I went to the comic shop today to hopefully see if my physical copies were there, but sadly they were not. On a positive note, the shop was playing "Bereft", from the first season of Young Justce (and its always fun to see Psimon get his comeuppance). Anyways, I'll have to be content with the digital version for now.

A smattering of observations:
[SPOILER]
I had to rewatch the Battle of Bothgoanan in "City of Stone" Part Three to see if Canmore was in eyeshot during Duncan's demise. Guess he was outside of the shot. Not that I'm complaining -- it really adds to Canmore's reaction when he refuses to bow to his father's murderer in the scene that follows (Bodhe also isn't much help with soothing demeanors, lol).

All in all, the opening joint narration really sells not only Demona's continued self-denial (presented through her young acolyte and eventual daughter, Angelika), but the beginnings of Macbeth's tarnished reputation thanks to the victors rewriting history at his expense.

Jumping off from Matt's observation of Demona's being terrified of being "anything but alone", I notice how Angelika frames Demona's immortality as being "cursed to a life of eternal loneliness". No doubt that kind of insider info would have been helpful for the "Alone" Contest all those years ago d:

Shame the Stone of Destiny wasn't in eyeshot in that panel. I also noticed he's not sitting on the Rock like in other coronations we've seen. Perhaps its a sign of the ceremony's evolving. And we're less than two hundred years before Edward Longshanks runs off with it.

Curious about what the other Arabic numbers look like in the Gargoyles font.

I've been looking online to see if there were any stone dances like the one we see where this Northumbrian Clan lived. Haven't found any real world counterpart yet.

I like that 'Rhydderch' seems to have fallen out of fashion a good 122 years since we heard it used in Gargoyles: Dark Ages. Makes me wonder if its also a regional term too, considering that the Northumbrian Clan seems to be a mix of Scottish and English stock.

Nice observation about the clan's farming, Todd. I noticed some of the ground looks 'plowed' in a later panel.

Fun fact about Edinburgh Castle and its 1093 inhabitants. When I visited it in 2016, one of the oldest structures there was St. Margaret's Chapel, named after Malcolm Canmore's second wife who dies of grief at the end of this issue. Speaking of its inhabitants . . .

Ever since February, when we were teased the date of 1093 and another encounter with old man Malcolm Canmore, I've imagined the Family Tree on GargWiki would need updating. Since April, it's been a project of mine, updating graphics and whatnot, but always with the goal that we would one day handle Canmore's crowded progeny (give me a few days, it's gonna be awesome. :D)

Anyways, we have our first tease of Thorfinn and Ingibjorg in canon since they were first name-dropped on AskGreg! Donald just mentions Thorfinn as long-deceased, not mentioning (or not knowing) that, at least in the Gargoyles Universe, he also died in 1057 when Macbeth supposedly did.

While Malcolm Canmore fathered four future kings, it is Dauid's branch that will continue on to Robert the Bruce and essentially the rest of the Scottish line of succession.

Donalbain was also named dropped in the 2007-2008 "This Day in Gargoyles Universe History", and his time in Ireland was also teased there.

The Gargoyle of the Sword being identified as the only other survivor of her clan packs all the more punch when we are four decades past the massacres of "Second", "Kermit", "Brooksbro", and "Schnozzz".

I LOVE soon-to-be-Angelika's reaction to Demona's ". . . but he vanished in flame long ago." Even in a world of gargoyles and the fair folk, that's weird stuff, lol.

And then of course, Bamburgh Castle -- there's another stop to add on a future tour of the United Kingdom!

Malcolm Canmore and Robert de Mowbray's conversation comes off as an 11th Century version of Dracon's protection racket. Except no one (that's human at least) is really sympathetic in this scenario.

We have a date for the Malcolm Canmore's final day, making me wonder how much time has passed since Malcolm Canmore's audience with his family and Demona's first encounter with the Northumbrian Clan.

The gargoyles resting atop of the stone dance's lintels makes we wonder if that was common among ancient British gargoyles.

