I wish I could pet Bronx...
Missingno7007 - [Isaac7007pkmn at gmail dot com]
posted @ Sun, Sep 10, 2023 10:02:29 pm EDT from 98.114.96.161

I was pretty young when Gargoyles aired so my parents picked up the VHS copy of "Awakening" for me and absolutely loved it. What was tough was watching the series as a kid because I missed so many episodes because of school. I didn't watch the entirety of it until near the end of high school (and I went through that "cartoons are stupid" phase in my life too).
Matthew
Ain't nothing crazy 'bout me but my brain!
posted @ Sat, Sep 9, 2023 11:27:04 pm EDT from 64.85.245.77

I bought the Season One DVD of "Gargoyles" at Blockbuster, though that probably sounds less dated than buying the VHS. Of course, any mention of Blockbuster sounds dated now.
Todd Jensen
posted @ Sat, Sep 9, 2023 9:14:32 pm EDT from 174.72.60.154

D.J.: Welcome to the room and thanks for sharing your really interesting and thoughtful debut posts. In particular, [SPOILER] the notion that one of the Keys to Power could be in the Eastcheap Island horde is interesting. The introduction of Eastcheap in “Redemption” was slightly overshadowed perhaps by Falstaff but it’s not the sort of place Greg would have introduced without more material in mind and perhaps sooner than later… at any rate, I agree that at least one of the Keys will be in the possession of the Illuminati. As for Dino, I feel like it was mentioned on the podcast but it’s still a terrific spot. [/SPOILER]

My origin with ‘Gargoyles’ is a bit chaotic and actually thinking about it now I think the timeline must have been different from what I initially said. I saw adverts for the show but these used quite moody, gothic art which didn’t make it look appealing at all. Then in… I thought 1995 but it must have actually been 1996… we got satellite TV and this included access to the Disney Channel. I stumbled across World Tour episodes - “Eye of the Storm”, “The New Olympians”, “The Green”, “Bushido” and “Cloud Fathers”. I think I enjoyed these episodes fine but what really caught my attention was “Ill Met By Moonlight” because it featured the characters from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ which I had recently read for the first time at school, had seen my first performance, had an animated version and was just really into. So “Ill Met”, “Future Tense” and then “The Gathering Part One” had me on the edge of my seat.

Sadly, I wasn’t allowed to watch more episodes and then the show was pulled from the Disney Channel’s rotation so I was left on that cliffhanger for what would end up being 14 months.

Then on Saturday morning, I was flicking through the channels and came across “Awakening” Part One. I remember thinking what luck just after the Disney run had been cut which makes me think it must have been weeks later not a whole year but it was definitely 1996. Of course, although I’d briefly met Hudson and the Trio, I really had no idea who these characters were as the tone of this show was quite different from the World Tour. I only actually started taping them when my brother went into hospital to get his cochlear implant and then realised what an idiot I’d been not to tape them until that point. They stopped airing after “Upgrade”, sometime in 1997. I remember “City of Stone” (which they aired at the beginning of S2, not helping the continuity) being particularly exciting as they’re aired two double-bills over two weeks. I like to think that someone at the channel knew what a gem they had and wanted to make an event out of it but realistically there was probably some dry contractual reason about the number of episodes they needed to air within a particular window.

In March 1997 we got the internet and one of the first things I did was look up ‘Gargoyles’. With no immediate hope of seeing these episodes airing, I went to find out what happened in “The Gathering Part Two”. In some ways I slightly regret this as I obviously spoiled myself in particular on that massive twist. I started lurking here sometime in 1997 and sometime around then found the “Heroes Awaken” VHS in — just like Jurgan! — Blockbuster (one of the only times I’d ever gone into one).

Then in September 1997 when the show came back on Disney and aired weekdays. By November, I’d seen and taped them all except “Monsters” where the tape recorder broke (I usually had to timer-record them). In January 1998, I started posting on S8 and although there have been periods where I've been more active or less active over the years, I've been checking in here ever since.

(Off topic but one thing I've always loved about this place that was a little dated even in the late 90s is that it's a single, long-form thread each week. Conversations aren't siloed into different subtopics and subpages like most web forums. Granted, that caps the potential size of the room to some degree - although the sister comment room for the fanfic project The Gargoyles Saga had pretty heavy traffic in its day, it's nothing compared to some forums out there. However, the upshot is that all the conversations are shared and I feel like it's a much more holistic human interaction, even if not everyone responds to every point made, as we have all sorts of interests and discussion topics shared including things like Todd's monthly poems. I think you get to know other people better in this format and I suspect it nudges people toward being more community-minded.)

