Difference between revisions of "Fools Rush In..."
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==Review== | ==Review== | ||
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| + | This is the first full chapter of the "Demona" mini-series. It makes a promising beginning. | ||
| + | |||
| + | After twenty-nine years, we finally have the answer to how the "Hunt" began again. After Canmore "slew" Demona in 1057, and believed her to be dead, the Hunters' pursuit of Demona was seemingly over. But we had learned in "Hunter's Moon" that somehow it had resumed, by descendants of Canmore's, once again ceaselessly pursuing Demona. Furthermore, the tone of the "Hunt" had changed. While Canmore and his father Duncan disliked gargoyles, their real concern was a rivalry with Macbeth and his branch of the family over the Scottish throne; the main reason why they had gone after Demona and her clan was to prevent them from aiding Macbeth. The new "Hunt" was entirely based on a fanatical hatred of gargoyles for being gargoyles, without any trace of the political motivations that Duncan and Canmore displayed. How did it happen? This chapter tells us how, and does a fine job of it, as well. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Canmore's son Domnall/Donald Canmore is one of the two narrators in this chapter; the other is Demona's adopted daughter Angelika. Both give their accounts of the "Hunt" from the very first page, where they appear side by side - and both are clearly biased towards their parents. They form an effective contrast in displaying their different distortions - the highlight is the panel showing the deal with the Weird Sisters, divided down the middle so that they appear to be gargoyle-hags on one side, human-crones on the other (the first use of the Weird Sisters' talent for disguise since "City of Stone"). | ||
| + | |||
| + | In 1093, Demona encounters another gargoyle clan in Northumbria. While these new gargoyles (apart from Angelika) will have only a small role in the story, they are given the usual rich details we come to expect from gargoyle clans. Their character designs show a mixture of the Scottish and London clans, natural for gargoyles living in northern England, close to the Scottish border. We also learn that the old title of "rhydderch" for "clan leader" has apparently fallen into disuse (how, we are not told), and see that these gargoyles have taken up agriculture, growing either lettuce or cabbages - the first time in the series that gargoyles have been shown farming. | ||
| + | |||
| + | While Demona is making acquaintances with the Northumbrian gargoyles, Canmore assembles his family at Edinburgh Castle for a new expedition into England - and a very substantial family at that: no less than twelve children and step-children at the table with him, alongside his second wife Queen Margaret. (All of these offspring, even Donald Canmore, were actual historical figures, by the way; Canmore really did have a family that large.) And his brother Donalbain finally makes an entrance into "Gargoyles"; he's also at the family gathering. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Although, as mentioned above, the "Hunt" is about to move away from its political roots, we see that much of Canmore's anti-gargoyle campaigning stems more from the frictions in Britain in the late eleventh century; he wants to raid England, and it's indicated that the English king William Rufus encourages him in the hopes of keeping his northern nobles in line. (In actual history, the same nobles depicted here rebelled against him just two years after the events in this issue.) The peasants will bear the brunt of the fighting (something which happened a lot in medieval warfare), while the northern nobles plan to use Canmore's attack on the peasants as a justification for their retaliatory attack upon him. Neither Scottish nor English nobles seem to have much trouble with the fact that the local gargoyles will also be casualties of Canmore's war; the old rule of "human problems become gargoyle problems" is clearly at work here once again. | ||
| + | |||
| + | As we expect, the Northumbrian gargoyles - except for Angelika, thanks to her curiosity about Demona - wind up perishing at Canmore's hand, shattered in stone sleep, even the eggs (a particularly horrifying detail). In a nice touch, Demona makes an attempt to warn the clan that roosting in one spot makes it too easy for hostile humans to wipe them out in one blow; unfortunately, they disregard her advice. In another nice touch, Donalbain voices his misgivings about his brother's plans to slaughter the gargoyles (citing his own experiences with gargoyles in Ireland - likely to further rouse the interest of those "Gargoyles" fans particularly interested in gargoyle history), but quickly gives in (Jon Canmore's half-hearted attempts to talk his siblings out of the "Hunt" clearly have a precedent). | ||
| + | |||
