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Clan-Building #7: The Rock

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Clan-Building Review

There's a pretty comprehensive review of Clan-Building here:

http://www.examiner.com/review/celebrate-twenty-years-of-gargoyles-with-slave-labor-graphics-clan-building

This guy really knows the series.


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Greg Bishansky writes...

Thank you so much for the Bad Guys timeline info. Now, if you would please share the dates and descriptions from your timeline of the events of "The Rock," "Rock & Roll," and "Rock of Ages."

I believe this will bring the GargWiki up to date with all things canon.

Greg responds...

Isn't all that stuff in the trade itself?

Response recorded on May 04, 2012

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G2008 Radio Play

G2008 Radio Play (Chapter VII)

XANATOS, COLDSTEEL & COYOTE STAND.

13. NARRATOR
NOVEMBER 2, 6:46AM EST. Scarab Corp. Coldsteel looks on, as David Xanatos installs a diamond inside Coyote 5.0.

14. COLDSTEEL
And what would that be?

15. XANATOS
It’s called the Coyote Diamond…

16. NARRATOR
Chapter Seven: The Rock.

17. XANATOS
The stone’s flawless surfaces and clarity increase the speed of--

18. COLDSTEEL
I’m sorry I asked.

19. XANATOS
My apologies. I’m sure you’re much more interested in your own situation.

20. COLDSTEEL
I was under the impression I had free will.

21. XANATOS
And you do. I promise summoning you was a one-time event. On the other hand, your unit does include a built-in tracking device… which I’m happy to deactivate…

22. COLDSTEEL
Permanently?

23. XANATOS
Permanently. All I ask in return is help on one small errand. Are we agreed?

24. COLDSTEEL
We are agreed.

25. COYOTE
Excellent.

XANATOS, COLDSTEEL & COYOTE sit. TALON, SATO, MAGGIE & ELISA STAND.

26. NARRATOR
3:52PM EST. The Labyrinth. Talon cradles Maggie the Cat, as Dr. Jay Sato examines her. Elisa Maza looks on.

27. TALON
How is she, Doc?

28. SATO
Well, her pulse is fine, and her injuries seem to be healing nicely…

29. MAGGIE
See, Derek, I said you were worried over nothing.

30. SATO
But I’m a surgeon. Treating someone in Maggie’s… “condition” is really not my area.

31. ELISA
Not anyone’s, Dr. Sato. Anyone we dare trust anyway.

32. SATO
It’s as if you’ve revealed a new world to me…

33. ELISA
Yep, you’re a medical pioneer.

34. SATO
Pioneer or not, she needs an O.B.

TALON, SATO, MAGGIE & ELISA sit. Macbeth, BROOKLYN, GOLIATH, BROADWAY, OWEN & Xanatos STAND.

35. NARRATOR
4:50PM EST. Eyrie Building. As the sun sets, Owen Burnett and Macbeth wait for Goliath to wake. NOVEMBER 2, 5:12PM EST. Inside the Great Hall, Macbeth addresses Goliath, Brooklyn, Hudson, Angela, Broadway, Bronx and Lexington.

36. MACBETH
It’s called the Stone of Destiny. For centuries the kings of Scotland were crowned upon it at Scone…

37. BROOKLYN
Magic talking stone. We’ve heard of it.

38. MACBETH
Yes, well, the English stole it. Now, after eight hundred years, it’s finally being returned. I’m asking for your help to ensure it gets to Scotland safely.

39. GOLIATH
Don’t you have… minions… for this?

40. MACBETH
We’ve parted ways. Please, Goliath. Many â€" including your landlord â€" would stop at nothing to get the Stone.

41. GOLIATH
I have been wounded twice in one week. I am healed â€" but not whole. But my second, Brooklyn, can lead Broadway, Lexington and Angela to join your quest.

42. BROADWAY
Yeah, we’re goin’ to Scotland!!

43. MACBETH
Well, England to start with--

44. BROOKLYN
I don’t know, Goliath, if you’re recovering, maybe this is the wrong time to send me overseas.

45. GOLIATH
Ah… Yes. You are needed here. Hudson may lead this expedition.

46. NARRATOR
Owen, watching the exchange by closed circuit, talks on the phone to Xanatos, who’s about to board a private plane.

47. OWEN
Yes, Macbeth, Hudson, Broadway, Angela and Lexington… Shall I attempt to stop them?

48. XANATOS
That won’t be necessary. I believe I’ve planned for this contingency.

49. NARRATOR
Back in the Great Hall, Angela whispers in Broadway’s ear.

50. BROADWAY
Uh… yeah… Manhattan’s dangerous right now. Me and Angela’ll stay too. To help Brooklyn.

51. BROOKLYN
That’s great. Thanks.

Macbeth, Brooklyn, Goliath, Broadway, Owen & Xanatos sit. SHARI STANDS.

52. NARRATOR
NOVEMBER 3, 5:29AM EST. Nightstone Unlimited. Shari and Thailog are in Dominique Destine’s office.

53. SHARI
The story is told â€" though who can say if it be true â€" of two brothers who both loved the same female. And though all strife comes to an end one way or another, some conflicts refuse to stay dead. Xanatos and Demona used science and sorcery to create a monster from fragments of all three gargoyles, their bodies and souls. But in the end, the souls were segregated into Coldstone, Coldfire and Coldsteel. It’s really a timeless love story.

SHARI sits. Macbeth, CUSTOMS OFFICIAL, LEXINGTON & HUDSON STAND.

54. NARRATOR
3:00PM GMT. London. A private jet lands. Customs Officials greet Macbeth, as workers wheel two large crates from the plane’s hold.

55. CUSTOMS OFFICIAL
Lennox Macduff?

56. MACBETH
Yes.

57. CUSTOMS OFFICIAL
Welcome to England, sir. Anything to declare?

58. MACBETH
Works of art for my home in Berkeley Square.

59. CUSTOMS OFFICIAL
Have to have a look in, sir.

60. MACBETH
Of course.

61. NARRATOR
The crates are opened, revealing Lexington and Hudson, frozen in stone. 4:30PM GMT. Macbeth waits on the roof of his Berkeley Square Townhouse for Hudson and Lexington to wake. The sun sets. 5:07PM. It’s past sunset. Hudson and Lex are STILL frozen in stone. 6:15PM. Night. No change. 7:01PM. Macbeth grows concerned. 7:45PM. Hudson and Lex finally wake.

62. LEXINGTON, HUDSON
<awakening roars>

63. LEXINGTON
Whoa, I don’t feel so hot… and look how dark it is? How long have we been asleep?

64. MACBETH
Welcome, lad, to the wonderful world of jetlag. Don’t worry. You’ve got ten days to adjust before they move the Stone.

Macbeth, CUSTOMS OFFICIAL, LEXINGTON & HUDSON sit. Shari, INTERCOM & VINNIE STAND.

65. NARRATOR
NOVEMBER 4, 5:30AM EST. Nightstone. Thailog soaks in a jacuzzi. Shari sits nearby.

66. SHARI
The story is told -- though who can say if it be true-- of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham… who fled the wrath of his brother Esau to a place he would call Bethel, where he laid his head upon a stone and had a wondrous vision!

67. NARRATOR
5:35AM EST. J.F.K.

68. INTERCOM
Flight 994, now boarding all rows…

69. VINNIE
Can you believe it? I’m goin’ to Japan!

Shari, Intercom & Vinnie sit. Goliath & Elisa STAND.

70. NARRATOR
9:48PM EST. Goliath’s Tower.

71. GOLIATH
About Halloween… I will not hold you to words spoken when you believed my life hung in the balance.

72. ELISA
Even if I want to be held?

73. GOLIATH
I know you care for me. That is not at issue. But what of the things I cannot give you… picnics… normalcy…?

74. ELISA
We can have a picnic anytime… and normalcy’s so over-rated.

75. NARRATOR
She runs her fingers through his hair. He takes her into his arms and kisses her.

Goliath & Elisa sit. Shari STANDS.

76. NARRATOR
NOVEMBER 5, 5:31AM EST. Nightstone. Thailog and Shari look out over the city.

77. SHARI
The story is told â€" though who can say if it be true â€" that Gathelus, a son of the king of Athens, won many victories for the Pharaoh of Egypt, who rewarded the prince with the hand of his beloved: Pharaoh’s own daughter, Scota. But Gathelus had also befriended Moses, the Hebrew, who warned his young friends of the plagues to befall the Kingdom of the Nile. Gathelus and Scota determined to leave Egypt, and Moses entrusted them with Jacob’s Pillow, the Hebrews’ sacred stone…

78. NARRATOR
NOVEMBER 6, 5:32AM EST. ST. DAMIEN’S CATHEDRAL. Thailog, Shari and Brentwood search for something.

79. SHARI
The story is told â€" though who can say if it be true â€" that Gathelus fled Egypt with his wife and the Stone of the Hebrews. He sought landfall on the rocky shores of Samothrace, for Scota was heavy with child and could go no farther. Still destiny blessed them with fine twin sons…

80. NARRATOR
6:00AM EST. Thailog flies Shari across the city. Brentwood follows.

81. SHARI
Gathelus and his family would wander the globe for two years before finding a home on the Iberian Peninsula in a place they named the Port of Gathelus, or Portugal. By this time the family had grown: the Athenian prince and Egyptian princess now had four healthy boys in their care not to mention one large Stone.

82. NARRATOR
NOVEMBER 7, 5:33AM EST. Thailog and Shari begin a game of chess.

83. SHARI
The story is told â€" though who can say if it be true â€" that after the death of her beloved Gathelus, Scota departed Portugal with her eight sons… only to lose five of the boys at sea… while Scota herself and another son died warrior’s deaths upon landing in Ireland. But her eldest boy, Eremon, and her youngest, Eber Finn, survived, and Eremon was crowned king upon the Stone at Tara.

Shari sits. Xanatos & FOX stand.

