Greetings friends, once again I have returned to the series I called Weekly comic spotlight where one issue would be given a nice lengthy review that my typical review format, my first review based on this was HERC #1, which was months ago, now this is the second article for it. So now I will change this into a Monthly review, where I will pick something this month to highlight from my listings, Marvel, DC, IDW, or Dynamite. So since it has been awhile I have been looking for something worthy to gain a review for such this matter, and there is one that has gained that worth, the new DCNU comic title DEMON KNIGHTS, I have heard many great things with the first issue, it wasn’t on my listings despite the fact I made an article wanting to see Etrigan getting his own book, which he sort of does here. I’m also a fan of Sword and Sorcery Fantasy as well as Arthurian legends, which this I heard combines nicely. So without further ado let’s begin.
First as always I like to delve into the backstory of the character. Etrigan was created by Jack Kirby in 1972 and despite being a demon from Hell; he tends to ally himself with the Heroes and has been a great supporting characters for decades. His origin has remained consistent throughout the years, Etrigan is fused to a human named Jason Blood by means of Merlin fusing the two of them together, making Jason Blood one of the few Immortals of the DCU. Since they are now one being, they have means of swapping places by reciting a phrase:
“Change! Change, O form of man!
Release the might from fleshy mire!
Boil the blood in heart of fire!
Gone! Gone! — the form of man —
Rise, the Demon Etrigan!!”
The character has been a supporting character but has yet to get his on time in the spotlight, but NOW, he has been given a chance now with this new series DEMON KNIGHTS written by Paul Cornell best known for his work with Dr. Who and a few comic works I seen along with artwork by Diogenes Enves, who has done recent artwork in Superman and Green Arrow. Let’s take a look at the first issue of this new series.
Story: The story takes place just as the fall of Camelot takes place, one of King Arthur’s knights of the round carries Excalibur to his king, who is being taken to the realm of Avalon by his three women, where he will return one day. The knight tosses Excalibur back into the lake, one of the women, Madame Xanadu, leaps into the water and goes after the sword but fails to get it. Merlin looks at the fallen Camelot, calls for a young knight, Jason of the Blood, and merges him with the captured demon Etrigan. Time passes as the world has changed; an evil regime has engulfed the land being led by an evil queen and her lover, Mordu (a DC villain). Mordu takes a child as an offering and uses it to guide them along their evil quest, soon after the baby goes boom (yuck). We return to our now teamed together Jason and Xanadu, both traveling to find answers. They come across a small town and discover a formal friend, Vandal Savage (another DC villain) barging into a local inn. They follow suit and relax in the inn where they meet a feminine looking knight named Sir Ystin known as the Shining Knight who also was at the fall of Camelot (how is not explained). They too are interrupted by two individuals, a man named Al Jabr, who brings mechanisms, and Exoristos, a woman from a land where men are castrated and women are pleased (perhaps early Amazonian?). Outside of the village the queen’s horde attacks, getting into the same inn as our various warriors. Jason changes over into Etrigan, who is having an affair with Xanadu, however it seems she is more in love with Etrigan. Just as he transformed, Mordu senses the flux of Magic and sends out some of his pets….DRAGONS, thus leaving us with a cliffhanger ending first issue of this series with the Dragons attacking the inn.
Review: Man, talk about a fun ride this first issue gives us. It does a good amount of introducing us to each of these characters. We are still in the dark with a few of them with their origins, the two new characters like Al Jabr and Exoristos seem to be the newest characters, Yet characters like Sir Ystin and Vandal Savage are characters seen in earlier storylines (However Ystin is in fact a woman). One of the best twists in this series is with Jason Blood/Etrigan and Madam Xanadu, this two person love triangle is a very intriguing aspect I hope they explore further, how this “relationship” works out. The writer Paul Cornell does some great writing with this issue; it’s different from most typical medieval fantasy comics where the people speak in a Shakespearean accent (Like old school Thor), this issue omits that and tells us a story about these various heroes and villains coming together, how will they all play out in this WAY back in the past story, will they have greater impact with some characters, like Madam Xanadu being in Justice League Dark, and will Vandal Savage be a villain eventually. The mixture Arthurian mythology and DC is probably the best combination done, it’s rarely executed in Marvel comics, with DC they paint a broader stroke with this tale, allowing us to enjoy the aftermath of a mighty empire falling and the rise of true evil across the land. This series I can easily see as a good replacement for the now dead Hellboy and a good contender against Marvels Journey into Mystery and Mighty Thor. This series blends the action, pace, mythos, and fun factors really well. I can’t wait to see this series explore if it stays, which it better.
Artwork: The cover for this seen above is a well done yet only shows a single member of this new series, that is of course Etrigan, leaping into battle with a demonic looking blade and fire all around him. I would have preferred your “standard” group pose shot, especially considering this is a fantasy based series, and it could have been more creative. The artwork by Diogenes is really fantastic and top notch, the character designs are some of the best, in my opinion the design of Etrigan, has remained faithful to design if not more better, the different armor designs between Jason Blood and Etrigan is pretty awesome. This was pointed out about Madam Xanadu, her face in the Justice League Dark teaser, she bared a huge resemblance to Kat Dennings, and with this series you see more of that, especially in the chest region now, tee he. Anyway, the design of all the characters are all done really well, I get a kick that Al Jabr is an Assassin Creed Style character. The Final Page is a bit interesting with the Dragons, just from the heads crashing in show just how huge these creatures are, which a good thing is always, dragons are known to be larger than most creatures. Overall Diogenes does a great job with the artwork and I hope to see him do more in other comics.
Overall: This series is one of the best, fun, a bit dark, well written, and well-drawn series. The characters are greatly introduced, showing off a great range of diversity with their designs. The villains are your typical evil wizard and queen, but here its nicely done with a known villain. I highly recommend this series for fans of Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery tales, or just want a fun escape from the usual caped, spandex wearing heroes. I give this issue an A+