Todd - Thank you for the recommendation. I'll hunt a copy down for sure.
Logan
posted @ Thu, Feb 29, 2024 7:10:47 pm EST from 70.158.107.250

Thanks Todd. And yes, these are going to be dark.
Matthew
Ain't nothing crazy 'bout me but my brain!
posted @ Thu, Feb 29, 2024 5:01:22 pm EST from 64.85.245.77

MATTHEW - Thanks for the poem. Another dark one, but effectively written.
Todd Jensen
posted @ Thu, Feb 29, 2024 8:21:42 am EST from 174.72.60.154

The last day of the month so I thought I'd share the next chapter of my monthly poem, "A Year on the Streets."

February

I don’t remember a time without trash,
No stink of waste nor itchy rash,
Nor my image, a public gash,
And bottles and tin and hopes of cash.

Collecting more for my stuffed-up cart,
Avoiding judging eyes by the mart,
My welcome gone, I must depart,
But I still need something, I’m torn apart.

And so I, a sad recluse,
Ripe from filth and dirt cheap booze,
Another dumpster I must peruse,
Hoping for value in your refuse.

I hate my hoarding, my garbage décor,
It’s so degrading, a heavy chore,
Living and feeding on what people ignore,
With a voice inside that screams, “Take more!”
Matthew
Ain't nothing crazy 'bout me but my brain!
posted @ Thu, Feb 29, 2024 3:37:38 am EST from 64.85.245.77

Kate - I've already been charged for the order, but they haven't requested my shipping address yet. Like others have said, they'll probably get that information closer towards July.
Logan
posted @ Tue, Feb 27, 2024 11:02:24 pm EST from 70.158.107.250

Morrand - Thanks for the reply! I had some trouble with figuring out how to do the Kickstarter thing properly, so part of why I asked was to see if they had already been sent out somehow. Good to know I don't have to worry for a while!
Kate
posted @ Tue, Feb 27, 2024 10:51:58 pm EST from 208.102.156.56

Kate - Hard to tell. I don't see anything specific in the Kickstarter page. In the comments section there, it looks like they're hoping to get the surveys out closer to shipping (July), and from past experience with a different series of Kickstarter campaigns they'll probably want to leave the survey open for 4 weeks or so, and about 2 weeks or so for time to process everything. No guarantees, but basically I would start to worry seriously if I hadn't heard anything by about mid-May. Of course, odds are good that the surveys will be a point of discussion here--excitement, really--when they start going out.

Back to other stuff: My old comic shop finally, FINALLY, got around to mailing "Manhattan" #11, and it arrived on Friday. Naturally, I got myself super busy over the weekend and was keeping busy enough to start the week that I didn't leave time to read it. (Well, no. If I were honest enough I would say that the anticipation is thrilling, so I had incentive to wait.) This problem resolved itself in an unfortunate way: I sit here with a rolled ankle, the result of my motorcycle being hit from behind while going home from work, and my evening's plans have been scuttled. These things happen.

So, I have time, and having not peeked at the comments from a month ago, I can come to it cold.

[SPOILER]
It doesn't matter much to me that we may be outside the spoiler window. I'm still going to tag it.

Not really a spoiler, but cover "A" is charming.

Okay, so: we get underway, and we get narration from Gnash this time, which helps continue our rotation through the different clan members. And this is a very much more adult-looking Gnash than we saw in the Halloween special. (Spoiler to the spoiler: he's playing a more adult role in this one than he did there, so that figures.) We get a nice title spread, the art for which provokes a slight grouse from me in that both Brooklyn and Gnash seem to be flying sort of oddly. I'll take the rap for not understanding their postures, or maybe the perspective of the view here is jusy not clicking with me. No matter.

And, boom! Next page puts us right on a 1997-era Zoom call. Complete with a quick fake to make it look like Broadway somehow got on, using a phone that seems shockingly cutting edge for the timeframe. No; it turns out he is on another call, and one for help at that.

Confession: I have been completely unable to keep track of any of the gangsters. I don't suppose that it matters enormously at this point, other than understanding the overall threat at work here.

Nifty transition (that gets repeated throughout), and the browbeating begins for Elisa Maza. With some really nice noir lighting going on, adding what ends up looking like some nice hand swooshes on the Captain. I don't know that was intentional, but it definitely adds to her agitation in the scene.

Back with the guys. Broadway and Lexington working in sync, Brooklyn doubtful, and through it all Gnash in the corner, just watching, just listening. Just, I suppose, seeing how his father is going to handle things.

And then there is Goliath, standing at what is the emotional center of the story: an old man, in his bed, on his last night, about which not much more is needed than a full page at this point.

Back to the action plot. Brooklyn has finally decided to be decisive, and he is instantly in command. Now I've always gotten the sense that the gargoyles categorically have a bias toward action, and that shows here: everyone is all-in for rescuing those in danger. Including Gnash, happily.

Back to the precinct, and...oh, hello Matt. I didn't see you there. And speaking of which, why is he there? This has got to be more than a straight personnel action, suddenly, whether or not Captain Chavez suspected Matt as being in on things. And happily, Matt has something in mind to get all of them out of a jam. (I hope it is better than the last plan of his we saw, although I suppose that getting Goliath captured did turn out all right.)

