Wes’s Guide to Gargoyles: Gargoyles Halloween Special

Yes, I know I’m almost a month late to the party here. What can I say, October was a very busy month for me. But in any case, a happy belated Halloween to all my readers and welcome to the Gargoyles Halloween special.

We open on Halloween night where Young Nashville, the child of Brooklyn and Katana, dressed as a pirate, is begging his mother to let him go Trick or Treating. Katana isn’t really clear on the concept of this strange human holiday dismissing it as a very confused mix of customs and reminding her son that if his objective is candy, Owen keeps the kitchen well stocked. Fortunately for the young Gargoyle, Brooklyn arrives to tell his wife that Halloween is fun and worth experiencing for the child. Besides, Halloween is the one night of the year when Gargoyles can roam the city unnoticed since everyone just assumes they’re just humans in Gargoyle costumes, which are apparently all the rage this year. Reluctantly, Katana relents and Gnash flies off into the night to go Trick or Treating, Brooklyn assuring his mate that she made the right call.

Elsewhere, at a meeting of the Quarrymen, an anti-Gargoyle hate group not unlike the KKK, the founder of the organization, Jon Castaway, (who may or may not be Jon Canmore from Hunter’s Moon) has a plan. Since, in Castaway’s words, the Gargoyles have made unfortunate inroads into the public’s good graces, the Quarrymen need to provoke the creatures into showing their true colors. To accomplish this, they’re going out into the streets and beating any Gargoyle they can find senseless with large sledgehammers… on Halloween… where half the city is dressed as a Gargoyle. Yep, this is a smart plan and I see no possible way it could backfire.

Meanwhile, Gnash is having some success Trick or Treating and having the time of his life when he meets three young children around his age dressed as Gargoyles who compliment Gnash on his costume. When asked why he’s dressed as a pirate, Gnash informs his new friends, and the reader, that Blackbeard was a Gargoyle

Blackbeard the Pirate… as in Edward “Blackbeard” Teach, the most famous and legendary buccaneer ever to sail the seven seas… was a Gargoyle… You don’t say…

…

Greg Weisman, publishers at Dynamite Entertainment Comics, anyone else who is in any way involved with the continuing production of Gargoyles comics and other Gargoyles related media who should, by some stroke of luck on my part, happen to be reading this article, I entreat you. I am but a humble fan. I love this series, have so since its debut in 1994, and in the years since have done everything within my means to support the series and any projects related to it. I have not asked for much in return as frankly I am more than satisfied with whatever Gargoyles content I’ve been able to get my hands on. That having been said, if you are reading this and feel so inclined to reward this humble fan for their continued love and support of this franchise, I beg of you, GIVE ME A SERIES ABOUT GARGOYLE PIRATES! HOLY SHIT THAT IS THE COOLEST AND MOST BADASS THING MY MIND CAN CONCEIVE OF!

….

Anyway, as I was saying, Gnash has hooked up with a group of kids dressed as Gargoyles who are all going gaga over his own Gargoyle “costume.” The kids introduce themselves as Susie, Billy and Terry, but their Gargoyle names are Pandora, Krag and Trouble. While Gnash informs the children that, traditionally Gargoyles don’t have names, they can call him Gnash.

At the castle, Goliath and Hudson are watching a news report says that Xanatos’s probation is officially over and to celebrate, he’s throwing a big old Halloween block party in Greenwich Village and has invited the Gargoyles as the guests of honor. Hudson is unsure about this, what with the Gargoyle Task Force watching their every move, but Goliath thinks that things will be okay.

Meanwhile, Gnash’s Trick or Treating adventure with his new friends is going well, until they run into a couple of older children who also happen to be wannabe Quarrymen who bully the kids for glorifying evil monsters. You know, maybe it’s just the fact that I was raised in a blue state by generally liberal parents, but I still find it hard to believe that teenagers would A. cosplay what is essentially a member of the Ku Klux Klan and B. find out that winged monsters are real and not think that’s the coolest thing ever. Hell, this is set in the 90’s, the decade that gave us Jurassic Park. Sure, if you saw a T Rex coming at you, you’d run for your life, but you’d be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn’t think it’s awesome to see one and I feel that the same would apply to Gargoyles. Anywho, the bullies push around the kids for a while until they get bored and fuck off, mentioning something about the actual Quarrymen hitting the block party in the village later on. Gnash, worried about his family insists on heading to the party to warn them about the Quarrymen. However, since gliding there would blow his cover, his new friends lead him to the Subway. Oh, by the way, Bronx and Fu Dog, at the Behest of Katana, have been following Gnash all night. Gnash is aware of this, but doesn’t seem especially bothered by it.