Outside of wanting to see old man Maol Chalvim's dynamics with a young Duncan, Donalbain's time in Ireland is the Scottish royal family story I want to see next.

Battle of Alnwick. Edward the heir protects his father and king, only to be slain himself.

The massacred rookery is truly unsettling. How long were the eggs from hatching? Five years? Future-Angelika's death wish also compounds the mood to utterly depressing.

I've enjoyed the comparison here in the comment room to Hakon today. Little does Hudson know just how much Malcolm Canmore earned his title of Clan-Slaughterer. That panel of Demona cradling his head? I'm surprised the body was still in one piece when he died! But, a great use of a Chekhov's sword -- One of the advantages of a human-made weapon is that it puts reasonable doubt on who the culprit. And then there's Arkil Morel, with his smug, centuries-early selfie smile!

. . . and this family continues the infighting for the remainder of the 11th Century. Of course, that won't be the end of it. Just for this issue.

Edith will eventually marry William Rufus's brother, Henry I.

Domnall-now-Donald Canmore witnessing his family's constant infighting is convincing grounds in his conclusion of just how hollow the crown was on their respective heads. But I had to look back to see just how Donald ignored his father's warnings and noticed how he just stood by as he and his other brothers took part in smashing the Northumbrian Clan.

Lastly, I'm wondering when Angelika hatched. I'll let Matt run the numbers, but it seems like 1078?

[/SPOILER]
Phoenician
Gus: "I always forget you're there." Hooty: "I forget I'm here toooooo."
posted @ Wed, Jun 11, 2025 11:09:53 pm EDT from 68.2.64.232

Really enjoyed the new issue. Not a whole lot to say at the moment because [SPOILER] my gosh, there were a LOT of new characters, and I need to reread when I'm less tired, and with my books on Scottish history next to me so I can follow along with who everyone is! But I always love the "Scottish history" dumps in Gargoyles, so this one is immediately a favorite. And the art is just gorgeous. Frank mentioned on a recent Voices from the Eyrie that he was turned down by the major comics publishers in the '80s, and felt this was an opportunity to finally prove himself in a comics context. He is acquitting himself beautifully so far. Can't wait for the next installment. Hopefully I'll have more to add in a day or two. [/SPOILER]
Craig
posted @ Wed, Jun 11, 2025 10:02:54 pm EDT from 69.118.30.106

MATT - Thanks for [SPOILER] pointing out Demona gliding over Hadrian's Wall and the eggs being casualties of Canmore's massacre of the Northumbrian clan. I'd missed both when I first read this issue, but after reading your review, went back over it and spotted both this time.

A few other little moments that stand out to me: Demona pointing out that her fight with Canmore won't be an epic battle - she makes short work of him in mere moments. And the way Angelika persuades Demona to let her come along, by saying that she just happens to be traveling in the same direction as Demona. And that look at the Weird Sisters divided in the middle between Angelika and Donald Canmore's recountings - resulting in a look at the Weird Sisters in their gargoyle and human hag forms, bringing back one aspect of them that we haven't seen since "City of Stone". [/SPOILER]
Todd Jensen
posted @ Wed, Jun 11, 2025 8:20:05 pm EDT from 68.99.93.213

The comic's amazing - no time for a detailed response at present but massive thanks to Greg, Frank, Robby and the Dynamite team. Astounding.
Ed
posted @ Wed, Jun 11, 2025 2:21:29 pm EDT from 146.90.229.166

Even reading this on a black and white kindle, Frank's art is absolutely gorgeous. Also, [SPOILER] I believe this is the first time Demona's been present for a full clan massacre she didn't indirectly cause. So... progress? [/SPOILER]
Algae
'Nuff said
posted @ Wed, Jun 11, 2025 1:22:56 pm EDT from 88.87.179.191

Good morning, all. Glad to see that the digital version has been released at last! Bummer about the delay on the physical versions, but nice to hear that they are trickling out to some. Hopefully, we get a full release soon.

