Once upon a time, I was on a date with the man I eventually married. We went to see "The Prince of Egypt." As the theatre lights dimmed, the previews began with the familiar green screen reading "The following preview has been rated … " and then the screen went dark, just for a moment, before revealing one shimmering green word: Lucasfilm. My date and I gasped and took each other's hands, as we watched the trailer for "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace." Months later, our excitement turned to dismay as we actually watched the film (after spending nine hours in line waiting for tickets), but when I think back to the prequels, I can still remember the warm feeling in my stomach before "The Prince of Egypt," and I know how excited I was that we were finally getting new canon to something I'd loved for so long.

Gargoyles has new canon. And it doesn't suck. There is no Jar-Jar, the only cute moppet is the one who's been there since "The Gathering," and there's a plot.

Thank Oberon, it's back.

After two set-up issues retelling the events of "The Journey" (the sole episode of Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles penned by Greg Weisman), the comic has branched into new territory. Well, when I say "new," it's with the understanding that Greg Weisman has been telling parts of this story to the fandom for years in the "Ask Greg" archive over on Station 8. So if you're coming into the fandom without having read up there, you're probably going to enjoy a much less spoiler-filled existence than those of us who have been playing the "Uncle Greg, tell us a story" game for the last decade. Puck help you if you've read any of the fan-run virtual seasons "The Gargoyles Saga," as it has drawn heavily on the same material. Thus, the phrase "new canon" currently rings about as true as the recent film "300" (or back in the day, "Apollo 13") being a "new story." You may not know how the story goes, but a lot of people do.

Doesn't matter. The proof of any tale is not in the story but in the telling.

The third issue of the comic brings us old friends and new allies, exactly as it should.

That's Elisa. That's Goliath. Everyone is on the scene, everyone is right. The Illuminati, in the person of Martin Hacker, are moving things in the background, and certain old enemies are still causing trouble just like always. The Goliath/Elisa rift may seem a little soon on the heels of "The Journey," but we know it isn't angst for the sake of angst. Driving the main couple apart artificially is the sport of hacks; we know this love story, and we know that the only thing these two will learn from this separation is that neither can be happy without the other. So we will indulge the experiment as the characters learn.

The middle of the tale is a little exposition-heavy for anyone already intimately familiar with the series, but it's worth it for the giggle for anyone who realizes Al's explanation is a perfect recitation of the "You sure added a lot to this pitch, didn't you, Greg?" material. It's all fannish history, just as memorable as "It's better than Barney," if harder to pin down as such. The ending is sudden and twisted, and a perfect set-up for the next issue.

The weakest part of the comic, and the aspect that brings it down from an otherwise lovely start, is the lousy artwork. Somebody get David Hedgecock some character model sheets, stat; this is a comic based on an animated series, so there's no reason for the art to be so inconsistent with the original models. Greg Guler and Stephanie Lostimolo did great work on the cover, Dustin Evans did what he could with the colors, but when the characters don't look like themselves, the book suffers. The good news is, guest artists are coming up for future issues, including well-known artists from the Gargoyles fan community, so hopefully things will shape up in that arena soon.

Overall, Gargoyles #3 is a treat and a delight, a gift to fans who've been waiting for years to catch up with these characters. I can't wait to see what happens next.