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Demon Knights (Collected Editions)
Demon Knights, Volume 1: Seven Against the Dark
Set in the Dark Ages of the DC Universe, a barbarian horde is massing to crush civilization. It's fallen to Madame Xanadu and Jason Blood, the man with a monster inside him, to stand in their way–though the demon Etrigan has no interest in protecting anyone or anything other than himself! It'll take more than their own power to stop an army fueled by bloodlust and dark sorcery, and some very surprising heroes–and villains–will have no choice but to join the fray!
Collecting: Demon Knights, 1-7
Collecting: Demon Knights, 1-7
160 pages, Paperback
First published July 17, 2012
About the author
Paul Cornell
624 books1,524 followersPaul Cornell is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy prose, comics and television. He's been Hugo Award-nominated for all three media, and has won the BSFA Award for his short fiction, and the Eagle Award for his comics. He's the writer of Saucer Country for Vertigo, Demon Knights for DC, and has written for the Doctor Who TV series. His new urban fantasy novel is London Falling, out from Tor on December 6th.
via Wikipedia @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Cor...
via Wikipedia @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Cor...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
September 22, 2014
4.5 stars
This was easily one of the best titles I've read this week!
And, just so you know, I'm not generally a fan of the Sword and Sorcery stuff, or any of that Medieval Times bullshit.
No. Just no.
So what did this title have that held my interest?
Humor!
Well, humor and a distinct lack of that goofy Prince Valiant speech pattern.
Although, DAMN that pageboy haircut was frekin' sexy!
Growr!
Alright, here's my (veryveryvery) uneducated theory on why writers should just skip trotting out the Thee's and Thou's, when dealing with this time period.
First (and foremost), it's annoying.
I don't see that you need another reason, but I'm going to give one anyway.
Second, it's annoying.
Kidding!
Third, I've always been under the impression that most of the little serfs and whatnot, were all basically uneducated, untraveled, and unhygienic. I'm thinking most of the villages and towns were filled to the brim with people who hadn't ever been more than 20 miles away from the spot they were born in. So you're going to have big fat language barriers everywhere you go, due to local colloquialisms.
Even today, the meanings for words in English, mean different things in different countries. Can you imagine how diverse things were back then?
I honestly think you'd need a better translator than the King James Bible, if you went back in time.
So.
Skip the bullshit, and just let the characters talk, ok?
If it makes you feel better, you can always pretend that it's got one of those
<>Translated From Kryptonian<> things on the top of each page.
And for those of you who enjoy that tooty-fruity stuff...you've still got Etrigan!
Blessedly, Demon Knights did just let the characters speak in normal voices.
It let them make jokes! Real jokes!
Not those stupid, 'Thou art the hind end of a horse!' jokes.
Those aren't funny.
And I apologize to any of my D&D playing friends who think that they are.
You guys are awesome! Rock on little nerds!
This was a fun story, filled up with cool characters, and set in a surprisingly interesting (for me, anyway) world.
There's enough backstory on most of the characters that I didn't get that Ha-Ha-You're-A-Newbie-And-Nobody-Cares-That-You-Don't-Have-A-Fucking-Clue feeling while I was reading.
And that was a fear of mine, since I'd never heard of most of these guys.
Good stuff!
Not everybody liked this one, so check out some of the other reviews if you're on the fence about this title.
Here's what a few of my friends had to say:
Mike's review, Sam's review, and Gavin's review.
This was easily one of the best titles I've read this week!
And, just so you know, I'm not generally a fan of the Sword and Sorcery stuff, or any of that Medieval Times bullshit.
No. Just no.
So what did this title have that held my interest?
Humor!
Well, humor and a distinct lack of that goofy Prince Valiant speech pattern.
Although, DAMN that pageboy haircut was frekin' sexy!
Growr!
Alright, here's my (veryveryvery) uneducated theory on why writers should just skip trotting out the Thee's and Thou's, when dealing with this time period.
First (and foremost), it's annoying.
I don't see that you need another reason, but I'm going to give one anyway.
Second, it's annoying.
Kidding!
Third, I've always been under the impression that most of the little serfs and whatnot, were all basically uneducated, untraveled, and unhygienic. I'm thinking most of the villages and towns were filled to the brim with people who hadn't ever been more than 20 miles away from the spot they were born in. So you're going to have big fat language barriers everywhere you go, due to local colloquialisms.
Even today, the meanings for words in English, mean different things in different countries. Can you imagine how diverse things were back then?
I honestly think you'd need a better translator than the King James Bible, if you went back in time.
So.
Skip the bullshit, and just let the characters talk, ok?
If it makes you feel better, you can always pretend that it's got one of those
<>Translated From Kryptonian<> things on the top of each page.
And for those of you who enjoy that tooty-fruity stuff...you've still got Etrigan!
Blessedly, Demon Knights did just let the characters speak in normal voices.
It let them make jokes! Real jokes!
Not those stupid, 'Thou art the hind end of a horse!' jokes.
Those aren't funny.
And I apologize to any of my D&D playing friends who think that they are.
You guys are awesome! Rock on little nerds!
This was a fun story, filled up with cool characters, and set in a surprisingly interesting (for me, anyway) world.
There's enough backstory on most of the characters that I didn't get that Ha-Ha-You're-A-Newbie-And-Nobody-Cares-That-You-Don't-Have-A-Fucking-Clue feeling while I was reading.
And that was a fear of mine, since I'd never heard of most of these guys.
Good stuff!
Not everybody liked this one, so check out some of the other reviews if you're on the fence about this title.
Here's what a few of my friends had to say:
Mike's review, Sam's review, and Gavin's review.
April 16, 2021
Review oringinally posted here: https://sammythecritic.blogspot.com/2...
Rating: 3.5/5
Synopsis: Taking place during the medieval Dark Ages of the DC Universe continuum, The first trade paperback of The New 52 Demon Knights series follows a loose teaming comprised of the characters Etrigan, Madame Xanadu, and Vandal Savage among others as they fight against outside invaders.
My Thoughts: Admittedly, I am not all too familiar with any of these characters and, therefore, could not be swept away by the novelty of instituting existing characters in a different setting. However, I still did enjoy it quite a bit.
Story (3/5) – Fast-moving high fantasy tales like this tend to go in over my head as I try to absorb as much information being cascaded towards me. However, from what I could make of it, I enjoyed the mix of aspects of Arthurian legends and superhero lore which works pretty well here due to the use of characters whose abilities are driven by the supernatural.
Characters (2.5/5) – So much happened to the large cast so quickly that it didn’t leave what I would consider enough time for immersion within the exposition since there was a greater emphasis on setting and folkloric exposition. I did, nevertheless, like the character designs and do see the potential of them growing to me in future volumes if they do give the main cast more screen time to explore their personalities.
Art (4.5/5) – Loved it, the lighting, shading, and character designs, expressions, and backgrounds all shined with meticulous detail, capturing the period setting convincingly. The fantastical action scenes held my attention for much of the book and even pleasantly surprised me for how much blood was depicted for a regular DC title.
Dialogue (3/5) – No particular line(s) of dialogue struck me as exceptional, but it did fulfill its purpose of moving the plot forward.
Final Thoughts: This was a mildly entertaining at best and overwhelming at worst debut. I probably won’t be reading any more of it soon for the moment since there are several other unfinished series on my reading list. However, you might love it if you’re into a superhero and medieval mishmash.
Rating: 3.5/5
Synopsis: Taking place during the medieval Dark Ages of the DC Universe continuum, The first trade paperback of The New 52 Demon Knights series follows a loose teaming comprised of the characters Etrigan, Madame Xanadu, and Vandal Savage among others as they fight against outside invaders.
My Thoughts: Admittedly, I am not all too familiar with any of these characters and, therefore, could not be swept away by the novelty of instituting existing characters in a different setting. However, I still did enjoy it quite a bit.
Story (3/5) – Fast-moving high fantasy tales like this tend to go in over my head as I try to absorb as much information being cascaded towards me. However, from what I could make of it, I enjoyed the mix of aspects of Arthurian legends and superhero lore which works pretty well here due to the use of characters whose abilities are driven by the supernatural.
Characters (2.5/5) – So much happened to the large cast so quickly that it didn’t leave what I would consider enough time for immersion within the exposition since there was a greater emphasis on setting and folkloric exposition. I did, nevertheless, like the character designs and do see the potential of them growing to me in future volumes if they do give the main cast more screen time to explore their personalities.
Art (4.5/5) – Loved it, the lighting, shading, and character designs, expressions, and backgrounds all shined with meticulous detail, capturing the period setting convincingly. The fantastical action scenes held my attention for much of the book and even pleasantly surprised me for how much blood was depicted for a regular DC title.