On the video game… torn really. I don’t have any particular interest in the game itself as it seems like a mediocre platform. If I’d known about it in the 90s (as I did have a Mega Drive, which in the US was called Genesis), I might have bought it but even then I knew that licensed properties often had more money spent on the licence than on the game development - the first game I was given as a gift was a Tailspin game which was pretty mediocre. (That said, Disney was something of an exception with several high-quality games around this era - Castle/Land/World of Illusion, Quackshot, Aladdin, The Jungle Book…).

That said, I do own a Switch and the new graphics do look good. It’s being torn about realistically probably not having any interest in the specific product and, as ever, wanting to support the franchise.

Craig: Love your “paisley” anecdote!
Ed
posted @ Sat, Sep 9, 2023 11:41:49 am EDT from 86.157.216.70

Here's My Story:

I was a watcher of the Disney Afternoon. I particularly enjoyed Aladdin back in the day. So I had seen the advertisements about the upcoming Gargoyles. For whatever reason, 12 year old me was not that interested. I was also a subscriber to Disney Adventures and I think I even read the intro comic there. Still wasn't hooked. The show came on and I wasn't watching, though I think I caught a few glimpses of the early eps here and there. It was not until weeks (or months) later when a friend of mine in school told me that she loved Gargoyles and thinks I would too that I finally gave it a fair shot. That afternoon I watched my first episode: Temptation. I was hooked. I quickly became a far bigger fan than my friend was. And the rest is history. I have not talked to that old friend of mine in 20 years, but I owe her for nudging me towards Gargoyles.

One month since the last new comic came out. I'm getting anxious! Glad we are just a few days off from Gargoyles #9!
Matt
"And, thus, given no choice, we waited..." - Narrator, "The Reach"
posted @ Sat, Sep 9, 2023 10:41:57 am EDT from 47.233.90.133

Incidentally, IDW has been starting up My Little Pony Friendship is Magic miniseries call Classics Reimagined.

First mini was based off Little Women.

Current one is their take of The Wizard of Oz, The Unicorn of Odd.
Antiyonder
posted @ Sat, Sep 9, 2023 12:03:38 am EDT from 71.84.183.196

JURGAN - Thanks for your "How I discovered 'Gargoyles'" story.

[(possible love interest for Goliath?)] - Which question must have seemed pretty disturbing in hindsight, after finding out her actual relation to Goliath.
Todd Jensen
posted @ Fri, Sep 8, 2023 9:32:08 pm EDT from 174.72.60.154

How I got into Gargoyles Drinking Game: Take a shot every time I say something that wouldn't make sense to someone born after the 90's.

I think my first exposure was I or my brother getting a kids' meal from Burger King. Inside there was a Gargoyles action figure, I think it was Broadway. I remember thinking for some reason that Goliath was a good guy and all the other gargoyles were bad guys. But something about it piqued my interest, so next time I was at Blockbuster I rented the Heroes Awaken VHS. I watched it and was instantly hooked. The tape said the show would air on Fridays and I should check local listings, so I looked in the TV listings in the newspaper and it said the show aired at 2:30. I told myself to record it but kept forgetting to set the VCR, so my viewing was intermittent. The first regular episode I saw was Deadly Force, then Enter Macbeth. Then I kept forgetting, and by the time I remembered it had looped back around to Deadly Force and Enter Macbeth. Eventually it started airing later in the day so I could see it more reliably, but then the Fox affiliate moved it to mornings right around Avalon, meaning I would see random episodes of the World Tour and have no idea who this new purple gargoyle was (possible love interest for Goliath?). But eventually it became my brother and I's routine to watch in the morning on the black-and-white TV while eating breakfast and I saw every episode, though the Coldstone plotline always confused me. Then it went off the air and was just a pleasant memory until around 2002 when I discovered S8, and I've been here ever since.
Jurgan - [jurgan6 at yahoo dot com]
posted @ Fri, Sep 8, 2023 6:34:26 pm EDT from 69.247.67.113