84. NARRATOR
2:18PM GMT. Mayfair. Xanatos takes Alexander from Fox.

85. XANATOS
Darling, if you like the shoes, buy them…

86. FOX
The black manolos in the window… do you have them in a size nine? Lovely. Wrap them up, please.

87. NARRATOR
2:45PM GMT. Fox exits the store.

88. FOX
Mission accomplished.

89. NARRATOR
7:19PM GMT. Fox admires her new shoes in the full-length mirror of her hotel room. Xanatos admires the shoebox.

90. XANATOS
Darling? Do you still need this shoebox… or might I dispose of it?

Xanatos & Fox sit. Shari & THAILOG STAND.

91. NARRATOR
NOVEMBER 8, 5:34AM EST. Nightstone. Thailog and Shari continue their chess game.

92. SHARI
The story is told â€" though who can say if it be true â€" of Moses, who led the Hebrews out of Egypt and into the desert… bringing forth water from Jacob’s Pillow to quench their--

93. THAILOG
You said Moses gave the Stone to Gathelus and Scota before leading the Hebrews out of Egypt!

94. SHARI
The story is told…

95. THAILOG
<pause> Though who can say if it be true? Right. Continue.

96. SHARI
The Hebrews passed the Stone down the centuries, until the prophet Jeremiah offered it in dowry to King Eochaid of Ireland when he wed Tamar Tea Tephi, Princess of Judah. Eochaid ensconced the Stone at Tara and dubbed it Lia Fáil.

97. NARRATOR
NOVEMBER 9, 5:36AM EST.

98. SHARI
The story is told â€" though who can say if it be true â€" of Cu Chullain, the Hero of Ulster, who championed Lugaid Red-Stripe for king. But when the Lia Fáil would not cry to confirm Lugaid, Cu Chullain was enraged, striking with Gae Bolga, the Spear of Light, and splitting the Stone of Destiny forever!

99. NARRATOR
NOVEMBER 10, 5:37AM EST. Shari captures Thailog’s white knight with her black bishop.

100. SHARI
The story is told â€" though who can say if it be true â€" of young Prince Fergus of Ireland, who carried half Cu Chullain’s handiwork to Argyll in what men now call Scotland to found a kingdom called Dalriada. Though a castle called Carbonek found him instead, bringing the Priest-King Pelles and the Archmage Merlin and their request to borrow the Stone of Destiny for a purpose of their own. A purpose fulfilled in Londontown by a sword clep’d Excalibur in a stone clep’d Lia Fáil drawn forth by a boy clep’d Arthur.

101. NARRATOR
NOVEMBER 11, 5:38AM EST. Thailog tips over one of Shari’s black rooks with his white bishop.

102. SHARI
The story is told â€" though who can say if it be true â€" of Saint Columba, he who tamed the monster of Loch Ness, before returning to the island of Iona, where Merlin and Pelles had brought the Stone once it had served their purposes. And where Columba laid down his head upon Jacob’s Pillow and breathed his last.

103. NARRATOR
NOVEMBER 12, 5:39AM EST. Shari’s Black Queen is lined up to capture Thailog’s White King.

104. SHARI
Check.

105. THAILOG
<growl>

106. SHARI
Would you prefer I lost on purpose?

107. THAILOG
I’d fire you if you did. Don’t you have a story to tell?

108. SHARI
The story is told â€" though who can say if it be true â€" of Kenneth MacAlpin, scion of Fergus, who united the Kingdoms of Scotland and was crowned High King upon the Stone at Scone. As would all the Heirs of Scota â€" for the next four hundred years.

COLDFIRE STANDS.

109. NARRATOR
NOVEMBER 12, 10:00PM GMT. David Xanatos presses a button on a remote control. NOVEMBER 13, 6:01AM GMT+8. TIBET. Inside the old cave, Coldstone and Coldfire stand over Master Dawa and Sangpo. All react to a noise.

110. COLDFIRE
I believe… I believe I can find him…

Coldfire sits.

111. NARRATOR
NOVEMBER 13, 5:40AM EST. NIGHTSTONE.

112. SHARI
The story is told â€" though who can say if it be true â€" of Edward the First of England, the Hammer of the Scots, who sicced his mighty Warwolf on his neighbors to the north and took as prize the Stone of Scone, which he installed in the Coronation Chair at Westminster Abbey, where it has crowned the kings and queens of England down to this very day…

Shari & Thailog sit. Lexington, Macbeth, Hudson, Arthur, GRIFF, AMP & COCO STAND.

113. NARRATOR
NOVEMBER 13, 5:32PM GMT. Hudson and Lex are atop Victoria Tower. Macbeth is below, in front of Westminster Abbey.

114. LEXINGTON
All clear. No sign of trouble.

115. MACBETH
Not expecting trouble tonight. They’re only moving the Stone from the Coronation Chair to the Lantern. It won’t leave the Abbey until tomorrow.

116. HUDSON
Aye, and the human security is tight as a drum. I’m nae convinced you could break in there with a battering ram.

117. MACBETH
You’d be surprised.

118. NARRATOR
11:46PM GMT.

119. LEXINGTON
<yawn> Still nothing to report. Who exactly are we expecting?

120. MACBETH
Anyone. Everyone. Just stay alert…

121. NARRATOR
Macbeth spots a shadowy figure and pursues it down into a London Underground Station…

122. MACBETH
I’m probably on a wild goose chase, lads. But in case I’m not, you’d better head this… way…

123. LEXINGTON
That could be a problem…

124. NARRATOR
Arthur Pendragon puts Excalibur to Macbeth’s throat. Meanwhile, on Victoria Tower, Hudson and Lex are surrounded by gargoyles.

125. ARTHUR
By the blade of Excalibur, what are you up to now, Macbeth?

126. MACBETH
King Arthur?! I’m here to protect the Stone of Destiny!

127. ARTHUR
Then our two quests are one and the same!

128. MACBETH
Aye…

129. ARTHUR, MACBETH (UNISON)
The gargoyles!!

130. MACBETH
They’ll be at each other’s throats!!

131. GRIFF
Hudson! Lexington! Bloody lovely to see you again!

132. LEXINGTON
You too, Griff!

133. HUDSON
Aye, lad. The badduns’ll have no chance at that Stone now!

134. NARRATOR
NOVEMBER 14, 5:28AM. Macbeth radios Lex.

135. MACBETH
It’ll soon be dawn. You and Hudson go with Griff. Arthur and I will stand vigil through the day.

Arthur & Macbeth sit.

136. NARRATOR
5:33AM GMT. Griff, Hudson, Lex and the other two gargoyles glide over London.

137. LEXINGTON
Are we headed to Soho? Goliath said you have a store there…

138. GRIFF
We do. But I thought I’d take you home instead. To our clan--

139. AMP
To Knight’s Spur!

140. COCO
You know, Griff, I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced to your Yank friends…

141. HUDSON
<Hmph> Watch who you’re callin’ a Yank, lass…

142. GRIFF
Where are my manners? Hudson, Lexington, this is Constance.

143. COCO
My friends call me Coco.

144. GRIFF
And this is Staghart.

145. AMP
My friends call me Amp!

146. COCO
Nobody calls you Amp, luv.

147. LEXINGTON
I’ll call you Amp.

148. NARRATOR
5:40AM.

149. GRIFF
Welcome to Knight’s Spur…

150. NARRATOR
7:20AM. Atop Knight’s Spur, Old Pog, Hudson, Griff, Lex, Amp, Coco and Lunette sleep as stone.

Hudson, Lexington, Griff, Amp & Coco sit. Arthur & Macbeth STAND.

151. NARRATOR
7:48AM. Macbeth and Arthur sip coffee outside a Nightstone’s café.

152. ARTHUR
…Mortally wounded in 542. So they shipped me off to some magic hill and put me to sleep for a thousand four hundred fifty-three years.

153. MACBETH
Sounds lovely.

154. ARTHUR
And you?

155. MACBETH
Deal with a demon in 1040. Officially died in 1057. Been sleepwalking for nine hundred thirty-nine years.

156. ARTHUR
<pause> Guess I got the better bargain.

157. MACBETH
Ach, I try not to dwell these days. So here’s to the immortals. There aren’t many like us…

Arthur & Macbeth sit. Shari STANDS.

158. NARRATOR
NOVEMBER 14, 5:42AM EST. NIGHTSTONE. Shari places her black knight in front of Thailog’s white knight.

159. SHARI
The story is told â€" though who can say if it be true â€" of Robert the Bruce of Scotland, who defeated the English at Bannockburn with the help of an Irish ally, Cormac MacCarthy. With the victory, came a prize: a fragment of the Fatal Stone that England had taken from Scone. This fragment, the Bruce gave to MacCarthy, whose descendents had it installed at Blarney Castle, where it is said to grant the gift of gab. I’ve kissed it myself a time or two…

Shari sits. Hudson, Macbeth & Arthur STAND.

160. NARRATOR
NOVEMBER 14, 6:32PM GMT. Knight’s Spur. Hudson, Macbeth and Arthur confer in a book-lined study.

161. HUDSON
Lex, Griff, Constance and Staghart sent you home to rest then…

162. MACBETH
Aye, Hudson. We’ll catch a few hours sleep then head back out. But you…?

163. HUDSON
I had some questions for the Pendragon. Weren’t you on a quest to find your wizard?

164. ARTHUR
Indeed. And Sir Griff and I searched for Merlin in all the obvious places. But to no gain. So I’ve been “doing research” on Merlin… and on myself.

165. NARRATOR
Hudson examines a copy of Le Morte D’Arthur by Thomas Malory.

166. HUDSON
So many books… are any of them true?

167. ARTHUR
All things are true… few things are accurate.

168. MACBETH
Aye. No bloody kidding.

169. NARRATOR
Hudson contemplates this.

Hudson, Macbeth & Arthur sit.