Dialogue (3/5) – No particular line(s) of dialogue struck me as exceptional, but it did fulfill its purpose of moving the plot forward.
Final Thoughts: This was a mildly entertaining at best and overwhelming at worst debut. I probably won’t be reading any more of it soon for the moment since there are several other unfinished series on my reading list. However, you might love it if you’re into a superhero and medieval mishmash.
March 9, 2017
I should probably like this more.
After all, it has superheros, a thousand years before they became popular.
It has a little cultural and ethnic and gender diversity, in a time when conformity was at a premium.
It has a wonderous woman, blood, demons, gore, visions, bloody gore, magic, cleavage, knights, Vandals, Al Jabr (probably of "algebra" fame), and pretty much every historical inaccuracy known to humankind. Oh, yes, and a passing nod to The Magnificent Seven.
Basically, it takes 21st century mores and slides them 11th century situations and takes off running. Which is fun for the occasional romp, but to for a continuous diet, sorry. I will read the other two volumes, but not a True Believer, not yet.
After all, it has superheros, a thousand years before they became popular.
It has a little cultural and ethnic and gender diversity, in a time when conformity was at a premium.
It has a wonderous woman, blood, demons, gore, visions, bloody gore, magic, cleavage, knights, Vandals, Al Jabr (probably of "algebra" fame), and pretty much every historical inaccuracy known to humankind. Oh, yes, and a passing nod to The Magnificent Seven.
Basically, it takes 21st century mores and slides them 11th century situations and takes off running. Which is fun for the occasional romp, but to for a continuous diet, sorry. I will read the other two volumes, but not a True Believer, not yet.
September 24, 2012
Set in the Dark Ages, a small group of extraordinary strangers happen to be in the same village at the same time when a hostile invading force attacks. Throwing up a magical shield, the Seven along with the villagers must find a way of defeating the siege and stopping the evil from overwhelming them.
Introducing Jason Blood and the demon Etrigan, magical Madame Xanadu, ruthless but charming rogue warrior Vandal Savage, “giantess” amazon Exoristos, a crippled expert archer who rides a horse known only as the Horsewoman, the androgynous swords(wo)man(?) Shining Knight, and eastern scientist engineer Al Jabr, these seven will become the Demon Knights fulfilling a prophecy made by the mysterious Merlin as they rage against the Dark.
The New 52 goes all Dungeons and Dragons-y with this fantasy series full of dragons, magic, demons, and intricately moulded female armour, and it’s actually really good. I recognised a couple of characters, Jason Blood/Etrigan who has made a few appearances in Batman, and Shining Knight who was in Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers of Victory series, but the others are new and interesting too - Vandal Savage especially for his double dealing ways. It was interesting to see Etrigan have a romantic side; up to now I’ve seen him as a psychopath only, here he’s almost likeable.
Paul Cornell writes a pretty straightforward but hugely entertaining first book that does a fine job of setting up the characters and the beginnings of a complicated quest storyline that’ll go beyond this book to the next few volumes. Well drawn and full of action, if you like fantasy and want to try something different from the New 52 lineup of superhero books, DC offer an excellent book in “Demon Knights”.
Introducing Jason Blood and the demon Etrigan, magical Madame Xanadu, ruthless but charming rogue warrior Vandal Savage, “giantess” amazon Exoristos, a crippled expert archer who rides a horse known only as the Horsewoman, the androgynous swords(wo)man(?) Shining Knight, and eastern scientist engineer Al Jabr, these seven will become the Demon Knights fulfilling a prophecy made by the mysterious Merlin as they rage against the Dark.
The New 52 goes all Dungeons and Dragons-y with this fantasy series full of dragons, magic, demons, and intricately moulded female armour, and it’s actually really good. I recognised a couple of characters, Jason Blood/Etrigan who has made a few appearances in Batman, and Shining Knight who was in Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers of Victory series, but the others are new and interesting too - Vandal Savage especially for his double dealing ways. It was interesting to see Etrigan have a romantic side; up to now I’ve seen him as a psychopath only, here he’s almost likeable.
Paul Cornell writes a pretty straightforward but hugely entertaining first book that does a fine job of setting up the characters and the beginnings of a complicated quest storyline that’ll go beyond this book to the next few volumes. Well drawn and full of action, if you like fantasy and want to try something different from the New 52 lineup of superhero books, DC offer an excellent book in “Demon Knights”.
February 21, 2013
Well it wasn't boring! Some new (to me at least) characters, along with more familiar ones (Jason Blood, Madame Xanadu, Vandal Savage). This is the team-up where there's no actual cohesive unit or anything, but that's fine. The setting is great, Middle Ages, long after the fall of Camelot. Interesting thing here is to see the duality between Etrigan/Blood and both their relationships with Xanadu. I also very much enjoyed the Al Jabr character and hope to see Volume 2 do more with him. I've now come to the conclusion that the editors at DC told every writer (other than perhaps Scott Snyder/Grant Morrison/Geoff Johns) that they had to introduce every character in the first books, but I just come to expect it now.
The action of the Medieval period is fun, nice change from the usual, and the side subplot involving Merlin and all those linked to Camelot and the Holy Grail has potential.
A good solid start for a new series, and at least a few characters who deserve to stay in the pages of DC for a long time now.
The action of the Medieval period is fun, nice change from the usual, and the side subplot involving Merlin and all those linked to Camelot and the Holy Grail has potential.
A good solid start for a new series, and at least a few characters who deserve to stay in the pages of DC for a long time now.
November 3, 2012
When DC rebooted, I gave Demon Knights a chance for the first 2 issues and then dropped the series. There was just far too much exposition, Paul Cornell wanting to tell you instead of show you what was happening. Diogenes artwork seemed sloppy and inconsistent to boot and I figured it wasn't worth keeping up with.
Now that I've read the first six issues altogether in this trade, Demon Knights works on a variety of levels that impresses me more than I could have thought possible. Maybe it was the low expectation to begin with, but I got swept up in it. Largely due to the fact that it so clearly resembled "The Magnificent Seven" (which I fully understand is the American version of "Seven Samurai" but absolutely refuse to see 'Samurai' as the superior film because it isn't although it is a great movie, 'Magnificent' beats it's ass all over town). Being a huge fan of the American Western, I think it played on my soft spot and worked it's way into my heart.
I'd highly recommend it for fans of the DCU. I really wouldn't recommend it for new fans who have no idea who the hell Vandal Savage or Jason Blood are. To me, most of the fun comes from knowing these characters and seeing them before the current age. Vandal Savage running around in the Middle Ages and seeing Madame Xanadu's love affair with the Demon makes for a swooning fanboy.
I'm still not completely convinced of Diogenes Neves compitency on the art chores, but sometimes he shines and sometimes the colors make up for the lax layouts.
Overall, definitely worth the read. Paul Cornell really dropped the ball on Stormwatch, but ran it all the way back with this one.
Writing: A
Art: C
Now that I've read the first six issues altogether in this trade, Demon Knights works on a variety of levels that impresses me more than I could have thought possible. Maybe it was the low expectation to begin with, but I got swept up in it. Largely due to the fact that it so clearly resembled "The Magnificent Seven" (which I fully understand is the American version of "Seven Samurai" but absolutely refuse to see 'Samurai' as the superior film because it isn't although it is a great movie, 'Magnificent' beats it's ass all over town). Being a huge fan of the American Western, I think it played on my soft spot and worked it's way into my heart.
I'd highly recommend it for fans of the DCU. I really wouldn't recommend it for new fans who have no idea who the hell Vandal Savage or Jason Blood are. To me, most of the fun comes from knowing these characters and seeing them before the current age. Vandal Savage running around in the Middle Ages and seeing Madame Xanadu's love affair with the Demon makes for a swooning fanboy.
I'm still not completely convinced of Diogenes Neves compitency on the art chores, but sometimes he shines and sometimes the colors make up for the lax layouts.
Overall, definitely worth the read. Paul Cornell really dropped the ball on Stormwatch, but ran it all the way back with this one.
Writing: A
Art: C
December 9, 2012
The setting is definitely the coolest part of this book - Dark Ages, swords, magic and dragons? Easily the most unique and interesting backdrop of all the New 52 I've read so far.
Cornell's pedantic streak is subdued here - by choice or by virtue of circumstance, I haven't decided. He's still having every character introduce themselves as they enter a scene/throw the first punch/swing a sword, but the exposition is otherwise balanced well with action, plot and visuals.
