Idyll or Nightmare

Gargoyles #2 by David Nakayama

"Idyll or Nightmare" is the second issue of the Gargoyles comic by Dynamite Entertainment, and Chapter Two of the Here in Manhattan story arc. It was released on January 25th, 2023. [1] The digital version of the comic was available the week prior.

Crew
Writer/Creator: Greg Weisman Pencil Artist: George Kambadais Color Artist: George Kambadais Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry Editor: Nate Cosby Main Cover Artist: David Nakayama

Solicitation

The Gargoyles have awakened from their stone sleep - but will it be in time to save Maggie the Cat and her unborn mutate child from Thailog and Sevarius? Plus, don't miss the return of Dominic Dracon!

The Story

While the gargoyles sleep, Angela dreams. She dreams of summer nights on Avalon where she hatched and lived in peace. She also dreams of Demona in all her rage. And she dreams of finding new love with Broadway. But those dreams end as the Sun sets and the Manhattan Clan finally awakens. Broadway wonders what they missed throughout the day and Angela reminds him that Brooklyn and Katana went to check the rookery before sunrise and suggests they head down and see if anything happened down there. Gnash complains about why everyone seems so obsessed with the egg and Hudson agrees with the young lad, explaining how, back in his younger days, they didn't hover over the eggs like mother hens but left them to themselves. Gnash asks if they can watch Celebrity Hockey and the clan's youngest and oldest members head off to the TV room. Lexington, however, has other things to do.

As Goliath, Angela, and Broadway make their way down to the rookery, Angela is still surprised that Xanatos preserved it, but supposes they have Demona to thank for that. Her long-term goal was to take the Castle from Xanatos and then lead the clan into a new age armed gargoyle conflict against the human race, hence her eventual need for a rookery to safeguard future eggs. Though, at present, they have a single egg currently guarded by Bronx and Fu-Dog. It was brought by Brooklyn and Katana and isn't due to hatch for another year. Broadway kneels down beside the egg, just happy to see one again. Fu-Dog growls at the big gargoyle with suspicion only to be calmed by Katana who reminds the gargoyle beast that "Broadway is clan". Katana apologizes, explaining that Fu-Dog is still unaccustomed to trusting anyone new around Egwardo. Broadway asks if they're really going to name the hatchling "Egwardo" and Katana is puzzled, asking if there is a problem with the name before asking Brooklyn if there some significance to it in English that she is unaware of. Brooklyn tells her not to sweat it; it's just a placeholder until the egg hatches and they get a feel for the kid. Katana pieces it all together and approaches her mate, unamused. She asks him if it's a joke name. But before he can answer, Coldfire enters the rookery to tell Goliath that Elisa Maza sent word while they slept. Brooklyn sighs with relief, believing that he's been saved by the messenger, only for Katana to advise him not to count on that. Goliath asks if Elisa is in need, but Coldfire says there's nothing to fear, just that Elisa wanted him to know that there was still time to attend the birth of her new kin. Angela is excited and wants to go, and Goliath agrees that it would do their hearts good to share in such joy. Coldfire is also interested in attending while Katana nudges Fu-Dog that Coldfire is clan too and not to regard her with suspicion. Angela, Goliath, Broadway, and Coldfire take to the skies and head towards the Labyrinth. But when they arrive, they find the clones scared and confused while the humans and mutates lie unconscious.

Earlier that morning across town, Antoinette Dracon stands outside the gates to Bellevue Hospital as Pal Joey comes out and tells her that they're bringing "ol' D.D." out now. Antoinette sternly corrects the thug that they're bringing out her grandfather, Dominic Dracon, a man who has earned more respect than Joey will ever garner in his lifetime. Joey attempts to apologize, but Antoinette orders him to get the car. Dominic warmly greets his granddaughter as "Toni", but she reminds him that she prefers to be called Antoinette. Their reunion is briefly interrupted by Travis Marshall. But Dominic puts on the act of senility as Antoinette pulls him away from the journalist and into the car. Travis turns towards the camera and informs the audience that Dominic Dracon had just been released from the hospital after the Dracon Family's lawyers successfully argued that he was suffering from dementia and thus couldn't be held responsible for his criminal behavior. Inside the car, Dominic is frustrated with the "dotty old man" act, but Antoinette reminds him that the lawyers think it's important. Dominic asks Pal Joey for an update on current events. Pal Joey reports that Glasses and the crew are holding their own against Tomas Brod and Jack Dane's guys, but right now everything is on hold until Dino Dracon is released. Antoinette asks her grandfather what they plan to do about Dino, but he tells "Toni" that he doesn't know. Exasperated, Antoinette screams, "STOP CALLING ME TONI!"

Goliath comforts Elisa who is regaining consciousness and she tells them that they were put down by some kind of knockout gas. She tells them about how she brought Dr. Sato to help deliver Maggie's baby, but the doctor reminded them that he's a trauma surgeon which is why they also brought Mary, who has been a midwife for over a thousand years. Elisa thanks her for coming, but Mary's delighted – any friend of Brooklyn's is a friend of hers. Elisa tells Talon that she left a message for their parents and calls Coldfire to tell her about the impending birth while the robot and [[[Coldstone]] recharge in the presence of Owen Burnett. As she ends the call, Erin and Benny ask if Goliath will take them flying. Before she can reply, the Labyrinth fills with knockout gas! Elisa tries to resist going down, but she's knocked out by an unknown figure wielding a club. With everyone brought up to speed, Talon is through with explanations – Maggie has been kidnapped! Shari points out that Mary is also missing, and the midwife must have been taken to keep Maggie safe. Talon is determined to find them and Goliath promises to help. Elisa asks who else knew Maggie was having a baby. The whole clan knew, but Angela doesn't believe any of them would do this. Coldfire tells them that one other knew . . .

