Vaevictis Asmadi writes...

Here's more scattered, random reactions to the comics, in lieu of actual reviews. So because I already posted a lot about it in the comment room, and I'm lazy, I'm skipping a review of 3-5 for now and going on to review the latest issues that I bought. Starting with #6, others coming later. How many times can I post in a row without being rude?

SPOILERS (if you haven't got #6 yet)
The art in this issue mostly looks really good, once I got used to the pencils, but Lexington and Brooklyn and some of the early frames of Angela looked wrong.

I noticed that the pictures of Gabriel and Iago were copied directly from specific shots in the animated series. That's interesting, they were immediately recognizable and I thought it was cool, it indicates that the artists are getting a hold of the episodes and paying attention to the art in them. I do wonder if they are supplied with the character model sheets, though.

I'm surprised that you changed the Avalon situation so that the magic does not translate. It is definitely cool to see the language issue addressed, but I thought that the magic translateion was more probable than that every single person they met on the other Tour stops spoke English, and well. Now I wonder how Angela, Tom, and King Arthur are able to communicate with English-speakers.

Lots of new mysteries. How do the Illuminati know about that World Tour stop? And what "seeds" were "sown" at that time? No doubt Xanatos is up to something...

Landing in a giant cooking/laundry pot is definitely a new way to travel.

Shari feeding Thailog grapes while he's dressed like a Roman emperor is... intereting. She should be careful about taunting him, though.

I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't see real yetis, but since All Things Are True, they are probably out there somewhere.

I enjoyed all the issues I've read so far and although this wasn't quite as fun as some of the others, it was still good.
SPOILERS (if you haven't got #6 yet)

Charisma82 writes...

Here's the 2nd half of my ramble on the 6th issue of the Gargoyles Comic Book series.

Gargoyles: Clan-Building
Part Five: Reunion

Part 2 Pages 13-24

Page 13: Goliath seems very happy on this page. He's reunited with his brother. Nothing is posing any threats to him or his friends. All's well with the big guy. This page is a nice and subtle way of introducing the idea of Avalon and the fact that there are other gargoyles around Angela's age to readers who haven't seen the shows yet. They are also told about how Avalon had once sent Goliath, Elisa, Angela, & Bronx to different places, before the present time in the comic books; not only did Avalon send them places, it sent them places where they were needed for some purpose. That's a lot to work into one page. And the two monks have some cute lines, now that I actually go back and re-read them (I kinda skimmed some of their parts the first time around, just to get to the Coldstone parts).

Page 14: Here we get cannon proof that Gabriel and Coldstone (Othello) are biologically related. Angela speaks more of biological parentage, and Goliath still seems uneasy about the subject, even if he has accepted Angela as his daughter (I'm assuming this episode was to be after "The Panther Queen" and not before; I hope I'm correct in assuming that). I'm not sure how Coldstone is taking the news of having a biological son, since we don't get to hear his tone of voice. I'm sure he's glad that he has many sons and daughters on Avalon, but I don't know what he's thinking about his own biological son at this moment. He might be considering not just his biological son in his statement, but might be thinking of all his sons and daughters, and that's what helps bring him to his decision. I'm just guessing though.

Page 15: The readers are introduced to the concept of Coldstone being made of 3 gargoyles and not just one. It's another quick hint to those who didn't watch the TV show, to help them catch up on what they've missed. This is also when Coldstone starts to act differently…

Page 16: The first time I read this through I was confused as to why Coldstone suddenly wanted to go with Goliath after he'd just said he didn't want to leave. Then Goliath states that Coldstone must have switched personalities to the evil one (Iago). I didn't really buy that idea. I don't know why, it just seems out of place for that to happen. I can't really explain, but I just have a hard time wanting to believe that Coldstone switched personalities at that moment (not saying that he can't, 'cause Iago has taken over Coldstone plenty of times at the wrong times for Goliath). I like Master Dawa's line, "Friends sacrifice for each other," in response to Sangpo's comment.