In fact, while there's conflict and action moving the plot forward - more detail than he can fit on a page - the dialogue actually feels almost natural. It's when he slows down the pace, starts filling in the details, that he slips on his comfy pedantic shoes and makes with the awkward monologuing lectures. The origin of the shining knight is a perfect example of arresting the momentum and killing the rumour that Cornell can write dialogue that anyone would actually say.
Good enough not to burn after (which is more than I'll say for most of Cornell's comic scripts).
Cornell's pedantic streak is subdued here - by choice or by virtue of circumstance, I haven't decided. He's still having every character introduce themselves as they enter a scene/throw the first punch/swing a sword, but the exposition is otherwise balanced well with action, plot and visuals.
In fact, while there's conflict and action moving the plot forward - more detail than he can fit on a page - the dialogue actually feels almost natural. It's when he slows down the pace, starts filling in the details, that he slips on his comfy pedantic shoes and makes with the awkward monologuing lectures. The origin of the shining knight is a perfect example of arresting the momentum and killing the rumour that Cornell can write dialogue that anyone would actually say.
Good enough not to burn after (which is more than I'll say for most of Cornell's comic scripts).
May 6, 2021
This...is a really weird series. It's got magic, science, demons, dragons (fire breathing dinosaurs), mechanical dragons and a cast of characters that is just as diverse. Seven of these 'immortal' beings end up in the tiny village of Little Spring that soon becomes the focus of the Horde of the Questing Queen who seeks to rule Camelot (or find the Holy Grail, restore Camelot, then rule it...)
This story is ALL OVER THE PLACE and it's utter chaos. The art is about what you'd expect from a serious fantasy comic series. The characters were...interesting, though mostly shoved in our faces for 10 seconds apiece before some poor bystander is brutally murdered and the plot moves on. The pacing is like a student driver learning to break and accelerate a car, jerky and unpleasant.
Overall, I thought it had a good premise, good art, and a decent story, but the execution is not the best. I didn't care for it.
This story is ALL OVER THE PLACE and it's utter chaos. The art is about what you'd expect from a serious fantasy comic series. The characters were...interesting, though mostly shoved in our faces for 10 seconds apiece before some poor bystander is brutally murdered and the plot moves on. The pacing is like a student driver learning to break and accelerate a car, jerky and unpleasant.
Overall, I thought it had a good premise, good art, and a decent story, but the execution is not the best. I didn't care for it.
October 19, 2012
“A fun, weird graphic novel that will leave you wanting more. Great artwork and a great work of fiction by Cornell, Demon Knights is another strong offering in the New 52.” ~The Founding Fields
Writer: Paul Cornell | Art: Diogenes Neves, Oclair Albert, Mike Choi, Robson Rocha | Cover: Tony S. Daniel | Published: DC Comics | Collects: Demon Knights #1-7
I’m going to be honest with you here. I picked up the trade paperback of Demon Knights on a bit of a whim. I didn’t mind the first issue but when read alone, it was pretty confusing and I didn’t really have a clue what was going on. However, when read as a Collected Volume, I dove right into Seven Against the Dark and really enjoyed it, reading it in one sitting which is the norm for most graphic novels that I read unless they’re Watchmen or Knightfall size, in which case I have to read them in multiple sittings.
Another reason why I picked up Demon Knights Vol. 1: Seven Against the Dark on a bit of a whim was because of the fact I’d never encountered this age of DC Comics before. Not once, and the portrayal of Merlin in the first chapter was something that I wasn’t really used to at all. But did the graphic novel work? Hell yes. In fact, it did more than work. You can count me on board for this series and I can tell you know that my risk in picking up this title paid off.
Etrigan was the only character that I’d heard of before in this collection and I’ve got no idea as to how the other of the Seven fit into the Demon Knights. You can tell that most comics readers are going to be taking a risk in buying Seven Against the Dark mainly because of what I’ve just mentioned. Etrigan isn’t well known, and the Seven that he fights with in this collection are even less so. But I’m glad that Paul Cornell has not only managed to pull off a wonderfully told, Dungeons and Dragons style fantasy epic – the awesomeness that is only made more brilliant by the stunning artwork provided by Neves, and to a certain extent Tony S. Daniel with the cover, which was one of the main reasons why I picked up the book in the first place – I mean, how hard is it to resist a book with a cover like that?
Read the Review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/01/...
Writer: Paul Cornell | Art: Diogenes Neves, Oclair Albert, Mike Choi, Robson Rocha | Cover: Tony S. Daniel | Published: DC Comics | Collects: Demon Knights #1-7
I’m going to be honest with you here. I picked up the trade paperback of Demon Knights on a bit of a whim. I didn’t mind the first issue but when read alone, it was pretty confusing and I didn’t really have a clue what was going on. However, when read as a Collected Volume, I dove right into Seven Against the Dark and really enjoyed it, reading it in one sitting which is the norm for most graphic novels that I read unless they’re Watchmen or Knightfall size, in which case I have to read them in multiple sittings.
Another reason why I picked up Demon Knights Vol. 1: Seven Against the Dark on a bit of a whim was because of the fact I’d never encountered this age of DC Comics before. Not once, and the portrayal of Merlin in the first chapter was something that I wasn’t really used to at all. But did the graphic novel work? Hell yes. In fact, it did more than work. You can count me on board for this series and I can tell you know that my risk in picking up this title paid off.
Set in the Dark Ages of the DC Universe, a barbarian horde is massing to crush civilization. It’s fallen to Madame Xanadu and Jason Blood, the man with a monster inside him, to stand in their way–though the demon Etrigan has no interest in protecting anyone or anything other than himself! It’ll take more than their own power to stop an army fueled by bloodlust and dark sorcery, and some very surprising heroes–and villains–will have no choice but to join the fray!
Etrigan was the only character that I’d heard of before in this collection and I’ve got no idea as to how the other of the Seven fit into the Demon Knights. You can tell that most comics readers are going to be taking a risk in buying Seven Against the Dark mainly because of what I’ve just mentioned. Etrigan isn’t well known, and the Seven that he fights with in this collection are even less so. But I’m glad that Paul Cornell has not only managed to pull off a wonderfully told, Dungeons and Dragons style fantasy epic – the awesomeness that is only made more brilliant by the stunning artwork provided by Neves, and to a certain extent Tony S. Daniel with the cover, which was one of the main reasons why I picked up the book in the first place – I mean, how hard is it to resist a book with a cover like that?
Read the Review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/01/...
July 24, 2016
I wasn't sure I'd like this since it takes place in the Dark Ages but I ended up really liking it. The story is pretty basic fantasy. The Questing Queen's Horde is on its way to ravage a city but in its path is a small village within a narrow passage. Conveniently seven immortal (or virtually) warriors have gathered here unknownst to each other. The book is very battle oriented full of violence, action-packed. Because the story is simplistic much time is spent on character. This is a team, come to be called the "Demon Knights" by the end. I always like superhero teams and here we meet a lot of paranormal, dark, magic using DC characters. I really liked them considering they were all new to me except Madame Xanadu who I've met a few times now, outside the Justice League Dark titles. I had also heard of the demon Etrigan and Vandal Savage and was pleased to find a pre-cursor to Wonder Woman: an exiled Amazonian warrior from Paradise Island. A lot of fun and I'll definitely be reading the following volumes.
October 21, 2013
Originally posted on www.TheSciFiChristian.com:
As you’ve seen in recent days on our website, we have been posting various Halloween-inspired articles to celebrate a semi-sci-fi holiday. I knew that I would want my article to be a review of a comic, and Demon Knights was the first one that came to mind. This is a title that I had heard a lot of good things about, and had been meaning to check out, so Halloween gave me the opportunity to finally dive into this book. As a quick disclaimer before I proceed with my full review, you should know that this turned out to be not a very Halloweenish book. It was way more of a “sword and sorcery,” Dungeons and Dragons sort of thing.
As part of DC Comics’ New 52 initiative from late 2011, Demon Knights served as a new type of superhero team book set in the Dark Ages. Look at it like the Justice League, if they existed during medieval times. The title of the first volume of this series is called “Seven Against the Dark,” because it introduces the seven team members that will comprise the Demon Knights. The two most well known of the Demon Knights are Etrigan and Madame Xanadu. Etrigan is interesting because he is kind of a Hulk-like character. His quick origin, as presented in the prologue of this book, reveals that Etrigan was an evil demon being held in chains by Merlin, the famous wizard from King Arthur’s court. Realizing that he would soon lose the ability to restrain the demon any longer, Merlin imprisoned the beast inside the body of an innocent human named Jason Blood. Jason now possesses the power to transform into the demon when he needs to fight for justice; however, when in control, the demon has a mind of his own. Sometimes he helps and sometimes he does whatever he wants. The catch with using his new transformation power is that every time Jason allows Etrigan to take over, his own body and consciousness are teleported to Hell. There, Jason has to wait, with all of Etrigan’s dead victims, until the demon allows Jason to take over again. At first I wondered why Etrigan would ever transform back to Jason, but it turns out that Etrigan becomes less and less powerful the longer he spends time outside of Hell (where he typically resides).