Tomorrow, Chapter VIII...


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G2008 Radio Play

G2008 Radio Play

No, that's not a misprint. Before I post the G2009 Gargoyles/Spectacular Spider-Man crossover radio play, I'm going to post (over the next few days) the G2008 Radio Play. This was a CHRONOLOGICAL adaptation of issues 7-9 of the Gargoyles comic, i.e. the Stone of Destiny three-parter which makes up the first half of the recently released trade paperback, GARGOYLES: CLAN-BUILDING, VOLUME II. Now that the trade is out, I'm okay with posting this. But there are some caveats...

1. Reading this does NOT replace buying the trade. Because...

2. This version of the story doesn't really work, dramatically or otherwise. The story wasn't designed to be told chronologically. It gets somewhat tiresome told in chronological order and the final dramatic moment with the Stone talking to Macbeth, Xanatos, Arthur and Peredur across four time periods has none of it's power.

Nevertheless, here it is... or at any rate, here is the title page, cast list and teaser. I'll post the three chapters over the next three days...

GARGOYLES

CLAN-BUILDING
Chapter VII: THE ROCK
Chapter VIII: ROCK & ROLL
Chapter IX: ROCK OF AGES

(Radio Play Edition)

A Chronological Adaptation
by
Greg Weisman
(from his SLG comic book scripts)

For
The Twelfth Annual
Gathering of the Gargoyles
in
Chicago, Illinois

Performed June 28, 2008.

GARGOYLES
“CLAN-BUILDING:
CHAPTER VII: THE ROCK
CHAPTER VIII: ROCK & ROLL
CHAPTER IX: ROCK OF AGES”
(Radio Play Edition)
CAST LIST
1. NARRATOR 86 lines.
2. MACBETH 34 lines.
3. SHARI 22 lines.
4. COLDSTEEL 22 lines.
5. LEXINGTON 21 lines.
6. STONE OF DESTINY 15 lines.
7. HUDSON 13 lines.
8. DAVID XANATOS 13 lines.
9. ARTHUR PENDRAGON 13 lines.
10. CONSTANCE/COCO 12 lines.
11. STAGHART/AMP 9 lines.
12. GRIFF 9 lines.
13. THAILOG 8 lines.
14. COLDSTONE 6 lines.
15. COLDFIRE 5 lines.
16. GOLIATH 5 lines.
17. COYOTE 5.0 5 lines.
18. PEREDUR 4 lines.
19. COLDSTREAM GUARD 4 lines.
20. ELISA MAZA 4 lines.
21. JAY SATO 4 lines.
22. BLANCHEFLEUR 3 lines.
23. CUSTOMS OFFICIAL 3 lines.
24. BROOKLYN 3 lines.
25. DUVAL 2 lines.
26. FOX 2 lines.
27. BROADWAY 2 lines.
28. HOLY GRAIL 1 line.
29. LUNETTE 1 line.
30. VINNIE 1 line.
31. AIRPORT INTERCOM 1 line.
32. OWEN BURNETT 1 line.
33. MAGGIE THE CAT 1 line.
34. TALON 1 line.
35. SCOTTISH PATRIOT 1 line.

GARGOYLES
“CLAN-BUILDING:
CHAPTER VII: THE ROCK
CHAPTER VIII: ROCK & ROLL
CHAPTER IX: ROCK OF AGES”

ARTHUR, MACBETH, PATRIOT & STONE STAND.

1. NARRATOR
Gargoyles. Clan-Building. SEPTEMBER 29, 500. London.

2. ARTHUR
And as High King, I, Arthur Pendragon, swear by the Stone of Destiny to protect Britain and to serve her people all my days…

3. NARRATOR
SEPTEMBER 29, 1040. Scone.

4. MACBETH
And as High King, I swear by the Stone of Destiny to protect Scotland and to serve her people all my days…

5. NARRATOR
DECEMBER 25, 1950. Westminster Abbey.

6. MACBETH
All right, lads. Now or--

7. PATRIOT
SCOTLAND FOREVER!

8. MACBETH
<SHHHHH!>

9. NARRATOR
APRIL 11, 1951, 1:06AM GMT. ARBROATH ABBEY. Macbeth has just finished repairing the Stone of Destiny with epoxy. There’s a visible crack, but it’s in one piece.

10. MACBETH
There. Good as new. You can barely see the--

11. NARRATOR
The stone glows blue. The crack vanishes.

12. STONE
Thank you, Macbeth mac Findlaech, but the effort was pointless…

ARTHUR, MACBETH, PATRIOT & STONE sit.


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Mara writes...

Not a question so much as comments- REALLY enjoying the hopping in time for issue seven and eight as well as the art gets better and better each issue. (Hedgecock's pencils are strong and improve as he's getting more familiar with the characters and Bevard's colors are beautifully crisp and more in touch with the style the show was done in.)

So, yeah. Keep on keeping on.

Greg responds...

Thanks, Mara.

Response recorded on June 03, 2008

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Charisma82 writes...

Wow, I feel like I am really slacking off by finally posting my 2nd half of Gargoyles #7 review after so long, but at least I finally got it done. I figured I ought to get it done and over with before I get issue #8 (which I have purchased online and should be getting in the near future). So here's the long awaited (well, by me anyways) 2nd half of #7 review.

Gargoyles: Clan-Building
Part 7: The Rock

Part 2 Pages 13-24

Page 13: Goliath finally gets it that not only is Broadway and Angela now a couple, but Brooklyn is feeling down in the dumps because of it. At least the big guy is understanding and tries to help him out by letting him stay in Manhattan, but to no avail. Broadway & Angela decide to stay as well, which kinda bothers me in a way. Goliath tells them to go on this mission, and then they up and tell him they're going to stay behind anyway. It bothers me that Goliath lets this slide, after he's given them a direct order. But I guess he's got other things on his mind, such as recovering still and the whole Elisa/Goliath relationship thing.

Page 14: I LOVE the last scene on this page with Macbeth in 1950. I love the lines, "Scotland Forever!" "SHHHH!" Besides this funny scene, we get to see Lex, Hudson, and Macbeth during a stakeout, but not much is happening for them yet.

Page 15: Another page dedicated to the story of Gathelus and his growing family. The artwork is still incredible. The picture on Thailog and Shari… it was very creepy and cool at the same time. Even before getting online to read people's responses to the picture, I immediately though of the picture looking like Goliath and Elisa, only Shari and Thailog's picture seems much darker. Props on such a great idea to reflect the 2 couples on each other.

Page 16: To answer Hudson's question, "Who exactly are we expecting?" Just about anybody… but especially Xanatos. Again, we get to see Xanatos working with the Coyote Diamond. He's making a deal with someone, and it is pretty easy to guess who when your eye slips to the page next to it. I liked how you had the Scarab Corporation logo in one of Xanatos' backgound shots.

Page 17: Xanatos gets the new and improved Coyote robot working again with the help of the Coyote Diamond and then we get a big shot of Coldsteel and the new robot, ready to do as Xanatos' commands. This should be interesting.

Page 18: Shari tells the story of the Coldstone trio. It was a nice touch to help those who did not watch the TV series understand what went on between the three gargoyle souls. Thailog looks really intense as he looks at his computer screen.

Page 19: A Goliath & Elisa moment. I really like how the scene is set up to look just like the scene from issue #5. Great idea on that.

Page 20: And here we get one of the big revealers: Maggie is officially pregnant. I had to explain this scene to my sister, because she didn't get it at first. Then we see Elisa throwing away normalcy to be with Goliath, after he was graciously trying to let her off the hook. I like how you put the Maggie/Talon scene right above this scene. Elisa sees that Maggie & Talon, who are definitely not normal, are happy together. I think it gave her an extra boost of confidence to go on without normalcy in her life. Besides, her life was never going to be normal anyways. She might as well be with the guy she loves.

Page 21: The close of the story for Gathelus. Shari and Thailog are playing chess. I just realized how this scene reflects on Fox & Xanatos. It's funny, Shari and Thailog might look like a dark version of Goliath and Elisa, but their intellect and trickery is much more like the Xanatos couple. All of these couples being compared to each other… wow, there are a lot of strong couples in this series.

Page 22: Macbeth checking out a mysterious shadow lead. I never noticed King Arthur's shadow at the middle of the page until just now. Huh. And of course, Macbeth can't go anywhere without his famous "lightning" gun.

Page 23: Macbeth is caught off guard by, no other than, King Arthur! The last panel on this page is my 2nd favorite one in the entire comic. My first thought was… "Oh no… Arthur doesn't know that Macbeth is one of the good guys!" I guess I totally blanked out the end of the episode "Pendragon". Then I remembered that they had left on good terms the last time they'd seen each other. So, as many are, and will wonder until #8 is read, why is Arthur being so hostile towards Macbeth?

Page 24: So, this was my favorite scene in the entire comic. New gargoyles! And they look so cool! I love their designs, and I can't wait to learn more about them in the next comic. I didn't notice Griff at the bottom of the page until my 2nd or 3rd read through. Yeah Griff! He's one of my favorites in the Gargoyles universe, and I can't wait to hear more about him in future comics.

There it is. I finally got it done. Hopefully I'll be doing one of these for #8 very soon. I have to mention that this comic was so good, that my sister even came in and started talking to me and asking questions about it, which she doesn't usually do. It has to be a really great comic if it got my sister talking to me about it. Thanks for the great job!

Thank you for your time and all that you do.

-Charisma82

Greg responds...

And thank you!

Response recorded on April 21, 2008

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Sabina writes...

Ha, I finally got Gargoyles #7. Took long enough, atleast it brought the TPB with it. :)

The new stories are quite interesting and it's nice to see how everything is set up and interwoven.
I hope the comic will be around for a long time.

Goliath looks rather seductive on the TPB's back.

Greetings,
Sabina

Greg responds...

That's a Hedgecock Goliath on the back, I believe. (Going from memory here. Don't have the book in front of me.)

