One thousand years ago, superstition and the sword ruled. It was a time of darkness, it was
a world of fear, It was the age of Gargoyles.

We are again in the Age of Gargoyles…comics.

The day that Gargoyles fans have patiently waiting for has finally arrived. We live again!

Today, we will take a look at Gargoyles #1 published by Dynamite comics.

Release Date: December 7th, 2022.

Writer: Greg Weisman

Artist: George Kambadais

Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry

Editor: Nate Cosby

Main Covers by: David Nakayama, Amanda Conner, Lucio Parrillo, Leirix, Jae Lee, Tony Fleecs, Trish Forstner, George Kambadais

Official Synopsis: All-new ongoing series, in continuity with the epic GARGOYLES television classic!

One thousand years ago, superstition and the sword ruled. It was a time of darkness. It was a world of fear. It was THE AGE OF GARGOYLES. Stone by day, Warriors by night, they were betrayed by the humans they had sworn to protect…frozen in stone by a magic spell for a thousand years. Now, here in Manhattan, the spell is broken, and they live again! They are Defenders of the Night! THEY ARE GARGOYLES!

Series creator GREG WEISMAN and illustrator GEORGE KAMBADAIS reintroduce the Manhattan Clan, a family of Gargoyles at full strength, though modern New York City is full of attractions and distractions, and each member of the clan has begun to go their own way. But their bonds will be tested, when nefarious factions from all across the world attempt to steal that rarest, most precious of possessions…an unhatched Gargoyle egg!

*STOP READING HERE IF YOU WANT TO AVOID ALL SPOILERS*

My Review

I have been thinking about this comic every single day since it was announced at SDCC on July 22nd, 2022. Not that I am counting, but that was 138 days ago. I am not the only Gargoyles fan excited for Gargoyles #1 as the issue has sold over 179,000 copies. I can’t wait to hear the final sales number. Six of those copies were from my order. I am a sucker for variant covers, and this series is full of fantastic covers by fan favorite artists. I do wish Dynamite Comics could have hired my favorite artist, James Silvani, to do a variant cover. Maybe for a future issue?

I was going to try and get all of the covers, but I quickly discovered that it would not be possible with 78 total covers just for Gargoyles #1. My favorite cover was the A cover by David Nakayama. I decided to get a few of the variants of that cover which include the main cover, black and white, virgin edition, and premium metal. The other two covers that I wanted in my collection was the nostalgic action figure and video packaging variants.

*STOP READING HERE IF YOU WANT TO AVOID ALL SPOILERS*

The story that kicks off the Dynamite Comics Gargoyles series is titled Here in Manhattan. Gargoyles #1 is Chapter One: A Little Crazy. The story starts off with the Manhattan Clan of Gargoyles assisting Elisa Maza and Detective Matt Bluestone take down some criminals. This first issue does give a quick recap of the Gargoyles story intro and a Gargoyles roll call. We find out that Elisa’s brother, Derek Maza or Talon as he is known by The Labryinth, is expecting a baby with his partner, Maggie the Cat.

No David Xanatos or Demona yet, but we get an appearance by Thailog who wants that baby to raise as his own. I wonder what kind of father Thailog will be?

The writing in this issue from Gargoyles creator, Greg Weisman, very much felt like an episode of the classic animated series. There are a couple of throwbacks to the Gargoyles animated series intro that got a laugh from me. You know that the writing is solid when you read the dialogue from each Gargoyle in the voice of the character from the show. The dialogue was also worded authentically to what that character would say in the show. Which is a major benefit in having Greg Weisman involved in this comic as the writer. He knows these characters better than anyone.

I loved George Kambadais’ epic art style for this Gargoyles premiere issue. Every page was full of incredibly detailed art and action. We are set for a fun ride with his art in this series.

I can’t wait for the next issue which will be released January 11th, 2023.

Gargoyles fans…WE LIVE AGAIN!

The new Dynamite Comics Gargoyles series is authentically Gargoyles.

Let us know what you thought of Gargoyles #1 in the comments below. What cover(s) did you get?

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