We don’t learn as much about Madame Xanadu, although it is mentioned that she received her magical training from Merlin, and that she is second in power only to her teacher. She and Jason both seem to be immortal because they both lived during Arthurian times, and are still young and powerful 6,000 years later (during the Dark Ages). More than that, I know that Madame Xanadu is also a member of the Justice League Dark, which is set in the present day DC universe. Xanadu’s true allegiances are hard to define because she proclaims love to both Jason and Etrigan, telling each that she is tricking the other entity to keep them in line. While she is shown to be very magically powerful, we also find out that magic often requires a sacrifice (more on that later).
Likely the next most notable member of the team is Vandal Savage. Savage is an interesting character in that his morality is very unique. He has good in him, but he also has brutality in him. He, too, is an immortal, and he has said in the past that he sometimes likes to fight with heroes and he sometimes likes to fight against them. In the present day DC universe he is typically seen as a villain, but in this story, he is an unlikely, albeit selfish, hero.
The next four team-members were all unknown to me prior to picking up this collection. First, we have Shining Knight who clearly looks like a woman, but claims to be a man. There is no explanation for why this is the case. “His” real name is Sir Ystin, and in one of the most interesting parts of the story, he receives a vision in which he communicates with Merlin. It turns out that Ystin, too, is from the time of King Arthur and that Merlin embedded an important quest deep inside his mind. So deep, in fact, that Ystin was unaware what he was questing for until having this vision. Ystin was granted a form of immortality when Merlin made him drink from Jesus’ Holy Grail. And the quest, as it turns out, is to track down the powerful Grail that Merlin has hid away.
Second, Al Jabr joins the team as a man of both science and faith. I know little about him other than that he believes in a higher power and he is very intelligent. He is almost an ancient Tony Stark, able to make mechanical connections that others don’t see in order to build things that will serve his good cause. He repeatedly corrects people that he isn’t using magic because magic is just a way of understanding that is ahead of its time. To paraphrase, he believes that magic is advanced technology or science that we don’t yet understand.
Next, Exoristos has a story that sounds similar to that of Wonder Woman. Exoristos is an Amazon from Paradise Island; however, she has been banished for some reason (which we don’t find out in this volume). Her power doesn’t seem to be at the same level as Wonder Woman, but she is still extremely strong.
Finally, a mysterious figure called The Horsewoman joins the team. Something weird is up with The Horsewoman because she can never leave her horse for some reason. We will probably eventually find out that she has is under some sort of curse, but the one time we see her off her horse, she is sleeping, and when she is startled awake her body automatically levitates back onto the horse. Oh, and she also communicates telepathically with horses to call them into battle. This is just like Aquaman with sea life, but again, she talks to horses instead.
Instead of describing the plot of the story beat by beat, one of the main themes of this book needs to be discussed. In a story filled with demons and magic and villainy and violence, the biggest motif to come out of it is the need to sacrifice for the greater good. As I was first thinking through the book, I thought that perhaps each of our seven “heroes” made a sacrifice at some point. After further reflection, I don’t think my theory is 100% true, but many of the characters do show a sacrificial nature.
The most apparent example of sacrifice is when Madame Xanadu creates a protective barrier around the village that is being attacked. She knows that every human will be destroyed if she doesn’t do something, but she uses so much of her magical power to create this wall that she drains the life out of herself. Right before our eyes, we see her age to an extremely old woman, fragile and close to death.
My favorite sacrifice in the book, though, comes from Shining Knight. Merlin warns Shining Knight that if he takes on the proposed mission, it will cost him everything that he holds dear. Merlin goes on to say that all is lost without Shining Knight’s aid, but leaves the final decision in his hands. Will he take on the burden or not? Shining Knight responds, “What is lost can be found. Love will rise again. I will make it so. Thank you for this burden.” This moment is filled with hope, and raises the Shining Knight character up many levels in my mind. What an amazing example of a sacrificial servant, thanking Merlin for the chance to lay down everything for the wellbeing of others!
I tend to be a harsh critic when it comes to comics, and am rarely head over heels in love with a book. More often, I find them to be enjoyable, but not great; a sort of middle-of-the-road. That’s what I see when I look back on Demon Knights. It was interesting in its character creation, and I like the fact that the setting is different than most superhero stories, but all in all it was just okay. My final rating is 2.5 stars out of a possible 5. I am not a huge fan of sword and sorcery, though, so if you typically enjoy that sort of thing, this book is for you. But with that being said, before I conclude this article, I must give a shout-out to their use of the word “dragon” in this book. As I’ve claimed in past episodes of The Sci-Fi Christian (see episodes 12 and 178), I believe that the dragons from ancient mythologies are really just dinosaurs. In “Seven Against the Dark,” the evil forces use “dragons” to attack our heroes, and guess what…they are actually dinosaurs! So, if you want to see an analogue for Wonder Woman go one-on-one with a triceratops, check out this book.
As you’ve seen in recent days on our website, we have been posting various Halloween-inspired articles to celebrate a semi-sci-fi holiday. I knew that I would want my article to be a review of a comic, and Demon Knights was the first one that came to mind. This is a title that I had heard a lot of good things about, and had been meaning to check out, so Halloween gave me the opportunity to finally dive into this book. As a quick disclaimer before I proceed with my full review, you should know that this turned out to be not a very Halloweenish book. It was way more of a “sword and sorcery,” Dungeons and Dragons sort of thing.
As part of DC Comics’ New 52 initiative from late 2011, Demon Knights served as a new type of superhero team book set in the Dark Ages. Look at it like the Justice League, if they existed during medieval times. The title of the first volume of this series is called “Seven Against the Dark,” because it introduces the seven team members that will comprise the Demon Knights. The two most well known of the Demon Knights are Etrigan and Madame Xanadu. Etrigan is interesting because he is kind of a Hulk-like character. His quick origin, as presented in the prologue of this book, reveals that Etrigan was an evil demon being held in chains by Merlin, the famous wizard from King Arthur’s court. Realizing that he would soon lose the ability to restrain the demon any longer, Merlin imprisoned the beast inside the body of an innocent human named Jason Blood. Jason now possesses the power to transform into the demon when he needs to fight for justice; however, when in control, the demon has a mind of his own. Sometimes he helps and sometimes he does whatever he wants. The catch with using his new transformation power is that every time Jason allows Etrigan to take over, his own body and consciousness are teleported to Hell. There, Jason has to wait, with all of Etrigan’s dead victims, until the demon allows Jason to take over again. At first I wondered why Etrigan would ever transform back to Jason, but it turns out that Etrigan becomes less and less powerful the longer he spends time outside of Hell (where he typically resides).
We don’t learn as much about Madame Xanadu, although it is mentioned that she received her magical training from Merlin, and that she is second in power only to her teacher. She and Jason both seem to be immortal because they both lived during Arthurian times, and are still young and powerful 6,000 years later (during the Dark Ages). More than that, I know that Madame Xanadu is also a member of the Justice League Dark, which is set in the present day DC universe. Xanadu’s true allegiances are hard to define because she proclaims love to both Jason and Etrigan, telling each that she is tricking the other entity to keep them in line. While she is shown to be very magically powerful, we also find out that magic often requires a sacrifice (more on that later).
Likely the next most notable member of the team is Vandal Savage. Savage is an interesting character in that his morality is very unique. He has good in him, but he also has brutality in him. He, too, is an immortal, and he has said in the past that he sometimes likes to fight with heroes and he sometimes likes to fight against them. In the present day DC universe he is typically seen as a villain, but in this story, he is an unlikely, albeit selfish, hero.
The next four team-members were all unknown to me prior to picking up this collection. First, we have Shining Knight who clearly looks like a woman, but claims to be a man. There is no explanation for why this is the case. “His” real name is Sir Ystin, and in one of the most interesting parts of the story, he receives a vision in which he communicates with Merlin. It turns out that Ystin, too, is from the time of King Arthur and that Merlin embedded an important quest deep inside his mind. So deep, in fact, that Ystin was unaware what he was questing for until having this vision. Ystin was granted a form of immortality when Merlin made him drink from Jesus’ Holy Grail. And the quest, as it turns out, is to track down the powerful Grail that Merlin has hid away.