Anyway, here are my thoughts on Demona #1. I've only briefly discussed this story with a few others, but these thoughts are mostly my own. I look forward to reading all of your thoughts soon.

[SPOILER] - The opening card struck me as interesting. If the Gargoyles intro is being read by Goliath, the reference to Demona being once considered their "greatest ally" raises an eyebrow. Sure she was on the side of the angels, but their greatest ally? Not Mentor? Not Robbie? I suppose considering she was his mate and his second and now she is their "sworn enemy" is just Goliath being a little poetic. But I doubt anyone but Goliath would've considered Angel the Clan's greatest ally back in the day. Also, the cheese stands alone on this one, but I'll always maintain that the opening monologue on the show says "Now we are in Manhattan" not "Now, here in Manhattan..." Small potatoes.

- I like the opening page with who will be revealed as Angelika and Donald telling their accounts of their parents. Some great unreliable story-teller moments here. On Angelika's side, we get the account of the Wyvern Massacre that Demona solely survived but Demona has made no mention of her involvement in that. And then again a "betrayal" ended the Demona-Macbeth Golden Age, but no mention is made of it being Demona's betrayal! Some great tales of the victimhood of Demona too. Living with a curse, being hunted and lonely forever. And Donald's account sure puts Macbeth in a poor light. Black magic, forces of darkness, and the summoning of a demon from hell are all mentioned in a single page. Pretty scathing. Canmore accurately calls out the demon's betrayal of Macbeth. And sending the demon back to hell! But the story is passed down that the demon could return with minions. All of this plays right into the establishing the line of the Hunters beautifully (if sadly). I hear a lot of echo's of Jason Canmore in Donald's musings in this story. I really love that the Weird Sisters on Angelika's side of the page appear as old gargoyles and on Donald's side they appear as human hags. One of many great callbacks to "City Of Stone". Also, as usual, "Schnozz" is forgotten. Ha.

- The "1093" page is awesome, but simple. You feel the weight of it. Like the silence with a loud boom or something. I expect we will get more openings like this in the next four issues. Angelika's thoughts on her mother followed by the year telling us where we go next. I like it a lot.

- Demona glides over Hadrian's Wall and into Northumbria. Presumably this is the first time she has left Scotland. Has she spent the last 36 years trying to find any remaining gargoyles in her homeland as Gruoch cursed her to do? Clearly she found none were left. The actions of Gilllecomgain and Constantine and Canmore in particular made sure of that. And Demona (in 1996) makes the claim that the Hunter's wiped out the last gargoyles in Scotland. The Loch Ness Clan must be well hidden. Wise of them. But Demona discovers a new clan in Northumbria and is pleased to see them. As Todd hinted, I love the new gargoyle culture and biology and history stuff we get in this story and it mostly focuses on this clan. They are fascinating to me for a few reasons. They seem to be a mix of mostly Scottish stock with some English stock which is appropriate given their location. It is almost as if they were cobbled together survivors and yet the context and other clues makes it seem like they have been living there for some time. We may be seeing the first instance of gargoyles moving to join other clans in ancient times. The leader seems to be of Scottish descent and is familiar with the term "rhydderch" from his youth. Very cool. Also, it appears this clan does some agriculture. The second-in-command is holding a basket of lettuce heads and later we see tilled soil. This clan were less hunter-gatherer than we've seen. Also, I love this clan's home on a hilltop with old stone megaliths. Did gargoyles build these structures? Anyway, Demona is glad to see living gargoyles and so am I...

- Meanwhile, back in Scotland, we meet King Canmore's extended family. It took a couple reads before I mentally mapped who as these people were. I'm amazed Greg included them all. I look forward to seeing the updated Scottish family tree on GargWiki.

- Back with the gargoyles, we have Demona and Angelika's first real interaction. I love how the younger gargoyle's curiosity is quite evident, but she has no fear of Demona despite the elder's hostility. I love that Demona is still trying to piece together what happened to the Gargoyle of the Sword. She must be somewhat aware that time travel was involved. I hope we one day get the story of her returning to Castle Wyvern (perhaps with Xanatos) and seeing Brooklyn there sleeping.

