Saturday, January 31, 2015

Review- THE DEMON: FROM THE DARKNESS



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.

2 comments:

  1. 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...
    "Victorian wordsmith"....ha! Screw that guy!

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  2. 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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