Second, Al Jabr joins the team as a man of both science and faith. I know little about him other than that he believes in a higher power and he is very intelligent. He is almost an ancient Tony Stark, able to make mechanical connections that others don’t see in order to build things that will serve his good cause. He repeatedly corrects people that he isn’t using magic because magic is just a way of understanding that is ahead of its time. To paraphrase, he believes that magic is advanced technology or science that we don’t yet understand.
Next, Exoristos has a story that sounds similar to that of Wonder Woman. Exoristos is an Amazon from Paradise Island; however, she has been banished for some reason (which we don’t find out in this volume). Her power doesn’t seem to be at the same level as Wonder Woman, but she is still extremely strong.
Finally, a mysterious figure called The Horsewoman joins the team. Something weird is up with The Horsewoman because she can never leave her horse for some reason. We will probably eventually find out that she has is under some sort of curse, but the one time we see her off her horse, she is sleeping, and when she is startled awake her body automatically levitates back onto the horse. Oh, and she also communicates telepathically with horses to call them into battle. This is just like Aquaman with sea life, but again, she talks to horses instead.
Instead of describing the plot of the story beat by beat, one of the main themes of this book needs to be discussed. In a story filled with demons and magic and villainy and violence, the biggest motif to come out of it is the need to sacrifice for the greater good. As I was first thinking through the book, I thought that perhaps each of our seven “heroes” made a sacrifice at some point. After further reflection, I don’t think my theory is 100% true, but many of the characters do show a sacrificial nature.
The most apparent example of sacrifice is when Madame Xanadu creates a protective barrier around the village that is being attacked. She knows that every human will be destroyed if she doesn’t do something, but she uses so much of her magical power to create this wall that she drains the life out of herself. Right before our eyes, we see her age to an extremely old woman, fragile and close to death.
My favorite sacrifice in the book, though, comes from Shining Knight. Merlin warns Shining Knight that if he takes on the proposed mission, it will cost him everything that he holds dear. Merlin goes on to say that all is lost without Shining Knight’s aid, but leaves the final decision in his hands. Will he take on the burden or not? Shining Knight responds, “What is lost can be found. Love will rise again. I will make it so. Thank you for this burden.” This moment is filled with hope, and raises the Shining Knight character up many levels in my mind. What an amazing example of a sacrificial servant, thanking Merlin for the chance to lay down everything for the wellbeing of others!
I tend to be a harsh critic when it comes to comics, and am rarely head over heels in love with a book. More often, I find them to be enjoyable, but not great; a sort of middle-of-the-road. That’s what I see when I look back on Demon Knights. It was interesting in its character creation, and I like the fact that the setting is different than most superhero stories, but all in all it was just okay. My final rating is 2.5 stars out of a possible 5. I am not a huge fan of sword and sorcery, though, so if you typically enjoy that sort of thing, this book is for you. But with that being said, before I conclude this article, I must give a shout-out to their use of the word “dragon” in this book. As I’ve claimed in past episodes of The Sci-Fi Christian (see episodes 12 and 178), I believe that the dragons from ancient mythologies are really just dinosaurs. In “Seven Against the Dark,” the evil forces use “dragons” to attack our heroes, and guess what…they are actually dinosaurs! So, if you want to see an analogue for Wonder Woman go one-on-one with a triceratops, check out this book.
January 23, 2021
The Seven Demon Knights would’ve been a better title as our heroes must save a village from the horde of the Questing Queen in a story that’s reminiscent of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai.
This arc as it all, it’s exhilaratingly fast paced, has great humour and is dark with super high stakes. It isn’t the most cerebral affair sure, it’s bombastic but it’s fun from the first page to the last and will keep you engaged page after page. The art by Diogenes Neves is beautiful and the colors by Marcelo Maiolo makes everything pop.
The cast is just so, so good. Etrigan the Demon, Madame Xanadu, Horsewoman, Sir Ystin the Shining Knight, Vandal Savage, Exoristos the Amazon and Al Jabr the engineer. Each and every one of them gets their turn to shine in this story set in the dark ages and steeped in Arthurian lore.
This is an unsung gem of the New 52 launch and it’s written by the excellent Paul Cornell. I highly recommend ya’ll check it out!
This arc as it all, it’s exhilaratingly fast paced, has great humour and is dark with super high stakes. It isn’t the most cerebral affair sure, it’s bombastic but it’s fun from the first page to the last and will keep you engaged page after page. The art by Diogenes Neves is beautiful and the colors by Marcelo Maiolo makes everything pop.
The cast is just so, so good. Etrigan the Demon, Madame Xanadu, Horsewoman, Sir Ystin the Shining Knight, Vandal Savage, Exoristos the Amazon and Al Jabr the engineer. Each and every one of them gets their turn to shine in this story set in the dark ages and steeped in Arthurian lore.
This is an unsung gem of the New 52 launch and it’s written by the excellent Paul Cornell. I highly recommend ya’ll check it out!
March 26, 2017
Siedmiu wspaniałych w DC średniowiecznym fantasy. Nic dodać, nic ująć.
December 16, 2012
When I resigned myself to read all of the #1 issues of DC's "New 52" reboot, "Demon Knights" was one of the issues I only started out of a sense of obligation. I had never found the characters of Etrigan or Madame Xanadu at all interesting, so I went into issue #1 fairly certain I would never make it to issue #2. Little did I suspect that I would one day find myself eagerly awaiting the second volume of the trade paperback series!
Set in the Dark Ages. "Demon Knights" finds seven warriors trying to defend a village from being destroyed by the evil Questing Queen in her search for...well, that would be telling! For me, the greatest thing about this series by far was the wonderful work writer Paul Cornell did with the seven protagonists. Sorceress Madame Xanadu is sassy and shows far more personality here than I've ever seen her exhibit before. Etrigan is truly demonic, which causes that much more torment for Jason Blood, the man forced to share a body with him. The noble transgender Shining Knight from Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers maxiseries is back in all his/her glory. Immortal JLA nemesis Vandal Savage joins the heroes, yet he never seems a contradiction from the villain we know he will one day become. And then there are Cornell's new characters. Middle Eastern inventor Al-Jabr is brilliant and often come across as a Dark Ages version of Batman. Exoristos is an arrogant yet sympathetic Amazon warrior. And then there's The Horsewoman...not much is revealed about her, yet she is charismatic enough to still be a powerful presence.
The interaction between the seven Demon Knights is fascinating, especially when some of their backstories are explored. I particularly enjoyed the dream sequence in which we learn more about Shining Knight and her/his connection to the Questing Queen's machinations. Another stand-out moment for me was the revelation that when Etrigan is released into our world, Jason Blood takes his place in Hell. I don't know if this particular idea had ever been explored before, but it definitely added some pathos to Jason Blood's character. And the series is loaded with action. With dragons (both natural and mechanical), magical duels, archers and catapults, Cornell injects all the classic elements for an epic fantasy series.
I did have some minor grievances with the first volume of the Demon Knights series. For one thing, the plot was a little too basic for my liking. Seven issues was too much to dedicate to an evil queen trying to get through a village. Granted, Cornell does weave in some compelling subplots, but I still found myself wishing there was a bit more meat to the main story. Also, I thought Cornell got a little too over-the-top at times, particularly in the final chapter (I don't want to get too specific, suffice to say I almost caused severe eye damage from rolling them too hard when we learned what Jason Blood had gone to Hell to obtain). And where Al-Jabr and Horsewoman were so likeable, I would have liked to have seen them get more screen time. Too often, they were relegated to the background to give more time to Vandal Savage & Exoristos. I can only hope Al-Jabr & Horsewoman get more of the spotlight in the second volume. I did love this book, but these qualms were enough to make me deduct a star.
"Demon Knights" was one of the few books that did exactly what the New 52 was supposed to do...it brought in a new reader and made a hardcore fan out of me!
Set in the Dark Ages. "Demon Knights" finds seven warriors trying to defend a village from being destroyed by the evil Questing Queen in her search for...well, that would be telling! For me, the greatest thing about this series by far was the wonderful work writer Paul Cornell did with the seven protagonists. Sorceress Madame Xanadu is sassy and shows far more personality here than I've ever seen her exhibit before. Etrigan is truly demonic, which causes that much more torment for Jason Blood, the man forced to share a body with him. The noble transgender Shining Knight from Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers maxiseries is back in all his/her glory. Immortal JLA nemesis Vandal Savage joins the heroes, yet he never seems a contradiction from the villain we know he will one day become. And then there are Cornell's new characters. Middle Eastern inventor Al-Jabr is brilliant and often come across as a Dark Ages version of Batman. Exoristos is an arrogant yet sympathetic Amazon warrior. And then there's The Horsewoman...not much is revealed about her, yet she is charismatic enough to still be a powerful presence.
