Contrary to its title, The Demon #1 is more the Jason Blood show than the Etrigan although there are loads and loads of other demons populating the nooks and crannies of Hell and Hell on Earth aka Gotham City. James Harren makes Blood a semi-amnesiac, unhoused wanderer who uses his special They Live-esque mask to see supernatural treats and protect the innocent folks of Gotham from them while struggling with wanting to unleash Etrigan. The comic starts with Jason Blood beating up a big, fat demon with a magic pine cone attached to an iron rod, but the stakes gradually get more post-apocalyptic and Arthurian. And Harren and colorist Dave Stewart of Hellboy, Umbrella Academy, Shaolin Cowboy, and loads of other great comics fame are game to up the grotesquerie and sprinkle in bits of whimsy as the book progresses.
James Harren is a cartoonist’s artist, and The Demon lets him go down all kinds of interesting avenues, including 1980s dark fantasy, a more urban take on talking/clothed animals a la Mouse Guard or Wind in the Willows, the humor and pitch black comedy of early Hellblazer comics, and touches of high fantasy and classic depictions of Gotham City in Batman: The Animated Series. If I had to describe the tone of The Demon, it’s a fusion of those late 1980s DC “mature reader” books that became Vertigo like Swamp Thing, Sandman, and of course, Hellblazer, updated for the doom scrolling era and with character designs inspired by Etrigan’s creator, Jack Kirby. We’ve got parallels between Jason Blood’s addiction to Etrigan’s power, Morgaine Le Fey’s addiction to Merlin’s power, and our own addiction to our cellphones via creepy spider smartphone demons that even frighten the council of Hell. Modern anxieties hit different with a side of demons, fairies, and talking mice.
The center of The Demon #1 is the interplay between Jason Blood and The Demon, who is actually quite wise and provides context to the story. He also represents the tempting nature of power, which is the other key them in the story as Morgaine Le Fey wants to drain the infant wizard Merlin and rule a world free of humanity and its stink. In a key page, James Harren depicts a demon-infested Earth almost like Apokolips, which is honestly what our current reality feels like a lot of the time. It’s more dealing with Glorious Godfrey’s prattle than dodging Omega sanctions though. There is conflict between Le Fey and her council who want to hold onto the current status quo instead of completely nuking everything from orbit instead of going all shock, awe, and blasts from Stewart’s color palette. I love when bad guys agree with other bad guys, and the mentions of smart phones, pharmaceuticals, and childhood development sets up more supernatural tinged pokes and prod’s at society’s ills.
In previous Demon stories, I feel like Jason Blood is always overshadowed by Etrigan. Sure, I dressed up as Blood for Halloween my senior year of college, but that was mostly because I was too lazy to put together a Riddler costume. He had his moments back in Paul Cornell’s Demon Knights, but he’s always the lukewarm appetizer before the charismatic, rhythmic feast that is Etrigan. But Harren turns the tables and makes Blood a gruff, likable hero, who is just trying to help out and keep the creepy demons away. In fact, his interactions with the gnomes, Elves, and talking animals is quite adorable, especially when he has them making magical circles. Finally, I love the chaotic design that Harren creates for Jason Blood with his weird shaped hair and baggy, yet strong frame that can definitely take a punch or two from a hellspawn, but eventually should probably just bite the bullet and summon Etrigan.
The Demon #1 is a dark, quirky horror fantasy that explores relevant themes of addiction and power through the lens of supernatural beings. James Harren draws some gnarly demons, and his writing can be poetic and memorable. The line “Nobody even asks why they and their kids are in a sexual relationship with something akin to a pocket mirror, a gun, a casino, and heroin” is seared into my brain every time I pick up my iPhone. I love that Harren continues the time-honored Miltonian tradition of giving devils the best lines.
Story/Art: James Harren
Colors: Dave Stewart Letters: Clayton Cowles
Story: 8.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
