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Greg Bishansky writes...

*** Big Bad Spoilers ***

Picked up "Gargoyles: Bad Guys" #1 today. The first issue was a lot of fun. Has a definite 'First Act' feel to it, which is fine, that's what it is.

There are two stories going on here, one about how the team is formed, and another which takes place two months later. The latter seems to obviously be the story from the "Bad Guys" leica reel, which is cool. I look forward to finding out, after all these years, what their mission there is.

But, let's talk about the real meat of the story. We open in Sydney, Australia where we meet, ::snickers:: The Tazmanian Tiger. A one-shot villain, if I ever saw one. If he were a Spider-Man villain, he'd be in the Legion of Losers. Which is fine, not every villain can be, or should be, Xanatos, Demona or Thailog. Knowing Greg, he'll probably use this guy again eventually down the road, however, he'll need a major upgrade to be at all credible. Bit of an anecdote, when I first saw this guy, I laughed so hard, I think the other patrons as the sushi place thought I was having a seizure.

Dingo and Matrix show up and do their thing. Australia's premere superhero. Loved, respected. I liked the brief Superman homage. Also, nice creepy forboding about how Matrix inserts itself into Dingo's spine. Looking forward to seeing where that's going.

Enter Hunter, probably my favorite character in the book. For those not in the know, she's a mysterious, badass chick with a gun and a cool mask. I look forward to seeing things from her perspective soon. Right now, we're seeing things from Dingo's point of view, and he obviously does not like her... yet. But, given the solicitation for #3, I think we'll be getting that.

What did surprise me is that it was Matrix, and not Dingo who accepted Hunter's offer. Matrix wasn't even really under threat, and I have my doubts that it was on Hunter's recruitment list.

Now, they're heading to Tokyo to hunt a Tengu. I can't wait to read it.

Artwise, this looked good. I think the book works well in black and white? Would I prefer color? Yeah, who wouldn't. But I don't care. The inking and toning looks good. I'll admit, I'd love to see some of those newer characters in color, but it's fine.

The cover. I'm still not quite sold. It looks good, and the Wanted posters as covers idea is fun, but, and especially for a first issue, I think something a little more dynamic and eye-catching would have been better. A group shot of the team. Or, perhaps, another of the characters. Hunter, maybe Dingo. Matrix doesn't really have a design that jumps out at you.

Still, a very fun book and I look forward to seeing where this goes. The "Gargoyles" Universe is expanding, and it's much bigger and richer than just Goliath and his clan in Manhattan. I want to see more, much more.

*** Big Bad Spoilers ***

Greg responds...

Glad you (mostly) liked it.

Response recorded on December 03, 2007