The mention of Baum's works reminded me that gargoyles show up in one of his Oz books ("Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz"), though very different from the ones we know; they were made out of wood, were not only silent but feared loud noises (so that shouting at them could fend them off as long as your voice lasted), and had detachable wings.
Todd Jensen
posted @ Fri, Sep 8, 2023 9:51:37 am EDT from 174.72.60.154

By the way, D.J. Dambach, I’m also a big L. Frank Baum fan. I collected many of the books as a kid from a local publisher in NY. Is there a specific hardcover collection or set you can recommend that has all the Oz and Oz-adjacent stories by Baum with the original illustrations included? This is something I’ve been pondering for awhile.
Craig
posted @ Fri, Sep 8, 2023 2:22:09 am EDT from 107.127.7.87

Well at least copy, paste and enter the link in a search bar.

Craig> Incidentally, among the shows and such that I did articles for on Gargwiki, I did one for Aladdin. Originally just had referential stuff from Gargoyles in mind, but after rethinking on some details noticed how similar the episode "The New Olympians" was to Aladdin's "The Animal Kingdom". Premise and Michael Dorn voicing a character in both occupying similar, but still different roles.

One person I pointed it out to joked that many of Dorn's characters just sound like they don't care much for humans.XD
Antiyonder
posted @ Fri, Sep 8, 2023 12:35:46 am EDT from 71.84.183.196

Todd > The gargwiki entry on the video game will give you a decent idea of the plot: https://gargwiki.net/Gargoyles_(video_game)

As I said, I never got past the first level, but I watched a youtube video of someone playing through the game years ago. It’s definitely not canon. Goliath appears to be the only gargoyle, the rookery is volcanic with pools of bubbling lava, etc. I think the Thor-like guy you see there is the so-called “Demi-Sorceror,” the Vikings’ resident sorceror having merged with the Eye of Odin (a bit similar to the Archmage in “Avalon”). There is also a Thor-themed robot in the 20th century levels, so clearly the creators of the game were Thor fans.

I think my favorite part of the gargwiki entry is the description of the “Widow Chamber”: “part spider, part elevator, and all evil.” Reminds me of the stories of film producer Jon Peters (if anyone has seen Licorice Pizza, this is the character played by Bradley Cooper), who was obsessed with trying to get a giant robot spider into every movie he produced (including an aborted Superman movie) until he finally succeeded with Wild Wild West.
Craig
posted @ Thu, Sep 7, 2023 11:10:58 pm EDT from 107.127.7.87

BRAINIAC - I'd heard of that game (particularly that the Eye of Odin was originated for it, and Greg Weisman decided to bring it into the series), but have never played it. I took a look at the YouTube video you linked to, and am curious about Goliath's opponents. I recognized Hakon, Demona, and the Steel Clan robots, but a few others are new to me, including some creatures that look vaguely like something out of the movie "Alien" and a Thor-like figure (is that some version of Thor? It'd certainly tie in with Hakon and the Eye of Odin).
Todd Jensen
posted @ Thu, Sep 7, 2023 8:03:54 pm EDT from 174.72.60.154

Sorry for the double post. One other (perhaps) amusing personal anecdote, regarding the Gargoyles Sega game. As an English literature nerd, I was in several spelling bees as a kid. At one particular bee, it was down to me and one other kid, and I lost on the word "paisley." That night, I happened to be looking at the poster on my wall for the Sega game (it was a small poster that came with the game). The image had originally been designed as a magazine ad, so the design showed several tears through the main image, clearly put there (supposedly) by gargoyle clawmarks, revealing the "page" behind, where you could glimpse a few scattered words. Well, sure enough, one of the words your could see through the clawmarks was paisley. What are the odds?
Craig
posted @ Thu, Sep 7, 2023 4:47:47 pm EDT from 24.46.161.215

D.J. Dambach > This is definitely one of the most welcoming Internet spaces I've ever encountered. Everyone is always extremely polite and civil, except the occasional pop-in anonymous trolls who are best ignored. (BTW, do you prefer D.J. or Dambach? Or D.J. Dambach?)

Thanks for sharing that connection about your brother. My favorite characters from the beginning have been Goliath and Xanatos. But I've also always had soft spots for Lex and especially Hudson. I think even as a kid, I was already an old man in a lot of ways, so I related a lot to Hudson. And my appreciation for Elisa has grown a lot as an adult, she's way up there for me now.