Response recorded on February 07, 2008

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Woods writes...

In the Rock Hudson and Lexington wake up at 7:45 this is accounted to jet lag but in New York it would only be 2:45pm, so wouldn't have made more sense for Hudson and Lex to wake at elevenish in London

Greg responds...

Even after less than one night, they are already starting to adjust to the new timezone. That's how attuned to the biorhythms of the planet the ancient race of gargoyles are.

Response recorded on February 05, 2008

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Charisma82 writes...

Hey! Okay, first off, WOW! I loved The Rock! I had been excited about this comic ever since the teaser on Garg Wiki was put up about the synopsis of the story. I couldn't wait to see how you would incorporate all those characters into this issue. I was very pleased to see how you did it. It all fit great! And another biggie that lets me know that this issue was fantastic is that my sister (likes to read the comics, but really isn't into the whole Gargoyles obsession I'm into) was actually psyched after reading it and came in and talked to me about some parts of the story. All right, enough on that, now it's time to get to my page by page report on issue # 7, The Rock.

Gargoyles: Clan-Building
Part 7: The Rock

Part 1 Pages 1-12

Cover: Before I get to the pages, I have to comment on the cover. I've never commented on the cover before on the other issues because most of them never really tied in with what was really going on in the comic, but this one did. When I first looked at this comic's cover I paused a moment in thought. Why would Greg have the gargoyles asleep at night when that was already done before in the TV series? Then I thought that maybe the rock that was supposed to be in this issue was magical in some way that made gargoyles turn to stone at night. Then I noticed Big Ben in the background. It didn't click right away about the jet lag thing, so I still pondered over this when I started to read the comic. I completely forgot about the cover until the end of the comic when I remembered it and then put 2 and 2 together about them being in a different time zone. Well, better late than never I suppose.

Page 1: It starts out well enough. We see Macbeth hanging out, waiting for Goliath to wake up with Owen (who no doubt escorted Macbeth up to the tower). We get a close up on both Macbeth and Goliath. The only thing that really stood out to me on this page was the caption that read "November 2, 4:50PM EST." When I saw that I thought, "Great… we're going to have to do some thinking in this issue if Greg's going to be putting up times and dates."

Page 2: My next thought was, "Even better… the dates and times are out of order!" The first couple of pages with the different dates and times were interesting. I found it to be more fun the second time I went through the comic because then I could flip through and read the scenes in the order they really went in time wise. It was a fun little twist you stuck in there. This second page felt more of a "Next time on Gargoyles…" page. We see that a bomb is involved at some future point as well as Lexington naming something "Amp". I didn't know about the in-joke there until I read about it online. I'd forgotten that Amp was a name that was going to be used for the TV show. I like the picture of Xanatos here. He looks cool with the Coyote Diamond. I was really glad to see the Coyote Diamond. You and Xanatos have a knack for not wasting things.

Page 3: I really liked how these stories that happened a long time ago were incorporated into this comic. I love the art style to it. I already knew about the story of Jacob, but I didn't know how you were going to connect it in with the Gargoyles Universe. Thailog looks like he's enjoying his bath time.

Page 4: Macbeth asks the gargoyles for a favor. Goliath looks like he's asked a very annoying question, Broadway looks scary, Angela looks really angry, Lex looks bored, Brooklyn looks normal, and Hudson looks sad. But Bronx seems happy enough. Besides their weird looks, which really had nothing to do with anything else in the comic, we get to see Macbeth being crowned king from back in 1040. I'm glad you had the coronation held outdoors in the comic book and explained why you did that on Ask Greg. I hadn't known that the TV series had messed up and that it wasn't supposed to be in a castle. I'm glad you got the chance to set things straight.

Page 5: The first time I read this page, I read it so quickly that I thought it was Macbeth asking Goliath if he had minions. I found that odd, and re-read the page to find out that I had gotten their lines mixed up. The thought of Goliath having minions… huh…

Page 6: We jump ahead to see that Macbeth is boarding a plane with some extra cargo. I find it funny that people don't ask Macbeth if his parents really liked Shakespeare and named him after some of his characters, since his cover name is Lennox Macduff. He's got to be teased by some people about it.

Page 7: We go back to see that Owen is reporting to Xanatos about the gargoyles' new travel plans, yet Xanatos is still a couple steps ahead of the game… or he's lying about being prepared because he was too occupied with Fox and her decision to buy new shoes. I'm going with the first idea though. Speaking of shoes, we get to see Fox, Xanatos, and Alex in London, where she is thinking about buying new shoes.

Page 8: Another story done in cool art. I hadn't heard about this story before. I found it interesting how you connected the Gathelus story with that of Moses and Jacob's.

Page 9: It's Claw! And Al! Yet, neither of them says anything. I wasn't even thinking of Maggie being pregnant when I read this page. One thing that threw me were the clones in the background turned to stone. I thought that it was the Manhattan clan. I was trying to figure out why all of them would've gone with Elisa down into the Labyrinth. I finally figured out that it wasn't them, though. It was also cool to see Dr. Sato.

Page 10: A funny page. I wish you had put in the bathroom break. And you want to know the sad part? It didn't even dawn on me about this relating to the front cover. I must've really been into the comic.

Page 11: By this time, I'd kinda figured that Lex and Hudson were the only Manhattan gargoyles with Macbeth, unless the others were secretly being hidden for some twisting story plot… but I have my doubts on that. And you got to love jet lag.

Page 12: Once again, great drawing style for more of the story told by Shari. We see Thailog and Brentwood doing some digging. I wondered if they were looking for the crystal that Demona found in the demolished building, but I'm not so sure. I don't know how that crystal would tie into this story line, plus there's the fact that Demona has it, and I don't think Thailog is the kinda guy to let someone beat him to his prize. And I'm wondering right now, where you came up with Shari's name. Is she named after a person you know/knew, or was it a random name choice?

That's the first half. Hopefully I'll get to the 2nd half sooner than later.

Thank you for your time and all that you do.

-Charisma82

Greg responds...

You too.

Response recorded on January 31, 2008

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Phil writes...

I didn't get this in before the last cutoff, but here's my ramble/review/response to "The Rock". Many people already commented on it, so I'm going to delve into something that hasn't been gone into in-depth: the non-linear structure. (I posted this a couple of weeks ago in the comment room, but here it is at "Ask Greg", too.)

When I first read the story, I didn't get the point of not telling it chronologically. I enjoyed the issue and thought it might be the best one yet, but the structure was distracting and kept me from fully getting into it. However, having faith in your skills, I analyzed the issue and have come to the conclusion that you're a creative genius. Basically, the story is told in order, not chronologically, but logically, revealing to the readers what they need to know as they need to know it, and not before.

****SPOILERS****

The first few pages serve two purposes: 1) to warn us right up front about the structure of the story, and 2) to hook us like a barbed fishing hook. By the end of page two we can't put the book down even if we wanted to. But by the end of page three, I was starting to wonder how this all fits together. What does Jacob's stone have to do with anything? Macbeth answers on the next page. "It's called the Stone of Destiny."

Page four begins the meat of the story. Macbeth asks the gargoyles to help protect the Stone. There's a one-panel flashback to illustrate his connection to the Stone. Everything progresses chronologically for a few pages until...

There break in the story for travel time, so page seven introduces the villain of the story. Xanatos is aware of what's going on, but he's unconcerned. We see that he's in London with his family. And speaking of family...

Gathelus and Scota are introduced and the backstory of the Stone progresses. By the end of the page, Scota is obviously pregnant. And speaking of pregnant...

Page nine advances some (not just one, but several) subplots from previous stories. Dr. Sato's presence emphasizes that the mutates are creatures of biology, and not magic. And speaking of biology...

The main story continues. We're reminded that gargoyles are biological creatures; they suffer from jetlag. Macbeth says there are ten days until the Stone is moved, which prompts a flashback to Gathelus and Scota moving the Stone. Then ten days later, Hudson and Lex are on the job.

By this time we're wondering, where are the others? Page thirteen gives us an answer while advancing another subplot and setting up future Clan-Building.

Back to the main story again on page fourteen. Although everything looks secure, Macbeth's not so confident, and we see another one-panel flashback to illustrate why and to reinforce his connection to the Stone.

There's another break in the action of the main story, so it's a good time for Shari to take up another page and provide more backstory. But after that we're back to London. Hudson asks, "Who exactly are we expecting?" And the answer is given.

The villain part of the story is filled in with Xanatos, Coyote, and Coldsteel. At this point, some newbies might ask, who is this "Coldsteel"? Shari is right there to answer on the next page and at the same time set up some more future Clan-Building. "It's really a timeless love story..."

Which leads right into Goliath and Elisa. They've got a beautiful scene, and since Goliath doesn't vocalize everything that's in his heart we're treated to a flashback of a happily expectant couple to say what he left unsaid. He and Elisa give in to true love, but...

Sometimes true love ends in tragedy. Gathelus dies, and Scota's life crumbles. Her sons carry on.

That almost wraps up the story. The only thing left is to return to Macbeth and the main plot to set up the cliffhanger that will bring us all back in two months. Make that "cliffhangers, plural," since Macbeth and Arthur would have been cliffhanger enough. But you double the suspense by bringing in the London Clan, too. Plus there are the teases back on page two that leave us anticipating more.

****END SPOILERS****

The non-linear structure is fascinating to me. Although everything seems to jump around randomly, each panel and page logically connects to the ones around it in thought or theme, if not chronology. That's not to say I'd want every issue to be like this; it takes a lot of thought and study to understand it all. But as an experimental or occasional format, there's a lot to like.

And before I close, a few words about Shari. Somehow I think that if you had worked on season three back in 1996, Shari would not exist as we know her. But with a ten-year gap there's a lot of backstory to exposit, and I have seen too many times when characters awkwardly discuss things they already know just to inform the reader or viewer. So introducing a storyteller like Shari and connecting her to Thailog (who was in a surprisingly few episodes) is such an elegant solution to that problem. And of course you don't just abandon her in her expository role; there's a lot more to her than that.