Meanwhile, at the action: things look dire for our young lovebirds, but not to worry as there is a very heroic looking group hanging around up in the rafters. The silhouette of the four is really one of the spookier renditions of them so far and is kind of awesome.

Back at the deathbed, and a shocker. Goliath has money, and fractional control of a very large corporation. And one shoe drops. And of course, David Xanatos is right there to start getting his spurs in. Whadda villain.

And now the action starts, and the fight is on. And whoever it is who'd previously suggested Brooklyn was going to comment on that mask being out of date, congratulations, it was a good call. Meanwhile his son is just having a straight-up blast being a hero, which is great (makes me wonder what it was like back in the Timedance).

Suddenly from this point forward we have one of those terrific parallel-action setups, with the Renards saying their goodbyes along the top and the fight going on below. Up top, we see Goliath taking on a new mission, one that it'd be interesting to see played out over the longer run. Down below, we see our heroes fighting valiantly, including some commentary about bad cosplay (which is fair, and hilarious, and terrific for showing Gnash backing up his dad). And of course they succeed. And so one ending has things resolved between the trio, happily.

But not all endings can be entirely happy, and so Halcyon Renard progressively bids farewell to his loved ones. The business about Preston and Owen is a nice comic touch, and the last little scene, with Anastasia giving him his final kiss, is a very touching and fitting conclusion to his story. For now.

Overall: wow. This is a lot of story, way more than any of the past 10 issues, I think. Pulling it all together in a way that makes sense is a challenge, but the narrative shift toward the end, where we switch from telling the story in chunks to telling two stories happening simultaneously, really helps pull home how enormous the story really is.

Several new lead-outs for the story here: Goliath vs. Xanatos takes on a whole new angle, of course, and more immediately I suspect that Goliath has a whole lot to say to Elisa, although I suspect that will have to wait until the end of #12.
[/SPOILER]

So, good fun, and well worth the wait.
morrand - [morrand276 at gmail dot com]
posted @ Tue, Feb 27, 2024 10:12:57 pm EST from 99.74.15.252

When do you think they'll send out the Kickstarter surveys for shipping info and payment for the comics? I've never backed a Kickstarter before this one.
Kate
posted @ Tue, Feb 27, 2024 4:58:49 pm EST from 208.102.156.56

Sorry for the double post, but:

"The Legend of Prince Valiant" (like the comic strip it's based on) is borderline Arthurian, but (if you can find it) quite good. It came out around the same time as "Gargoyles", and even shared some of its voice cast (the late Efrem Zimbalist Jr., who played Mace Malone in "The Silver Falcon", played the part of King Arthur, and Tim Curry as Sir Gawain - Curry got to play one of the heroes for a change; I know that John Rhys-Davies was also in it). Not to mention that there's also an episode called "The Crossbow" which feels like "Deadly Force" in a medieval setting (it even includes, not just the "Don't play with weapons as if they were toys" message, but "Don't leave them carelessly lying around").
Todd Jensen
posted @ Tue, Feb 27, 2024 9:03:06 am EST from 174.72.60.154

LOGAN - I've seen a few Arthurian movies, but I'm not sure how well to recommend most of them. (It'd be a lot easier for me to recommend books on the Arthurian legend; the book on King Arthur that I'd particularly recommend for "Gargoyles" fans is the Roger Lancelyn Green retelling - fortunately, the last I checked, still in print - since it had a major influence on Greg Weisman's take on Percival/Peredur and Blanchefleur.)

While the Disney animated adaptation of "The Sword in the Stone" isn't quite on the level of the book, it's rather enjoyable - and does a good job of fixing a plothole in the original Sword in the Stone legend (the part about the young Arthur being ignorant of the Sword in the Stone's purpose, even though the whole reason why they're at London is because of it).
Todd Jensen
posted @ Tue, Feb 27, 2024 7:43:34 am EST from 174.72.60.154

Anybody feel like posting some Arthurian movie/TV recommendations? I've been rewatching the series and now I have an itch to scratch in that area.
Logan
posted @ Tue, Feb 27, 2024 2:29:26 am EST from 76.107.1.89

Agreed!

I've been trying to decide which finale I'm more excited for (DA6 or G12). Just such different things to look forward to. In Dark Ages, I'm excited to see how things are handled with the dragon. And the big draw for me in the main comic is the Commitment Ceremony. I love the culture and biology stuff.

Anyway, as long as there are no more delays, I'll survive, but all of this is clearly getting to me. I had a dream last night that I looked at my google feed in the morning and a headline read "Gargoyles spinoff coming to Disney+" Maybe one day!
Matt
"And, thus, given no choice, we waited..." - Alesand, "The Reach"
posted @ Mon, Feb 26, 2024 8:28:11 am EST from 204.184.178.1

Last week was a bit slow but here's hoping things pick up. Afterall, we've got the finale of "Dark Ages" just around the corner.
Matthew
Ain't nothing crazy 'bout me but my brain!
posted @ Mon, Feb 26, 2024 12:28:13 am EST from 64.85.245.77