Little had been known of the lives of gargoyles until scientists started using the newly invented telescope. Then gargoyle privacy, in airy lairs and perches, was invaded by all sorts of nibby-nosed voyeurs claiming a need to know in the name of Science.

The drawing Spitting Image was inspired by a sketch found in Herr Doktor Linnaes V. Fleckt’s notebook on Adolescent Dominance Behavior in Northern European Cathedral Gargoyles. A world famous scientist, his observations helped establish gargoylology on firm empirical data.

An ironic footnote, Herr Doktor fell to his death, slipping on a wet patch of lichen that covered the stone steps leading from the high parapet where he had an observation blind. This tragedy occurred shortly after he had completed the sketch.