Page 17: Even more fighting and no dialogue. Goliath gets a taste of some stone wall.

Page 18: Angela gets a good punch in before the scene cuts to Elisa trying to make the monks leave. Sangpo is probably still trying to listen with his heart, trying to figure out what Elisa is saying, if not still trying to figure out why Coldstone is attacking his friends.

Page 19: Never threaten Elisa unless you want Goliath to attempt to rip your head off. And what an interesting line for Coldstone to choose to get Goliath's goat. I doubt that would've been heard on TV. Another reason for the comics. Oh, and I love the shot of everyone trying to take Coldstone down and we see Bronx chewing on his kneecap. It kinda reminds me of Xanatos' line in "Future Tense" when he's talking to Goliath's stone head in his hand.

Page 20: This scene reminds me a lot of when Coldstone (as Iago) takes down Goliath and his clan in "High Noon".

Page 21: I like knowing now that the monks can sense when evil is present and when it is not, at least in Coldstone's situation. That would come in handy if Iago ever decided to show up and try to act like Othello. Now I'm curious, since Othello is in control, does that mean that Desdemona has to keep Iago at bay the entire time? Does Desdemona get any training from the monks to help keep Iago away like Othello does? The rest of this page explains why Coldstone (Othello) pretended to be evil, so he couldn't put his clan, his children, at risk. He figures the only way he could've done this was to take them out as "the evil one". I agree with his logic. Goliath was happy being reunited with his brother again, and he did believe that Avalon sent him to his brother so he could join them, so I think that Goliath would've gone to great lengths to have his brother at his side, even if Coldstone didn't believe he was ready to be with his clan yet.

Page 22: Shari finishes the story, talking about a place called Shambahla. I figured this was just another place in the world that I didn't know about, but then I read in a review that it was a mystical place, so I looked it up on GargWiki to find out that it is indeed a mystical place like Avalon. Hmm… interesting cliffhanger there. Next we find Thailog chortling at his own amusement of Goliath's past, so-called, failure. Then Shari gives him the idea that they didn't fail.

Page 23: Thailog seems a bit perturbed. Okay, I was a bit confused with Shari's lines when she says that "seeds were sown that night… seeds that have yet to bear fruit." Is she referencing to the episode "Possession", since Coldstone no longer has to worry about the "evil one", or is she referencing to something that is going to happen in the future? Thailog seems even more upset, and right before he goes to sleep too. Shari seems like a pretty good player thus far. Why was it such a big deal that the lettering was a bit different for the logo? It was the same word. And finally, we get to see Xanatos.

Page 24: And here's Coldsteel! Can't wait to find out what Xanatos has in mind for him, though I do have some theories of my own…

Once again, a good comic book, though it wasn't my favorite so far. I did think the story was a bit rushed, but it was also great to see a "lost" episode from season 2. Keep up the great work and I can't wait for the next comic (I've been craving it's plotline since I read a summary on it on GargWiki several months back…).

Thank you for your time and all that you do.

-Charisma82

Charisma82 writes...

Hey! Okay, here it is, with no long rambles before hand, the first part of my review on the 6th comic book.

Gargoyles: Clan-Building
Part Five: Reunion

Part 1 Pages 1-12

Page 1: Angela looks cute in this picture. I'm glad that it's not a full moon, 'cause the gargoyles have had enough things going on during full moons already. I do want to say that I am very thankful to you for putting up this page on GargWiki with the title and all that in the corner. This way I know how you wanted it to look, though it wasn't a big deal for me not to see it in the comic.

Page 2: Angela looks like she aged or something in the next shot of her with the trio. I think the drawings of them look a bit off, but I really liked the drawings in the rest of the comic. And again with poor Brooklyn. Timedancer can't come soon enough for him.

