothers who, checking the histories, will each be king in turn themselves. A part of me wonders if the Weird Sisters would be secretly grateful that they didn’t have to pull the soothsaying act on this family: "All hail Malcolm Canmore, King of Scotland and brother of the king hereafter, and father of the king hereafter, and father of the king hereafter, and father of the king hereafter and father of the king hereafter...oh, no, he brought them all with him...[deep breath]--"
*The princesses were sent to a convent until they were of marriageable age (and don't they just look *thrilled* to be there).
*And Domnall...takes up the name Donald Canmore and the mask of the Hunter, starting the line in earnest. He mentions having ignored his father's warnings, and once again I find myself feeling that Canmore used "the Demon's" return as a way of influencing his children, and as they grew older some of them would sort of roll their eyes at it ("Yeah, yeah, Dad, we know..."). But now, Domnall, or Donald, saw "the Demon" actually return and kill his father. So, of course, he pledges himself and his descendants to destroy her and "all her gargoyle familiars." This is interesting, because going by the modern hunters it seems the family at some point recognized that Demona *is* a gargoyle just an "empowered" one (for lack of a better term) and kept the term "Demon" more as a name then actually thinking she’s a real demon. At the very least, Robyn seems to act this way to my eyes. I guess a little drift over 903 years is understandable.

Back among the bodies of the clan, Demona wishes she had killed all Canmore's line and blames the rookling for pulling her away (you could have fought her off if you wanted, Demona, but I'd like to think maybe you were willing to get *her* away from danger, just this once at least). When the child says she was trying to save Demona's life, Demona gets a wonderfully cocky look as she talks about her immortality. The rookling then asks if they should perform a Wind Ceremony, but Demona (just like before in "Tyrants") dismisses the idea of such a thing. Not for vengeance this time, though, but apparently because she just wants to be away from "this cursed place." The funeral rites bring her no comfort, and aren't necessary for survival, so why bother? Oh, and she's just going to abandon this kid, too, because she "cannot be burdened with [her] care." (Are you watching this, Demona Apologists?!)

But the rookling follows her anyway (she was going to leave you behind, girl!), pulling the “just going in the same direction” line. I don’t think either are fooled, though, and Demona was smiling as soon as the kid showed up, so she’s not exactly adverse to having company after all. I look forward to seeing how their relationship develops over the next five issues.

Oh, and (like the Trio later on) the kid chooses her own name: Angelika, apparently using Demona’s name as inspiration. I find myself fascinated at her reasoning for this, as it seems to set her up as a contrast to Demona, but we know she will look upon the older gargoyle as a mother. I can only wonder what the future has in store for these two (outside of the solicitations, of course).

A lot happened in this issue, resulting in A LOT of writing (sorry, everybody!). I can’t wait for the next issue, though I know I’ll have to. [/SPOILER]


Okay, there we are. Hopefully this posts with no issues.
****Blaise crosses his fingers...and pops out of existence.****
Blaise
"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."--The Doctor
posted @ Mon, Jun 30, 2025 7:57:55 pm EDT from 174.243.147.158

On this day, I hath obtain'd the grand age of thirty-FOUR!
Masterdramon - [kmc12009 at mymail dot pomona dot edu]
"If someone ever tells me it's a mistake to have hope, well then, I'll just tell them they're wrong. And I'll keep telling them until they believe. No matter how many times it takes." - Madoka Kaname
posted @ Mon, Jun 30, 2025 1:26:43 pm EDT from 76.173.137.179

Third?
Matthew the Fedora Guy
You're Gonna Carry That Weight
posted @ Mon, Jun 30, 2025 1:22:54 pm EDT from 184.23.35.150

Second!
Matt
"My daughter?! How dare you mock me! I have no daughter." - Demona, 1996
posted @ Mon, Jun 30, 2025 9:11:22 am EDT from 69.229.197.48

First.
Todd Jensen
posted @ Mon, Jun 30, 2025 9:07:54 am EDT from 68.99.93.213