Dynamite Comic‘s grande plan may well be to bring the complete catalogue of Disney Afternoon cartoons back in sequential art form! It’s cheaper than trying to reboot everything, and so far, we have Gargoyles and Darkwing Duck. Both even have along with facsimiles of their previous fruns. The former had an eleven issue run by Marvel Comics and the latter for eight by Joe Books.
The reason for the delay in saying anything is that I hoped I could track down the latter series to read and give a full review rather than partial. I didn’t find any at this comic book trade show in my city or at Fan Expo Vancouver, but I will say the reprint showed how absolutely fun and nostalgic that publication is. I need to attend a larger show to find them.
The second issue reveals even more problems in store! Doctor Severis wants to harvest his enemy’s DNA, and I can hear Tim Curry’s voice come alive while reading. But before I could go any further, I had to watch the cartoons again!
Interestingly, Dynamite Comics release of Marvel Comics Gargoyles #1 after these two comics made me yearn to collect them all! Sadly, they only have the rights to reproduce #1. I rather liked the darker spin, and the sass from Goliath is a character trait I can accept.
Though this run do not follow Greg Weisman’s vision for the saga, sometimes to get a different take is good. Unfortunately, finding this particular comic book series over Slave Labour Comics’ version can cost a hefty penny. I still want to own them all, since the latter is slightly referenced. According to one post made some weeks ago, they will be reprinted.
I’m told they’re reprinting both. #GargoylesDynamite! https://t.co/eFbACk7yAe
— Greg Weisman (@Greg_Weisman) July 24, 2022
On the whole, fans of the series will love this continuation. The art by George Kambadais beautifully recalls the cartoon. His style honours the source material very well. Maybe it’s just me, but Detective Maza looks a lot fiercer in this update. In another aspect, her story needed to be recounted before we can really get back to celebrating this world again.
In the next issue, the perspective changes. Angela, Goliath’s daughter, helps define the situation even more, and we meet new characters. Where the tale goes from here are multiple levels of subterfuge. The level of storytelling is far better from what I recall long ago, and it may be because Weisman is in complete control rather than being a part of the writer’s room to create the series.
In #3, what’s presented is the birth of a new child, and some exposition what the Great Minds Protocol entails. No spoilers will be revealed here, as it’s episodic storytelling at its best. This release is now in comic stores near you, and just when they are put on shelves look to be at the tail end of each month.
What’s presented is truly a continuation worth waiting for! There’s a lot more at stake. Ultimately, we see the relationship between humanity and Gargoyles at the crossroads yet again; and what happens next is not about rival gangs versus monsters. Here, it’s about why these stone guardians should be treated as normal rather than aliens to be experimented on.
To read up on what else we’ve said about Disney’s Gargyles in the past, please check out our archives here.
