Vashkoda writes...

It was nice seeing you at ComicCon, Greg! So as you know, I got issues #4&5 there, and I was happily pleased by the story. Even though I had read spoilers, it was still exciting to be "seeing" a new episode. You certainly didn't hold back on the surprises, with Brentwood's defection, Brendan's sense, Thailog and Sevarius's new scheme, and the rankings of the Illuminati. I actually got a kick out of seeing the audience's reactions to these revelations on YouTube, and I totally would have joined them in a long round of applause for such a great episode.

The only thing that saddens me about the comic is that you will be less forthcoming with revelations on Ask Greg, and that we now have to wait 2 months at a time for new material on the main series (I expect Bad Guys will have its own revelations, but mostly about its own cast). I suppose you will still be posting interesting timeline entries until you catch up to the full year, but those are often too obscure to make much sense out of ("Lexington takes a chance and loses"). I know that having the published comic is a better deal than having revelations on this forum that are nothing but unrealized possibilities, or "canon-in-training", but I will miss the excitement I used to have when visiting here, looking for new tidbits of information that once would have had the CR buzzing for weeks. Anyways, don't mind my rambling--I'm just being greedy and somewhat nostalgic. I'm looking forward to the upcoming Tibetan flashback, and the Bad Guys premiere! Hopefully the comics will stay on schedule.

Todd Jensen writes...

This isn't a question, but a comment. One thing that I liked in the two most recent issues of the "Gargoyles" comic book, and in "Eye of the Beholder", was that, when Goliath attends the Halloween parties in those stories, while the other gargoyles present, and Elisa, are wearing costumes at the events, he wasn't (or, rather, he was letting his "gargoyleness" be his costume). I thought that that was particularly appropriate, since while the younger gargoyles wearing costumes worked for me and fitted their characterizations, I think that it would have jarred to have Goliath "dress up" at those events. He has a certain natural dignity and majesty about himself that would have (in my opinion) been compromised had he worn a costume as well. Thanks (to both you and the artists) for leaving him as he was at those events.

Shadow Wing writes...

Written before release of Issue 5

ISSUE 4 - MASQUE

Once again, Greg, you have completely failed to disappoint.

Last issue, when Hudson said that he had a "previous engagement," I had a feeling that he was going to be spending Hallowe'en with Jeffrey. (Hey, it was either that or spend the party night watching Celebrity Hockey, eh?)

I'm assuming that Margot had intended for herself and Brendan to have a "couple's costume". If Brendan was supposed to be Valentino, who was Margot dressed as?

And the Clan is continuing the costume themes: the Trio (now plus Angela) with their "costume over a costume" as someone put it in "Eye" (was it Vinnie?), and Elisa with her Disney Princess motif. I think she makes a good Jas.

I like Angela's reaction to Elisa with a date. She's a "daddy's girl" through and through.

Nice little continuation from the previous issue with Thailog. A follow-up on his "Trick or treat?" line at the start of the "commercial break." Also, his preparation for the assault is another prime example of his Xanatos-like mindset - prepare for anything. And of course, with Thailog alive, it only makes sense that he'd try to reclaim the Clones.

How did Judge Roebling mistake Delilah for Demona? The coloring's all wrong, and when last he saw, she and Goliath were clearly not on pleasant terms.

Poor "G"…heart breaking… and poor Brooklyn, still ever-so-smitten.

You've commented that Alex X. looks old for his age. Am I correct in guessing that this has to do with his heritage - specifically his maternal grandmother?

I notice that, in contrast with his meeting with Agent Hacker, David looks not at all pleased to speak with mister "Two."

So, the Clones are not quite free of Thailog's programming. Makes sense, as it's been three months at the most since they were "liberated" from him.

I hope we finally get to find out what our mysterious goth girl's name is next ish (she looks like an Alex to me, but with Baby X, that might get confusing).

I kind of feel sorry for Morgan. Elisa built up his hopes on this date, and now it looks like he's being let down again.

Yay for more troubles in the G&E romance dept. I feel bad for them, but it makes for good story writing. Speaking of good writing, I hope that things don't end up all better at the end of the "episode," that would seem a little too sitcom-like to me.

"…your penchant for drama always exceeds expectations, Father." Thailog always seems to know how to push Goliath's buttons, doesn't he?

