The quiet before the storm as the village is surrounded and all those silly mages simply aren’t working.
What They Say:
Under siege and under fire–quite literally–the hastily assembled Demon Knights find that the villagers they’re trying to protect are ready to turn on them and that they’re locked behind embattled walls with a demon whose very touch can kill!
The Review:
There’s something to be said about the honesty of the situation here as it is plainly noted in story that you have this ragtag group of seven individuals, all quite powerful in their own right, who don’t even know each others names but now have found themselves in the same problem. It’s not a question of will they work together but rather can they because of their own differing styles, powers and personalities. The coming together of any group is definitely half the fun because you get the friction, friendliness and sometimes even the sauciness of it all as sometimes people just click together. And with the way characters end up writing themselves as time goes on, especially in a situation like this, you have to hope that series writer Paul Cornell knows to let the cast be who they are. And so far, he’s definitely letting them shine and getting their voice out. These characters have personality. They’re not just archetypes for the most part, even as we know little about them in truth.
With the Horde just outside of the village, Xanadu has made the grand sacrifice of many years off of her life and the emptying of her abilities for the moment to create a barrier that will hold for a few hours. It shows the sacrifice she makes, but it’s balance throughout the book by also showing just how cold and calculating she can be. There’s some great emotion out of Etrigan over this as he sees his loves beauty wither away and that has lots of anger and quick action from him should anyone get too close. But Xanadu is the type playing a grand game to be sure, so when Etrigan has to return to Hell since being on Earth saps him after too long, that puts Jason Blood back in the picture and he’s all caught up in his own problems after being stuck in Hell for so long. Until he sees Xanadu at least, and she plays him much as she plays Etrigan. Or is it playing them? It’s hard to tell where her true feelings lay in this area.
Most of this book is devoted to dealing with the preparations to defend against the Horde, but it’s done mostly through showing us the characters and their differences. With so many people here aloof and essentially loners, so it’s little surprise that there’s some superiority complexes to a lot of it as well. But there’s also some really fun moments which again turning into consistent elements of the book, and definitely some of its best. Seeing Ex encourage a young villager to do what she can and not to listen to the men telling her she can’t do something is great, especially as there’s such a zest for life in her expressions that Neves captures beautifully. Similar can be said of Vandal Savage who really does have a whole lot of fun here. Even though the situation is dire, he can admit that it may be the way his very long life ends and he can bring in a bit of “wisdom” to it in a way while still almost coming across as the buffoon. Not the classic type, but something where it’s almost physical comedy in how he talks and expresses himself through body motions. The self awareness there is just spot on.
Release Notes:
This comiXology edition of Demon Knights comes with the main cover as released with the print edition and no other extras.
In Summary:
The third installment of the series is usually the make or break point for a lot of fans when it comes to trying something new. For Demon Knights, I think this creative team nailed it perfectly in the first and made me a big fan. They only cemented it more in the second and with the third have just said to me that they know they have me and they’re having a blast. You can sense the fun that everyone involved is having, from the banter of the characters to the detailed and really great character designs that are very, very diverse. The book has hit the ground running and it’s really holding onto that energy and enthusiasm, making it quite infectious and leaving me wanting more right away. This is one of those books that definitely has an interesting life ahead of it and that I hope continues to build its audience.
Grade: B+
Readers Rating: [ratings]