Page 3: Okay, what's with the swan ice sculpture? Any story behind that one? And it's shown dripping/melting, just to let us know that Thailog isn't freezing in his room. Shari didn't seem much the type to me to be feeding Thailog grapes like a servant. I suppose she's trying to lay low when she is really a crafty one herself. I also have to say that Thailog has some nice taste in decorating, or at least good taste in ordering around someone else to decorate for him.

Page 4: So does Shari only wear her Illuminate pen/necklace when she feels like it, 'cause it's not on her in this comic. I would assume so, since other Illuminate members don't wear theirs all the time either.

Page 5: This is my favorite scene in this comic, the skiff in the big boiling pot. It's funny 'cause you wouldn't expect it, but then how else would Avalon get Goliath & company up in those mountains? And then our heroes go from the heat to the cold…

Page 6: They all look so cute in their coats, especially Bronx. But why's Goliath looking so angry? They haven't been attacked yet. Sangpo needs his eyes checked. Yeti are supposed to be furry things. And they don't have wings. But he realizes this later. I really like how you have Sangpo speaking in a different language, though we read it as English (the first time I read it, I thought they were speaking to each other through their minds psychically). It's a nice touch to make it seem more believable that they're in a different part of the world.

Page 7: Now introducing Master Dawa. Not much here except Dawa stopping the shooting of arrows at the gargoyles, him getting after Sangpo for ordering the shooting, and then his line on how "their souls are fortunate that their bodies are such lousy shots."

Page 8: The gargoyles and Elisa find a cave on this page. That, and Bronx goes after something in the dark cave…

Page 9: You just had to stick a jalapena line in there, huh? (That wasn't a complaint; I like those lines; keep 'em coming!) I might as well mention here that I like the fact that you had Angela in her other outfit that she wore during the Avalon World Tour, and not her new outfit so that it all works out with continuity stuff. Bronx finds what he was looking for in the cave, and, of course, attacks it…

Page 10: Just a fighting page, no dialogue. We do get to see father daughter team work at play here. I like the one red eye, one glowing white eye for the hooded figure. It is a big clue for fans (who didn't already read about it on GargWiki) to know that Coldstone is back.

Page 11: A big picture of Goliath realizing that he is fighting Coldstone.

Page 12: All I have to say is that it happens to the best of us. I was confused a bit, but got the drift of what was going on on this page. Once again, thanks a bunch for putting what you had planned out for this page on GargWiki. It helped me out a lot to see it. It's a warm reunion between Goliath and his rookery brother. Angela gets to meet another rookery father, though I think she seems more interested in biological fathers. I like finding out that Coldstone didn't have to face his "inner demons" alone, and that he gets some help from, what seems to be, a good man named Master Dawa.

There's the first half. I'll get around to the 2nd some time in the near future (I hope).

Thank you for your time and all that you do.

-Charisma82

Matt writes...

My Review For Gargoyles #6, "Reunion"...

- My friend Ryan and I went to pick up our copies of Reunion the day it came out. The store we went to told me they had received 12 copies and when we left only one copy was remaining, which is good. The cover is awesome, one of my favorites so far. I like the dynamic nature of it. All the covers have been gorgeous so far, but this one really pulls you into the action and the story.

- There are a lot of neat little details that I loved in this issue. The fact that it was snowing in New York, Lex's continuing preoccupation with Brentwood's choice, Brook's face when Angela puts her hand on his shoulder (another poor Brooklyn moment), the arrival of the travelers in the laundry pot, Elisa's line about Hawaii, the way Coldstone picks up Bronx, and others.

