Review – Gargoyles #4

By Merlin Missy

 

Things that make a fangirl squee:

 

-         Having one's offspring beg for a Gargoyles-themed birthday party ten years after the series was cancelled.

-         Same offspring demanding to watch the DVDs over and over. (Disney, you hearing this?)

-         A new issue of the comic.

 

Squee!

 

Okay, let me get this out of the way first.  The cover art is gorgeous this time around.  I keep staring at the masks with an incoherent "Oooo.  Pretty." occasionally coming out.  That said, the interior art needs some work.  When my husband, who has only seen the show a few times, wrinkles his nose and says, "That's not Goliath," there's a problem.  However, instead of continuing to complain, I'm simply going to institute a new acronym for these reviews: GDHAFMS.  (David Hedgecock.  Model sheet.   Yeah.

)  Lest I be completely negative about the artwork, the vision of Elisa in her Halloween costume (continuing the theme of dressing her up like a Disney Princess) was surprisingly welcome, and the image of the four characters together on their double date, alone in a spotlight, was heartbreaking.

 

And speaking of heartbreaking …

 

Goliath and Elisa's conversation is exactly as painful as it should be.  Those of us into the "starcrossed lovers" motif are familiar with this tale and all the fallout.  (And many of us are still bitter with the way it went down for Beauty and the Beast.)  Greg Weisman let slip the story of "Double Date" years ago, so seeing Goliath and Elisa on dates with others isn't shocking, just sad.  Angela's reaction is interesting, and I'm kind of hoping to see more of a reference to the Wizard of Oz motif the rest of the clan has picked for their costumes. 

 

The fight in the Labyrinth is exciting, though a little hard to follow.  I'm worried for Maggie, I'm wondering what will become of the clones, if their sudden change of heart is programmed or true and if they'll revolt, and I'm worried about Delilah (who is getting screwed over a lot this issue, from Mr. "I don't like you in that way but let's date anyway" to Mr. "My property" and let's not forget Mr. "Sure, we'll hand her over").  At some point during the series, I really want them to deal with Elisa's chickens coming home to roost on that issue -- she was the one who pushed Goliath into thinking of Thailog as his son, and Delilah is genetically her daughter, as they explained to the poor judge.  (I am fiercely overprotective of a character who had five minutes of screen time.  Sue me.)  As for the last page, that's an awfully harsh cliffhanger to keep us for the next two months!  Geez, Greg!

 

Overall, this was a wonderfully plotty issue, complete with Illuminati build-up for later and throwaway (?) lines about how fast Alexander is maturing.  Can't wait for July.

ETA:  I have blamed the wrong person for the artwork this month.  This issue was drawn by Nir Paniri, according to Greg B. below (going with Greg W's spelling).