Out of the Past
by: Mary "Stormy" Pletsch
Synopsis
In Issue #9, the Gargoyles helped Elisa foil the plans of an Asian criminal organization called the Triad. Demona had paired up with them and they attempted to hatch the egg. The Gargoyles' interruption of the ceremony meant the egg went unhatched. Goliath blames himself that a new gargoyle was not born. Elisa comforts him, telling him that there are some things "that you have no control over and can't be held responsible for."
Elisa dreams of a time in 1992 when she was a cop on the beat, on a stakeout for a serial killer. Hearing screams, she investigates and finds a man holding a knife over a dead body. The man, Adam Jones, claims he had a fight with her (his girlfriend), chased after her, and heard the screams. A "shaggy guy" ran out of the alley. Jones pulled the knife from his girlfriend, but she was already dead. Elisa arrests Jones. He is convicted and she earns her detective badge... but since then she has wondered if she arrested the right man.
A group of partyers find a body in an alley. Matt calls Elisa to tell her of several slasher murders on her old beat, with the same M.O. as the Alley Killer she supposedly arrested. Elisa visits Haile O'Connor, whom we discover works at the City Morgue. Haile's thoughts reveal that he has a crush on Elisa, but she doesn't appear to realize it. Haile is worried by Elisa's troubled emotional state.
As the Trio are out discovering a tunnel in the foundations of a skyscraper under construction, Elisa pays two hookers to give her information. One of them describes a big, shaggy guy she's seen around. Elisa has a nightmare of being attacked by a shaggy man when she falls asleep in her car. She worries what Matt, Captain Chavez and her parents will think if they learn her badge was earned on a bad arrest. She imagines Xanatos laughing at her. She knows of no one to confide in, except Goliath.
But the Gargoyles are gone. The Trio have taken Bronx to "a massive underground chamber with tunnels" that they discovered in the skyscraper. (One of Brooklyn's lines is "It's like a labyrinth"--perhaps this is meant to be the Mutates' Labyrinth. This story is set pre-"Metamorphosis." If not, it is similar.) Goliath and Hudson are patrolling the city. The Trio are playing hide-and-go-seek with Bronx underground when suddenly a train roars by...and Bronx chases after it like an ordinary dog chasing cars. Fearing that Bronx will get lost, the Trio pursues.
Left alone, Elisa dresses up like a hooker and stakes out the neighbourhood. Not used to heels, she breaks one on a grate--but as she bends over to retrieve it she is attacked from behind by a huge shaggy man with a knife...
Review
By far the darkest story arc of the comic series, this tale does a good job of examining Elisa's character. Goliath is brooding throughout the issue; his pain does not suddenly disappear, but lingers realistically. The antics of Bronx and the Trio are a bit corny and wouldn't make a strong story on their own; however, they are good comic relief. The reader really feels for Elisa as she struggles with loneliness, self-doubt, guilt, and uncertainty. She is trying not to involve the Gargoyles in what she feels is a personal problem. Good groundwork is being laid for her relationship with Haile O'Connor, whatever it may become. I would like to know more about this character.
Artistic details: In the last scene, Elisa is holding her broken right heel in her hand, yet there is a heel on her right boot. It's odd that the man attacking her looks EXACTLY like the shaggy guy in her nightmare. Matt Bluestone has BLOND hair that is on the long side; he barely looks like Matt on the show. Elisa, however, is extremely well drawn.
Credits
- Writer
- Mort Todd
- Breakdown Pencils
- Amanda Conner
- Inked Finishes
- Alberto Saichamn (p. 1-13), Bob Downs (p.14-16, 20-22), Greg Adams (p. 17-19)
- Colourist
- Anthony Tollin
- Letterers
- John Costanza, Jon Babcock
- Editor
- Hildy Mesnik