- The art in this issue was... alright. I think Mr. Purcell did an excellant job on all the human characters (Elisa, Shari, Xanatos, Dawa and Sangpo), but I wasn't impressed by his depiction of the gargoyle characters. The sketches look too rough, like they were unfinished. Some of the faces and poses seemed way off. My friend Ryan said that in the top panel of page 2, Angela looks like a velociraptor. I think Coldstone and Coldsteel were well drawn, but it irked me that some drawings (particularly Gabriel and Iago) were traced right off the GargWiki pictures. Out of the four artists we've seen in the books so far, I'd have to rank Purcell my least favorite. It isn't terrible, it's just I like the style of the others so much more. Charlebois and Hedgecock are my favorites, so I look forward to them taking on the bulk of Gargoyles and Bad Guys issues from here on out.

- Greg, I know you are tired of hearing about the errors, but I wanted to mention my own impressions of them briefly. Ryan and I read the comic together and we both sat there scratching our heads trying to figure out the 12th page. It's funny that the first couple frames seem perfectly fine. Anyway, it's a shame, but with the reprint and trade paperback coming out, it isn't a big deal. I'm more annoyed by the wrong "Vows" ending being on the DVD. As for the title page and Scarab logo errors, I didn't notice that until it was pointed out to me, I feel those are very minor, frustrating for the staff, I'm sure, but minor.

- The story of this issue is one I've been looking forward to for years. I always loved the various Coldstone episodes, and it intrigued me that this story had been written to be in comic form many years ago. That said, it felt very rushed. I'm sure that was somewhat unavoidable, but in a way I feel leaving some things out would've resulted in a more natural pacing. Angela going on about Gabriel seemed jarring. I like that anyone could look and see that Gabriel was Coldstone's son, but having Angela spell it out bothered me a lot. If anyone would talk about biological parentage, it would be her, but still she really seems to not care about the Gargoyle Way here at all. At first, I thought Coldstone was acknowledging Gabriel as his son, and then I caught the quotes around biological. I was thrilled that Coldstone didn't care much about Angela's revelation. It's almost like he didn't understand what she was talking about, which was awesome, probably my favorite part of the story. He sees Gabriel and Angela and the others as his rookery children. All of them.

- Now, obviously Goliath and the others want Coldstone to return to the clan, but Coldstone points out what Goliath should already know. Coldstone is dangerous and unpredictable. And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, in the middle of this explanation, Coldstone pretends the "evil one" takes control to illustrate the point. This seemed extremely rushed and odd. Coldstone didn't even wait for Goliath to try to understand before just assuming he has to take matters into his own hands. He attacks the travelers, throwing them around, shooting at them, and, most alarmingly lifting Elisa off the ground by her neck! This really makes Coldstone look really bad, worse then the so called "evil one". Hes a good guy who is attacking his family to prove a point before trying to show his point with simple conversation. And on top of that, it would be one thing to simply stun them all and send them on their way, but what he did to Elisa could've seriously injured her. I'm not sure whether to blame all this on the rushing of the story or on Coldstone's character or maybe something else was going on, I dunno. It just seemed outrageous. Coldstone tells Dawa that "They would never have left [him] behind." and "[He] had to make them believe the evil one had taken control..." but honestly, he hardly even tried to convince them. I know I'm rambling now, so suffice to say, I hope there was more going on here that we don't know yet. Shari's lines concerning the adventure hints that more was going on before, during or because of this event, so who knows.

- I liked that Coldstone went to Dawa for help in his internal battle. I like that Sangpo correctly sensed that the evil one had not taken control. These were great characters and it'll be fascinating to learn more about them in the future.

- Finally, as for the bookends of this story we have Thailog and Shari and Xanatos and Coldsteel. Suffice to say I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to see how their stories will play out. A story for another night indeed...

- All in all, I have to say that though I liked this story, the art was not my favorite and the story seemed too condensed. The ending leaves us all wanting more though, so I guess thats a good thing. And since Greg claims this story "will have major ramifications in the issues to come", I'll be interested in looking back at this one in a year or two with the advantage of hindsight.

Looking forward to Issue #7 and Bad Guys #1!!! Thanks again to the staff!

Jurgan writes...

Been working non-stop lately, but I did get a chance to read issue 6, and now that I've got a little time off, I'm going to try to drop a review.