Re: The video game reissue. I was never much of a gamer. I did have the Sega game as a kid, and could never get past the first level. Although I have heard from serious gamers that it was an infuriatingly difficult game to beat, so that makes me feel a little better!
Craig
posted @ Thu, Sep 7, 2023 4:40:14 pm EDT from 24.46.161.215

Also, I actually called this, but thought it was a long shot.

https://twitter.com/LimitedRunGames/status/1699821406001807840

$175 limited edition with a NECA Goliath (plus other delightful goodies). DAMN.
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!
posted @ Thu, Sep 7, 2023 2:57:24 pm EDT from 129.137.96.2

It's now up on the Switch and GOG stores at least; $14.99 for the digital copy.
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!
posted @ Thu, Sep 7, 2023 2:51:26 pm EDT from 129.137.96.2

That remastering looks good. Honestly I wasn't expecting much considering the lack of news up until now but the graphics look legitimately good.
Matthew
Ain't nothing crazy 'bout me but my brain!
posted @ Thu, Sep 7, 2023 11:54:54 am EDT from 73.222.9.213

THE SPELL IS BROKEN...AND WE LIVE AGAIN!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYUJXoWh1yg

Gargoyles Remastered Launch Trailer. Releases in exactly six weeks on the 19th of October (five days ahead of the premiere's anniversary). Xbone, PS4, Switch, Steam, GOG. Looks like it's stand-alone and digital-only at launch. No updates on the physical copies from Limited Run Games yet (beyond their $35 base price, which I expect to be higher than what the digital game goes for).
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!
posted @ Thu, Sep 7, 2023 11:20:13 am EDT from 129.137.96.2

DAMBACH - Thanks for your comments. I'm glad you enjoyed my postings from Longfellow's "Poet's Calendar".
Todd Jensen
posted @ Thu, Sep 7, 2023 8:30:30 am EDT from 174.72.60.154

Thank you Todd, Matt, Matthew, and Craig for the warm welcome. I'm a person with a touch of social anxiety, so despite knowing inherently that as Gargoyles fans you are likely to be accepting and understanding folks, I'll admit it was a bit intimidating to walk into a room where most of those present have years, if not decades, of personal history with each other. I'd like to think that perhaps my joining the conversation might help draw others in. I can't help but feel that there have to be more folks watching the conversation from the sidelines.

It's nice to hear some of your first experiences with the series, particularly as most of you seem to be just enough older than me to remember better than I can.With that said, I do have a few things that didn't make it into my introductory post that I can add here. Reawakening is probably the earliest episode I have strong memories of watching. I had, at the time, only recently learned that I had an older half brother, so the idea of a long lost brother returning to the fold had a strong personal resonance for me. One of the many things I look forward to most in the new comics is seeing how Coldstone and Coldfire fit into the clan dynamic. While they haven't been a major focus so far, just having them around does a lot for me.

Sticking to individual characters, I'd have to say that Lex and Broadway were my initial favorites, owing in large part to my early love of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Donatello and Michelangelo were my favorite turtles growing up, so it was really easy to latch onto Lex and Broadway for their surface level similarities. Of course, as the main lead I've always appreciated Goliath, but I don't know that he was ever my favorite. I grew to relate more with Brooklyn by the time I hit my teen years, particularly for his unlucky in love tendencies. At this point in my life, I've really come around to loving Hudson, and thus my avatar. There's just something about his wisdom and experience that really calls to me. He understands the importance of maintaining tradition while also not letting adherence to old traditions entirely stifle his growth. Seeing him and Broadway begin their journeys towards literacy in A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time was another standout moment for me. Even as a youngster I appreciated the magic of reading. In fact, I badgered my mother into teaching me how to read before the school could get around to doing it.

