Hunger Pangs; Bad Guys #5, #6 Solicitations

First, I just have to let everyone know that I'm going through Gargoyles withdrawal. My two copies of Bad Guys #3 have still not shipped from Midtown Comics, and no comic shops near me order Gargoyles comics. I'm itching to get my hands on some fresh material, so this news was a nice pick-me-up:

Thanks to a post by Greg Bishansky over at the Comment Room, we now have the solicitations for the final two issues of Gargoyles: Bad Guys!

Here they are, with a tiny bit in the way of spoilers (which most of us are already aware of), so if you don't want anything revealed, this may not be for you:

Gargoyles: Bad Guys #5 & #6

by Greg Weisman & Various Questions abound in Redemption Chapter V! What's on the mysterious island that the Squad has so desperately been trying to reach? Who sent the flying Robots? And how much does Dingo know about their attacker - a figure from his past? Then, in the final battle against the forces of the Illuminati, each member of the squad will have to decide just whose side they are on. Is redemption even possible for the bad guys? And if so, at what cost? Find out in Redemption Chapters V and VI!

According to GargWiki, the titles are BG#5 - Strangled and BG#6 - Losers.

Being that they were solicited as a pair, I'm assuming that the plan is for them to have relatively close release dates, and given the information the solicitation provides, I think it's a safe assumption that these final two issues will focus much more on the present as opposed to the three issues that have already been released, which have progressed predominantly through flashbacks.

P.S. - A little bit of news that I neglected to post: Karine has stated that she has finished BG#4, and is currently working on #5. I had updated the "Upcoming Releases" list on the right-hand side of the blog, but I didn't have the time to post her actual comments. So sorry, but here it is now, for anyone who may have missed it:

About Bad Guys #3: Toldja you'd like Chris's art! :) I was very happy to learn that he was going to be picking up my slack, and then was even happier to see his work when it came in. I learned some stuff from him, too.

Issue #4 was finished last week; I'm currently halfway into #5's roughs, and I've got just about a quarter inked. Just so you know.

So, hopefully if Gargoyles #9 is not ready to be released in June, Disney will have at least finished approving BG#4, so we won't have to go a whole month without something Gargoyles-related to feed our hunger. We're getting close to the end of Bad Guys, and it looks like it keeps getting better and better. I can't wait!

Post from Kanthara

Karine Charlebois, the incredible Kanthara, who guest pencilled Gargoyles #5, and is currently pencilling Bad Guys, posted at the Comment Room over at Station Eight, giving us some nice information about cameos in the comics, and progress on BG#4. If you haven't read Bad Guys #2 yet, there are SPOILERS:

Hey guys,

I popped in to sneak a peak at your comments on BG#2. I am TICKLED PINK. I am incredibly flattered by your compliments on the comic and the art.

I also wanted to apologize for the delay. Okay, it spent a long time at Disney waiting for approval, but I also had trouble delivering on time due to sick kids and taking on more work than I could actually accomplish in the time I had. This is why Christopher Jones acted as fill-in artist for issue #3.

The reason why issue 3 is coming out so quickly after #2 is that the license has a limited time duration, and the LS has to be done within that time. So we're trying to catch up on the schedule.

In any case, I think you will enjoy Chris's art. I know I learned a lot from it, and my work on issue 4 is better for it. Just so you know, the art of issue 4 is finished, and the lettering is happening right now.

A few comments and responses about the cameos. Some months ago, I made a call for cameos in my LJ. There were a few people I knew I wanted to include -- Greg B, for example, because he's been a big help with finding references and screencaps -- but I needed more people to fill up panels. So, next to Greg and Mara, you'll see Adriana (Ginnonami) and Lanny Fields (Invisible Wolf) waiting for the bus. On the following page, where "Fred" greets the other inhabitants of the Labyrinth, there's a group of guys chatting in the back: these are my gaming buddies. You've noticed human!Kanthara in Tokyo, and Vinnie was in the script. Rene (damoclesangel) is in that page as well as he is really currently there.

Benny's "I believe" t-shirt is a complete invention on my part. I thought it was amusing. I'm glad you think so too.

The coffee Dingo is drinking is actually a nod to the place where I did most of issue #2: I spent my working days at Second Cup, a coffee shop chain. The logo on Dingo's cup is a flipped version of theirs.

Issue 4 will have more cameos, because I enjoy them far too much. For those going to the Gathering, the page will be shown in the art show.

About "how much is script and how much is artist interpretation": I'll ask Greg if I can post a page of script to show. My experience as a comic book artist is limited, but as a storyboard artist, spans over several years. Greg's scripts, in my opinion, are clear, to the point, and don't lose themselves in details the actual reader will never see. He writes in such a way that I have room to manoeuvre, but at the same time I seem to have an easy time getting what he wants and drawing it right.

