Comic Review: Marvel Comics Gargoyles #2 (1995)

Hey there, Gargoyles and Pop Culture Retrorama Fans!

I’m back today with the next review in my breakdown of Marvel’s 1995 Gargoyles series, looking at issue #2, “Always Darkest Before the Dawn.” 

If you missed my review of Gargoyles #1, you can check it out here.

Gargoyles #2 opens with Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington out to test a tracking system Lexington has developed. The young trio successfully tests the device, but Broadway and Brooklyn would rather be checking out a new club–“Sacrilege.” It’s near dawn when the trio arrives at Sacrilege, just in time to intervene in an attempted murder of two…“ladies of the night.” (That’s something that you wouldn’t have seen in the Gargoyles cartoon)! Unfortunately, our guys did not arrive in time to prevent another murder and kidnapping by some familiar-looking bad guys. Meanwhile, Elisa tries to get these ladies to identify their attacker and now must manage her younger sister, Beth, sleeping on her futon after having a fight with their parents. Matt Bluestone is trying to work when he should be resting after his head injury, and Lexington, after thwarting the attempted murder picked the wrong ledge to sleep on…

Gargoyles #2, like its predecessor, swoops headfirst into the action. I adore the artwork in this issue, especially this particular panel of Goliath. 

Also, I’ve got to confess that I really relate to Elisa’s aesthetic in this comic. Jeans, black t-shirt, flannel, and a steaming cup of coffee in a mug that says, “I heart donuts”? That’s my jam right there. 

What I enjoy the most about this issue is the bit of insight we get into Elisa’s personal life–having to be the good big sister, managing her secret life with the gargoyles, while also working hard to be a good cop. It’s a juggling act that I do not envy. 

This comic is dated March 1, 1995, which places this between the first and second seasons of Gargoyles. In fact, we won’t get another new episode of Gargoyles until September 4, 1995, so the next few issues can be seen as “vamping” on the Gargoyles story until the fall TV season starts back up. 

In this comic, we’ve got several things that bring me back to my childhood. We’ve got ads for things I had as a kid, like this ad for the ‘95 Flair Marvel Annual comic collector cards. I had several of these cards..though I’m not 100% positive that I still have them. If I dig them up again, I’ll be sure to share them here on the site. 

I also got Gargoyles: The Movie for Christmas in 1995. It was cool to find a full-page ad for the VHS, which included the Interactive VCR Board Game. I loved playing that game as a kid, and I still have both the VHS and the game. When the lightning strikes to interrupt your gameplay, my sister and I would both jump out of our skin. It made the game exciting and always kept us on edge. 

It would be unsurprising to find me chewing on “The snack of the future” while watching an episode of Gargoyles or the X-Men animated series. I definitely remember getting these X-Men fruit snacks as a kid. I always loved fruit snacks (still do), and anything that had X-Men on the packaging had me hooked. 

Have you found your own copies of this comic series? Did you read it back in the day? Are you a fan of the Gargoyles animated series? Leave me a comment and we’ll chat. 

While you’re waiting for my review of Gargoyles #3, “Rude Awakening,” I have a Gargoyles-related recommendation for you. I’m always one to appreciate a good thematic playlist. Spotify user, Jeremy Fay has created a MASSIVE Gargoyles-themed playlist. It’s been my soundtrack for composing my two reviews thus far and I must say that I am quite appreciative of the diversity of musical choices in this playlist. It really sets the mood and makes for good background music. Check it out in the meantime, and I’ll be back soon with my review of Gargoyles #3, “Rude Awakening.”