Just a bit more about myself. (My only means of posting currently is via my phone, and I'm not a huge fan of typing on it, so I'm going to try my best to not post huge walls of text, despite being quite excited to talk with you all.) I'm a lover of children's literature, and I've some desire to someday add to the material that is out there. Among my favorite authors and illustrators are such individuals as Beatrix Potter, Shel Silverstein, Glen Rounds, and especially L. Frank Baum. I know Todd has mentioned a children's fantasy that he is working on, and I look forward to adding a copy to my collection in the future. As it happens, Todd has also been tickling one of my other major fancies with his postings from The Poet's Calendar. While I do write some prose, poetry is where I feel my strengths really lie. Among my favorite poets are Poe, Frost, Emily Dickinson, and the afore mentioned Silverstein. Going to cut myself short here, before this post wanders too far off topic. Thanks again for the warm welcome, friends.
D.J. Dambach
posted @ Thu, Sep 7, 2023 2:05:18 am EDT from 35.148.20.13

Sorry for the double post, but I've just been reading a good book on monsters in Anglo-Saxon England called "Basilisks and Beowulf" by Tim Flight. The chapter on Grendel and his mother mentioned Grendel's eyes glowing, which got me wondering whether, in the Gargoyles Universe, Grendel and his mother might have been gargoyles. The fact that Grendel attacked Heorot always at night would fit that, as well - and the book brought up that Grendel's mother didn't have a name, even saying "To name something is to exert power over it, to confine it within a defined set of criteria" (p. 193), which sounds a bit like Hudson's remarks on names. (Presumably Grendel and his mother were other examples - alongside Demona - of gargoyles turned bitter and anti-human, deciding to strike back, most likely the last members of their clan - and also lake-dwellers, like the Loch Ness clan.)
Todd Jensen
posted @ Wed, Sep 6, 2023 8:20:09 pm EDT from 174.72.60.154

In response to Craig's invitation to share "How we first learned about 'Gargoyles'."

I'd heard bits about the show before its premiere in October 1994, but just in a glimpses sort of way - though enough to tell that it didn't seem like conventional Disney at all. (The biggest glimpse I got was a teaser commercial showing a thief - apparently the one from "Re-Awakening", or at least, using the same character design - fleeing from an unseen adversary.) I was curious enough to watch it when it premiered.

What immediately grabbed me was the medieval flashback - the scene of a castle being besieged by Vikings, archers on the battlements, etc., was my kind of story, and even put me in mind of the animated sequences in the PBS adaptation of David Macaulay's "Castle" (oddly, the castle in that story was called "Aberwyvern"). I had to remind myself that this was just the beginning and that the bulk of the series would be set in the present, but I still thoroughly enjoyed that part of it. I also quickly got to like the gargoyles themselves, especially after the little exchange they had with Tom about names - particularly "What do you call each other?" "Friend."

Even after the story shifted to modern-day New York, I still found it appealing, especially the gargoyles adjusting to their new surroundings. Those were some of my favorite moments in Season One - such as Goliath describing Xanatos's monitor screen as "like a living tapestry" and stating that the streets of New York were even more impressive than the Roman roads. The one misfortune I had when watching "Awakening" the first time was that I missed the last part of Part Four - just after Goliath and Demona's reunion - so I didn't find out how Demona had supposedly survived. I had to wait for the repeat to find out that part (and, of course, it turned out to be a lie).

I didn't read the comic in "Disney Adventures" introducing the clan - which was probably just as well, because it saved me from spoilers. I do remember wondering a lot about Xanatos and whether he really was the gargoyles' benefactor, the first time I saw "Awakening". I felt suspicious of him - it helped that it was clear that Elisa was going to have the role of the gargoyles' human friend, and giving them a second human friend, especially with Xanatos's resources, would make things too easy for them - but at the same time, found myself hoping in a way that he was sincere. (Probably a demonstration of Xanatos's charm. I recall, the first time I saw "Metamorphosis", even while aware that he was the main antagonist, actually believing that he hadn't known about Sevarius mutating people and mentally cheering him for trying to help Derek and refusing to cage him, saying "He's a man, not an animal" - and then, of course, we found out at the end that it was his plan all along.) I suspect that I was expecting Demona to turn out to be alive, of course; she'd had too big a role in Part One with her bitterness about how the gargoyles were being treated to be out of the story after that, and that bitterness helped prepare me for her becoming the clan's enemy.
Todd Jensen
posted @ Wed, Sep 6, 2023 10:01:59 am EDT from 174.72.60.154

Welcome, DJ! Like you, I'm a fan from day 1 (although I was ten when the show started and vividly remember my first experience of the series). And I'm also relatively new as an active participant in this comment room, although I've been an Ask Greg lurker since 1998. Sounds like you've been busy the past week reading the last several months of comments! That's true fan dedication. You're in for a treat on the Voices from the Eyrie podcasts. Some great guests on there as well, including Jonathan Frakes, Salli Richardson, Thom Adcox (who is a riot), voice director Jaime Thomason and Dynamite comics editor Nate Cosby (who are both riots), and even Ed Asner's son. Many more, including pretty much all the prominent voice cast and writer/story editors, but those were my favorites that come to mind.