About the review: Well, seeing as I'm two issues in front of you (three if you count the fact that I've read the script for issue 5), I know that his concerns about continuity and obscure character references will get resolved in the following issues. Plus, you should count on issues 3 and 5 of Gargoyles, the main book, as your refresher as to who Sevarius is, mostly in Al's telling to Shari. It's recent enough (and while yes, it should have come out months ago, the time frame is still recent) and I doubt people who are picking up Bad Guys aren't picking up Gargoyles as well.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I was planning on going to bed early to celebrate my being finished with issue 4, but the lure of s8 was too great...

OH YEAH! Come to the Gathering to learn more about Bad Guys and see original art and perhaps even bid on original pages! I'll be selling some of my pages.
Karine

It seems that Bad Guys #4 has plenty of time to get finished and approved by the time it is expected for release in July, and hopefully this will keep the series on schedule til the end.

Greg's Answers, Gargoyles #10 Info!

Greg W. responded to some questions of mine, and in doing so revealed some interesting tidbits about character designs, which I was really curious about. Check out the response, but...

The best part of all this was revealing that Greg Guler will be guest pencilling Gargoyles #10! I found this particularly incredible, because I remember way back when seeing the cover for G#1 and thinking, 'wow, I hope the inside looks like that!' Now, I've always been a fan of David Hedgecock's art, and I personally was never disappointed by it, but in terms of staying on model (i.e. the characters looking exactly as they should) Guler's still the one to beat.

So, all in all, we have a lot to look forward to, Bad Guys #2 is out tomorrow, with BG#3 (by guest penciller Christopher Jones) and G#9 not too far behind. And now G#10, by Guler (w/ cover by Hedgecock), which is the lead-off point for Timedancer. Hope SLG decides to give Timedancer it's own miniseries.

I can't frickin wait.

Gargoyles Nominated for an Award!!

A post from Greg over at Ask Greg has informed us that the Gargoyles has been nominated for an Ursa Major award!

You can vote HERE!

What better way to show Disney and SLG that we love, support, and want more Gargoyles, than to make sure that Gargoyles wins this award?! None that I can think of. This is the perfect opportunity for the fans to prove that Gargoyles is a viable, important and successful property!

Voting ends on April 20th! That's 9 days people, Lets make it happen!

New Update from Greg

Greg included an update on the comics schedule today in a response to questions I asked him. You can see the post here.

Here's the important info:

Gargoyles #8 - should be coming out tomorrow, March 26.

Bad Guys #2 - since both G#8 and BG#2 were sent to Disney for approval at the same time, we know that this has been approved and should come out next month.

Gargoyles #9 - fully roughed and being pencilled by David Hedgecock.

Bad Guys #3 - complete, a preview of guest artist Christopher Jones' work can be viewed below.

Gargoyles #10 - fully scripted

Bad Guys #4 - fully roughed and being pencilled and inked by Karine Charlebois.

Red Tornado #2 - being scripted

Bad Guys #5 - will be scripted after RT#2

Things look like they're shaping up nicely, both BG#2 and #3 being finished will hopefully provide enough time so that the series can stay on schedule until it ends with #6.

Gargoyles #8 Out Tomorrow?...

It appears that Gargoyles #8 will be released tomorrow, as it still says on Diamond's new release list. Hopefully we'll have confirmation of this over at Ask Greg, either later today or early tomorrow. Be sure to check with your local comic book stores, and make sure to pick up a copy!

License Renewal

Great news! Greg, in response to a question on whether the Gargoyles license will be renewed, has said:

"Dan [Vado] has told me he'd like to renew it. He was, as of WonderCon, waiting on Disney to respond."

This bodes really well for the series, hopefully Disney doesn't screw things up. WonderCon took place from February 22-24, so hopefully we'll have an update on Disney's decision soon.

An Update on Things to Come

Today, Greg posted an update at Ask Greg explaining how things are progressing for the comics, as well as some new information on a new comic book being written by Greg, featuring Red Tornado, and episodes of the new animated series The Spectacular Spider-Man. The info can be found here or read below:

Where things stand...

Uh... they don't. Not for me. They run at break-neck speed, these days. Here's what I'm up to.

GARGOYLES
Issue #8 is complete. Late last week it was sent to Disney AND the printer, so that the moment the former approves it, the latter can send it to press.
Issue #9 is written. David Hedgecock is doing roughs and original designs now. The cover, already pencilled and inked by Greg Guler,is being colored by Robby Bevard.
Issue #10 needs to get written. I'll get to that as soon as I'm done writing Red Tornado #1 (see below). Dave will be pencilling that cover off his rough.

GARGOYLES: BAD GUYS
Issue #2 is currently being lettered. The art is complete: pencils and inks by Karine Charlebois, finishes by Karine and Robby. The cover, a Guler/Bevard job featuring Yama, is done.
Issue #3 is currently being roughed out by guest artist Christopher A. Jones. Chris is the regular penciller on The Batman Strikes, and he and I worked together on the Captain Atom/Gargoyles/Justice League Europe parody from a few years back. The cover, a Guler/Bevard job featuring Hunter, is done.
Issue #4 is currently being roughed by Karine. The cover, a Guler/Bevard job featuring Fang, is done.
Issue #5 will get scripted as soon as I'm done scripting Red Tornado #1, Gargoyles #10 and Red Tornado #2. Guler is currently working on the cover, which features Dingo.