And let's hear a "Good boy, Owen!" He wouldn't be the major-domo he is, if he didn't try to keep the party going well.

And Owen raises a good point: if Delilah is to have free will, she needs the opportunity to make the decision for herself - even if the decision she makes is the "wrong" one.

OOOHH! Cliffhanger! Great place for the commercial break. Can't wait to see what happens in the final act. Will Goliath survive?!

Well, of course he will, as our leading man. But still…

And I leave you with this thought: You said that, in the comics, three issues is the equivalent of one TV episode. If you were to clump issues 3-5 together into an episode, what title would you use?

Moeen writes...

Belatedly, a few things about Gargoyles #4: Masque. I actually liked the artistry in this one, a nice change from the previous ones. Too bad Nir Paniry's name was left out. I guess what annoys me about David Hedgecock's style is that the eyebrows are too high on the face, they look about an inch above the eyes themselves. I guess that's his style, but it still bothers me a bit. David also tends to put too many lines on characters faces, sometimes making them look older than they really are. Nir Paniry doesn't do that, though in his case he tends to make things (particularly hair) a bit too shiny, and likes to draw veins popping out of some of the more buff characters. So I guess I liked Nir's style more. Wouldn't mind seeing more of his work in some of the later comics.

A couple of questions:

1) Is that Dominic Dracon towards the bottom left of page 5 with the blue-green mask on his head, or just a very good look alike? If it is DD, what's he doing out of jail?

2) Xanatos' reply to "thirty-six" this time was "two", not "thirty-two", was that a typo? If it isn't, I presume we'll find out soon enough the reason for the difference?

Thanks for your time.

Audra writes...

My review on comic #4. To put it simply, it was really great, and I am really looking forward to #5.

I wonder why Robbins thought it was weird that Hudson said he was wearing a mask. He could of very well been, I mean Robbins can't really tell if he is or not. I really wonder if Robbins has any idea who, or really what Hudson really is…

I never even gave Lexington's cyborg costume a second thought, and I read that so many fans thought of the Future Tense Lexington by that costume. I just thought Lex looked kind of cute in that panel.

Hehe, Elisa as Jasmine. She makes a pretty nice Jasmine… I do wonder if there was more thought into her costume then we realize. (Since Jasmine was the princess that really didn't want to be a princess anymore, the princess who wanted a normal life)

Poor Brooklyn… I feel so sorry for him… If I was a female gargoyle, I wouldn't miss my chance to be with him! =P He's my favorite character and I think he's attractive, hehe. I can't wait to see what his costume will be.

And poor Maggie, I hope she will be ok! There is so much to look forward in #5. And I worry about Goliath… I just can't wait for #5!

I hope you always post here in the latest response of "Ask Greg" when the new comic comes out. (The date) I believe you have for all the comics except #2. But it would help me out a lot since I depend on this site to let me know when the next comic is available. Also you seem kind of sad that no one really writes in for the "Etched in Stone" section, but I think it's because people are so used to writing in here to "Ask Greg" plus it's just easier to write online then send a letter through the mail. I don't think it's much of a problem if you can just use some of the comments posted here on "Ask Greg." (Like you have before)

Matthew writes...

Just finished reading #4 for the third time. Let's see I liked the scene at the beginning. I always liked Jeffrey Robbins and would like to see more of him. The costume party was cool. I guess Margot's a fan of old movies if she wanted Brendan to dress as Rudolf Valentino. I like the irony of her complimenting the gargoyles without realizing they were gargoyles. This was also the first I think we've ever seen her complimenting anything. You'd think that she would have recognize the gargoyles though considering all the times she has encounter them. I did not at first remember who Judge Roebling was at first since he was only in Vows.
So at the Labrynthe Thailog thrashes the Mutates. I have to wonder does Thailog have some plan for the Clones or is he just "collecting his property" as he put it?
I'd say that's quite shocker at the end. I'm not sure you could have done that in the cartoon, but like you said in an earlier post it would be how you do it. I think a slightly elevated level of violence might lend the comic a bit more gravitas than the cartoon. Though I don't want it turning into a Garth Ennis comic or anything.

Shannon 'Shan' Muir writes...