The interaction between the seven Demon Knights is fascinating, especially when some of their backstories are explored. I particularly enjoyed the dream sequence in which we learn more about Shining Knight and her/his connection to the Questing Queen's machinations. Another stand-out moment for me was the revelation that when Etrigan is released into our world, Jason Blood takes his place in Hell. I don't know if this particular idea had ever been explored before, but it definitely added some pathos to Jason Blood's character. And the series is loaded with action. With dragons (both natural and mechanical), magical duels, archers and catapults, Cornell injects all the classic elements for an epic fantasy series.
I did have some minor grievances with the first volume of the Demon Knights series. For one thing, the plot was a little too basic for my liking. Seven issues was too much to dedicate to an evil queen trying to get through a village. Granted, Cornell does weave in some compelling subplots, but I still found myself wishing there was a bit more meat to the main story. Also, I thought Cornell got a little too over-the-top at times, particularly in the final chapter (I don't want to get too specific, suffice to say I almost caused severe eye damage from rolling them too hard when we learned what Jason Blood had gone to Hell to obtain). And where Al-Jabr and Horsewoman were so likeable, I would have liked to have seen them get more screen time. Too often, they were relegated to the background to give more time to Vandal Savage & Exoristos. I can only hope Al-Jabr & Horsewoman get more of the spotlight in the second volume. I did love this book, but these qualms were enough to make me deduct a star.
"Demon Knights" was one of the few books that did exactly what the New 52 was supposed to do...it brought in a new reader and made a hardcore fan out of me!
July 29, 2012
Now, it's no secret that I am a huge "Arthurian" fan. Nor is it a secret that I'm a big fan of DC's supernatural characters. So a combination of the two should be a sort of perfect storm for me. And while I'm intrigued by the story being developed by Cornell, Neves and Albert and the rest of the creators ... I'm not completely sold yet. This volume left me feeling like there was something missing.
Part of it might be my misunderstanding of the intended concept, I'll admit. I thought going in that this was going to be set either in Camelot or slightly after Camelot's fall, rather than several centuries later. I was a bit disappointed when I realized just how big a time jump the narrative was taking. Part of it might be that of course it's an origin story, and so seven issues are taken to establish the characters and their conflicts (this, from what I've been told, has been the norm for The New 52, especially for the team books) and while that's interesting, the story ends up feeling a bit stagnant.
Now, what I liked about the book: the combination of new and revamped characters. Jack Kirby's Jason Blood / Etrigan The Demon in a love-triangle with the Matt Wagner version of Madame Xanadu? Intriguing. A Visigoth-era Vandal Savage, bulked out and more than a bit devious? Not my favorite take on the character, but it'll do. New characters Al Jabr (the Muslim inventor), Exoristes (an exiled Amazon who looks an awful lot like the pre-52 version of Queen Hippolyta), and The Horsewoman (nameless and with a mysterious malady)? All interesting enough to make me want to know more about them. The only weak link for me is that they're using the Grant Morrison version of The Shining Knight. I'm one of those who thought his Seven Soldiers was a garbled mess and the female-pretending-to-be-male Sir Ystin felt more garbled than the rest. I don't usually have a problem with "legacy" characters carrying on former heroes names ... but this is one time I wish we'd have been given the original version of the character. Maybe he will make an appearance eventually. There's no rule saying there can't be more than one Shining Knight running around. (I'd also been hoping to see what Cornell might do with the mute Brian Kent, the Silent Knight, but he's not present either).
As for the plot, I'm probably not spoiling anything to say that most of the book takes place in a beseiged town, and that the Knights end up fending off the army of someone called The Questing Queen, who seems to have taken Mordred as her lover and kept him alive long after Camelot fell. I won't spoil what the Questing Queen is actually in search of, though.
While I don't think this was the strongest debut of a new comic series, I enjoyed it enough that I'll pick up Volume Two whenever DC gets around to collecting the next seven issues.
Part of it might be my misunderstanding of the intended concept, I'll admit. I thought going in that this was going to be set either in Camelot or slightly after Camelot's fall, rather than several centuries later. I was a bit disappointed when I realized just how big a time jump the narrative was taking. Part of it might be that of course it's an origin story, and so seven issues are taken to establish the characters and their conflicts (this, from what I've been told, has been the norm for The New 52, especially for the team books) and while that's interesting, the story ends up feeling a bit stagnant.
Now, what I liked about the book: the combination of new and revamped characters. Jack Kirby's Jason Blood / Etrigan The Demon in a love-triangle with the Matt Wagner version of Madame Xanadu? Intriguing. A Visigoth-era Vandal Savage, bulked out and more than a bit devious? Not my favorite take on the character, but it'll do. New characters Al Jabr (the Muslim inventor), Exoristes (an exiled Amazon who looks an awful lot like the pre-52 version of Queen Hippolyta), and The Horsewoman (nameless and with a mysterious malady)? All interesting enough to make me want to know more about them. The only weak link for me is that they're using the Grant Morrison version of The Shining Knight. I'm one of those who thought his Seven Soldiers was a garbled mess and the female-pretending-to-be-male Sir Ystin felt more garbled than the rest. I don't usually have a problem with "legacy" characters carrying on former heroes names ... but this is one time I wish we'd have been given the original version of the character. Maybe he will make an appearance eventually. There's no rule saying there can't be more than one Shining Knight running around. (I'd also been hoping to see what Cornell might do with the mute Brian Kent, the Silent Knight, but he's not present either).
As for the plot, I'm probably not spoiling anything to say that most of the book takes place in a beseiged town, and that the Knights end up fending off the army of someone called The Questing Queen, who seems to have taken Mordred as her lover and kept him alive long after Camelot fell. I won't spoil what the Questing Queen is actually in search of, though.
While I don't think this was the strongest debut of a new comic series, I enjoyed it enough that I'll pick up Volume Two whenever DC gets around to collecting the next seven issues.
February 27, 2014
Demon Knights is supposed to be a DC title set in their middle ages of the New 52 reboot (although with dinosaurs
and barbarians sharing a world I doubt this is an accurate world...). That makes it technically the earliest.
cannon material of the new DCU alongside All Star Western.
The story is a very typical sword & sorcery type storyline where a Samurai Seven inspired group of heroes band
together and fight the rather generic Questing Queen, and DC's new introduction of the immortal Mordu. I know only about 2 of the 7 Demon Knights - Etrigan and Madame Xanadu (whom I'm in love with partially). The first arc of this collection tries to fill in the origins for all of the heroes in a clean slate. Shining Knight for some reason is given a whole origin issue (why her I have no idea, but I still enjoyed it). Other characters that interested me where the mathematic and pious Al Jabr, and the fact that Vandal Savage makes an appearance in this timeline.
The story is rather generic, but action packed throughout all the issues which should more than make up for the typical plot taken out of the old D&D comics. There are lots of links to other DC titles in Demon Knights. Madame Xanadu is a modern day member of Justice League Dark, Exoristos is an Amazon(which relates to Wonder Woman), and the Demon Knights a vaguely linked to the Stormwatch team. This title does a good job of weaving the various corners of the DCU
together in a unique way through the timeline and setting.
This is just a lot of fun to read if you like fantasy comics. The art is decent enough and there is plenty of action from a unique party of heroes. This was one of those
New 52 titles that snuck up on me and impressed me when I thought I was going to be let down. 3 stars.
and barbarians sharing a world I doubt this is an accurate world...). That makes it technically the earliest.
cannon material of the new DCU alongside All Star Western.
The story is a very typical sword & sorcery type storyline where a Samurai Seven inspired group of heroes band
together and fight the rather generic Questing Queen, and DC's new introduction of the immortal Mordu. I know only about 2 of the 7 Demon Knights - Etrigan and Madame Xanadu (whom I'm in love with partially). The first arc of this collection tries to fill in the origins for all of the heroes in a clean slate. Shining Knight for some reason is given a whole origin issue (why her I have no idea, but I still enjoyed it). Other characters that interested me where the mathematic and pious Al Jabr, and the fact that Vandal Savage makes an appearance in this timeline.
