In 2022, Dynamite Entertainment shocked Gargoyles fans with the continuation of the Manhattan Clan's saga. More importantly, the series creator Greg Weisman returned to pen the story, while George Kambadais provided the outstanding artwork. The franchise continues to go from strength to strength, as Gargoyles #7 will bring back the fan-favorite villain Demona, and an upcoming series, titled Gargoyles: Dark Ages, is set to explore the origin of the Clan and Human Alliance in 971.
CBR caught up with Weisman to discuss fans' reactions to the comic book series. He also opened up about the impending return of Demona and the challenge of bringing her back into the fold after all this time. In addition, the writer delved into Gargoyles: Dark Ages, what makes it the next logical spinoff series, and how he decided to include backup prose stories.
CBR: What has surprised you the most about the reaction to the new Gargoyles comic book series?
Greg Weisman: That I was asked to write it! That was a very pleasant surprise! The numbers have also been strong and very reassuring. I thought we had fans eager for more stories, but one can never be certain of that premise until proven. I love that it was proven.
A major talking point is the return of Demona, who has been a pivotal character in the story from the start. What considerations did you have in mind about her return and her arc?
The trick to writing any Gargoyles character, Demona included, is to get their voice in my head. Demona, in some ways, is easy because she cuts such a big figure in the series, and I can hear Marina Sirtis [the voice of Demona from the series] in my head when I write her. The bigger trick is to make sure her return doesn't seem anti-climactic. Not everything will be revealed right away, but hopefully, our readers will immediately grasp that what she's planning is going to be significant. Hugely significant.
Gargoyles: Dark Ages looks to be the ultimate origin story for the heroes. What inspired you to tell this as a full arc/story rather than intersperse flashbacks in the main story?
Flush with our success on the main title, Dynamite asked if there were any mini-series spinoffs I'd like to do. I have half a dozen at least, and I pitched them all. Dynamite and Disney put their heads together and picked The Dark Ages. It's truly great for me to be able to focus on a six-issue arc in this time period. We've got enough going on in the main title that we'd rarely get to touch on this otherwise.
Scotland also plays a major role in the history of the Manhattan Clan. What type of inspiration did you draw from?
Way back in the day, we did a ton of research to get out Scottish history right in such episodes as "City of Stone" and "Avalon," etc. That research has continued for me -- made easier by this internet thing, which wasn't such a big deal back in 1994. And it's my kind of challenge to try to weave the actual Scottish history in and around the actions of our Gargoyles.
From an art perspective, what made Drew Moss a perfect fit for Dark Ages?
I love what Drew's doing in the book. There's a clarity of purpose in his work, a tense energy that's perfect for the subject matter, which is the story of an uneasy alliance between Humans and Gargoyles. But I shouldn't pretend I "discovered" Drew in any way. All credit for putting him on the title goes to our editor, Nate Cosby.
Tell us more about the backup prose stories and why you chose to go this route for this series.
The backup stories give backstory that goes back even further than the 971 setting of the main arc of Gargoyles: The Dark Ages. I think this backstory is exciting and useful. But it's fairly human-centric. And, let's face it, our fans aren't really buying our titles for the Humans. So adding it as a prose feature seemed like an economic way to get these stories into the canon.
Gargoyles: Dark Ages #1 is due out on July 5.