Anyway, there's my ramble, better late than never.

Greg responds...

Hey Phil, you can call me a "creative genius" anytime you want!!

"That's not to say I'd want every issue to be like this; it takes a lot of thought and study to understand it all. But as an experimental or occasional format, there's a lot to like."

That's not to say I'd want every issue to be like this; it takes a lot of thought and study to WRITE it all.

Anyway, I love your analysis, because among other things... YOU GOT IT! All that thought, study, time, hair-pulling and packages of index cards feel worth it now.

Response recorded on January 25, 2008

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Rachel N. writes...

Season's Greetings, Greg!

I'd just like to share some comments on Gargoyles #7 "The Rock". Another great chapter in the "Clan-Building" series...though I have to say following this particular storyline as it bounced around to different dates and times was a bit confusing at first, but I also think it was effective overall. Great to have Macbeth back in the series, and I liked the origin tale of the Stone of Destiny (incorporating Old Testament Biblical figures Jacob and Moses) - very cool!

Two major plot points that stood out in a great way:
- Dr. Sato examining a pregnant Maggie. I certainly didn't see Maggie's pregnancy coming, but I think it's wonderful! Derek/Talon will be a father, Peter and Diane Maza will be grandparents, and Elisa will be an aunt. Gotta love that! :-)
- Elisa and Goliath getting back together (I loved the dialogue between them in those scenes), and I always love seeing them smooch...it's a beautiful sight!

Also, it'll be interesting to see what develops with the "team-up" of Xanatos, the Coyote robot (now with the Coyote Diamond inside him), and Coldsteel. And I gotta say I really like the design of the two "new" UK clan gargoyles (the female boar gargoyle and the male white stag gargoyle) Can't wait to find out more about them!

Many thanks to all who work on these Gargoyle comics - I love them! Bring on #8! :-)

Greg responds...

Thanks. I'll pass on the kind words to the rest of the team!

Response recorded on January 23, 2008

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The One Known As Mochi writes...

So... Last week, I finally managed to pick up #6 (the corrected version), #7 and Bad Guys #1. I knowingly overdrew my checking account getting these issues (don't worry, I won't do that again...$30 overdraft charges aren't always fun to deal with...) and I was eager to catch up with everyone else. I'll briefly share my thoughts on these issues.

Gargoyles #6
I almost laughed when Goliath, Elisa, Bronx and Angela ended up in a huge pot of...whatever was boiling in there... Bronx looks good in a sherpa (it is a sherpa, right?). It seems Avalon has sent them to find Coldstone and reunite the clan. They end up waking up upon a lake and whether or not they were successful has yet to be known. Coldsteel working for Xanatos... That's surprise for me. It made me wonder what Coldsteel had been doing since he disappeared after being seperated from Coldstone's body.

Gargoyles #7
Now I see why all those dates and times were withheld. Lots of skipping around in terms of time. Made for interesting reading I have to admit. I'm wondering if issue #8 will reveal what happened on the morning of November 15... Fox is shopping for shoes...and curiosity as to why is killing me a little. Shari is quite a story teller. Perhaps her knowledge is why she ranks high in the Illuminati? I'm wondering what Xanatos has planned, especially since the Stone of Destiny might be involved... The page with Macbeth waiting for Lexington and Hudson to wake up was funny. I know jetlag is not a fun thing to experience... I noticed Angela whispers something to Broadway... Perhaps it's alluding to something that will be revealed later? Wow...Macbeth tried to steal the stone back in 1950. Very interesting... Another Coyote and Coldsteel...helping Xanatos... Definitely lots of foreshadowing present in this issue. "...and normalcy is over-rated." So true... So very true... It's good to see Goliath and Elisa patching up things. Maggie is pregnant! Yay! Is she getting a baby shower? King Arthur! Good to see him make an appearance, although having him hold a sword to Macbeth's neck has me wanting to read #8 to see what happens. The London Clan makes an appearance too. Again, can't wait for #8 to be released...

Bad Guys #1
After reading through it the first time, I found myself having mixed reactions from the content (it's not that bad though). I liked seeing Matrix with a boombox. It seemed very apropos for him. Hmm...I'm curious as to who attacked the group... The Tazmanian Tiger was something I wasn't expecting. I'll admit, it's something new, but it didn't distract me too much. In a way, he looked like Batman in a tiger suit...at least that's what first came to mind when I first read through it. I'm glad there was a panel that shows where Dingo was being "inserted." Otherwise, I would've had to imagine where...and it would be very, VERY awry just to think about that... I liked Dingo's reaction to it though. The song lyrics... I'm wondering if that's alluding to some foreshadowing... Perhaps I'm reading too much into it? I won't know until the next issue... Nicely written lyrics, by the way... So far, I think it's off to a good start and I hope it gets better from here.

I guess I should mention now that I'll soon be a proud owner of the Season 1 DVD box set! I haven't ordered it just yet, but I will be after Christmas. In two weeks, Season 2 Volume 1... I can't wait!

Greg responds...

Cool.

Response recorded on January 23, 2008

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The Tigress writes...

My review for issue #7.

I won't cover every little thing since I don't have the time, but I will address the things that stuck out at me the most.

I was able to pick up issue 7 from a comic shop in Seattle and I have to say, what a fantastic issue! So far I think this is my favorite, with issue 5 being a close second. I've been a huge Gargoyles fan since the 6th grade and I'm so happy that the series is being continued in a new format with all new canon.

-I'm really thrilled to find out that Dr. Sato is indeed someone to trust and has allied with the Gargoyles and mutates. You also did a really good job showing the readers that although he's more than willing to help them, but also that finding out about the Gargoyles and the mutates has been very taxing on him mentally.

-Finding out that Maggie is pregnant is very interesting and I look forward to see how this develops. (no pun intended) It's funny because I was actually very curious if Talon and Maggie were able to produce offspring/or were going to have offspring in the future. (Searched the archives one time and didn't find much info on that)

-When Goliath mentiones that he is "healed but not whole", I'm assuming that he means mentally he is not quite healed yet but that his physical injuries are fully healed by now. Since I'm on the topic of Goliath, I absolutely loved the Goliath/Elisa scene at the end of the comic. That almost gave me tears of joy to see. I also noticed how you wonderfully had the beginning set up to parallel the scene from issue 3 where Goliath and Elisa are sitting very far away from each other on each side of the castle balcony. I liked that. It actually made me nervous about the conversation, but then once I read through, I got this very good feeling of joy being able to see that Elisa indeed re-affirmed her change of heart and the end of issue 5. I've been pro "Goliath/Elisa" since I started watching the series in middle school. Props to Hedgecock for bringing out the great emotion and facial expressions of Goliath in those last panels.

-Loved the designs of the new London clan gargoyles we saw towards the end. I especially give you props for having a female gargoyle who isn't the stereotypical "elegant and beautiful" type. Not that I think the other females have that problem, in fact I always have been happy that most of the female gargoyles have a bit of musculature to their bodies and that they are just as capable of being great warriors as the males. This new female boar gargoyle expands even further on this.

-The art is quite decent in this issue for the most part. Hedgecock has improved quite a bit since issue 3 in terms of being on model, although there are still a few errors here and there. Most noteably is that he sometimes makes subjects heads too large for their bodies. I think someone else might have pointed this out before but I'm not sure. The coloring looked fantastic. I really love what Bobby Bevard brings to the table.

-It was also very nice to see Hudson and Lexington in a main role so to speak. The jetlag issue was briliant, and it perfectly explains what was going on in the cover of this issue. Pretty good trick there. :P

-Macbeth is becoming more and more interesting as the series goes on. It's good to see him on the side of the good guys now. I look forward to seeing what happens between him and King Aurthur in the next issue.

I know there's many more elements in this issue I could cover, but I am running out of time, however I'd like to say that I really hope Gargoyles stays alive for a long time to come, whether it be through comics/dvds/anything else. I purchased season 1 and season 2 volume 1 dvds, and all of the comics including Bad Guys 1 up to this point to help support Gargoyles. Sad about Season 2 volume 2 but I am not giving up hope on it, and will buy it first thing if they ever decide to release it.

Keep up the great work!

Greg responds...

The Goliath/Elisa scene actually REVERSED the scene from issue #3, panel by panel, pretty much. Glad you liked it.

I think Goliath is still tired, as I think I mentioned before.

Response recorded on January 22, 2008

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Vaevictis Asmadi writes...