Still reserving anything overall commentwise until issue 5 comes out, but there's a question I keep coming back to and that is Elisa's costume choice as Jasmine, considering she was planning on going with Goliath initially.

Thematically, I'm sure there's some symbolism tied into that choice and I love the thoughts several have shared here.

But part of me wonders why not Esmeralda from NOTRE DAME as that was the Disney movie of Summer 1996? Or did she boycott it due to the comic portrayal of gargoyles?

I know that's probably setup to a smartass answer but I'm ok with that.

Todd Jensen writes...

I know that you're not that fond of questions involving "The Goliath Chronicles", but this is something that I thought I should mention here anyway.

One of the episodes of "The Goliath Chronicles" (it was the one involving Taurus and Proteus in New York) has gained particular notoriety among "Gargoyles" fans because the animators somehow made Elisa resemble Jasmine from "Aladdin". As a result, I found it amusing when, in #4 of the new comic, you had Elisa going to the masquerade party as Jasmine.

Given your past comments on the Goliath Chronicles and how you don't even remember them that clearly, I doubt that you deliberately intended that as an in-joke; also, it makes sense that Elisa would choose that costume because in the previous Halloween party in "Gargoyles", she'd gone as another Disney heroine (Belle from "Beauty and the Beast"). But I still thought that I should mention the additional level of meaning that I'd gotten out of her costume choice to you.

Charisma82 writes...

Hey! Here's the second half of my ramble on the 4th comic book.

Gargoyles: Clan-Building
Part Four: Masque

Part 2 Pages 13-24

Page 13: Okay, this is where I got mixed up and didn't think that Terry was Ambassador Chung's son, because when I saw her name I immediately thought of the detective Tri Chung from the previous comic book. More on that on the next page. I like how we get a big shot of the party in D.C. like we got on page 5 of Xanatos's party back at the castle. It looks a lot alike except that most of the people in this scene look old (except for Xanatos and his family) and like they're not having much fun. But it does look a lot like the other scene. It might just be me thinking that though. I like how Alex's age is brought up and how he looks older than he really is. He's also saying stuff now like "Doggie". Interesting… (not the word "Doggie", but that he can actually say the word).

Page 14: Back to the whole Chung thing. When Ambassador Chung is talking about Terry, I'm thinking of Tri, partly because I had forgotten Tri's name and the way she talks about her son, it seems like he'd be a lot older than the Terry off the first page. That's just the impression I got. And when she was talking about him trick-or-treating, I thought that maybe Tri (thinking he was Terry) had a kid or knew a kid and was taking him around. I never thought of him being the Terry at the beginning of the comic. I can't remember when I finally put it together… I think I looked up Tri's name in the 3rd comic book and realized that his name was not Terry, and then I read some reviews her at ASK GREG saying that Terry at the beginning of the comic was the Ambassador's son. I was a slow learner on that one… but I got it eventually. The rest of the page is about Illuminate stuff. A lot of people seem mystified over the Illuminate and keep wondering about what the number system means. I haven't been so big on that. I figured it was a ranking thing the first time I read it and haven't thought much of it since. Sure, I'm somewhat curious as to why the Illuminate want to meet Xanatos in D.C., but it's not really up there with some of the other story elements that are at work in the plot. At least for me anyway.

Page 15: Poor claw. That looks like it hurt. He had to know that Thailog couldn't be stopped so easily. The whole free will thing… not happening right now with the clones.

Page 16: Maybe there is some hope for the free will thing… until Maggie gets buried in rubble. Wow, Thailog was really going to shoot Maggie. There's this whole idea that he's not a wasteful guy… I guess he really has no future plans for Maggie the Cat. I had to actually look up the movie title online for Norma Rae to get what he was referencing to on this page. I read what the movie was about, so now I get it. I think.