Good news, first: when I went to my usual comics store, which has always stocked several of each issue, on the afternoon of release day, they were sold out. I know your question is always "will you order more?" so you'll be happy to know that I heard the employee say, "we need to up our orders for Gargoyles." At least, I'm pretty sure he said that, though I don't know if they ordered any more of issue 6 than the two copies I ordered (I keep one in plastic, mainly so that if I'm reading one on the bus or I loan it to a friend and lose it, I'll always have a complete set that never leaves my house). The upshot for me was that, by the time I got to reading it a week later, I already knew about the production errors and wasn't as confused by them. It did throw me a bit when I saw Coldstone and Goliath fighting and talking, but then I remembered talk about errors and figured it out. And I've seen similar errors before- my Death of Jean DeWolff paperback had two pages in reverse order, so it jumps from Daredevil fighting a mob, to Spider-man (with a hyphen!) and Daredevil talking on a roof, to Spider-man swinging into the mob to save Daredevil. Anyway, the point is that I thought the errors were a bit confusing, but nothing so bad that I couldn't figure them out. So, 'nuff said on that issue.

Reunion was a rather down issue in a number of ways. Since it was a flashback, we already knew how things would ultimately turn out, so it didn't advance the plot much (although there were some hints about future developments). It felt more like a highlights reel than an actual complete story- the travelers had barely arrived when they were on their way out again. Still, there were certainly some good things in it:

I was a bit confused right at the beginning why Angela said Goliath was "healing." Wouldn't stone sleep cure him instantly? Was Thailog's wound that bad that it took days to recover?

I'm very amused by Thailog's emperor get-up. He's barely touched the wine, though. But I also like how Shari is pretending to be subject to him. She seems to enjoy the game of being his servant, knowing that at any moment she can switch to her master role. Also, artwise (I rarely have much to say about art), I like the very dark eyeliner Shari wears. Some people thought that was another mistake, but I have no problem with her looking different from day to day. One of the advantages of comics over cartoons- methinks Elisa's buying a whole new wardrobe.

Shari starts telling the story, but opens with the line "who can say if it be true." This raises an interesting question- how reliable is Shari as a narrator? I enjoy the device of the unreliable narrator, but I can't tell if it's being employed here. So, can you tell us: is what we see in the flashback literally what happened to the travelers, or is it a distorted version of the story told by Shari?

The laundry room arrival was rather silly, but clever at the same time. I can't decide whether I like it or not.

I love Bronx's vest.

Master Dawa's kind of fun. Far too many sage characters only speak in vague, portentous platitudes. It's nice when they know how to crack a joke or two, as in "their bodies are such lousy shots."

The action sequence in the cave is excellent, with a great sense of motion. And I can hear Frank Welker's barks in my head. And then, jalapena. This word should stay around forever, and now you don't have to worry about the art crew's objections (I've never understood what it was about that word that was so objectionable, anyway).

Goliath and Angela may not look very Yetiish, but in his white fur get-up, Coldstone actually does. The next action scene is also pretty good, though not quite up to the first.

The conversation scenes are nice, and Goliath gets his first chance to tell someone about the eggs surviving. I love his little grin. I also like Bronx asleep by the fire.

Angela's talk about Gabriel being his "biological" son was a little odd to me. I thought that once Goliath acknowledged her as his daughter, her talk of biology had ended. I assumed Gabriel's heritage would be an issue obvious to us, the viewers, but never made explicit to the characters, just like Hudson/Broadway.

So, you managed to slip a quick recap of Coldstone's situation in. Probably for the best, as Coldstone's story was always one of the more confusing elements of the series for me. I didn't figure it out until my second run with the series in college, five years after it went off the air. I also like that Coldstone is learning monastic meditation techniques, or something, to control Iago. I'm not sure how that will matter in the long run.