#7
I finally found a comic shop semi-near my apartment and figured out how to get there by bus. It's kinda creepy standing alone at a totally unfamiliar intersection after dark, but I got my comic the day it came out. And the store only had 2 left when I got there, that same day.

~~~~~~~~~~SPOILERS~~~~~~~~~~~
So yes, this is pretty hard to follow, it's hard to review the story when we don't have #8 and #9, but all that Withheld stuff will be useful now. Even though... we have the times right there in the comic. Here's my initial thoughts:

*I am happy to see Macbeth, and being friendly with the clan. He's my favorite 'antagonist' in the series. "Don't you have minions for this?" is a great line.

*Goliath has healed very nicely, there's not even a mark.

*Brooklyn wants to stay in NY to get a break from seeing Broadway and Angela holding hands and being all "OMG WE'RE IN LOVE!!" when they wake up in the evening. Then they decide to stay too. Poor Brooklyn. And I wonder what Angela whispered. I wouldn't feel sorry for Brooklyn because he is being jealous, except he still feels like there are no more females of his species left. Does he not realize there is a whole clan in England? I would have expected him to want to meet them, especially after he asked Goliath "When do we get our World Tour?"

*Jetlag and gargoyles, interesting. It is a nice way of demonstrating (like Broadway underground in the animated series) that gargoyles have a biological clock, that they don't just react to sunlight. And there's Macbeth, drinking lots of coffee to keep himself awake, and looking bored. He should have brought a book. I was wrong about thinking Lex was cold when he woke up, thanks for clearing that up. I'm not surprised they feel lousy.

*Hey look, its the little green guy from Demona's clan. I liked that character design. And there's Gruoch and Demona, too. But no Lulach.

*Maggie is pregnant! I guessed it from the way Dr. Sato says "condition" and the way she and Derek are looking at each other. I'm surprised it happened so soon. Are they going to get married then? Or at least have a ceremony, since the legal benefits won't be useful in the Labyrinth. It is nice to see Dr. Sato becoming an ally of both NY clans. I wonder how Maggie will explain all this to her folks in Ohio, though, because we haven't seen her contact them yet. And I'm eager to learn what their offspring will look like. Human, mutant, half-human and half-mutant... it could be anything.

*The conversation between Goliath and Elisa is interesting. The same panels and poses from #3 are deliberately repeated, the contrast is good. And I like her conclusion. "Normalcy is so overrated." She's thinking about Derek and how he seems to be gaining happiness in spite of not having a normal life. And she touches his hair, so he kisses her. :)

*Shari's watching Thailog take a bath!? Also, he has a surprisingly modern-looking computer for 1996, but what with all the cyborgs and super-robots and nanobots running around the Gargverse, I guess Thailog's rich enough to afford something "futuristic."

*I do wonder if the stories told of the Stone are true or not. Probably they are, but how did a handful of Greeks and Egyptians conquer all of Ireland? If that Stone is a Child of Oberon (as you once suggested it might be), it seems to be very patient with sitting around for long boring stretches of time being a rock. Then again, I don't think you intend it to be a Child of Oberon anymore, since it isn't at the Gathering.

*I wonder what are Thailog and Brentwood looking for, and where are they? Maybe we'll find out in #8.

*The new Coyote robot is one of the uglier ones in my opinion, though not as ugly as 4.0. Generally I think the one in Cloud Fathers (5.0?) was the sleekest-looking. That's not a critique of the penciller or the character design, but a critique of whoever (Xanatos?) designed the robot itself.

*I'm not surprised to see King Arthur, but I am surprised to see him do ~that~. Guess he and Macbeth have some more issues to work out yet! I wonder why he's so mad at Macbeth. And his motivations... it would be so bizarre if he was an antagonist in this story arc.

*New gargoyles! Plus Griff is back, I really like Griff. I am happy to see new gargoyles, as I've been very curious about non-Scottish clans, but I admit to being very disappointed with the new character designs. I am sorry to tell you this, but I dislike them. It doesn't make any biological sense that each one's heads just happens to ~exactly match~ his/her feet, when they aren't mammals nor related to those particular animals at all. I'm still very happy to see new gargoyles, though, but I was hoping for gargoyles that looked like they could have evolved, instead of like they were designed to look ~exactly~ like specific mammals. I still think that "chameleon genes" in general are plausible, and I ~love~ the variation in the other clans, but the London clan is no longer plausible for me (except Griff, who has mixed-together body parts). Each other gargoyle has his or her specific feet and tail cherry-picked to match ~perfectly~ his or her specific head, so that he/she looks like a winged, anthropomorphic/mutate version of one single, specific mammal, instead of a gargate that happens to remind humans of some animal. The white male has the face of a deer, and also antlers and a deer's cloven hooves (not horse-like hooves like Una), and they all match. The brown female has boar's hooves and a boar head to match. You have said that evolution and creation are supposed to be equally possible origins for gargoyles, but so far each London gargoyle (except Griff) is designed to look exactly like a single animal. I hope this isn't an indication that the rest of the clan will all be like this. They all live together and mate each other. Wouldn't offspring inherit a mix of their parents' traits?
But other than that, it is interesting to see the combination of wing-claws with the feather-like surface. Also surprising that some London gargoyles have the leathery wings instead. And that female has neat clothing. I agree with others who are happy to see a female who isn't thin or attractive by human standards.

Although the new gargoyle character designs bother me a lot, I'm still happy with lots of information and events, and I like this issue. TONS of teasers, and an intriguing storyline of which I look farward to learning more. Overall, the format is a confusing way to tell the story and I wonder why you are telling it this way, surely not only to mess with our heads (though I'm sure you enjoy that too!). Perhaps the next two issues will reveal the reason for the unusual format. As for the art, David Hedgecock is much better than before and this is the best colorist to be paired with him yet; Thailog's not black anymore, and the Mutates are tailless again. But Broadway is still off model in almost every panel and it bothers me. Everyone else looks really great, though, especially Goliath, Elisa, and Angela. It is true that sometimes Goliath's head is too big, but I didn't notice until other reviews pointed it out. I like this issue's art better than #6. I hope you guys stick with this art team from now on, Hedgecock is looking good and Robby Bevard brings out the best in his inks.
~~~~~~~~~~SPOILERS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Greg responds...

LONDON CLAN - Look, I understand what you're saying, but you're ignoring the NEEDS of creating a fictional universe here. I have to define parameters first -- the breadth of the possibilities. I assume you're not saying that if such and such a foot exists, it CAN'T appear with a so-called "matching" head. Leo's feet don't match a lion's, so I'm not sure why you're not including him with Griff as okay by your standards, in which case I've got two that are a mix and three that represent extremes. But you've only seen a smattering of London gargoyles anyway, not enough of a sample to judge. So, I simply request your patience until you've seen more than a handful to base your opinion on. I mean it's not like I haven't thought about all this. Haven't I earned a little trust at this point?

FORMAT - Okay, yeah, I enjoy messing with your heads, but that's definitely NOT the reason I'm telling this story this way. The ultimate reason why I felt it HAD to be told this way won't be clear -- assuming it's ever clear -- until issue #9, but I think even with this issue there are plenty of obvious advantages to telling this story this way. Information may not always be revealed chronologically, but sometimes that's not the best way to receive information. Content rather than strict chronology rules this story. What do you need to know? When do you need to know it? Besides, the story is MUCH more chronological (certainly across the three issues) than people probably realize. It's not at all random. Not at all. And when I didn't have a reason not to, I resorted to a strict timeline. And the dates and times are all there, so that the chronologically needy can still put it all together.

David and Robby are hopefully both here to stay.

Response recorded on January 21, 2008

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Vicky82 writes...

Greetings from England

Got Gargoyles 7 from Midtowncomics.com (2 copies) on Wednesday and I love it,

*********************SPOILERS******************************

Wow can't beleive it Maggie's pregnant, I'm guessing that Maggie due sometime in July 1997 but i got a feeling this aint going to be a easy pregnancy

Goliath chooses Brooklyn, Broadway, Angela and Lex to go to England with Macbeth but Brooklyn chooses to stay behind I guess to avoid Angela and Broadway but after Angela whisper something to Broadway (I love to know what she said) they stay behind too which Brooklyn doesn't seem happy about it.

I hope Brooklyn gets over Angela Choosing Broadway because I got this feeling he could get himself into trouble by doing something stupid before he goes on his Timedancing Journey.

Anyway Hudson goes with Lexington to Englan to help Macbeth

Elisa and Goliath kiss again (squeals)

As I live not far from London (30 miles north of London)It's great to see the Gargoyles in England

which Airport did you use was it Gatwick or Heathrow as they are the 2 main Airports just outside London, I wonder if Hudson and Lex are going to glide up the M1 next (thats one of our main Motorways)

Funny that I live in England but don't really know that much about the Stone of Destiny or the transporting it from London to Scotland in 1996 (14 years old at the time)

Interesting story about Gathelus and Scota that Shari is telling Thailog.

I like the 2 new Gargoyles.

Can't wait till issue 8 but first Bad Guys 2

Greg responds...

I'm thinking Gatwick...

Response recorded on January 21, 2008

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Ed Reynolds writes...

GARGOYLES #7

Amazing issue.

I love how jam-packed each of these comics are. Some comics you've got all there is to get first read-through; this gets better and better with each successive reading. The non-linear structure flummoxed me first off, but now I'm completely in love. It's got a rhythm completely of its own. (Piecing together the Ask Greg clues to work out where the missing parts of the story are made it doubly fun so thanks for that 'Easter Egg'!). I'm really curious about the inspiration for this. Obviously in literature there are plenty of books which disassemble time but usually to mirror consciousness. 'Memento' is the only film I can recall which is this fragmented, but again there's a strict order. (Sometime, not while the story's still running necessarily, but eventually, I'd be interested to read about the thought processes behind this structure.)

Here, we're really dotting around but it gives the impression of a patchwork of themes: sibling rivalries (Jacob/Esau, Brooklyn/Broadway, Othello/Iago) particularly stand out. Perhaps also lineage -- never has the interconnectedness of man been so apparent than seeing the links from Egypt to Portugal to Ireland; and in modern times, we have the Maza family expanding into new boundaries, with Elisa & Goliath and Talon & Maggie's child. And of course, we have all these dark mirrors to our leads: Xanatos and Coyote, the ColdTrio and the Angela triangle, Lex/Brentwood, and as has been mentioned, Thailog/Shari who look very Goliath/Elisa in some panels.

I love the scene of Thailog & Shari playing chess though -- more Fox & David. I wonder if the bathtub scene is meant to suggest how Sevarius would like to spend his nights. Shari is by far my favourite new character so far. She's utterly fascinating. And while we have no evidence there's anything between them, they certainly seem pretty intimate. And whatever their relationship is, it fits that while Goliath & Elisa's life is based on protecting and serving, Thailog & Shari's seems to be about knowledge and power.

Although this is another story on a huge scale, I'm really glad the clan is proactive at the centre this time. I love, adore, the big, eclectic 'Gargoyles' cast, but more than that, I love our core guys. And Macbeth. Broadway and Angela seemed kind of mean to Brooklyn -- I hope this is in aid of them intervening to resolve their issues. Lex and Hudson taking centre stage fills me with joy.