Hopefully this isn't too self-indulgent, but you've inspired me to recount my earliest experiences of Gargoyles leading up to the premiere (and I would love to hear from others about how and when they discovered the show and their first impressions). I remember on September 5, 1994, I watched the premiere of the new lineup of The Disney Afternoon on VHS as I did every year on Labor Day (my family was at the beach when the shows actually aired, and I'd programmed the VCR to tape the shows, so it was The Disney Evening for me). The past couple of years, I'd maybe been outgrowing the Afternoon, or perhaps just wasn't as big a fan of Goof Troop and Bonkers going in more overtly comedic directions (straight comedy was never really Disney's strong suit, at least not since the 1930s). For me, Darkwing Duck had been the pinnacle of Disney's animated TV shows (also the rare really funny Disney cartoon), and everything after that had been kind of meh, although I still watched every day. I of course knew that 1994's new series was Aladdin, which excited me, as Aladdin was at the time my all-time favorite Disney movie (and I had liked The Return of Jafar, as well). Imagine my surprise when I started the tape and the Disney Afternoon intro was not the familiar xylophone music and giant pencil from the first four years, but a completely new and reworked VERY '90s intro. To this day, I haven't been able to find this version online (I still have it on a VHS buried somewhere in my parents' attic), but it was basically cheapo video effects of the letters "TDA" sliding into place as clips from the shows floated around in little portals (think General Zod in the Phantom Zone) against a green background. It was pretty crummy and underwhelming compared to the original intro. Anyway, in addition to the shows I already expected, there were two surprises: one was "Shnookums & Meat," whom I knew from the Marsupilami Saturday morning show that had aired the prior season. It wasn't uncommon for The Disney Afternoon to feature shows in the intro that would be premiering a year or two later (this happened with both Darkwing and Bonkers), so I figured this was simply a preview of an upcoming year. What I didn't anticipate was that, in another format shift, they would be premiering weekly shows for the first time (Shnookums & Meat came in January 1995, on Mondays). Of course, the other image I saw confused me even more: the iconic shot of Goliath from "Awakening: Part Two," stretching and roaring in the pouring rain. I had no freaking clue what this was, and my first thought was, "They're making a show about Chernabog?! How does THAT work?!" In this intro, all the little clips had the titles of the shows spinning around them in small text, so I tried to pause it and read the title. At the time, because of TV reception not being great and VHS quality also not being great, I couldn't make out the word "Gargoyles." I can't remember precisely what interpretation I came to, but whatever it was, I assumed it was the character's name. (I don't think I knew the word "gargoyle" at that point, even though I was pretty well read for my age...I hadn't come across it.) But the idea of this seemingly demon-based show was very exciting to me as an antidote to stuff like Bonkers, so I was immediately looking forward to it, and I subsequently loved seeing that shot of Chernabog-gargoyle-whoever-guy every day when I tuned in to the intro.

Anyway, flash forward to the following month, and I get the latest Disney Adventures digest issue in the mail through their subscription service (not exactly sure when this came out, but sometime in October). I've got my childhood copy next to me now as I type this. To my surprise, it had Goliath on the cover, and advertised, "Sneak Preview: Disney's New GARGOYLES!" It has a four-page comic story (written by Michael Reaves) which is essentially a teaser for the series, just sort of laying out the basics of who the main characters are. I was immediately intrigued. (Unfortunately, this comic spoiled many major plot points of "Awakening" for me, especially Demona's heel turn, which I wish I could have experienced as an actual surprise.) Also in this issue was an ad for Gargoyles (still my favorite single piece of Gargoyles art, which I now own as a framed poster) which said, "5-part special starts October 24th / Weekly episodes begin Friday, November 4th." As I said, this weekly programming strategy had not been The Disney Afternoon's M.O. for the first four years, so I was really confused and had no idea what to make of this. I saw Gargoyles listed in TV Guide for 4pm, and tuned in on the day. The 4pm time slot began with a still screen showing all the classic Disney Afternoon characters cavorting together (I always liked those drawings that showed them all together) with an announcer saying, "Bonkers will not be seen today..." and then, BAM. From that cartoony image, brightly colored on a white background, smash into black, and the word "AWAKENING" in stone slowly fading into view. And, seven weeks to the day after I first laid eyes on Goliath, my curiosity and intrigue were paid off as I sat mesmerized watching this completely un-Disney-like masterpiece unfold.
Craig
posted @ Wed, Sep 6, 2023 1:43:29 am EDT from 24.46.160.19