And then there's another great fight. Tell Purcell that he does some of the best action sequences in the book so far. I know Hedgecock's working hard, but Purcell should be on your short list of fill-ins. So far, 5 and 6 definitely have the best artwork. Unlike some, I've enjoyed almost all of the art we've seen so far, even if there've been a few problems (I didn't care for some of the goofy extras in #4, and there were a few Hedgecock panels that were ridiculously out-of-proportion). However, Karine and Purcell are the ones whose art really looks like the Gargoyles we grew up with. Anyway.

Coldstone's "neck-snapping" comment was downright disturbing. There's something you never would have pulled off on television. The funny thing is, while it does seem a bit over-the-top, it works when we realize who's really in control. Othello's trying to impersonate his evil brother, but he's a hammy actor and plays it too broadly. Maybe I'm reading too much into his few lines as "Iago," but that's what it seems to me. If only I could hear Michael Dorn do this one.

Speaking of Othello, I was impressed by his character in this issue. I've never been too fond of the guy. He strikes me as a moral coward who's willing to compromise his integrity and take the easy way out until cajoled into doing the right thing, in both "High Noon" and "Posession," and perhaps other places as well (a big part of his relationship with Desdemona seems to be that she acts as his conscience). So it was nice to see him take action immediately to protect his family, even though he surely would have preferred to return with them. Of course, it's a very status quo choice- Coldstone had already left the clan, and nothing seems to have changed in this issue. Or has it? There are some hints.

I've never heard of Shambahla. I ran across suggestion that it's another name for Shangri-La- is that right? The travelers left with apparently nothing accomplished, but Avalon did not send them back. Having them leave unconscious was probably the only solution, since they would not have gone voluntarily without him (well, Elisa might have, but Goliath can be pretty stubborn).

"A story for another night." Sounds very similar to the Weird Sisters' pronouncement. In their case, though, they were talking about themselves. Shari's story is certainly one we'd like to hear sooner or later. The comment room denizens have a great theory about her which I wish I'd thought of myself (then again, I came up with the reigning theory on Number 1's identity, so I shouldn't be too jealous). A little bit I liked was Thailog referring to Iago as his "uncle." It shows how un-gargoyle he is mentally, since any gargoyle would refer to Othello as one of his rookery fathers. And then Shari suggests that Goliath may not have failed- and Thailog freaks out. We've seen Thailog angry before, but I don't think we've ever seen him completely lose his composure like this. He seems genuinely afraid at this point. Shari's an incredibly captivating character, and I can't wait to see more of her. Her talk about "fruit" suggests something big is brewing, and the possibility that there's more going on here than meets the eye saves this issue from the doldrums of mediocrity.

Scarab returns, and Xanatos meets with Coldsteel. Wonder what that's about...

All in all, this wasn't a bad issue, but it strikes me as a bit of a dud. It was nice to fill in some gaps, but there was nothing really surprising or significant about the Himalayas adventure. However, if this pays off in the next story arc, and the pay off is good enough, I may change my tune. I wonder how this would have worked as an episode of the TV show. It would have to be framed quite a bit differently. Here, we're willing to see a sort of mundane story because we sense that it's still significant. As part of the World Tour, though, it wouldn't be very satisfying to see an episode in which nothing significant appears to take place- the gang show up, get chased away, and leave. I assume the plot would have been expanded quite a bit- maybe adding in an external threat so that there could be a sense of closure to the episode.

This issue also brings to mind two of the bigger disappointments in Gargoyles. One was the other untold World Tour story, showing how Xanatos took advantage of Goliath's absence. The other is the end of Legion. While a decent episode on the whole, Legion always feels weak to me because of its ending. The Xanatos tag was that he stole a computer virus, but compared to the stunners immediately preceding in Leader of the Pack and Metamorphosis, it's not that impressive. Even worse, though, was that there was never any follow-up to this virus that Xanatos thought was so valuable- you'd think he would have found some use for it eventually. A rare moment of waste in the Gargoyles universe. So I'm making a formal request that we find out what Xanatos used that virus for. I can think of possible uses in the next story arc, but those are ideas, so I'll keep them to myself (of course, you've already written the next story arc, but something down the road might be similar to what I'm thinking, so...). If you've already got plans, I don't want to know specifics (not that you'd give them anyway). I'm happy hanging on for the ride. Just letting you know that that's something I've always been curious about.