The story is rather generic, but action packed throughout all the issues which should more than make up for the typical plot taken out of the old D&D comics. There are lots of links to other DC titles in Demon Knights. Madame Xanadu is a modern day member of Justice League Dark, Exoristos is an Amazon(which relates to Wonder Woman), and the Demon Knights a vaguely linked to the Stormwatch team. This title does a good job of weaving the various corners of the DCU
together in a unique way through the timeline and setting.
This is just a lot of fun to read if you like fantasy comics. The art is decent enough and there is plenty of action from a unique party of heroes. This was one of those
New 52 titles that snuck up on me and impressed me when I thought I was going to be let down. 3 stars.
December 4, 2014
A marauding horde led by a "Questing Queen" and her sorcerer lover attacks a small village en route to greater plunder, only to find that the local tavern is coincidentally packed with insanely powerful warriors and mages. None of whom are affiliated. They just happen to be there at the same time. By chance. Half of them are immortal.
Most of the volume is comprised of elaborately drawn, beautifully rendered stabbings, beheadings, disembowelings, and dragon/demon-burnings, with the occasional mangling and pulverization thrown in. You know, for variety.
The dialogue runs the gamut from decidedly-not-good to just-embarrassingly-bad. The characters generally shout, and they say exactly what is happening and what they're going to do next:
"I WANT TO DRINK ALE. YOU ARE A TAVERN, BUT YOUR DOORS ARE CLOSED AND LOCKED. I AM NOW GOING TO BREAK DOWN YOUR DOORS AND DRINK YOUR ALE."
And:
"WE ARE THE QUESTING QUEEN'S OUTRIDERS. WE ARE NOW GOING TO KILL YOU AND TAKE YOUR BELONGINGS."
Those aren't direct quotes, but they're REALLY close. Man, I wish I still had the volume in hand so I could more accurately convey the extent of the jankiness.
I think that Demon Knights might be an attempt at a retelling of The Seven Samurai, but there are just enough plot point departures that I'm not sure. If I ever learn that that's the case, I'm docking this another star for shitting on a masterpiece.
Most of the volume is comprised of elaborately drawn, beautifully rendered stabbings, beheadings, disembowelings, and dragon/demon-burnings, with the occasional mangling and pulverization thrown in. You know, for variety.
The dialogue runs the gamut from decidedly-not-good to just-embarrassingly-bad. The characters generally shout, and they say exactly what is happening and what they're going to do next:
"I WANT TO DRINK ALE. YOU ARE A TAVERN, BUT YOUR DOORS ARE CLOSED AND LOCKED. I AM NOW GOING TO BREAK DOWN YOUR DOORS AND DRINK YOUR ALE."
And:
"WE ARE THE QUESTING QUEEN'S OUTRIDERS. WE ARE NOW GOING TO KILL YOU AND TAKE YOUR BELONGINGS."
Those aren't direct quotes, but they're REALLY close. Man, I wish I still had the volume in hand so I could more accurately convey the extent of the jankiness.
I think that Demon Knights might be an attempt at a retelling of The Seven Samurai, but there are just enough plot point departures that I'm not sure. If I ever learn that that's the case, I'm docking this another star for shitting on a masterpiece.
May 10, 2012
Interesting mix of the Justice League, the Magnificent 7 and the Lord of the Rings.
After the fall of Camelot, a dark army is on the move and a small village is right in it's path. It's only hope for surviving rests with a demon, a devious witch, an amazon, a muslim man of science, an immortal bastard, and swords woman with a mystical connection to her horse and a young knight with some gender issues.
Someone finally came along and decided to combine two of my favorite things in literature: rousing fantasy and slightly offbeat super hero teams.
Nice mix of fantasy elements and DC universe history. Takes a bit to get all the characters together and set up the various story elements, but it is worth the wait and builds into a satisfying conclusion.
The setting and dysfunctional characters makes me wonder how long this team will be able to exiss as a team, but for as long as it lasts, I'll be along for the ride.
After the fall of Camelot, a dark army is on the move and a small village is right in it's path. It's only hope for surviving rests with a demon, a devious witch, an amazon, a muslim man of science, an immortal bastard, and swords woman with a mystical connection to her horse and a young knight with some gender issues.
Someone finally came along and decided to combine two of my favorite things in literature: rousing fantasy and slightly offbeat super hero teams.
Nice mix of fantasy elements and DC universe history. Takes a bit to get all the characters together and set up the various story elements, but it is worth the wait and builds into a satisfying conclusion.
The setting and dysfunctional characters makes me wonder how long this team will be able to exiss as a team, but for as long as it lasts, I'll be along for the ride.
September 30, 2012
I don't have a fantasy siege category, so, superhero war about gets it. The book is charming but not consequential. I'll keep checking out library copies.
I do like the writing and art talent: Cornell, a fine writer, has entertained me more on other projects. This New 52 historical fantasy is much better suited for artist Diogenes Neves than the run of Green Arrow in Brightest Day hysterics to which he was assigned.
I guess some of my disappointment is in repeated use of Jack Kirby's Etrigan, the Demon, as a superhero. He's a great character and problematic. His rhymes are part of the trouble to him, and the dialogue here is certainly not the most poetic.
There are some great female characters here, including a continuing revival (A la Grant Morrison's revival of Seven Soldiers) of the Shining Knight as a transgendered character.
Mildly recommended.
I do like the writing and art talent: Cornell, a fine writer, has entertained me more on other projects. This New 52 historical fantasy is much better suited for artist Diogenes Neves than the run of Green Arrow in Brightest Day hysterics to which he was assigned.
I guess some of my disappointment is in repeated use of Jack Kirby's Etrigan, the Demon, as a superhero. He's a great character and problematic. His rhymes are part of the trouble to him, and the dialogue here is certainly not the most poetic.
There are some great female characters here, including a continuing revival (A la Grant Morrison's revival of Seven Soldiers) of the Shining Knight as a transgendered character.
Mildly recommended.
April 21, 2013
A good solid piece by Paul Cornell. Between his work at Marvel and DC (and yes I know he just left DC in a snit) he has shown his strength lies in tales told with a British setting, or at least a non-U.S. setting (see the very good Knight & Squire and the good MI-13).
The overall tale borrows heavily from the Seven Samurai. Seven warriors are brought together by circumstances and they end up defending a small village. Cornell creates two new characters, and I very much liked the Muslim Al Jabr, as he seems to fit the history (Middle Ages) of the time.
Vandal Savage is well portrayed, and this is probably the first depiction of Etrigan that I have liked in years. There appears to be a quest story building, and as I've tired of such tales I am not certain that I will continue with the series.
The overall tale borrows heavily from the Seven Samurai. Seven warriors are brought together by circumstances and they end up defending a small village. Cornell creates two new characters, and I very much liked the Muslim Al Jabr, as he seems to fit the history (Middle Ages) of the time.
Vandal Savage is well portrayed, and this is probably the first depiction of Etrigan that I have liked in years. There appears to be a quest story building, and as I've tired of such tales I am not certain that I will continue with the series.
July 17, 2012
I think Paul Cornell is a pretty good writer and I like the characters featured in this series, the Demon, the Shining Knight, Madame Zanadu, Vandal Savage, Mordru and the rest. But while the story collects 6 or 7 issues of the series, we don't get a complete story. Like most current comic books the story is lean with minimal dialog per page. In earlier decades, this story would have been told with denser text in an issue or two. Here it just feels padded out. The artwork is mediocre. Perhaps if the art had been better I'd feel more strongly about it one way or the other, but as it is the book makes me feel rather indifferent. Mostly I came away bugged with the gender switch of Sir Justin, the Shining Knight.
September 3, 2012
As much as I like super-heroes, I'm always fascinated by a non-super-hero comic. This was one of DC's new 52 line that really intrigued me. I bought the first issue, but that was it. (Somehow I didn't realize that Etrigan the Demon -- not a favorite character -- was the lead?) I moderately enjoyed the trade. It's a mix of old DC characters (the Demon, Mordru, Madame Xanadu), newer versions of older DC characters (the Grant Morrison version of the Shining Knight), and apparently new characters created for the series (Al Jabr, Exoristos, Horsewoman). A nice mix and competent storytelling. The art is serviceable if nothing spectacular. Probably the biggest drawback is that the story moves slowly, and doesn't really go anywhere within this first trade collection.
November 12, 2013
The DC universe(s) is something that I partially LIVE in. I read so much of this stuff, and to experience a time long passed in this world of stories is delightful. When I put on some hard rock and start reading Demon Knights, I am gunning for oblivion with a smile on my face. This thing is badass. Etrigan, while usually annoying to me, is used wisely here. Vandal Savage in the Middle Ages is intriguing. Existos is naïve yet deadly. Every character (and there are quite a few!) is fighting to find out exactly who they are. I heard recently that this series was cancelled, so I will enjoy this ride while it lasts. On to Volume II!