Meanwhile, Antoinette visits Tony Dracon in Rikers Island. Tony asks about their grandfather and his sister tells him that Dominic is as sharp as ever and worried about what happens when their Uncle Dino is released tomorrow. Tony thinks the entire city should be worried and, further, there's not much he can do in prison. He advises her to talk to Glasses and Dominic to figure out a way to contain Dino because, if they can't, then Manhattan burns.

Mary comes to inside the Nightstone Unlimited Building where she is greeted by Anton Sevarius who orders her to attend to her patient. Maggie is also awake and Mary realizes they're prisoners. She grabs Sevarius by the collar of his lab coat only for Brentwood to come to the good doctor's defense. Sevarius believes this should remind Mary of her place. But the midwife shoves the clone aside, not the slightest bit intimidated by the small gargoyle. Sevarius formally introduces himself and, despite his expertise as a geneticist, traditional childbirth is not his area of expertise. Thailog enters and places an intimidating hand on Mary's shoulder. If she does what she's told, then he might let her live.

In the skies over Manhattan, a consensus was reached over who abducted Maggie and Mary. Coldfire revealed that Owen Burnett was listening when Elisa spoke of Maggie's impending delivery – and they all know who Owen's boss is. Goliath, carrying Elisa, Talon, Angela, Coldfire, and Broadway carrying Dr. Sato head on back to the Eyrie Building . . . the gargoyles' eyes blaze in anger while Elisa is determined and Talon FURIOUS! They arrive at the Castle and burst into the Great Hall. Xanatos looks up from his desk, an arrogant smirk crossing his lips. The billionaire warmly greets Derek, "I understand you're awaiting joyful news". Talon screams in rage that Xanatos dares to mock him and grabs him by the scruff of his neck, generating electrical energy. Talon demands that Xanatos tell him where his wife and child are or he'll end him.

Review

The second issue of "Gargoyles" switches its narration from Elisa to Angela. (According to Greg Weisman, there'll be a different narrator for each issue.) Fortunately, the narration style here matches Angela's style as neatly as the narration in the first issue matched Elisa's.

We now learn that Xanatos brought the rookery as well as the castle over from Scotland to Manhattan – something which surprised this reader, since he'd gotten the impression from "Shadows of the Past" that the rookery had been left behind at Wyvern Hill. (It does fit the past sights of the castle atop the Eyrie Building, though, with a huge chunk of rock beneath.) At present, it hosts a single egg, Egwardo, guarded by Bronx and Fu-Dog (which explains why they were absent from the first issue). Most of the clan are excited about the egg, except for Nashville, who seems to be experiencing "older sibling rivalry", and Hudson, who points out that in the days before the Wyvern Massacre, they "left the eggs to themselves". (This new approach from the other gargoyles makes sense, though. Ever since they re-awakened in modern-day Manhattan, the clan had seen itself, until recently, as the last gargoyles in the world, with no future, no new gargoyles to continue after them. The addition of an egg, even just one, to the clan, would seem like a sign of renewed hope.) And, for a nice comic relief touch, Brooklyn gets in trouble when Katana finds out that Egwardo's name was a piece of wordplay.

Some of the clan (Goliath, Angela, Broadway, and Coldfire) soon shift their attention to another upcoming birth, Maggie's. When they arrive at the Labyrinth, however, they discover that Maggie and her midwife (Mary, in a big surprise return) have been abducted by a mysterious someone. Those who'd read the first issue will suspect – correctly, as it turns out – that the abductors were Thailog and Sevarius, after Maggie's offspring, but an angry Talon jumps to the wrong conclusion; since Owen was present when Elisa phoned Coldfire at the castle about Maggie being about to become a mother, Xanatos becomes an immediate suspect, leading to an angry Talon bursting into the castle to confront him....

To top that, Dominic Dracon has been let out (in contrast to his depiction in the "Religion 101" radio play, he's depicted as still sharp-witted, though pretending to have lost his wits after the events of "The Silver Falcon" to ensure his release), and is meeting with Tony Dracon's sister, Antoinette (a very effective new character who seems much sharper than her brother), to discuss another soon-to-be-released member of the Dracon family: Tony's uncle Dino (mentioned in the previous issue). All the evidence indicates that Dino is extremely dangerous and far less restrained than the rest of the Dracon family; even Tony is alarmed at the prospects of him being at liberty. He'll apparently become a new and deadly adversary to the Manhattan gargoyles.

The second issue continues to be well-written, capturing the cast effectively, with even a few moments of humor (not only the moment where Katana learns the truth about Egwardo's name, as mentioned above, but a delightful confrontation between Mary and Sevarius). I do have one concern, however; the evidence we have about the comic's construction is that the third issue will resolve the "Thailog kidnaps the pregnant Maggie" story (after which the comic series will move on to new stories, such as Dino Dracon at large). But there's clearly so much to come for this one – the gargoyles will need to find out that Xanatos isn't the culprit, that Thailog's the culprit, and rescue Maggie and her child, all in one issue – will there be room enough for all that in #3? Let's hope so.