All in all, a decent issue, but nothing too spectacular. The weakest issue of the book so far, due to the fact that it currently seems like mostly filler. 2.5/4 stars (note that this is by Gargoyles standards- compared to other comics, it'd probably get 3 or 3.5). If it's redeemed by future issues and takes on greater significance, as I suspect it will, my opinion may improve a good bit. Thanks for listening.

Blaise writes...

POSSIBLE ISSUE #6 SPOILERS!

Okay, Greg, since you brought it up in an earlier response...

In your original version of the "World Tour Travellers meet Coldstone" story:

1) What exactly happened with the "mountain climbers?"

2) What exactly was the "'Twilight Zone' kicker?"

You know me, I'm just curious.

Blaise writes...

ISSUE #6: REUNION

SPOILERS!

I was unable to afford it until Saturday the 13th, by which time it had sold out of my local store. They assured me that they would have more by Tuesday the 16th. In the interim, I checked out "Ask Greg" and discovered the "page-16-art-for-12" error. In a way this was a blessing in disguise as it caused me to modify my plans--instead of buying two issues, I would now buy one copy of the misprint (keep it as a collector's item) and then purchase two corrected copies when they came out.
Of course, possibly because they WERE going back to the printers on this, my comic shop didn't get new issues on the 16th...or at any other time of the following week. They wound up overnighting a copy (the last one) from their Valley Branch because they're cool like that.

