My Rating
“The Demon: Part 01”
The days of Camelot and the memories of his youth survive only as fragments in Jason Blood’s mind. Cursed with an unforgiving lifespan, he has tracked evil from High Brazil to the shores of the New World. Well, it is not so new these days.
Centuries have passed since Jason killed his first demonspawn. His life has become a blur of battles and endless travel. Yet he never travels alone. A dark voice lurks within his mind, guiding him toward the next supernatural danger. Perhaps the next encounter will finally bring his miserable existence to an end. For now, the trail has led him to a decrepit rail yard in Gotham City.
Even after all these centuries, the poverty and crime surrounding him are enough to give Jason pause. Yet something else lurks beneath the misery. Something most human eyes cannot see.
Jason reaches into his ragged trench coat and retrieves a pair of wooden goggles. Carved from an oak tree from an age long forgotten, this peculiar relic possesses a useful ability. He straps the goggles into place and surveys the homeless men and women who have taken refuge in the rail yard. Through the wooden lenses, a darker truth comes into focus.
Demons! Why does it always have to be goddamned demons!?
“Preview: Jonah Hex”
A preview of the upcoming Jonah Hex series “Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death” written by Michael Walsh. I am very interested in this release. A reward will find its way to the Relic Keep soon enough!
Review
What an awesome start to Volume Four of The Demon! I figured the editors had tucked Etrigan into some dark corner of the DC Comics archives and forgotten about my favorite Jack Kirby character. Good news! The Demon is back, and James Harren gives me plenty of reasons to celebrate his return.
What I like most about this opening issue is the sense of age and exhaustion surrounding Jason Blood. Centuries of hunting evil have taken their toll. His fragmented memories and the dark voice inside his head add mystery to an already unsettling introduction. Throw in a decrepit Gotham rail yard and demons hiding in plain sight, and we have the makings of a horror series worth following.
Meanwhile, Morgaine le Fey and the Princes of Hell offer little hope for humanity’s future. Doom and despair seem to be on the menu. If Harren can maintain the quality of this first issue, we are in for one hell of a ride. Grab a copy! I give The Demon #1 a hefty five out of five stars.
