Review: ‘Gargoyles: Dark Ages’ #4 Reveals More

Writer Greg Weisman creates a new, if minor, character that speaks a bit of Catalan and apparently Spanish. However, those who don’t take the time to translate will assume that he  says either “no see” or “no sir” when it is really “I do not know.” Thus, Weisman is still trying to bring authenticity and education to the franchise. As for the prose story it is starting to tie more fully into this series main narrative. Weisman does a good job with characterization for both narratives, but is definitely better with the assistance of artist Drew Moss in the main one.

Drew Moss provides the art for the interiors, and some covers featuring Goliath. The cover’s design is a bit standard for this franchise, Yet, it has a decent amount of depth, strong line work, and a good color palette. The interiors feature what is possibly Moss’s best work on this series so far. In particular Moss’s sequencing shows great improvement over previous issues. Colorist Martina Pignedoli enhances Moss’s interior art with an application that slightly mimics a style of painting that currently escapes this reviewer’s mind.

Letterer Jeff Eckleberry places every anchor and word balloon in a position that assists the pacing of Moss’s art. While the bolding of words and choice of font Eckleberry uses enhances Weisman’s dialogue.

Packager/editor Nate Cosby has two mistakes slip past with the cover gallery crediting the wrong artist and labeling with the wrong letters. Otherwise, Cosby does a competent job.

The main cover and some variants are by artist Clayton Crain. While the design for all three versions is good overall the main cover’s trade dress helps balance the color palette.

Artist Erica Henderson creates a variant cover that features four of the Gargoyles in a stained glass visual. The proportions are good, and it feels slightly fresh.

Two variants feature an action figure image by artist Jeff Parker. Both versions are of relatively equal quality. They also possess a good sense of depth due to the “packaging’s” foreground and background. The colors complement all variations of the gargoyle Hyppolyta. Finally the wings having a bend to them is a nice touch.

Mentor/Hudson is the star of the variant cover image that artist Alan Quah creates for this issue. While the image has impressive colors it arguably comes off as overly dynamic in terms of the effects.

Artist Kenya Danino provides a variant cover image that has a reflection within an eye. It is very clever in design, and features an excellent selection of colors.

The two variant covers are by artist Mirka Andolfo. Like Crain’s cover image Andolfo’s design suggests a story that does not happen. Nevertheless, it is still a high quality image. One of the things that makes it work is the defensive position Angel/Demona is in. Another is the dark color palette. However, it is debatable which of the two covers by Andolfo is the superior version.

Gargoyles: Dark Ages #4 is out now from Dynamite Entertainment.