RED TORNADO
DC Comics has hired me to write a six issue limited series featuring one of my favorite characters, i.e. Red Tornado. (Duh.) I'm currently scripting issue #1. I'm hoping that any attention I get on this book will help us over on the Gargoyles books.

THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN
And, oh yeah... there's my actual job... and the main reason why I'm completely exhausted these days.
Episode #1 - This week we have a music and fx preview. The episode will preview at WonderCon on 2/23 and premiere on KidsWB on 3/8.
Episode #2 - We had a music and fx spottting session last week. This episode will ALSO premiere on KidsWB on 3/8. Or so I've been told.
Episode #3 - I've seen the Teaser and Act One. Hopefully, I'll see the missing acts this week, so that we can do our first pass edit and call retakes. We also have a music spotting session late this week.
Episode #4 - We should get it back from Korea this week to edit and call retakes.
Episodes #5-12 - We're waiting to get these back from Korea.
Episode #13 - Reviewing final color models.
Episodes #14-15 - Seeing design work daily and waiting to see storyboards.
Episodes #16-17 - Seeing design work daily. We'll be recording some pick-ups this week with a couple of actors who missed the main recording sessions earlier this month.
Episode #18 - We're recording this one on Thursday of this week.
Episode #19 - I need to finish editing the script for this one tonight.
Episode #20 - I'll start editing this script tonight or tomorrow.
Episode #21 - The writer should deliver this script late this week.
Episode #22 - The writer's working on this script now.
Episode #23 - The writer's working on this outline now.
Episode #24 - The writer will start this outline when she finishes writing the script to #21.
Episode #25 - I have to write this outline... you know, on my free time.
Episode #26 - The writer will write this outline when he's done writing the script for #22.

And I think that's it. Whew!

It seems as though things are moving along nicely, hopefully Disney won't take too long to approve issue #8, and if all goes smoothly we should have it fairly soon.

With the Good Comes the Bad, But That Doesn't Mean We Have to Accept It..

Being as this is the first post, I guess I should start by explaining the purpose of this blog.

You all remember that awesome animated Disney TV series, Gargoyles, right? Stone by day, warriors by night! Frozen in stone by a magic spell...well, anyways, in June 2006, almost 10 years after the second season finale (which is the final episode considered canon by creator Greg Weisman) the first issue of a new ongoing Gargoyles comic series was released by SLG. The first two issues were a retelling of the third season premiere episode, which was altered from Greg's original script.

The third issue, released on March 28, 2007, was the first new story in the Gargoyles Universe in over 10 years.
The series is now awaiting its 8th issue, and has a spin-off, 6 issue miniseries, Gargoyles: Bad Guys awaiting its 2nd issue! Unfortunately, with the good, comes the bad. According to a recent post at Ask Greg, a website where fans can interact and ask questions, to be answered by Greg Weisman, Greg had this to say about the future of the comic series:

"Sales on the book have dropped with every issue, which is depressing enough in and of itself. But if the trend continues, then SLG will have no choice but to let the license go when it next comes up for renewal. We're still one of their best-selling books (if not THE best), but most SLG books don't come with a massive license fee draining money away. We should be good finishing out Clan-Building (i.e. issue #12) and Redemption (i.e. Bad Guys issue #6), but there's no guarantee we'll continue beyond that if sales don't pick up -- or at the very least level off."

So, there you have it. The purpose of this blog is to hopefully increase awareness of the comic, in hopes that more fans will buy the comic, which will hopefully mean that the comic's license will be renewed.

To the left is a drawing of Goliath done by the comic's pencil artist, David Hedgecock. To find out more about the comic, you can visit GargWiki, Ask Greg, SLG or the Gargoyles (SLG comic) page at Wikipedia.

To purchase the comics, you can go to Amazon.com, the SLG website, or TFAW.com.

Now, I would be remiss if I didn't also mention that Gargoyles Season One and Season Two, Volume One have both been released on DVD. However, due to the low sales of Season Two, Volume One, Disney currently has no plans to release Season Two, Volume Two. If you haven't purchased these great sets, you can get them here at Amazon. The more DVDs that are sold, the more likely it is that Disney will release Season Two, Volume Two!

So, with the good, comes the bad...but that doesn't mean we have to accept it. With the vast fandom surrounding the Gargoyles Universe, there is no reason for this comic to be in jeopardy. If every fan who attends the Gatherings (click the link for info if you don't know what this is) buys just one copy of each issue, that would be more than enough to ensure that our favorite winged warriors will be defending the night for years to come. Let's act now, before its too late.