Greetings DJ, [SPOILER] I hadn't thought of the Hand of Valmont as one of the new Keys of Power. I theorized that the new keys would follow the same theme as the old keys, one key indicative of the Third Race, one for humans, and one representing a power connected to neither of them. The Hand of Valmont might be a good nomination for the human magics. [/SPOILER]
Matthew
Ain't nothing crazy 'bout me but my brain!
posted @ Tue, Sep 5, 2023 8:09:50 pm EDT from 64.85.245.77

Welcome to the comment room, DJ, and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the comic with us.
Todd Jensen
posted @ Tue, Sep 5, 2023 8:00:55 pm EDT from 174.72.60.154

Welcome DJ! Thanks for the intro and for sharing your thoughts!
Matt
"I have one absolute rule: No gargoyle left behind. Period." - Brooklyn, "Render Unto Caesar"
posted @ Tue, Sep 5, 2023 7:28:22 pm EDT from 47.233.90.133

Greetings, Cyber Clan! I have posted here once, back in 2021, to ask about a Gargoyles product I had as a young child, but couldn't remember the name of. I've since figured out that it was a Colorforms set. I'm back now, as I'd love to discuss the current comic with all of you, but before I do I'd like to give you some sense of who I am, and my experience with the series.

I had the pleasure of catching the original run of the series, though being six years old in 1994, I unfortunately remember very little of my first viewings, other than that I enjoyed them. I would continue to enjoy the show in reruns for years to come, but it wouldn't be until 2014 that I became familiar with this site, and through it both Greg's master plan and the existence of the SLG run.

Having new stories in the universe to ponder reignited my love of the series, and I immediately set out to source copies of the comic, only to find they were going for prices I couldn't justify spending, so I satisfied myself instead with reading through the massive Ask Greg archives.

Cutting ahead to 2020, while the prices had only gone up, I had reached a point in my life where one of my greatest pleasures was book collecting, so I was able to justify the nearly $400 it cost me to assemble the SLG trades. Needless to say, I enjoyed what I received, or I wouldn't be here now.

Since that time, I've popped in to check responses on an occasional basis, and through doing so I was kept abreast of new products, such as the board game and the NECA figures, though I somehow managed to avoid showing up between the announcement of the Dynamite run and the release of its first issue, which I ended up getting in January. Since then I have done my best to keep up with it, purchasing directly from Dynamite whenever I found my local shop was sold out, which was often the case. I blame that for the most part on my never being certain just when the new issues drop, as sources always vary. I think I've got things set up now where the shop will hold new issues for me as they come out. At any rate, I am caught up as of HiM #8 and DA #2. I've also taken time over the last week to read all of your comments here since the release of the first issue. So many wonderful, insightful posts that I feel I have little to add, but I'm going to offer up my two cents regardless.

[SPOILER] I really appreciate how detail oriented you all are, so it came as something of a shock that nobody, at least that I noticed, had pointed out a small detail about Dino's design that I though was really neat: his hair is colored like a negative image of Tony's. To me, this seems to signify his being the inverse of Tony. While Tony acts quite cool, for the most part, he comes across as less than competent. To be fair, maybe he was doing much better at running his empire before the clan became involved. Dino is anything but cool, an absolute loose cannon, though he comes across as much more capable, despite his clearly having screwed up at least once in the past to land himself in prison. I don't know, it could be a coincidence, or me reading too much into things, but it seems like the kind of choice Greg would make, and the sort of detail that you all would really appreciate. Perhaps it has been discussed on the Voices podcast, I've not listened to any of those yet, but plan to alongside a re-watch of the original show.

