Broken Frontier

Demo returns with a new issue under the Vertigo banner.  The book that really launched the careers of Becky Cloonan and Brian Wood is back.

Just about five years ago, the first volume of Demo ended.  It was a little experiment in comics that got a lot of attention.  Part of it was the concept: twelve unconnected short stories.  Part of it was the execution - Cloonan and Wood showed diversity and emotional depth in their little vignettes.

So, the book returns to their current home base of operations.  The publishing house that hired them on the strength of Demo brings them full circle with a second volume.

Can the creators recreate that magic?

"The Waking Life of Angels" is a welcome return to the series.  Here, we meet Joan, an office worker plagued by insomnia that has been brought on by an odd dream.  She sees a girl falling in what appears to be a cathedral.  As days become weeks without sleep, she becomes convinced that this dream is a peek into the future and when she realizes the identity of the building plaguing her restless nights, she sets forth on a plan of action.

This first issue of the new volume holds a few surprises.  While issue 12 of volume one referenced the other 11 issues in its background, there are some Easter eggs for older readers here.  There are visual cues to other works by both creators throughout.  The other thing that is noticeable is that both creators are better skilled.

Wood fills this piece with a bit more nuance.  The art of the trick is still there.  Much of the first volume works like a Hitchcock movie.  There is a twist coming - do you know what it is? That twist is present, but upon second reading, the story is full of neon signs saying “Hey dummy, why didn’t you see this coming?”  Also, the first volume centered around adolescents while this issue has a more mature mindset.  Joan is an adult with very practical fears instead of misguided angst.  Mr. Wood is older now and his characterization shows his maturity.

However,  the more breathtaking leap is in the artwork.  The book still holds a manga influence, but you can tell that Cloonan has been hanging out with Ryan Kelly and those artists from Brazil (the artist has worked on Pixu and other works with Ba, Moon, and Grampa).  Also, there is a bit of personal style here that wasn’t really prevalent in the first volume.  The more startling evolution comes in the detail though.  Basilicas are recreated with detail instead of blank and sparse environments like planes or easy to obscure backgrounds like forests.  The book is full of the little things that were missing in the first volume - readable coffee mug logos and more.

Demo is a personal work.  Just read the essay in the back and that becomes clear.  That is why it touches those who read it.  It connects in a way that a lot of other supernatural based books can’t and at the end of the day, that is how a story can be most powerful - allegory and nuance be damned.