THE DEMON: FROM THE DARKNESS (DC, 2013; Softcover)
Note:
Book actually released in 2014
Collects
The
Demon
#1-4 and The
Demon
#22 (cover dates January, 1987- April, 1992)
Writer
and Penciler: Matt Wagner
Inkers:
Art Nichols and Matt Wagner
As
much as I loathe decompression, overly written comic books are no
better. While one cannot complain about the amount of story crammed
into each issue here, one can complain that much of the text in
blocks and balloons serves no purpose. I had an instructor once tell
me that my writing was “like a Victorian wordsmith”, a slam
meaning that I write like I get paid by the word. I am fairly certain
that fan favorite Matt Wagner must have been paid by the word, as
there is no good reason to write like this unless you are trying to
win a pissing contest with Don McGregor.
That
said, this is an uninteresting story with serviceable artwork. The
Demon is a good character but I am not a completist. The hardcover
that collects all of Kirby's run and John Byrne's Blood Of The
Demon (still uncollected because DC sucks) are all that you
really need. I have already dumped this turd on eBay.
Junk
Food For Thought rating: 2.75 out of 5.
The
OCD zone-
Paper
stock: Jesus Chrysler, DC, this paper stock is only
marginally thicker than Charmin toilet paper. The plus side is that
it looks and feels like real comic book paper and the book weighs
less than a pack of cigarettes. The minus side is that it will brown
and become discolored with time, just like real comic book paper.
Many DC fans are so nostalgic and sentimental that they can't bear to
see this stuff given any type of deluxe treatment and they actually
prefer this lo-fi approach. It's VHS presentation in the Blu-Ray era.
Binding:
Perfect bound trade paperback.
Cardstock
cover notes: Thick
waxlike lamination.
I remember liking this quite a bit back when the mini-series was first released. I think Matt Wagner is one of the all-time great indy creators...I'm a fool for Grendel and Mage. I bought this collection a few months back, so we'll see how it holds up. Stay tuned...
ReplyDelete"Victorian wordsmith"....ha! Screw that guy!
I am also a huge Matt Wagner fan, but I found this mini to be practically impenetrable. I've always hated The Demon's talking in rhyme shtick, and that couple with so much text as Kris says, made this all pretty nonsensical. The art was great though.
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