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COMEBACKS 2007-11 (Nov)

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Rosalyn writes...

Hi,I love Gargoyles. When is Season 2 :Volume 2 of the show going to be on DVD? Also the rest of the series? 'Cause I'm really anxious.

Greg responds...

You'll know when I do, I swear.

Response recorded on November 14, 2007

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NOVEMBER 14

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

November 14th...

1995
After another shift, Elisa returns to the Clock Tower just before sunrise, where she's confronted by Demona and witnesses her change into a human being. Demona challenges Elisa to save the gargoyles. Meeting the challenge, Elisa shows up at Belvedere Castle at high noon to confront the trio of villains. Elisa fights the human Demona, while Othello and Desdemona internally challenge Iago. Othello wins control of Coldstone's body and turns against Macbeth, who is forced to flee with Demona. Coldstone, fearing for the safety of his clanmates as long as Iago exists within him, departs Manhattan. Back at Macbeth's mansion, the Weird Sisters reassert their control over Macbeth and Demona, revealing that they were behind the theft of the three magical objects.

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Latest Update

Okay, here's what I know as of right now.

First off, the reprint of Gargoyles #6 should be in stores tomorrow (11/14/07). You SHOULD be able to exchange first printing copies for the reprint if you'd like. Notice the emphasis on SHOULD. Let me quote a recent e-mail from SLG publisher Dan Vado in answer to my question as to whether local stores know about this:

"The store issue is a tough one. They have been as informed as they possibly can be, that is we paid to have notices sent to them, there will be an item on their invoice and there was a mention in the weekly newsletter from Diamond Comics as well as from me personally in my retailer newsletter and on a retailer message board. That being said, I was on a conference call with two retailers yesterday, two who buy direct form me regualrly and are among those stores I would count as hard core supporters, and they had no clue they were getting new copies this week or about the replacement issue. So, as I have been mentioning to fans, the best thing to do if the retailer looks at them like they were crazy is to not bother them or get angry with them, just tear off the cover [of their old printing copy] and send it to us [at SLG] and we will replace the book directly. This is why we have not sent copies to Amazon yet and why it has not been on our website yet."

So, not a perfect world, but I really do think it's as good as it gets given the situation.

Next up, Bad Guys #1. This SHOULD be out by the end of this month. Unfortunately, because of Thanksgiving, that's not a lock. But if it's not out the last week of November, it will be out the first week of December. (In any case, it's ALL finished -- and approved.)

After that, expect Gargoyles #7 approximately three weeks after Bad Guys #1 hits the stores -- which SHOULD still put it in December -- unless Christmas messes that up, in which case it should be out the first week in January. The book is also ALL finished, but has not yet been approved.

After that, the Gargoyles Clan-Building Volume #1 Trade Paperback. Galleys are being reviewed now, but it should be out in late December or early January. We may delay it a week or two so that it isn't coming out the EXACT same week as BG1 or G7. Then again we may not.

After that, um, I guess Bad Guys #2, which is currently being finished by Karine.

After that Gargoyles #8, which is being pencilled by David.

After that Bad Guys #3, which is being scripted now by me.

After that Gargoyles #9, which has ALREADY been scripted by me. Uh... how did that happen?

Anyway, that's all I know at this time.

gdw


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Ice Tyrant writes...

Hi again. Last time when I asked a question, I wasn't really that curious, I just kinda threw in the question so the message wouldn't be totally meaningless. So anyway, not sure if you remember this scene or not.

In Thrill of the Hunt when The Pack is fighting Goliath and Lexington, Goliath pulls off the circle thing (>_>) on the fire hydrant to push away jackal and Hyena. How could he have known that those Hydrants would make water come out? Maybe he figured out in previous episodes? Not that there are many previous episodes to that one... (That's the earliest I've seen so far.)

Greg responds...

Well, there are five episodes previous, but one has to assume that at some point, he saw that those things were full of water.

Response recorded on November 13, 2007

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Meera writes...

Hi,
Do you know anywhere where we could buy, download or listen to the full songs from WITCH called "Demon in me" and "The Will to Love". I have fallen in love with these songs and any help or advice would be appreciated.

Greg responds...

Sorry, as I've answered before, no.

Response recorded on November 13, 2007

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Anonymous writes...

*I hope this doesn't sound like story suggesting*

Was Nashville concived before or after Katana and Brooklyn's mating ceremony?

Greg responds...

Well, since they don't mate until after the ceremony (such as it is)...

Response recorded on November 13, 2007

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K9 the First writes...

"""Vaevictis Asmadi writes...
This is just a comment to K9...

I think you are thinking of some Amazonian Native Americans. The Mayans and other people in Mesoamerica certainly wore clothes pre-contact."""

AH! Yes. Okay. Sorry, I wasn't quite sure about that. I'm more knowledgible of the eastern and North American primatives, the Central and South American areas/tribes/What-have-yous tend to blend together for me.

Greg responds...

<twiddles thumbs>

Response recorded on November 13, 2007

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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!

Greg responds...

Not sure what to make of the fact that your "favorite part of the story" comes directly out of something you're suggesting I should have trimmed out...

Response recorded on November 13, 2007

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NOVEMBER 13

This day in Gargoyles' Universe History....

November 13th...

1994
Elisa Maza uses the spell from the Grimorum Arcanorum to -- for all intents and purposes -- free Goliath's mind.

1995
At dawn, after a long night on duty, Elisa follows Macbeth and a human Demona up to the Clock Tower. They knock her out and steal Coldstone, in order to distract the clan from realizing that they've also stolen the Eye of Odin, the Grimorum and the Phoenix Gate. At sundown, Demona transforms back into a gargoyle and reawakens Coldstone with the evil Iago personality in control. Meanwhile, Elisa fills in the gargoyles, who sneak into Macbeth's mansion to recover Coldstone - only to be betrayed and captured. Meanwhile, Tony Dracon is released on bail and begins tightening his grip on the protection racket in Manhattan.

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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.

Greg responds...

The M in Spider-Man is capitalized after the hyphen.

Response recorded on November 12, 2007


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