The notion of gargoyles as supernatural constructs brought to life by evil was introduced in Maker of Gargoyles (1932), a short pulp fiction story by Clark Ashton Smith where Reynard, a medieval stonemason, unconsciously infuses his hate and lust into two gargoyles that attack the town of Vyones and later kill him when he attempts to destroy them. They can also be depicted as vessels for demonic possession or as a living species resembling statues. Like golems, they are usually made of magically animated or transformed stone, but have animal or chimera traits and are often guardians of a place such as a cathedral or castle.

While they were believed in mythology to frighten away evil spirits, the idea of such statues physically coming to life is a more recent notion. The gargoyle is a fantasy and horror monster inspired by the gargoyle architectural element. The characters Beth Maza (who appeared in a photo in 'Deadly Force') and Petros Xanatos appeared in the comics before their full debut on the show.A gargoyle monster as depicted in the tabletop RPG Dungeons & Dragons. Weisman still held on to his unpublished script for the comic, and would eventually use it as issue #6 of Gargoyles SLG comic. Weisman was eventually hired to write for the comic, but Marvel cut the deal with Disney before his run could be produced. Greg Weisman, television series co-creator, did not have any direct involvement in the story development of the comic series, but was consulted on some plot points to be sure it stayed within certain boundaries.

The Marvel series was tonally darker than the television series, dealing largely with Xanatos' experiments to create creatures and machines to defeat the Gargoyles. The books referenced events from the show's first season, but did not follow the continuity of the series, and is not considered canon by creator Greg Weisman. It ran for 11 issues from December 1994 to October 1995. Gargoyles was a series of comics published by Marvel Comics, which are a spin-off from the 1994 animated series of the same name.

Download gargoyles marvel comics