Gargoyles/Darkwing Duck #1 (Dynamite Comics)
Hello there! Padawan J here, the resident Star Wars expert from the ODPH! This week I'm going to be reviewing the FIRST issue of Gargoyles/Darkwing Duck #1 from Dynamite Comics!
If you grew up as a kid in the 90’s than there are a few cartoons you watched back then. X-Men, Batman & Ducktails certainly come to mind, but towards the top of the list has to be Gargoyles & Darkwing Duck. They’re two of the most popular cartoons of their time that had a massive impact on fans and pop culture. So it only makes sense for the two of them to meet up! So let’s jump into it!
Credit: Dynamite Comics // Gargoyles/Darkwing Duck #1 by Tad Stones (Plot & Main Cover), Greg Weisman (Plot & Script), Ciro Cangialosi (Art & Color), Agnese Eterno (Art), Jeff Eckleberry (Letterer) is a fantastic issue that every 90’s kid should read ASAP
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
The Story
This story is every kids fantasy they imagined back on the playground or with the action figures back in the 90s, and it’s incredible! Greg Weisman & Tad Stones really hit it out of the park with this one. It’s fun, creative and written in such a way that the reader can picture this playing out on tv and go, “yeah…this is exactly how this would play out…”
This issue features Demona up to her usual antics of scheming & plotting world domination, however she’s not doing it alone. AS she decides to contact none other than Morgana Macawber for some “assistance”. Yes, the quotation marks around the word assistance are deliberate. You’ll see why once you read the issue, because you should really go into this without knowing too much because the issue is that much fun.
I really enjoyed the way the issue built up to it’s conclusion because all of it is so expertly written and laid out. Of course having Gargoyles creator Greg Weisman & Darkwing Duck creator Tad Stones helps with that, but it works so well that this really feels like an idea one of them had back in the 90’s that one of them never got to use but kept in the back of their mind.
Once Darkwing Duck meets the Gargoyles it plays out just how you would expect it to, and it’s just a tremendous reminder of just how good those two shows are. The writing is so good that I was reading the dialogue with Jim Cummings, Kath Soucie, Keith David & Salli Richardson-Whitfield’s voices in my head.
It’ll be interesting to see where things go from here, because it’s just getting started and should be an epic battle coming. Tad & Greg really are an incredible duo & the story they’ve told thus far is just incredible as a 90’s kid.
The Artwork
Ciro Cangialosi & Agnese Eterno really did a phenomenal job with the art in the issue. When you’re dealing with two shows as classic as Gargoyles & Darkwing Duck are to a whole generation you have to be extremely careful with how the art in the issue looks because it is absolutely going to be critiqued by fans of both shows when they go to over the pages with a fine tooth comb. Well, fans need not worry because they absolutely nail it. It felt like I was looking at some drawing board sketches from a cancelled crossover. The artwork truly feels like a love letter to both franchises and it’s fans.
FINAL POINT: This issue truly is an incredible dream come true & feels like a crossover that I was waiting to see back when I was a kid. Greg Weisman & Tad Stones have penned a tremendous story that is a joy to read, and the artwork from Ciro Cangialosi & Agnese Eterno’s artwork is done in such a way it feels like it was lifted right from unused sketches for the shows.
Overall Grade: 9/10
Thank you for taking the time to check out my review. Be sure to reach out to me on Twitter, and let me know what you thought of the issue!
