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 Gargoyles animated series opens up in New York, 1994. We get flashbacks in that episode and several others to one thousand years ago when superstition and the sword ruled in Scotland, 994 A.D. Dynamite Comics Gargoyles: Dark Ages takes readers all the way back to 971 A.D. to give fans the gift of the story that happened before the events of the Gargoyles animated series.

Today, we will take a look at Gargoyles: Dark Ages #1 published by Dynamite Comics.

Release Date: July 12th, 2023.

Writer: Greg Weisman

Artist: Drew Moss

Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry

Editor: Nate Cosby

Covers by: Clayton Crain, Alan Quah, Mirka Andolfo, Kenya Danino, Erica Henderson, Jeff Parker

Official Synopsis: In this brand new miniseries, Gargoyles creator GREG WEISMAN and artist DREW MOSS return to the long-lost era when humans and Gargoyles lived in harmony. But in a world ruled by superstition and the sword, monsters come in all shapes and sizes. Forces of evil from both outside and within are threatening to destroy this precarious peace- with consequences that will reverberate down through the centuries and into the present day!

Featuring high-quality cardstock on every cover, this limited series debuts with a special 24-page main story – and every 40-page issue will include a new illustrated text story by Greg Weisman!

Covers

Gargoyles: Dark Ages has the amazing Clayton Crain as the main A cover artist for the series. His variant covers for Dynamite Comics Gargoyles #1 and Darkwing Duck #1 are among my favorite covers. His cover for Gargoyles: Dark Ages features fan favorite Demona. Clayton Crain’s cover will definitely be on my pull list each month.

The other Gargoyles: Dark Ages cover in my monthly pull list file is the action figure variant cover by Jeff Parker. The first issues cover also features Demona. Diamond Select Toys or NECA should team up with Dynamite Comics to make all of these action figure covers a reality. We definitely need some Gargoyles: Dark Ages merch.

My Review

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

I have to start this off by saying that we are now living in a world where there are multiple Gargoyles comic series being published monthly. Jalapeño!

This story arc is titled Alliance and the first issue is Chapter One: The Reach.

This issue’s first page starts off with Hudson in 1997 perched on the Eyrie Tower as helicopters fly above. The next page turns back the clock to 971 A.D. where the gargoyle that we know as Hudson is perched on a cliff as two travelers on horseback approach. Hudson is the current leader of the Wyvern clan of gargoyles.

The two travelers request an alliance with the Wyvern clan against King Cullen and his army. The offer is protection during the daylight hours for the gargoyles in exchange for their protection against any armies at night. Seems like a fair trade off to me. The leader of the Wyvern clan of gargoyles agrees to the terms of this alliance.

I really enjoyed seeing all of the new gargoyles that we did not get a chance to meet in the animated series. We get glimpses of younger Goliath and Demona as well as kid Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington; however, please remember that none of these gargoyles have names just yet. Demona is as feisty as ever. The younger generation of gargoyles are left out of the fight as King Cullen’s army arrives and the fight begins. Hudson leads the way for the army of gargoyles. This does not sit well with Demona and a sister gargoyle.

The issue ends with a few pages of text from Greg Weisman which gives readers more story and lore from the human side of what is going on around the time of Gargoyles Dark Ages. This is top tier bonus material for a top tier comic.

A prequel comic series to the animated Gargoyles series is a dream come true, and I can’t believe that it was finally made into a reality in 2023. What a great gift to Gargoyles fans. Readers get to meet a whole cast of new gargoyles like Hudson’s mate. Drew Moss nailed the character designs for the gargoyles in his own original art style. Gargoyles: Dark Ages feels authenticate to the franchise, and a comic book series is the perfect medium to get these stories told. This is mandatory reading for all Gargoyles and Disney Afternoon fans.

With two Gargoyles comic series published by Dynamite Comics and helmed by Greg Weisman with amazing artwork by Drew Moss and George Kambadais, Gargoyles fans are definitely not in the Dark Ages. We live again!

I can’t wait for the next issue of Gargoyles: Dark Ages which is tentatively scheduled to be released August 9th, 2023. Please make sure to support Dynamite Comics other great Disney Comics while you are out buying Gargoyles: Dark Ages: Gargoyles, Darkwing Duck, Negaduck, Disney Villains Scar, Disney Villains Maleficent, and Disney Villains Hades.

Gargoyles fans…WE LIVE AGAIN!

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

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