Gerome Mazzal
Gerome Mazzal was a sculptor living in Vyones in the 12th Century.
History
Gerome Mazzal was a rival sculptor and competitor to Blaise Reynard. At a certain point, the town council handed Reynard's commission to Mazzal, even if both Archbishop Ambrosius and Reynard considered it inferior.
After Demona and Angelika began roosting on the Vyones Cathedral, rumors and suspicions began that Reynard sculpted and installed them for free to show up Mazzal, which the sculptor accused Reynard of personally at the Vyones Tavern. When one of the councilmen, Guillaume Maspier, assured Mazzal that the council would not return the commission to Reynard, Reynard accused Mazzal of slipping Maspier kickbacks – which Maspier denied. Mazzal stated that Reynard lost the commission because he was expensive, slow, and his grotesques too frightening – accusing Reynard of being as monstrous as his work.
Later that evening, while he and Maspier were wandering the streets, drunk, the Stone Golem, Grimalkin (the embodiment of Reynard's wrath) murdered the two men on the village streets. ("For Not Everything With Wings...")
Characteristics
As Archbishop Ambrosius realized, Gerome Mazzal was considered a cheaper option for the town council to work with, having a reputation of producing his sculptures quicker than Reynard, even if they were poorer in quality.
Appearances
- "For Not Everything With Wings..." (First Appearance)
Real World Background
In Clark Ashton Smith's short story "The Maker of Gargolyes", Gerome Mazzal is a reputable cooper of Vyones. As in the Gargoyles comic, he and his friend Guillaume Maspier are among the first victims of the stone 'cat-headed monster' supernaturally animated by Blaise Reynard's hatred of the people of Vyones. Mazzal is savagely mauled to death by the stone construct while Maspier alone survives to tell the tale. In contrast to the comic, Smith gives no indication that Mazzal has any special rivalry with Reynard.