--I LOVED the first page of Angela. She looks good there. I just wish Purcell were more consistent with her. Overall, I liked his work--I found it a solid art style. However, he seems to have difficulty when it comes to Angela's face. The middle of the three horizontal panels on page 2 looks especially weird; more like the rictus grin of a corpse. I thought the middle panel on page 14 looked a bit off, too. It's a pity, because I rather enjoyed the rest of it.
--I love Lex's rather bitter "--all except Brentwood" in response to Angela's statement that "the clones have chosen good over evil." You can tell he's still upset by that.
--Nice to know Maggie's all right and Goliath is healing. Also we receive confirmation that their days of just hiding out in the castle are now over. Of course, this new development will undoubtedly bring its own problems.
--Brooklyn's still not too comfortable around the lovebirds. Did anyone else notice that while she was holding hands with Broadway she had her other hand on Brooklyn's shoulder? No wonder he took off in such a hurry.
--I laughed out loud at page 3. Behold: "Alexander (Thailog) the Great!" Okay, okay, so Alexander wasn't a Roman, but COME ON! It's too perfect! I loved the ice swan and Thailog's "leisure attire" (white and red seems to be his favorite motif). And Shari feeding him grapes…I guess he figures if he's got to have a #9 as his "Executive Assistant" he might as well enjoy it.
--Shari's definitely an interesting character. I look forward to learning more about her.
--The skiff showing up in the giant laundry tub would be the second time I laughed out loud. I mean seriously, how else do you beat a swimming pool for a unique body of water? I loved Elisa's asking to skip this particular adventure and see if Avalon needed them someplace else…like Hawaii. The cut to her "Guess not" was a great follow-up.
--The Gargoyles mistaken for Yeti is kind of funny, though I agree with Master Dawa; Sangpo should not be so hasty in his actions or judgments. Dawa gets some of the best lines, of course, but since others have already noted them, I shall not repeat them. Suffice to say, he has been presented as an interesting character and I look forward to seeing more of him.
--I loved the top panel of page 7, specifically, Goliath carrying Elisa. Don't ask me why, it just struck me.
--"Jalapena"...of course. Should I really be surprised?
--Cloak or no cloak, I figured that was Coldstone.
--The page 12 mistake was pretty obvious, especially the first and last panels. Having seen the REAL page 12, thanks to the efforts of you, Greg, as well as Greg X. and SLG, I have to say I really like Coldstone's expression in the last panel. I don't remember when I've ever seen him look that happy.
--I really liked the "pan in" on Coldstone's red eye for the quickie back-story on the Cold Trio. It especially manages to definitively explain what Coldstone is, and it sets up Coldsteel for his later appearance. "Unspeakably evil," eh? Interesting.
--Oddly enough, I suspected Coldstone was faking his possession from the beginning. In the past, his switches between personalities have always been a little more...well, obvious. Here it happened too quickly. There were some times, however, when he made me doubt. That one line, "I wonder if in this century human necks make the same noise when they snap" was especially chilling.
--Angela broke his arm-cannon! I wonder when and how he fixed it. Also, he has one HECK of a stun attack. Haven't seen him use that one before. It is a little odd for it to be coming out of his eye (at least, that's what it looks like), but it's still visually impressive.
--Coldstone's actually quite poignant in this last bit on page 21. I like his sad expression and the close-up of Angela when Coldstone mentions his children's safety (which to me reinforces the idea of "Rookery Parentage"). On that note, I'm a bit surprised by how quickly and easily Gabriel's parentage was revealed.
--They wake up on the shores of Shambalah (leaving me with a Three Dog Night song stuck in my head) and then Shari (and through her, YOU, Greg) cuts us off. DAMMIT! And just how the heck does she know this story anyway?
--Thailog enjoys a cup of wine and a maniacal laugh. Strange how he refers to Coldstone as his "uncle." Just another indicator of how Thailog doesn't really think like a gargoyle, I guess. Then Shari has to tease him (and us) with a few tantalizing hints leaving Thailog in a towering rage as he turns to stone. Why do I have an image of a cat sitting just outside the reach of a dog's chain? Illuminatus or not, she better not test the strength of that chain too much.
--I, too, am intrigued that Thailog's clothes did not turn to stone with him. I guess he really is more at home in battle armor.
--Hey, we finally see the Scarab Corporation's name (or at least most of it) in a canon story!
--This was my (censored) reaction to Coldsteel's appearance in the final page: "HOLY FREAKING SHOOT!" Oh, Xanatos is up to something. Gotta say, though, he doesn't look too happy to see Coldsteel.

Overall: Is it at the same level of the last three comics? Well, maybe not. But it's well done, it filled in a bit of a story we've only heard about for a decade, and it whetted my appetite for the next story arc. You go, Greg!

Rachel N. writes...

Hello, Greg.

I just got Issue #6 of the comic this week, and I liked the story and the artwork overall. It's great that we learn about this "lost" chapter in the Avalon World Tour, and that Angela had the chance to meet Coldstone...I liked how she surmised that he must be Gabriel's biological father. Anyway, another really good issue of the "Clan Building" storyline, and I look forward to both Issue #7 and the first issue of "Bad Guys".

That having been said, I also want to say Thank You for keeping us fans informed and "in the loop" by telling us about the work being done on the comics...and yes, that includes the printing errors that occur. I certainly appreciate the fact that you feel the need to share such info with us so that we're not left "in the dark" so to speak. Having been an employee in a printing shop for the past 3 years, I can very much sympathize with your situation regarding the production errors in Issue #6, as I have seen how easily mistakes can be made in the process of printing multiple-page items like booklets, ad journals, newsletters, etc. So printing a comic book can't be all that different. Of course, that's why I've learned how important proofs and mock-ups are in the printing process.

So, again, you have my complete understanding and empathy on that front. Good luck with all the upcoming comics...I will certainly continue to purchase them no matter what.