The Demon #1 Is a Welcome Return From Jack Kirby’s Most Underrated Creation (Review)

Etrigan the Demon first appeared in the ’70s, when Jack Kirby had to come to DC Comics. Kirby’s time at DC saw the creation of the New Gods, but they were merely the tip of the iceberg of his work at the publisher. The King gave readers one of the first major dystopian futures in the Great Disaster and turned his eye to the magical side of DC with The Demon, introducing readers to both Jason Blood and Etrigan, a demon from Hell bound to Jason by Morgaine Le Fey. The character has had several solo books over the years, but was always a solid C-list character. He’s often one of DC’s forgotten heroes, usually appearing in events or short crossovers, but rarely getting much spotlight.

DC is taking its comic line in a more classic direction, rebuilding the greats of the past and succeeding, with books like Deadman and Fury of Firestorm being extended past six issues. The Demon is the latest minor DC legend to get his own book, from writer/artist James Harren. The Demon isn’t the most well-known DC character, but he is somewhat complicated, so Harren has his work cut out for him. Luckily, he’s more than up to the task, catching up new fans on why they should care and giving older fans a great new take on the characters.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Pros	Cons
Harren gives readers a story that will work for new readers and old	In some ways, the book is almost too indie for a character like the Demon; it’s going to be a hard sell for more traditional superhero fans
His unique art style may not seem to fit the Demon, but the pages are awesome, well-laid out, and detailed
Shows a different side of magical DC than we’re getting from Zatanna and Deadman

Harren Flips the Script To Take Jason and the Demon In an Intriguing New Direction

Readers haven’t seen a Demon ongoing series since 1995, when the book got a bit of a boost from being written by Garth Ennis. The Demon is a somewhat simple character – ancient sorcerer Jason Blood was bound to Etrigan, with Blood able to summon him to Earth. Oh, and Etrigan speaks in rhyme (although he doesn’t always in this issue, which is definitely on purpose by Harren). His stories are usually about him fighting against other demons and monsters, with the politics of Hell becoming an important part of Ennis’s run. Harren has a lot of directions that he could take the double act, but I feel like he picked the least expected one, playing Jason as a demon-hunting hobo.

Readers are used to seeing Jason as the suave ancient magic-user, so this new version is something of a surprise. It’s a cool subversion of the usual Jason Blood. Etrigan is the voice in his head, trying to get him to transform. Harren explains away previous continuity by establishing that Blood’s memory is a gone, giving him a blank slate to play with, and he brings back Morgaine Le Fey to set up the plot. There’s an ominousness about why Jason isn’t summoning Etrigan, which I hope is more than just their usual dislike of each other. In a lot of ways, this issue feels like a reboot and it might as well be; it’s a back to basics take on a classic character. The issue is extremely new readers friendly, so even if you’ve never read an issue of The Demon, you’ll be able to understand everything you need to know about the character.

The plot itself is pretty cool. I like the addition of the Fair Folk in the book; the Demon, after all, is an off-shoot of Arthurian legend – Jason is related to Merlin – so throwing the Fay give the book a nice British magic vibe. The story takes a fun little twist, introducing a new villain, one who answers a simple question – why does Hell let one of their most powerful be bound to a human? I walked into this book expecting one thing and I got something completely different in the best possible way.

Harren’s Art Style Is Either Going to Work for You or It Won’t At All

One of the great things about DC right now is that they’re not following any given house style. We get everything from the anime/manga inspired work of Dan Mora to something like the latest Doom Patrol #1, which has its own unique style. Harren’s art style has a wonderful cartoonish quality, and it gives this book a unique visual identity. If you’re expecting more hard-edged horror art, you’re not going to get what you want. Harren’s style is softer and more cartoon-y than that. It definitely fits the story, but if his style doesn’t really work for you, you’re not going to enjoy this issue at all. I know that sounds like a no-brainer take, but this book isn’t some generic superhero horror comic, so walking into it expecting that kind of art is a mistake.

Harren’s page layouts are outstanding. He’s able to establish a good pace right from the beginning. His pages are detailed and consistent, especially the action scenes. You might think that the cartoonish art would break the tone of the fights, but Harren does a fantastic job of getting across the stakes of every battle; the demons might not like all that evil, but in a lot of ways, that kind of makes them even scarier. Etrigan’s appearance in the issue is a moment of release, what the story has been building to since the beginning, and Harren’s able to capture that feel with the art. The final page is perfectly ominous, a great way to wrap up this outstanding first issue.

The Demon #1 takes the common Demon story and sets it on its ear. DC has several other magic books, with Zatanna being the big superhero book and Deadman the low key horror mystery book. The Demon under James Harren looks like it’s going to be big, cartoon-y action, showing the breadth of what DC magical titles can be, which is the perfect way to write Jason and Etrigan. You’re going to have questions after you put this one down, but they’re the kind that make you want to pick up the next issue.

The Demon #1 is on sale now.

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