Dora Grents is an animator living in Denmark. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Storytelling from VIA University College, Denmark. According to her website, Done With Demons was her “graduation project from Graphic Storytelling” in 2023. Grents’ other comics credits include Kaershovedgard Stories (graphic interviews with immigrants in a Denmark detention center) and kuš! comics’ anthology š! #47, among others.
Grents takes her cast – Granny and her dog Son, Boris the Mayor of Hell, the antagonist demon XYZ – and puts them in some humorously uncomfortable situations and misunderstandings. The unnamed Granny character is introduced as a lonely elderly who talks to her dog and keeps an eye on the neighborhood through binoculars. This peaceful existence is upended when our villain XYZ intercepts a birthday present from Granny’s daughter and exchanges a microwave with a portal from Hell. The portal vomits out Boris, the Mayor of Hell, and as the old saying goes: hilarity ensues!
Done with Demons is structured very much like a comic strip. The former is evident by the odd pacing of the story. Not until later in the book does it become apparent that Grents is constructing her story in single page installments. Upon rereading, this actually becomes a strength as (also like a daily comic strip) the few characters are put through their paces in short one or two page bursts that amplify the absurdity of the story.
A particularly good example of Grents’ writing is the two-page sequence where Granny forces Boris to look through her family picture albums, which mostly consist of dress-up photos of her dog, Son! After a “1 hour later…” caption, Boris states, “This will be incorporated into the torture methods in Hell.” By the end of the second page Boris loses any patience he might’ve had, he screams at Granny to stop. She then firmly puts him in his place by stating she only talks to one person a day and it’s Boris’s fault he happened to be in the room at the time.
The art in Done with Demons is rough (almost gritty) in its unfinished, pencils-only veneer. Dora Grents makes a good choice in this as a slicker, colorized version of her story would not have the same connection with the reader. Likewise, the highly stylized character design also serves the tone of the story. Grents’ animation background serves her well with the minimalist delineation of each individual personality as she plays them off each other to further her increasingly frenzied (yet charming!) narrative.
Grents is usually content to have her characters act out her story, but there’s a fun page acted out entirely in selfies and disjointed shots as Granny tries to figure out how to use a cell phone. This deftly provides a quick transition between scenes.
This is a welcome first effort from Dora Grents. Whether it be the further adventures of Granny and friends or some other form of wildness, hopefully we will see more comics from her in the future.
Dora Grents (W/A) • Silver Sprocket, $12.99
Review by Gary Usher