As Gnash enjoys his first ever subway ride, we cut to the block party where the Manhattan Clan are cautiously enjoying the festivities. So, when I purchased this comic a little over a month ago, I wasn’t expecting much more than a fun little Halloween romp. However, we have now reached the moment where this comic completely blew my brain out the back of my skull. I have often compared Greg Weisman to Eichiro Oda, the writer of my other favorite series, One Piece. This is due mostly to Weisman's incredible talent for world building and his tendency to set up important characters and plot points that won’t pay off until much later in ways that initially seem insignificant. Well, that latter comparison is about to reach its absurd apex with what’s coming next. Dear readers, it is my great pleasure to introduce you to Careless Jones. Who, you are in all likelihood asking, is careless Jones? My friends, I will tell you who Careless Jones is. Remember the Season 2 episode Eye of the Beholder? You know, the Halloween episode where Fox turned into a werewolf and Goliath and Elisa did the Beauty and the Beast dance? Good times. Anyway, you may recall a brief scene in that episode in which an individual dressed as a witch said to our heroes “That’s a Great, Great costume” in a clearly male voice with a vague surfer bro accent. Well, what we all at the time probably assumed to be a completely inconsequential extra is now a full fledged character with a personality, presumably a backstory, and a name, which, evidently, is Careless Jones. … I’m Speechless. I never would have given this character a second thought before this comic and now I want to know his entire life story. Bravo Mr. Weisman you mad man, you’ve done it again.

Anywho, the illustrious Mr. Jones formally introduces himself to Goliath and kindly thanks him for saving his life during the werewolf attack two years ago. Goliath says that Careless is more than welcome as Elisa arrives, dressed for the occasion as Alice in Wonderland because when it comes to Halloween costumes, Elisa loves to stay on theme. As the two lovers dance the night away, Careless entreats Lexington for a dance of his own. After establishing that neither party has any problem with the fact that both are men and one is a Gargoyle from medieval Scotland, Lexington initially refuses since he’s got a sexy deer headed boyfriend across the pond, but Careless insists there’s no harm in just a dance. And so our heroes, all of them, get into the swing of things and look to be having an excellent time.

Unfortunately, just outside the party, The Quarrymen are primed for their attack. I will admit, I got a bit of a chuckle out of the fact that the official Quarrymen uniform has switched from hoods to helmets. Castaway claims it’s about helmets providing more protection, but I’d like to think that the group recently hired a public relations consultant who told them the hoods were probably a bad idea. Beating innocent civilians with sledgehammers though, I guess that’s a-ok.

The kids have caught up with The Quarrymen and while the human children sneak away to get the police, Gnash, Bronx and Fu Dog spring into action, making relatively quick work of the bad guys. In one particularly badass moment, one of the Quarrymen attacks Gnash with an electrified hammer, but, given how often his clan has been electrocuted over the years, the young Gargoyle has come prepared with a blade with an insulated hilt. Gnash then tells the thug that he’s been to the future, and history is not kind to The Quarrymen. Well, the bad guys are clearly outmatched by this child and his two dogs and the other children have returned with the cops (it was previously established that one of them had a cousin with the GTF). The only Quarryman left standing, presumably Castaway himself, goes for broke and tries to kill Gnash anyway, but is stopped dead in his tracks by a suddenly arriving Katana.

As the Quarrymen are hauled away by the cops, Katana says that she’s proud of her son for defending the clan and is glad he’s having fun Trick or Treating. Gnash regroups with the human children, his identity as a Gargoyle now fully exposed. Fortunately, the kids think it’s awesome that they have a cool new Gargoyle best friend and embrace Gnash for who he is. And so our comic ends with the four children continuing their Trick or Treat adventure, the humans asking if Blackbeard really was a Gargoyle. Seriously people, I want that comic about Gargoyle Pirates.

This comic was awesome. From the implication of Gargoyle pirates, to the Manhattan Clan enjoying the dance party, to a bunch of KKK wannabes getting their shit wrecked by a child to the glorious enigma that is Mr. Careless Jones, this comic has a little something for everyone. I especially liked Gnash taking center stage, which allowed us to get in the head of one of the newer characters. While I no longer give numeric ratings on my comic reviews, I would undoubtedly give this comic a ten out of ten. But seriously, Gargoyle Pirates, get on it!