- At Bamburgh Castle we get a horrible, medieval moment of the "Lessons of Kings". Neither side here seems to care much for the plight of the peasants. They are going to suffer as punishment to you, but no worries, no real harm done. Yeesh. Canmore is clearly the worse one here, but it feels like every human in this story is some shade of awful. I guess we shouldn't be surprised given the time period and that the story is from Demona's POV. The relationship between the Northumbrians and the local gargoyles is interesting. We've seen gargoyles hiding from humans and gargoyles in alliance with humans, but we have not yet seen gargoyles and humans existing as amicable but distant neighbors. "They keep to themselves. They're not a problem." Someone needs to tell these gargoyles that human problems become gargoyle problems. And quickly. Guess Demona gets to be the one to tell them. But, sadly, they don't listen. Or not enough. And I get it, sort of. The humans have never been a threat and they want to stay together. That is the Gargoyle Way. Unfortunatly, no one has told them that the Age of Gargoyles is ending. Very scary and sad. I was going to applaud Demona for not being responsible for the deaths of a clan for once (and for even trying to honestly save them), but then I remembered that it was Demona who created the Hunter. Even this massacre will be on her hands, if only indirectly.

- And so we come to the razing of the Northumbrian village and the masscare of the Clan. These really are awful people. Their viewpoints on all of this range from glee all the way to viewing it as a "necessary evil". Perhaps the best we get is from Donalbain's reluctance. He does try to stop Canmore from killing the gargoyles (citing his appreciation for the Irish gargoyles, SOOO interesting), but caves in to his brother fairly easily. "Oh well. I tried." Canmore will get his comeuppance soon enough. You reap what you sow. But that massacre. Ugh. This is the first time we've seen that the eggs in the rookery were even smashed. When Hakon killed the Wyvern Clan, he wasn't going for genocide. He was trying to protect his people from being followed by the gargoyles. Here though, the gargoyles are no threat and the smashing of their eggs drives that home. Canmore is trying to wipe out the species. I can't imagine there are many clans left in that part of the world at this point. And if the Irish or Loch Ness or London Clans got word of this, I'm sure it struck fear in them. It seems the only clans in this part of the world who are going to make it are those that go deep into hiding. Even limiting their numbers. You have to feel a little for Demona here. How many times must she come upon this scene? In the Wyvern Massacre she felt guilt and sadness. Now she fuels it into her hatred and vengeance. It is not her crying this time, it is Angelika. Demona has little sympathy for the rookling, but does point out that the important thing is that she survived. For Demona, mere survival is enough. Gargoyle customs and heritage are quickly fading for Demona. Wind Ceremony? Who cares? It's all about survival and vengeance. And so off she goes to finally take her vengeance on Canmore. Quick. Deadly. And, ultimately, unfulfilling...

- And we get our ending. All the humans do horrible things because all the humans are horrible to varying degrees in this story. The line of the Hunters is formally, if secretly, established. I like that their cause isn't to just wipe out the gargoyle species, but rather to fight the forces of a demon from hell and "her gargoyle familiars". Hard to see the problem when you put it that way... And Demona departs this cursed land. Her reluctance to take Angelika on is interesting to me. She says she just can't be burdened, but I think there is more to it. I think she is terrified of being anything but alone. Everytime she leads gargoyles, they end up dead. I don't think she consciously knows this, but I think she is avoiding responsibility as she is so good at doing. Still, I think she is pleased when Angelika tags along. I think she sees a bit of herself in the young gargoyle. I'm reminded of the Voices episode where they discussed Sanctuary and how Greg Weisman pointed out that Goliath's fear of Angela becoming like her mother is partially based on Angela's decision to leave Avalon as that is exactly what young Angel might have done. Seems like that is what Angelika would do too. I am really looking forward to watching the relationship between Demona and Angelika grow and evolve. I suspect we will look back on both Demona #0 and #1 with fresh eyes by the end of this arc. Who will Angelika become and what legacy will Angelika have? I can't wait to find out.

