DYNAMITE COMICS
Below is a Dynamite Comics interview with Greg Weisman discussing Gargoyles: Demona.
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The Gargoyle Demona's Secret History Unveiled!
Original Disney Series Creators Greg Weisman & Frank Paur Reunite!
Saddle up, because the next epic chapter in the 30 years and running epic of Disney's Gargoyles is here! Previewed first in our Free Comic Book Day release, Demona's untold backstory across centuries unfolds in the first full issue of her first-ever solo title. As always, franchise creator Greg Weisman is at the helm, and this time he's bringing along another special guest that long time fans will be excited to see. A co-producer and key contributor to the original show, Frank Paur, will be illustrating this pivotal tale. This is set to be one of the most indispensable Gargoyles tales yet, while also being perfect for new fans to jump right into as it hones in on one star character and tells their turbulent story.
Franchise Mastermind Greg Weisman on the Next Gargoyles Epic
And Reuniting with Animated Series Veteran Frank Paur
Greg, one incredibly exciting element of this new Gargoyles title is who will be joining you on the creative team — Frank Paur is drawing the book, and for those who may not be familiar, he worked with you on the original cartoon series. He's also worked on shows starring the X-Men and the Avengers, and plenty more besides that. How exciting is it to team up with him again, and for fans to see his art on the page?
It's fantastic to be working with Frank again. Frank and I produced the original animated series together, and Gargoyles would not have been Gargoyles without Frank Paur. And the idea for this miniseries - doing a deep dive into Demona's history - came from Frank. He pitched it; first to me, and then, after we made it work within my existing Gargoyles timeline, we teamed up like in the old days to pitch it to [editor] Nate Cosby, Dynamite, and Disney. Everyone has just been incredibly enthusiastic about it, and I can't wait for the fans to see what Frank and I are cooking up.
I'm also psyched we're bringing back Robby Bevard as our colorist. Robby and I haven't gotten to work together since the SLG Gargoyles days, and his work over Frank's pencils and inks is just stellar.
Demona is a fan-favorite in the Gargoyles franchise, and she's also the first cast member to have a comic series fully titled after her (though we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the recent, masterful Gargoyles Winter Special that is effectively a Bronx spotlight). Why is Demona the first, and how much of the series is fully focused on her, as opposed to the more traditional cast of characters? Will we see some other familiar faces in its pages?
Short of Goliath himself, no one is a bigger breakout star than Demona. And Goliath, of course, tends - for obvious reasons - to be the lead in any main Gargoyles series. Demona, on the other hand, is in the unique position of having been alive for the entire millennium during which most of our other Gargoyles were sleeping as stone statues. That means she has a thousand years' worth of backstory that our other leads flat-out don't have. That creates a lot of opportunities for storytelling - and we have a monumental story to tell. I'm not going to pretend that we can cover ten centuries in five issues. We're not even trying to do that. But we are going to give our fans five very specific glimpses into Demona's life across the first two centuries of her immortality. The main cast will not be a part of this, but, yes, we will see some familiar face... just not necessarily the faces one might expect.
Can you let us know more about when this series takes place in the timeline?
I don't want to get too specific, because - as the fans know - I'm quite spoiler-averse. But I will say that our story opens within a decade of the 994 events at Wyvern that launched our animated series. Then we move forward across the next several centuries to tell a single story with a strong throughline across five different eras in five different locations.
So, it sounds like we won't be seeing Demona and Goliath's daughter Angela in this series. But we will be meeting a new character: Angelika. We're pretty sure this is her first appearance, right? Can you tell us a bit about her, and perhaps in what ways she parallels or contrasts Angela as well as Demona?
This is indeed Angelika's first appearance. Again, without giving too much away, Angelika is introduced as a young Gargoyle rookling from another clan. She sort of attaches herself to Demona, and Demona allows her to tag along against (what she believes to be) her own best judgment. Arguably, Angelika probably does have a few things in common with both Angela and Demona. But Angelika is very much her own unique character. She's not just filling a slot. If Frank, Robby, Nate, and I do our jobs right, she should take on a life - and I would think a fanbase - of her own.
Obviously, this series is unveiling a major storyline and chunks of Gargoyles tales along the timeline. Is it possible that we'll see more titles in the future focused on other individual characters?
Definitely. I have individual stories in mind for all our leads, and for most of our supporting cast as well. Brooklyn has TimeDancer, of course, which might not be dissimilar in structure to Demona's miniseries. And I've got a great Goliath/Elisa solo (or, I guess, duo) story that I'm just dying to tell. And the list doesn't stop there - I mean there's still at least eight more centuries of Demona's history, too. Of course, if the fans want to see these stories, it sure wouldn't hurt if Demona's pre-sales were through the roof, you know? (Shameless, I know. But true, nonetheless.)
Demona sounds like a really exciting story with major introductions that should be very satisfying for longtime fans. Do you think a new Gargoyles epic set in the modern day might be coming out soon as well?
Well, if by "modern day" you mean 1998, then absolutely. Nate and I are already discussing what comes next for the entire Manhattan Clan. I really think it's gonna blow the fans away.
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