This is a review of The Demon, a comic series written, drawn and edited by Jack Kirby. The Demon is one of the projects Mr. Kirby worked on when he went to DC in the 1970s. I read part of the first issue in an anthology, somewhere, but that’s it.
Short summary: The Demon is Merlin the Magician’s pet monster. The first time we meet him is during the fall of Camelot, where he fights the demon hordes of Morgan Le Fay, and then we fast-forward to modern day (1970’s) New York City. Jason Blood is a demonologist; unbeknownst to him, he’s also a Demon.
This is a short run, sixteen issues. The art is great. My favorite character design is Klarion the Witch Boy. In his first appearance, Klarion is more of a pest. He doesn’t turn evil until his second appearance, which is one of my problems with this series. More on that later.
Make no mistake about it, this is a horror comic. I wouldn’t call it disturbing, exactly, but I was surprised at the level of violence. In one issue, Baron von Evilstein is going to cut Blood’s head off. In another, a demon marks Blood’s forehead with a white-hot poker. A Frankenstein’s monster is tormented and killed by his ‘master.’ The bad guys and girls are really bad, and the stories don’t always have happy endings.
This series is written & drawn by Jack Kirby, which means it’s good. All I can say is that it didn’t hit me where I live, and I am not sure why. It might have been good if Mr. Kirby had an editor, because the stories feel slightly unfocused. Klarion the Witch Boy’s transformation into a villain is one example.
Here’s another: in the first few issues, The Demon is more threatening. One of the high points of the early issues is Blood’s ‘nightmare,’ where he’s chained to The Demon. This sequence – Blood wondering if he’s losing his humanity, or maybe he’s already lost it – is the real thing. Unfortunately, The Demon mellows as the series progresses and misplaces its crazy energy. Bottom line: to me, this title loses its legs, and that’s something an editor can help with. It’s still worth a read, especially if you’re a Jack Kirby fan.
Abandoned Places 