-Quick note that I LOVE the art of this story. I don't have tons to say about it, but the art has been among my favorite in the Dynamite era so far. Great stuff!!! [/SPOILER]

Those are my thoughts, where are yours?
Matt
"My daughter?! How dare you mock me! I have no daughter." - Demona, 1996
posted @ Wed, Jun 11, 2025 12:05:22 pm EDT from 47.233.90.133

MATTHEW - Thanks for your comments, and it's great to start having reviews of this issue here at last; the delay is over.

A few more thoughts of mine.

[SPOILER] We (very briefly) meet the Northumbrian clan. A few things about them I noted:

1. Their design is "Scottish gargoyle" rather than "London gargoyle". This surprised me a bit at first, but upon thinking it over, it made sense to me. Human boundaries would obviously mean little to gargoyles, so it'd be natural that the "Scottish" variety of gargoyles would be found in northern England, close by, as well.

2. The use of "rhydderch" for "clan leader" is apparently falling into disuse - though we get no hints as to why that is.

3. The gargoyles had baskets of either lettuce or cabbages (I'm not sure which), suggesting that they were growing crops. It's possible, of course, that they could have acquired them from the local humans, but given the statements that the Northumbrian clan kept to itself, growing the crops themselves seems more likely - and offers us our first look at gargoyles engaging in agriculture.

We also learn from Donalbain that there were still gargoyles in Ireland by the eleventh century. (Donalbain shows some unease at his brother's gargoyle-slaughtering, though he backs down, unfortunately - not the last time we'll see this kind of behavior in the Canmore family.)

And the Canmore family tree at GargWiki will really need some big expanding after this, with a tableful of family. (All of whom, even Donald, were historical. I'll be posting tidbits about their lives here in the days to come, plus a bit about Mowbray and and Morel - who'd be running into trouble themselves a couple of years later.)

Demona offered a piece of sound advice to the Northumbrian gargoyles about the inadvisability of all sleeping in one spot; it's a pity they didn't heed it. [/SPOILER]
Todd Jensen
posted @ Wed, Jun 11, 2025 8:43:21 am EDT from 68.99.93.213

Love to read it, Waiting for more new update and i already read your recent post its Great Thanks
Villa Hills Roofing Company - [vluerthan at gmail dot com]
Great!
posted @ Wed, Jun 11, 2025 7:30:10 am EDT from 49.149.97.203

It finally arrives, here's some quick thoughts on Demona #1.

[SPOILER] We finally get to see the Battle of Alnwick and the end of Canmore. This was an odd bit for me personally, long before the comics started up again it was a personal head-canon of mine that Arkil Morel was an alias Macbeth used to take revenge on Canmore to avenge his wife and son. And then finding no satisfaction in killing the man he once spared because it wouldn't bring back his family, would truly begin the long and lonely road of immortality. Thematically speaking it makes far more sense that Demona would and certainly did the deed. I guess I'm just working through old expectations.

I'm going to have to reread this soon, there's a lot of historical figures introduced fairly quickly including the two narrators, Angelika and Donald. With all the internal politics if this was in the show proper, I could totally see this as another "City of Stone" kind of multi-parter. On a personal note, I have to admit I take certain pleasure in seeing that Canmore grew up to be a cowardly, pathetic figure, abandoning even his own children in the midst of battle. And in the end, the backstabbing brute is undone by both his wanton destruction giving the Northumbrians all the excuse they need to hunt him down and by a gargoyle who was just itching to kill him.

