Broken Frontier

Longtime creator great John Byrne returns with a vengeance to bring the Demon back to his roots.

I have been reading comic books for many years now, and I do remember John Byrne’s glory days at Marvel Comics. Now I’m not saying that he’s lost a step here, but you can see the difference in his work from then till now. Luckily for him, he had the good sense to invite writer Will Pfeifer along for the ride as scripter on the book. So with that said, I think it’s safe to point out a book like this should excel under the guidance of this great creative pairing.

The first issue starts off with a bang as Jason Blood is captured and tortured. A new foe has entered the picture and is responsible for this irreprehensible act against the much maligned Jason Blood. This new foe does his worst, attempting to extract the whereabouts of the demon Etrigan from Jason. Only Jason is one tough SOB and refuses to give up the ghost and reveal Etrigan’s whereabouts. Eventually during the torture, Jason is accidentally killed and his lifeless body is in avertedly tossed into a trash can. It certainly looks as if all is lost, but that doesn’t stop Blood from finding a way to survive death, and return with a vengeance. He achieves this with the aid of his friends Anjeli and Randu, and ultimately returns to shed some of his new foe’s blood.

The above paragraph is just a small taste of what you’ll find awaiting you in the pages of Blood of the Demon. I’m not sure if I found John Byrne’s plotting style thrilling enough for a first issue, but he compensates with Will Pfeifer’s excellent use of dialogue. His scripting abilities help the book immensely, as I believe Will Pfeifer is an up and coming writing talent to watch out for. His work on Aquaman and Hero were both excellent reads, so scripting the Demon should be a treat for fans of his writing. Now as for the art side of things, John Byrne handles the pencils only and is inked over by Nekros. I think it’s safe to say that having an inker on this book will free up a large chunk of Byrne’s time since he’s already working on the Doom Patrol as well. His work here is decent enough and comparable for a first issue, but regardless of that I am taking a ‘wait and see’ approach to this series.

It’s not that I don’t think highly of this first issue, I just felt it to be a bit ho-hum as far as first issue stories go. The most appealing aspect for me was the inclusion of Will Pfeifer as scripter, and it’s no secret for me to admit that I am a big fan of his. Anyhow, for those of you who are big John Byrne fans, I suggest you pick up a copy and marvel over his latest opus.

-Kenneth Gallant