Page 17: People say it looks bad for Maggie here, but I've seen the gargoyles get buried in about this much rubble before and survive it. Then I thought about how Maggie isn't as strong as them and is a bit on the weaker and smaller side. And she can't heal at dawn. I guess those things don't go in her favor. The whole thing about Thailog finding out about Delilah and Goliath made me laugh… but probably not maniacally. When I read this, my mind went right back to Double Jeopardy with Hudson asking Goliath, "Do you even know how to laugh maniacally?" Goliath might not (well… he was laughing kinda creepy in Enter Macbeth), but Thailog sure can. And Thailog's surprised look that Delilah and Goliath went out together is priceless. I'm glad that Claw didn't have to fight Thailog and the entire clone clan by himself. That couldn't have turned out good. It's funny… Thailog doesn't waste him…

Page 18: There's Al!!! I wondered where he'd slipped off to. Wow… Maggie looks like a zombie. And here we see Talon's weakness. He won't leave Maggie to help Goliath. If anyone wanted to take over down there, all they need to do is capture Maggie. Thailog made a bad choice in trying to get rid of her, because if she dies and he ever wants anything from the Labyrinth clan, he can't just kidnap her and demand stuff. He'll have to figure something else out. And here comes the mystery girl up to bat. She's going to the castle? She'll have a heck of a time trying to get there before Thailog does. And she doesn't have a costume… will they let her in without a costume? Now we get more of Elisa and Morgan. I feel bad for Morgan. He knows he's just the rebound guy. I wonder how this will affect their relationship at work once this is all over and done with.

Page 19: By the way… I love Morgan's outfit. I can't really explain why, I just do. It suits him. He's dressed up as a detective, which he's being for the night, trying to figure out just what is going on between everyone… especially between "G" and Elisa. I really don't like how Goliath "commands" Delilah to stay where she is. It makes me feel like he doesn't think of her much except as a clone that needs directing when she's supposed to have her own free will. I like how Morgan asks her if she's having fun yet. Neither of them looks like they're having any fun. Here's an idea… how about they ditch the broken up love birds and get together for the rest of the party. It beats being used. And now we have Goliath trying to confront Elisa… I wonder how this'll turn out… though I have an idea (since I've read the whole thing already).

Page 20: Some more sharing of feelings between the broken up couple and then a run away by Elisa. I do like that she acknowledges that it was not only a mistake, but that is was her mistake to have the double date. At least she takes responsibility… in a sense. But then I think more on it and realize that she shouldn't have to feel bad for the mistake. She just wanted a shot at a normal life, and even though it blew up in her face, she still took that chance and I have to admire her for that. Now we have Thailog's voice in the background to really make the evening brighter. It's bad enough Goliath is going through all this without his "evil twin" getting in the way and making fun of the situation.

Page 21: I like the two scenes next to each other of Goliath and Thailog. We have the angry Goliath and then the smiling Thailog. Goliath should try smiling at his enemies. It could freak them out. Then he could start laughing manically at them… maybe not. I like how Owen walks up calmly and professionally. That's Owen for you. Oh, and Thailog's entrance looks great. I love how he lands in this scene.

Page 22: And there's the army. I wonder which one is Bruno. I love Owen's reasoning and his bit about having to rebuild the castle over and over again after all the fights that take place there. I can hear his voice in my head perfectly when he says these lines. Now, Goliath looks really perturbed over Owen's choice to release Delilah. Is it really about Delilah's free choice or is it actually just about beating Thailog?

Page 23: Now why is it that Brentwood is the only one in the background here and the only one who said anything about free will earlier in the Labyrinth? Perhaps he has a bigger role to play in the next comic book. And what is with Owen's line "I'll leave you to your own devices". It sounds like he knows Thailog is about to do what he is about to do. I really like the split face of Goliath (who still looks angry) and Thailog (who is still smiling).

Page 24: WOW! Goliath stabbed! You'd think he'd have thought something was up when Thailog was saying he wanted to try something he'd been wondering about and then a knife pops out of his wrist thing. Maybe he didn't have enough time to act, but still… If Thailog was telling me (while smiling scarily) that he was wondering what would happen if he tried something, I'd be running… though I'm sure that wouldn't help much. And Goliath does look comical in the scene where he's being stabbed. He's also WAY too muscular. It looks like he took some of that stuff that Bane uses in Batman. I do think that Elisa, after seeing Goliath in this state, will rethink everything she's been thinking about their relationship. At least, I'd hope so.

So there it is. I finally finished the 4th comic book ramble. I knew I'd get it in sooner or later. I can't wait to find out what happens in the next comic book. I'm also very impatient for the 7th comic book from what I've heard of it. It sounds very interesting. And of course I can't forget that BAD GUYS is coming out. YEAH!!!

Thank you for your time and all that you do.

-Charimsa82