Blood of the Demon #1
Quick Review
I was an avid fan of John Byrne's artwork and storytelling back in the late 70's and early 80's enjoying his work on X-Men, Avengers and Fantastic Four. I even enjoyed talking with him each year as I visited (and occasionally set up shop) at Mid-Ohio Con. Byrne has his opinions and clearly thinks very highly of his own work. I respect the fact that he's become a huge fan of himself over time. Everyone should be...
Over the years I particularly liked his Next Men work, but watched after his stint on Superman as he became increasingly committed to getting hold of cornerstone DC / Marvel titles and recreating /altering characters or core concepts time and time again. I drifted away from his work during this period of his career (early 90’s). It took a horned Demon and Byrne partnering with Will Pfeifer to draw me back to his work on what may be a regular basis (he almost had me with Doom Patrol).
Blood of the Demon #1 didn't knock me out, but it didn't turn me off the title either. It was typical modern era Byrne style tale with a nice twist or two. The presence of the vampire-like character seems to be in each recent Byrne story I've read (most notably the intro arc leading to Doom Partol #1). The strong female second to the lead (the detective Sandra) and nice graphical work are also hallmarks I expect from his tales.
Byrne's art seemed to drift into it's own style of figure composition around the time he developed Next Men. If you look at the work over the years, it went from ultra-realistic art (which I loved) to his own style of figure design (taller and thin). It remains an interesting look and very identifiably Byrne. In Blood of the Demon #1, the art is really strong and seems to almost blend the two styles I've seen from him over the years.
The story is well paced, nicely bloody in places and brings in just enough cthulhu-esque mythology at the end to make me want to read #2. Again, it didn't blow me away, but it certainly didn't push me away. I'll check our issue #2 and see if it gives me more of a charge.
Click here to view some nice interior art from the issue...
http://www.dccomics.com/media/excerpts/2755_x.pdf
Official word from DC ...
Written by John Byrne and Will Pfeifer; Art by Byrne and Bud LaRosa; Cover by Byrne
You may have thought Jason Blood was a man possessed by Etrigan the Demon, but BLOOD OF THE DEMON — the new ongoing monthly series written by John Byrne and Will Pfeifer (AQUAMAN, H-E-R-O) with art by Byrne and Bud LaRosa — reveals a whole lot more about their "blood bond" than anyone ever realized!
Etrigan is on a rampage in Gotham City, where a nameless villain needs him to open a portal to another dimension...and will torture Jason Blood endlessly to make Etrigan his slave!
All the rules have changed! Expect pandemonium and mayhem as Etrigan, loyal to no one, takes on otherworldly foes in the first battle of an all-out war!
DC Universe | 32pg. | Color | $2.50 US
On Sale March 9, 2005