(Oddly, I was in central London in November 1996. My brother was in Great Ormond Street getting his cochlear implant and it was around this time that we'd recently discovered 'Gargoyles'. I know he watched 'A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time' on television with his ward; and also I remember looking for 'Gargoyles' figurines in a London toy shop and coming out with a Lexington one for his Christmas. It's one of my most vivid memories, but it gives me a real kick to think that the 'real' Macbeth and Lexington would have been running around about the same time only a few miles away.)

The cover -- bit of a quiet one. I don't mind covers that don't reflect the inside too well (#1 and #3 are probably my favourites to date and have no real relevance to the interior), but this one attempts to find a hook from inside and comes up with something pretty mild. I still love Greg Guler's covers though. Will be very interested to see David Hedgecock on #8 but I hope Greg sticks around.

The art -- Really gorgeous. David Hedgecock has received some flak for his model work, but I have to say... I grew up on lisenced books. Spidey and X-Men were all too convoluted to get into, but Turtles, Sonic, Bucky O'Hare -- this stuff I knew where I was. And I know being 'off-model' is considered a pretty heinous crime by people who read these kinds of books. But my favourite artists, and often the most popular artists, were never the most on-model. Often the artists who tacked closest to the models produced characters who looked just a little plastic, a little too perfect, a little dead behind the eyes. David's model work is decent given the scores of characters he has to master each issue, but more than that, we really get a sense of the characters' intelligence and purpose, of momentum and fluidity. It's good, compelling art and I'm so glad he's having a good run at it. (My only hope is that if it is necessary to switch artists for a future issue that we can have the same person working on a sequence of stories -- this was what felt a little jarring about #3-5, though it was for entirely understandable reasons).

The colours -- Rich, atmospheric, true to the original, but really dramatic and bold as well. I particularly appreciate London on the last page looking like the late 20th century and not the late 19th -- alive with light. Often I'll see American presentations of London -- including in 'M.I.A.' where admittedly there was probably pressure to reuse the same backdrops for the 1940s and 1990s sections -- where it feels somehow dated. And of course, parts of it are historic. But growing up in London, all this seemed normal to me and so presentations which really honed in on the ancient aspects always startled me a bit. The Shari/Thailog colours are especially splendid. (Although -- being ultra-pernickety -- stars can't turn up in front of the shadowy portion on a crescent moon!).

I'm thrilled King Arthur is turning up, the London clan look amazing, and the details about the history of the stone and the naming of Portugal really stand out for me. I'm completely psyched to see where this goes next.

Big thanks to Greg, David, Robby, Greg G and the guys at SLG!

Greg responds...

Scripting issues #7-9, my guiding principle was to reveal info not in the order it happens but rather on a "need-to-know" basis for the reader, indeed emphasizing the connectivity of all that was taking place.

Response recorded on January 17, 2008

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Rebel writes...

This isn't really a question as it is a review/comment/whatever. Anyway, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for deciding to have the London Gargoyles resemble more animals than just lions, unicorns, and griffins. For the last ten years or so, I had always assumed that the London clan gargoyles would resemble other animals of heraldry as well, such as bears, boars, wolves, foxes, stags, rams, bats, etc., and when I read in the wiki a few months ago that they would all look like unicorns, griffins, and lions, I was SO disappointed. I am so glad that this is not the case. The two new gargoyles are beautiful and I am looking forward to learning more about them in the next two issues, and possibly seeing some other London Clan members as well. Once again THANKS!

Also, I just wanted to mention that Hedgecock's art is greatly improving and is really, really good in this issue. There are still a few things that seem a little off, like for instance he often seems to make the characters' heads a little too big which makes them seem cartoony, and they sometimes look really angular instead of organic. But overall he's doing a great job. He's really good with facial expressions. I LOVE the look on Lex's face when they first wake up with jetlag! Also the pages where Shari is telling Thailog those stories are all really great. Of course the final page is beautiful as well. And he does a really awesome job with mechanical characters; the page with Coldsteel and Coyote is awesome! Anyway kudos to Hedgecock!

Overall #7 was a great issue. The non-linear format was great (incidentally, although I miss the cartoon it's worth noting that this non-linear format likely would not have worked as well on the TV show). Thanks for all you do.

Greg responds...

The non-linear thing -- especially to the extent I did it in issues #7-9 -- would not have worked AT ALL on television. Snippets so brief, they would barely register. Not enough time for visual cues, and without the captions to indicate date and time, impossible. But if you left an image on screen long enough for a chyron to register, you'd blow the rhythm of the whole thing. I definitely WOULD have told this story, but it would not have been in this format at all.

Thanks for the kind words, and I've passed on to Dave that he seems to be winning some people over with his latest stuff.

Response recorded on January 16, 2008

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Ntripy writes...

Are the scrolls depicted in #7 just a creative way to present the story in the comic, or do they actually exist in the Gargoyles Universe?

Greg responds...

They're an artistic conceit.

Response recorded on January 16, 2008

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Purplegoldfish writes...

My review for #7, "The Rock"

I really like the non-linear format. I think it's really creative. It's like a puzzle with missing pieces that makes me ache for more. The first time I read it, it appeared to be totally random-but the more I read it, the more I realized that it's not random at all-the panels all seem to be very deliberately placed the way they are for a reason. This leads me to think that those three enigmatic panels on page two,(Bomb unit, "Amp", and Fox's shoes), are tied together somehow.

I like the little snippets of Shari's stories to Thailog, and the muted sepia tones used to convey the stories. It took my third reading to realize that the story pages are shaped like scrolls, nice little touch. I just love those little glimpses we get of Shari and Thailog (and sometimes Brentwood). For some reason I find it humorous to see Thailog performing mundane tasks like bathing, being on the computer, and playing chess while Shari drones on to him. I wonder what their relationship is exactly-probably more of a power struggle than anything, but in a bizarre way, they are kind of a match for each other.

It's nice to see Macbeth working with the gargoyles and becoming the clan's ally. I trust him, but I'm mildly surprised that Goilath is so quick to send his clanmates out to help him-seeing as he wasn't always their friend. I guess all one needs to do to convince Goliath is to pull the "Xanatos card." And it turns out they're right-Xanatos is working behind their backs.

Goliath's line is interesting-"healed but not whole." I was under the impression that gargoyles fully heal at sunrise. So I take it to mean that he's emotionally drained.

Personally, I don't feel sorry for Brooklyn. He had the chance to go to London and potentially meet unattached female gargoyles...but he passed on it. Angela didn't choose him, he needs to get over it. Though I am very curious as to Angela's and Broadway's intent-they were so happy at the prospect of going to Scotland-but then easily changed their minds. Angela's got some sort of plan brewing-to try to cheer Brooklyn up maybe? She's got to realize that brooklyn is pining for her-she's always been able to catch on to things pretty quiclkly in the show.

The clans seem to have found another ally in Dr. Sato-that's very good-especially since he can be a very helpful ally in troubling times.

Hehe, I loved the panels of Macbeth waiting for Lex and Hudson to wake up-nice subtle humour there. And gargoyle jetlag, lol. I once lost a whole day thanks to jetlag. I'm kind of curious as to what Lex and Hudson did in that ten day interim.

I found that panel that shows Macbeth trying to take back the stone in 1950 hilarious. "Scotland Forever!" LOL. "You'de be surprised" indeed.

Telling panel placement here-the scheming Xanatos scene taking place directly after the panel in which Hudson asks "Who exactly are we expecting?"
The Coyote Diamond...Nothing ever wasted in Gargoyles. Xanatos, Cyote, and Coldsteel...not a good combination. Part of the Illuminati's plan? Or something else?

I love the Othello/Desdemona/Iago story page. The way they're subtley turning to stone, and the iconic Hakon mace image. That must've been their last sunrise as flesh beings. And I love how the "Timeless love story" caption integrates into the Goliath and Elisa scene.

Speaking of the G/E scene, love it. The way it parallels the breakup scene in issue #3. Goliath and Elisa are careful not to mention the children issue, a discussion for another night. But the not-so-subtle placement of the panel where Maggie is revealed to be pregnant is brilliant. It's nice to see Goliath so happy-he's been having a tough week. And I love how passionate that kiss looked. Did Goliath initiate it?

I wasn't all that surprised at Maggie's pregnancy for some reason. Though if I were her, I would be terrified. What is their kid going to be? Mutate? Human? A mixture of both? I have kind of a bad feeling that things are going to be rough for them.

And the exciting cliffhanger-King Arthur and the London Gargoyles are up to something as well. Are they on the same side? Nice designs for the new London gargs, and as others have mentioned, it's nice to see a full figured female gargoyle.

The art: There's a few minor problems-like that closeup of Elisa's face-kind of reminds me of Ariel from the Little Mermaid-but Hedgecock's art has vastly improved, I think. Characters are much more on-model. I'm impressed. And kudos to Robby Bevard and his terrific coloring. The best coloring work on the book, in my opinion. He really payed attention to giving the correct lighting to the diffrent settings, and like I mentioned earlier, I love the effect of the scroll scenes.

Terrific start to an intrigueing new story arc, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Greg responds...

I'm not sure Shari would appreciate you saying she's "droning". And I'm not sure Thailog would stand for droning. (Now you're on the Illuminati's list!)

Healing -- depending on the wound -- is exhausting. Remember Angela after she nearly died at the hands of the Hunters. One day as stone heals, but it exhausts the body. Goliath is in fact physically not at 100% in #7.

I think Goliath did initiate the kiss... AFTER Elisa stroked his hair. Think of it as the best kind of cultural exchange.

Response recorded on January 14, 2008

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KingCobra_582 writes...

Picked up my copy of Gargoyles #7 today. After all these weeks, it's finally here.

And, after the very mild disappointment I had with issue 6, it was worth the wait too.