| + | Canmore's doom quickly follows; he is overthrown when the English nobles attack (with Canmore having apparently been better prepared for slaughtering peasants and smashing sleeping gargoyles than facing fellow warriors), and although he manages to survive (though at the cost of the life of his son Edward), a furious Demona finishes him off. (In another nice touch, she points out that Canmore will not get "some epic final battle" with her, and finishes him off with Canmore doing little more than stare at her in terror.) Scotland falls into chaos with Canmore's surviving relatives quarreling over the throne (also an actual historical element), but Donald Canmore survives, to take up the Hunter's mask and dedicate himself now to the destruction of the gargoyle species, now the unholy crusade that we saw in "Hunter's Moon"; Donald tells us outright that he has no interest in "a hollow crown". | ||
| + | |||
| + | Demona departs (she, again, doesn't even bother with a Wind Ceremony for the slaughtered gargoyles, though in a tone more suggestive of weary indifference than vengeful fury), and Angelika accompanies her. In another lovely moment, Demona initially doesn't want the young gargoyle accompanying her and potentially getting in the way, but when Angelika explains that she just happens to be traveling in the same direction as her, Demona is amused enough to accept her company. And thus begin their travels together.... | ||
==Featured Characters and First Appearances== | ==Featured Characters and First Appearances== | ||
Revision as of 17:11, 30 June 2025
"Fools Rush In..." is the first issue of the Gargoyles - Demona comic by Dynamite Entertainment. It was anticipated to be released on May 28th, 2025 but wasn't released on that date due to ongoing issues with Diamond Distribution... although, some fans reported receiving mailed copies on June 7th, 2025. The digital version was released on Kindle on June 11th, 2025. [1]
On June 19th, 2025, it was announced that Dynamite severed ties with Diamond and their new distributor, Lunar Distribution, now reports a release date of July 9th, 2025. [2]
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Contents
Solicitation
A THOUSAND YEARS OF ADVENTURE BEGINS HERE!
After kicking off with a special prologue story in Dynamite Entertainment's Free Comic Book Day issue #0, the long-awaited tale of Goliath's former love and sworn enemy of the Manhattan Clan gets underway in earnest with a return to the Dark Ages and the aftermath of the destruction of Castle Wyvern!
The year is 1093, and the now-immortal Demona has become a lonely and hunted creature. Bereft of both clan and home after her betrayal of Scotland's king, she wanders south to Northumberland in search of a safe haven - only to find that her old nemesis, Canmore, is raiding the city.
Canmore's destruction is visited upon human and Gargoyle alike, and when she discovers the depths of his cruelty and the fate of her kind at his hands, Demona's fury sets in motion a cycle of vengeance that will last for centuries - and may yet consume the entire world!
Written by Gargoyles creator GREG WEISMAN and illustrated by acclaimed artist - and veteran of the original animated series - FRANK PAUR, this first chapter of the brand-new, centuries-spanning saga Gargoyles: Demona features cover art for the ages from PAUR, MEGHAN HETRICK, MARK SPEARS, and JAE LEE & JUNE CHUNG!
The Story
Review
This is the first full chapter of the "Demona" mini-series. It makes a promising beginning.
After twenty-nine years, we finally have the answer to how the "Hunt" began again. After Canmore "slew" Demona in 1057, and believed her to be dead, the Hunters' pursuit of Demona was seemingly over. But we had learned in "Hunter's Moon" that somehow it had resumed, by descendants of Canmore's, once again ceaselessly pursuing Demona. Furthermore, the tone of the "Hunt" had changed. While Canmore and his father Duncan disliked gargoyles, their real concern was a rivalry with Macbeth and his branch of the family over the Scottish throne; the main reason why they had gone after Demona and her clan was to prevent them from aiding Macbeth. The new "Hunt" was entirely based on a fanatical hatred of gargoyles for being gargoyles, without any trace of the political motivations that Duncan and Canmore displayed. How did it happen? This chapter tells us how, and does a fine job of it, as well.
Canmore's son Domnall/Donald Canmore is one of the two narrators in this chapter; the other is Demona's adopted daughter Angelika. Both give their accounts of the "Hunt" from the very first page, where they appear side by side - and both are clearly biased towards their parents. They form an effective contrast in displaying their different distortions - the highlight is the panel showing the deal with the Weird Sisters, divided down the middle so that they appear to be gargoyle-hags on one side, human-crones on the other (the first use of the Weird Sisters' talent for disguise since "City of Stone").
