The upcoming Gargoyles comic revival will adhere to what Greg Weisman deems as his franchise's true canonical timeline.
In a recent CBR interview, Weisman established the rules of Gargoyles' chronology based on his involvement with the Disney cartoon and its multimedia continuations. "Canon is the 65 episodes of Season 1 and 2 of Gargoyles (which originally aired from 1994-1996), plus the twelve issues of the SLG [Slave Labor Graphics] Gargoyles comic from earlier this century, and the six issues of the SLG Gargoyles: Bad Guys comic from that same time," he explained. As to where this comic fits into the canon, Weisman said, "Issue #1 of the new Gargoyles comic from Dynamite is set a few months after the last SLG issue."
Continuing Gargoyles' Legacy
Weisman's statement also refers to the negative reception he and fans have toward Gargoyles' third season, titled The Goliath Chronicles. Released on ABC rather than the Disney Afternoon programming block, The Goliath Chronicles picked up where Season 2's finale ended -- revealing the existence of Gargoyles to the public -- but replaced its showrunner and most of the production team after the first episode aired. That episode, titled "The Journey," is still considered semi-canon and was later readapted as the first issue of SLG's 2006 Gargoyles comic run, based on scripts written by Weisman.
Gargoyles followed a clan of winged beings who spring to life after sundown, hibernating as stone statues during the daytime. Once the defenders of an ancient Scottish castle in 994 AD, six clan members soon find themselves the survivors of a horrific massacre, only to be fully transformed into stone for a millennium. After a scheming billionaire named David Xanatos breaks the stone curse, the gargoyles -- including their leader Goliath -- awaken to a contemporary New York setting and, despite their culture shock, vow to serve as the city's protectors. Aided by NYPD detective Elisa Maza, the show followed Goliath and his family as they battled various human, supernatural and mythological threats to the world, including Xanatos himself and Goliath's former lover-turned-adversary Demona.
On what stories he hopes to tell during this new run, Weisman revealed that Gargoyles' first comic arc will be titled 'Here in Manhattan,' describing it as "something that I've had in my head to do going way back to the TV series." Though other plot details remain ambiguous, Dynamite unveiled a first look at the cover and variant covers for Gargoyles #1 last month. In addition to Gargoyles, Weisman is also writing Young Justice: Targets, a six-issue miniseries that picks up where his cartoon Young Justice: Phantoms concluded earlier this year.
Dynamite Comics' Gargoyles #1 will release on Dec. 7.
Source: CBR