**SPOILERS**

PROS:

More great story twists.

-I didn't see Maggie's pregnancy coming, oddly. Those were some great moments, with Talon and Maggie looking at each other like that.
-It was cool seeing Claw again, even if it was only for one panel, and he didn't do anything.
-The cover threw me off somewhat, which is a good thing.
-More Elisa and Goliath stuff. At least it's not too angsty this time.
-Does Goliath know that Brooklyn is bothered by B & A's relationship? I had the impression at first, when he looks over Brooklyn's shoulder at them, that he had a good idea. But then it occurred to me that Goliath may have been silently asking them to stay with his second. So which is it?
-Nice little Lex moments. I liked the expression on his face when he complains about 'I don't feel so hot.'
-On a semi-related note, who's this 'Amp'? Is Lex naming someone or simply giving them a nickname?
-I loved that MacBeth/King Arthur moment. Though I admit that, since I thought they left on good terms in 'Pendragon', I am a little confused. What's Arthur hiding/protecting? Also, since Arthur's here, kudos on introducing the new gargoyles at the end. And is that Griff behind Lex and Hudson?
-Nice throwback to the Cold Trio. And I'm eager to know what Xanatos, Coyote, and Coldsteel are up to. Whatever it is, it can't be good. Is this part of Xanatos' Illuminati assignment?
-The bits about Gathelus interested me greatly. Thanks, Greg. You made me want to do research on this guy.

As usual, Greg, you have left me with so many questions, and very few answers. Thank you.

The art was decent. Hedgecock has definitely come a long way since #1.

CONS:

These are very minor things that I was able to let go of. They didn't really ruin my enjoyment too much.
-The biblical reference. Mainly because (and this is a self-personal quip. I'm not trying to offend anyone or push my beliefs.) I'm not really into religion. No offense.
-The constant time changes were a little confusing.

End the rant.

A near-perfect issue that I really enjoyed. Great writing, great story, and I loved the artwork. Plot threads left dangling, but then, I love being in suspense, so that was a big plus too. There were a couple of flaws, but I was able to ignore them.

What a hell of an great issue. I can't wait for #8. :)

Merry Christmas.

Greg responds...

Goliath now knows about Brooklyn's angst.

You don't have to be religious to appreciate the bible. I personally don't regard it as a religious text (for myself) -- but it's without a doubt a great repository for stories. It's definitely worth a read.

Response recorded on January 14, 2008

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Harvester of Eyes writes...

ISSUE #7 REVIEW.

Sorry, I've been lax for the last few comics, but I intend to start these up again with a vengeance (if you'll pardon the expression).

First off, right from the get-go, the story reaches out and grabs you. It's barely been forty-eight hours since Thailog crashed the party, and some of the clan are leaving the castle to accompany Macbeth to Europe. It was great how Macbeth appealed to Goliath, too. He pretty much summed it up: Xanatos is their landlord. Nothing more. So needless to say, it was also great to see Xanatos working behind Goliath's back in this one.

As we see in this issue, he hadn't changed that much even as far back as "Possession". Coldfire and Coldsteel were still his creations, so it would stand to reason that he'd add something to their construction which would allow him to "call" one of them. Can't wait to see what his plan is, as well as the Society's interest in the Stone.

The cutscenes to Thailog and his crew were also interesting. I'm wondering if that will tie in somehow. Shari is a nine, so she probably has some knowledge of Xanatos's assignment. And Thailog and Brentwood were obviously digging for something.

It was also interesting to see a gargoyle's reaction to jet lag, especially since I think that's been a topic of discussion in the Station 8 comment room before. So I have to wonder if they got to see the sun before they adjusted. Especially since Hudson made a remark in "The Mirror" stating that he'd like to see it, just once.

And the gargoyles at the end were a very nice shocker. Though I think it's great, after seeing Demona, Angela, Ophelia, and Desdemona, to see a more full-figured female among the gargoyle race. I can't wait to see which one Lexington might have been referring to on the second page of the issue (if indeed it was one of them).

As far as the art is concerned, I think Hedgecock is getting better, though I think he's still grappling with conveying emotion on close-ups of the faces. But the coloring in this one more than made up for that.

Overall, this issue was a hell of a fun ride loaded with a lot of neat little twists. Can't wait to read more.

Greg responds...

Good, cuz, you know, we're making more.

Response recorded on January 11, 2008

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Antiyonder writes...

- Have to say, this story arc is one I'm was looking forward to. Didn't think we'd get to that team up between Coyote 5.0. and Coldsteel for awhile. While I knew Xanatos would still be in conflict with the Gargoyles at times, I wasn't sure if he would still use the Coyote Robots or not.

- Getting to see Macbeth Post-Journey was a plus. I wonder if he knows about his minions current employer. I could help but chuckle when he was having his drink while waiting for Lexington and Hudson to awaken.

- Don't know why, but this cliffhanger's got me the most excited for the next issue. Not saying the others weren't of course.

- Nice to see David's penciling on the comic again. I'm probably in the minority, but I found his artwork in #3 to be the start of his improvement in the series.

Looking forward to the next issue, as well as Bad Guys #2.

Greg responds...

Me too!

Response recorded on January 10, 2008

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dph writes...

My review of issue #7

Let me start by saying that I found this issue very intriguing, more so than normal. I wish I had the next two issues with me so that I could put together the whole story all at once. Where do I start? With something I've almost completely ignored in my thoughts up to now. Xanatos let Macbeth visit the gargoyles on the top of the castle. The last time (and first time) that Macbeth visited the gargoyles on top of the castle, he offered them a favor: a new home. In this story, we get the reverse: Macbeth asking the gargoyles for a favor. Things have changed a lot since then. Anyways, Macbeth wants to personally insure that the Stone of Destiny makes its way back to Scotland.

Since I'm guessing that you'll stick with real world history, the Stone of Destiny (or a likeness of it) will be returned, but that isn't important as the journey that the Stone takes to get to its destination.

It's nice to see Macbeth using 'conventional* transportation - an aircraft not an airship - to travel. Xanatos allowing Macbeth to visit the gargoyles makes sense in that he can monitor their communication. Had Xanatos denied Macbeth the visit to the gargoyles on top of the castle, Macbeth and the gargoyles would have met anyways with Xanatos being in the dark about what happened in that meeting. Xanatos's comment about planning for this contigency makes me wonder if Xanatos's original plan called for interference from Macbeth, gargoyles, or both?

Dr Sato meeting the mutates was interesting. When I first read "treating someone in Maggie's 'condition'", my immediate thoughts were her being a mutate, not anything else.

Was Macbeth that bored or that sleepy? Either way, it makes sense for him to do something to pass the time. Macbeth explaining to the gargoyles that they experienced jet lag helps explain the situation. Hopefully (and humorously), Angela's whisper to Broadway isn't going to turn into a giant speculation as big as something else. I hope we get to see more of the flashback of Macbeth trying to recover the Stone of Destiny in 1950. When you wrote "Gathelus and his family would wander the globe for Two Years", did you literally mean the entire globe or just Europe?

Anyways, Xanatos's line of "The stone's flawless surfaces and clarity increase the speed of " and the picture showing location have me fairly convinced that the diamond is an essential part of Coyote 5.0's "computer core". I wouldn't have caught the reference except for an episode of Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego where Carmen took some coal and turned into a diamond and the detectives installed it into their computer system and somehow speeded things up. On the other hand, I could be way completely off-base in the assumption that the crystal is part of the computer core.

When Dr Sato mentions that Maggie needs an o.b., I had no idea what that meant, but then others in the s8 cr pointed out that was a way of saying that Maggie was pregnant.

King Arthur pulling a sword onto Macbeth really is an indicator of King Arthur's skill, but still one wonders why use the sword instead of an arm. It's nice to see the London clan, again.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and am looking forward to seeing the next two parts. The intrigue keeps growing as I'm not sure what the true motivation of each player really is.

I have some theories about the use of the Coyote diamond inside of Coyote, but I'm more thrilled that you don't let things go to waste from season 1. Indeed, you are building a great tapestry.

Greg responds...

Thanks. I do try.

Response recorded on January 10, 2008

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Ricky writes...

Hey Greg,

I just managed to get a hold of issue #7, and I have to say it is my absolute favorite so far! The story was great, and I can't wait to find out what happens next, but what I really wanted to comment on was the artwork. I've loved David Hedgecock's unique style and his take on the different looks of the characters since the beginning, but I know that there have been fans who have gone as far as to say they hated it. I noticed that in this issue the characters drawings looked a bit different, maybe as if David had heard the fans' comments and paid attention to their criticism while drawing this issue. So, finally my questions:

1. I'm sure you've heard the fans' criticism and I was wondering did you had talk to David about the fans' concerns? If so, what did you say?

and, if not:

2. Do you know whether David heard the criticism, and if so, is that the reason for the slight difference in the artwork?

Thanks a lot for your time, Greg! Keep up the great work!

Greg responds...

I did talk to David about the fan criticism. The talk went something like this...

Dave: "Man, the fans really seem to hate me."

Greg: "Ignore 'em."

[As I said before, every fan is entitled to his or her opinion, but I thought some of the statements made about the art went beyond what was on the page and ventured into the personal, making all sorts of truly outrageous and/or presumptuous assumptions. I have little tolerance for that.]

Dave's work is improving, mostly because he's getting more and more familiar with the characters, because he's showing what he can do when designing new characters and because, well, practice makes perfect. There was no course correction here. I, for one, have been confident we've been on the right course from day one. But it is a course, not an end point.

I also think that Robby is a great addition to the team.

Response recorded on January 09, 2008

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Matt writes...

Can you give us some clarification on what is going on with Macbeth's coronation in "The Rock" versus "City of Stone". Is this a retcon or did both scenes happen?

Greg responds...

I'm going to say BOTH happened. Yeah...

Response recorded on January 09, 2008


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