One thing I noticed in Donald's narration is the lionization that's down by the Canmore's within their own family, either done by ignorance or straight up denial. Duncan was "brutally murdered by a usurper and his demonic pact", conveniently ignoring that Duncan made pacts with a monster like Gillecomgain to pave his own way to the throne. And fell to a war he started because his bloodlust and paranoia caused him to turn against a loyal vassal. It really brings to mind the modern day when Elisa asks Jason if he even knows why they started this blood feud in the first place. They've been feeding the family with so much distorted facts since the beginning that genuine truth has been lost to the ages.

One thing that really stood out to me is that we really get to see dark steps Demona takes toward villainy, and it all revolves around how she interacts with Angelika. Being rude and dismissive towards the young gargoyle for now reason, threatening her with a blade just because she accidentally snuck up on her, and so utterly detached from empathy that she can't even spare a few words of comfort for the young one and her fallen clan.

When it became clear that this story would heavily feature Demona and her daughter I wondered if this was going to be biological daughter sort of thing (and who would the father be and whether Demona cared about him at all). Having her be adopted brings a pretty dark turn to this because a lot of Demona's speech to Angelika is of the abusive variety. Constantly showing aggression and dismissing basic notions of grief or kindness. This leads into a theory I have that the reason why Demona was adamant on retrieving the locket with her and Angelika's hair wasn't because of motherly affection but because of all the gargoyles Demona met during her immortal wandering, Angelika was the only one to truly join her in her mad crusade against humanity. I have this nasty feeling this will be the Gargoyles version of Slade and Terra's relationship and it's not going to end well for the protégé. [/SPOILER]

That's all for now, looking forward to the next issue!
Matthew the Fedora Guy
You're Gonna Carry That Weight
posted @ Wed, Jun 11, 2025 3:52:22 am EDT from 135.180.3.149

All the best! https://www.mywarbible.com
Joana Davidson - [ampva300 at gmail dot com]
posted @ Tue, Jun 10, 2025 4:50:46 pm EDT from 209.35.174.146

Thanks for sharing that, Todd. Seems like I bet on the wrong horse - I ordered my copies from Midtown Comics, since I like to get the variant covers and I couldn't find them all on Dynamite's site. From what I've read, Dynamite is the last major comics publisher to stick with Diamond as their distributor, whereas all the others switched over to Penguin Random House awhile ago. I don't know what Dynamite's rationale is, but I'm sure the recent layoffs and shakeups at Diamond aren't conducive to a reliable release schedule. Does anyone know if Dynamite's other books have remained on schedule the past few months?
Craig
posted @ Mon, Jun 9, 2025 9:03:35 pm EDT from 69.118.30.106

Distribution in the sense of "delivering it to comic shops" seems the most likely reason. I doubt it's production problems, because I got a copy of "Demona #1" in the mail on Saturday. (I'd ordered it direct from Dynamite, after "Things from Another World" stopped delivering comics.)

It was a good issue, too, though I'll wait until more people here get copies (whatever way it happens) before saying much about it. Although [SPOILER] Canmore's family tree gets a lot bigger in it - and we meet (sadly briefly) a new gargoyle clan in Northumbria with a few features of interest to everyone interested in gargoyle biology and culture [/SPOILER].
Todd Jensen
posted @ Mon, Jun 9, 2025 7:51:00 pm EDT from 68.99.93.213

I'd also like to see the latest comic get a release soon. Has there been anything official for the delay? A distribution error or something?
Matthew the Fedora Guy
You're Gonna Carry That Weight
posted @ Mon, Jun 9, 2025 5:28:12 pm EDT from 135.180.3.149

Rhgde@#

I mean, third! But it's hard to type that with crossed fingers.
morrand - [morrand276 at gmail dot com]
posted @ Mon, Jun 9, 2025 1:02:21 pm EDT from 108.69.72.60

Second!

Demona #1 this week? The digital version at least, maybe?
Matt
"My daughter?! How dare you mock me! I have no daughter." - Demona, 1996
posted @ Mon, Jun 9, 2025 10:21:17 am EDT from 47.233.90.133

First.
Todd Jensen
posted @ Mon, Jun 9, 2025 8:29:47 am EDT from 68.99.93.213