The other big thing I'd like to weigh in on is the ongoing speculation regarding the new Keys to Power. I am in agreement with the majority that we've been shown one already in the form of the spear in DA. I quite like the speculation that either the Stone of Destiny or the Holy Grail may be another, though I favor the Grail over the SoD for one reason: the stone itself isn't important, and the spirit within it seems capable of manifesting in any stone that pleases it, making actual posession of it arguably impossible. I'll freely admit this doesn't preclude the possibility that one or more of the historic versions of the stone having magical properties of its own, or having been vested with power as a result of housing whatever force acts through the stone. I also can't be sure of the Grail, as we don't know for certain that it doesn't ultimately work much the same as the stone. Incidentally, one of my favorite moments of the SLG run is the interaction between these two very powerful objects. Very casual for something that revealed such a big detail.

Another potential Key to Power that has been mentioned is the Hand of Valmont. I'm not as familiar with this, as I've only read through the radio play transcripts once, but I like the notion of a new Key that is part of somebody, as it parallels the Eye of Odin. So while I have little data to go off, this seems to me to be a very good suggestion.

I'll finish my spoilered thoughts with some speculation regarding the acquisition of these new Keys. The spear strikes me as something that might be among the treasures stored on Eastcheap Island. Honestly, even if all the current speculation on the nature of the new Keys is wrong, I get the feeling that it's likely at least one of them will be among the Eastcheap horde. I'd love to see more of Falstaff, so perhaps I'm just engaging in wishful thinking. Either way, I have a strong feeling that seeking these Keys may push Demona into conflict with the Illuminati, whether on Eastcheap for the spear, or at Carbonek for the Stone or Grail. [/SPOILER]

That's all from me for the moment. I hope I've brought even a small bit of enjoyment to you all, as I've gotten quite a lot out of reading your thoughts. Thank you all so much for keeping the fandom alive, I look forward to interacting with you all. I also look forward to possibly meeting some of you. I've never been to a convention before, but CONvergence is in my home state, if about 200 miles from where I live, so I'm doing my best to make plans to attend.
D.J. Dambach
posted @ Tue, Sep 5, 2023 7:01:07 pm EDT from 35.148.20.13

Speaking of Dynamite's Disney villains comics, I recently got to read #1 of "Hades".

[SPOILER] It was a lot of fun, and tapped into my fondness for classical mythology. A re-imagining of the Quest for the Golden Fleece with Hades gathering his own team of Argonauts before Jason and his band can claim the Golden Fleece (with the twist, matching the tone of the comic, that the real reason why Pelias sent Jason on that quest was to stop him and his friends from ruining his palace with their wild parties. One moment that would particularly appeal to a lot of people here, I suspect, was Hades commenting, after Arachne makes a caustic remark, that she must have gotten bitten by a radioactive mean girl. [/SPOILER]
Todd Jensen
posted @ Mon, Sep 4, 2023 9:02:33 pm EDT from 174.72.60.154

Fourth and if no delay for it, Negaduck #1 is due next week: https://www.tfaw.com/jul230154-negaduck-1-cover-a-middleton.html
Antiyonder
posted @ Mon, Sep 4, 2023 7:54:09 pm EDT from 71.84.183.196

Third!
Matt
"And, thus, given no choice, we waited..." - Narrator, "The Reach"
posted @ Mon, Sep 4, 2023 9:10:55 am EDT from 47.233.90.133

Second.

I bear the Scales, where hang in equipoise
The night and day; and when unto my lips
I put my trumpet, with its stress and noise
Fly the white clouds like tattered sails of ships;
The tree-tops lash the air with sounding whips;
Southward the clamorous sea-fowl wing their flight;
The hedges are all red with haws and hips;
The Hunter's Moon reigns empress of the night.

"September", "The Poet's Calendar", Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Note that Longfellow, like the opening flashback of "Hunter's Moon Part Three", placed the Hunter's Moon in September rather than October.
Todd Jensen
posted @ Mon, Sep 4, 2023 8:32:15 am EDT from 174.72.60.154

First!

I wouldn't have thought to cast Scrooge as Jean Valjean, if anything he seems like the greedy people they were rebelling against. Then again, he did start out with nothing and work his way up.
Jurgan - [jurgan6 at yahoo dot com]
posted @ Mon, Sep 4, 2023 2:57:08 am EDT from 69.247.67.113