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 #4 published by Dynamite Comics.

Release Date: November 1st, 2023.

Writer: Greg Weisman

Artist: Drew Moss

Color Artist: Martina Pignedoli

Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry

Editor: Nate Cosby

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

Official Synopsis: “It’s a busy day at Castle Wyvern – Desdemona studies to become a Gargoyle Priestess and Goliath is given an important title, which makes Iago and Hyppolyta jealous. But things are about too get even busier when the younger Gargoyles’ curiosity leads them into a dangerous cave, where an unhappy evil lurks!

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 #4 features my favorite gargoyle, 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. This issue’s action figure cover features Hudson and Verity’s daughter Hyppolyta.

My Review

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

This story arc is titled Alliance and the fourth issue is Chapter Four: The Promise.

There is much to safeguard upon this hill…

Castle Wyvern is being quickly built by the humans during the day and the Gargoyles clan helps protect the humans and build at night. Desdemona is studying to be a gargoyle Priestess Warrior, and Demona is being mentored in sorcery by the wizard. A troupe of actor performers who are “The Light-Bringers” and possibly the Illuminati visit the castle build site and stay for the night. Captain Robert’s young daughter, Alesand, makes friends with young Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington. Since they do not yet have names in this series, Alesand names them Caesar, Alexander, and Charlemagne. Alesand and the young gargoyles are excited to hear tales from The Light-Bringers in the morning.

I was expecting a green dragon foe that was teased in the previous issue like the one depicted in Kenya Danino’s cover below. We will have to wait to see that creature in one of the next two issues of the series.

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. A third Dynamite Conics Gargoyles series Gargoyles Quest launches in January. We live again!

I can’t wait for the next issue of Gargoyles: Dark Ages which is tentatively scheduled to be released December 6th, 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 , Disney Villains Cruella, and Disney Villains Hades.

Gargoyles fans…WE LIVE AGAIN!

Let us know what you thought of Gargoyles: Dark Ages #4 in the comments below. What cover(s) did you get?

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