In 1093, Demona encounters another gargoyle clan in Northumbria. While these new gargoyles (apart from Angelika) will have only a small role in the story, they are given the usual rich details we come to expect from gargoyle clans. Their character designs show a mixture of the Scottish and London clans, natural for gargoyles living in northern England, close to the Scottish border. We also learn that the old title of "rhydderch" for "clan leader" has apparently fallen into disuse (how, we are not told), and see that these gargoyles have taken up agriculture, growing either lettuce or cabbages - the first time in the series that gargoyles have been shown farming.
While Demona is making acquaintances with the Northumbrian gargoyles, Canmore assembles his family at Edinburgh Castle for a new expedition into England - and a very substantial family at that: no less than twelve children and step-children at the table with him, alongside his second wife Queen Margaret. (All of these offspring, even Donald Canmore, were actual historical figures, by the way; Canmore really did have a family that large.) And his brother Donalbain finally makes an entrance into "Gargoyles"; he's also at the family gathering.
Although, as mentioned above, the "Hunt" is about to move away from its political roots, we see that much of Canmore's anti-gargoyle campaigning stems more from the frictions in Britain in the late eleventh century; he wants to raid England, and it's indicated that the English king William Rufus encourages him in the hopes of keeping his northern nobles in line. (In actual history, the same nobles depicted here rebelled against him just two years after the events in this issue.) The peasants will bear the brunt of the fighting (something which happened a lot in medieval warfare), while the northern nobles plan to use Canmore's attack on the peasants as a justification for their retaliatory attack upon him. Neither Scottish nor English nobles seem to have much trouble with the fact that the local gargoyles will also be casualties of Canmore's war; the old rule of "human problems become gargoyle problems" is clearly at work here once again.
As we expect, the Northumbrian gargoyles - except for Angelika, thanks to her curiosity about Demona - wind up perishing at Canmore's hand, shattered in stone sleep, even the eggs (a particularly horrifying detail). In a nice touch, Demona makes an attempt to warn the clan that roosting in one spot makes it too easy for hostile humans to wipe them out in one blow; unfortunately, they disregard her advice. In another nice touch, Donalbain voices his misgivings about his brother's plans to slaughter the gargoyles (citing his own experiences with gargoyles in Ireland - likely to further rouse the interest of those "Gargoyles" fans particularly interested in gargoyle history), but quickly gives in (Jon Canmore's half-hearted attempts to talk his siblings out of the "Hunt" clearly have a precedent).
Canmore's doom quickly follows; he is overthrown when the English nobles attack (with Canmore having apparently been better prepared for slaughtering peasants and smashing sleeping gargoyles than facing fellow warriors), and although he manages to survive (though at the cost of the life of his son Edward), a furious Demona finishes him off. (In another nice touch, she points out that Canmore will not get "some epic final battle" with her, and finishes him off with Canmore doing little more than stare at her in terror.) Scotland falls into chaos with Canmore's surviving relatives quarreling over the throne (also an actual historical element), but Donald Canmore survives, to take up the Hunter's mask and dedicate himself now to the destruction of the gargoyle species, now the unholy crusade that we saw in "Hunter's Moon"; Donald tells us outright that he has no interest in "a hollow crown".
Demona departs (she, again, doesn't even bother with a Wind Ceremony for the slaughtered gargoyles, though in a tone more suggestive of weary indifference than vengeful fury), and Angelika accompanies her. In another lovely moment, Demona initially doesn't want the young gargoyle accompanying her and potentially getting in the way, but when Angelika explains that she just happens to be traveling in the same direction as her, Demona is amused enough to accept her company. And thus begin their travels together....
Featured Characters and First Appearances
| Gargoyles | Humans | Oberon's Children |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
Tidbits
Cover Gallery
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See Also
| << Previous Episode: "Better Angels" Prologue: "A Prize Beyond Compare..." | Next Episode: "Better Angels" Chapter Two:>> |