April 18, 2014
Demon Knights contains some of my favorite b-list DC characters (Etrigan, Xanadu, Vandal Savage, the Shining Knight)and some new folk (the Horsewoman, al Jabr, Exoristos) in a 7 Samurai style fantasy yarn. It's grand fun, if a little exposition heavy and a tad predictable. The art is passable. If I have a major niggle with the story it is only that the medieval world that the Demon Knights inhabit is obviously supposed to be the medieval DCU, but in terms of geography and history it seems somewhat at odds with what we know of the DCU at that time. Of course, that could be a reboot issue from the New 52 hoopla.
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October 8, 2012
It's...ok. It's not bad, it's not good. It's just...ok. They take a really interesting concept and some really interesting characters, but they just can't seem to escape the general crapulence of the New 52 universe. Given the writing, the dialogue and the characterization, it might as well take place in the modern DC Universe.
July 2, 2012
Gorgeously drawn, but the story is confusing and the characters are either new or untrue to their original counterparts.
April 9, 2015
RIP horses and villagers. Wonder what is going to happen next. Interesting how a demon and a man share a man's body.
December 11, 2024
After slogging through Trinity War, I figured I needed a bit of a breather before wading into Forever Evil Blight. So I figured I'd give the other dark corner of the New 52 team book a go, especially because I feel like I had it half confused with JLD before reading their appearance in I, Vampire. But the Demon Knights have no real overlap with the Justice League Dark beyond having Madame Xanadu, which does make me wonder who was pushing her so hard and why. Instead this team is a mix of already existing characters with a few new ones in a medieval setting that feels ripped from fantasy novels instead of the history of New 52's Earth.
Well, okay, the story starts with Camelot. Or at least a Camelot, since once we get Shining Knight's backstory it's clear we're running with Grant Morrison's Camelot as cycle thing from their Seven Soldiers. This Camelot is happening sometime in the early Middle Ages, and gives us Madame Xanadu as one of the women accompanying Arthur and introduces Jason Blood. Except Xanadu doesn't want to hang out in Avalon and so when we jump to the "present" of the comic, she and Jason are wandering Europe.
The two quickly get Seven Samurai'ed into defending a small village in the path of a conquering queen armed with magic, warriors, and "dragons" that are actually dinosaurs. Standing against her in addition to Xanadu and Etrigan are the Shining Knight, Vandal Savage, and new characters in the form of an Arab inventor, an Amazonian exile, and a mysterious mounted archer who seems to be stuck on her horse. The plot proceeds about as you'd expect, with some backstabbing and in-fighting and a lot of magic and action sequences.
The characters never really feel like they're cohering into a team, which makes the choice of this as an ongoing team book feel a little odd. It's not really clear why all these random people would want to keep hanging out in future story arcs, especially when Vandal Savage is generally a villain and some of the others are at best anti-heroes. This is a comic where one of the characters has to go to hell to get the tears of a slain priest just to reempower another - it's not exactly a fun buddy road trip of a time.
In fact that's one of my issues - it feels like this is leaning a bit too much into the New 52's grimdark reputation. We're introduced to a teen girl in the village who starts to bond with some of the characters, only for one of the issues to end with her captured and beheaded by the baddies, largely for shock value. While I've enjoyed reading Shining Knight and Etrigan previously, and felt intrigued by some of the other characters, nothing here really gave me the feeling that I'd want to keep up with the adventures of these characters. It doesn't help that with a setting around a millennium before all the other comics I'm reading, it doesn't really feel like things here connect up in a way that makes me want to find out what happened. Hell, it's not like Madame Xanadu ever makes reference to this time in her life in JLD.
So while there are two further volumes I could read, and since I've been getting everything from the library my only cost would be time, I still don't feel like it would be a good way to spend my reading time to finish this series. Maybe I'm starting to overdose on the New 52 and would enjoy this more if I came to it separately, or maybe I just don't like a medieval team up book as much as I should. But overall this was an okay detour but not one I plan to keep making.
Well, okay, the story starts with Camelot. Or at least a Camelot, since once we get Shining Knight's backstory it's clear we're running with Grant Morrison's Camelot as cycle thing from their Seven Soldiers. This Camelot is happening sometime in the early Middle Ages, and gives us Madame Xanadu as one of the women accompanying Arthur and introduces Jason Blood. Except Xanadu doesn't want to hang out in Avalon and so when we jump to the "present" of the comic, she and Jason are wandering Europe.
The two quickly get Seven Samurai'ed into defending a small village in the path of a conquering queen armed with magic, warriors, and "dragons" that are actually dinosaurs. Standing against her in addition to Xanadu and Etrigan are the Shining Knight, Vandal Savage, and new characters in the form of an Arab inventor, an Amazonian exile, and a mysterious mounted archer who seems to be stuck on her horse. The plot proceeds about as you'd expect, with some backstabbing and in-fighting and a lot of magic and action sequences.
The characters never really feel like they're cohering into a team, which makes the choice of this as an ongoing team book feel a little odd. It's not really clear why all these random people would want to keep hanging out in future story arcs, especially when Vandal Savage is generally a villain and some of the others are at best anti-heroes. This is a comic where one of the characters has to go to hell to get the tears of a slain priest just to reempower another - it's not exactly a fun buddy road trip of a time.
In fact that's one of my issues - it feels like this is leaning a bit too much into the New 52's grimdark reputation. We're introduced to a teen girl in the village who starts to bond with some of the characters, only for one of the issues to end with her captured and beheaded by the baddies, largely for shock value. While I've enjoyed reading Shining Knight and Etrigan previously, and felt intrigued by some of the other characters, nothing here really gave me the feeling that I'd want to keep up with the adventures of these characters. It doesn't help that with a setting around a millennium before all the other comics I'm reading, it doesn't really feel like things here connect up in a way that makes me want to find out what happened. Hell, it's not like Madame Xanadu ever makes reference to this time in her life in JLD.
So while there are two further volumes I could read, and since I've been getting everything from the library my only cost would be time, I still don't feel like it would be a good way to spend my reading time to finish this series. Maybe I'm starting to overdose on the New 52 and would enjoy this more if I came to it separately, or maybe I just don't like a medieval team up book as much as I should. But overall this was an okay detour but not one I plan to keep making.
October 1, 2019
This is one of those graphic novels where I debated about not doing a Goodreads review, because I didn't want to publicaly admit that I'd read this.
But, then again, I have no shame.
I picked this up from the library for several reasons, including:
* I'd read many a Demon comic from my then-boyfriend's comic stash and wondered what Etrigan was doing now
* I was trying to distract myself from recent bad events in my life, such as the death of two elderly pets in less than a month
* This was the first volume in a series, so I hoped I could figure out what was going on
* I saw it had horses in it.
Unfortunately, the horses were the best characters in the graphic novel. This was yet another remake of Seven Samauri and a poor remake at that. The humor is darker than dark and oftentimes forced. There was more blood, guts and suffering than usual in a graphic novel dealing with a denizen of Hell. And the killing off of so many horses for no reason was particulaly painful to see, since I'd just gone through the pet deaths.
And the artwork was poor. Now, I can forgive a lot in a graphic novel, but not that. If you're going to draw every damn scale on a T-Rex and every muscle imaginable on the human body, at least get an artist to do a decent horse.
There were a lot of fuzzy backgrounds, too. I think this was an attempt to make the art more three dimensional, but to me it made the figures in the foreground even more flat. (I do have monocular vision, so this problem may only be with my wonky eyes.)
I also couldn't recognize Etrigan here. Since when did he ever talk normally? And had human girlfriends? I mean, what the HELL is going on here???
And I guess you do need to read a lot of DC Universe stuff before picking this up because I could barely figure out what was going on -- except there were a hell of a lot of deaths, dismemberments and setting critters on fire.
If this is typical of the New 52 stuff, I'll pass -- even on the Hellblazer issues.
But, then again, I have no shame.
I picked this up from the library for several reasons, including:
* I'd read many a Demon comic from my then-boyfriend's comic stash and wondered what Etrigan was doing now
* I was trying to distract myself from recent bad events in my life, such as the death of two elderly pets in less than a month
* This was the first volume in a series, so I hoped I could figure out what was going on
* I saw it had horses in it.
Unfortunately, the horses were the best characters in the graphic novel. This was yet another remake of Seven Samauri and a poor remake at that. The humor is darker than dark and oftentimes forced. There was more blood, guts and suffering than usual in a graphic novel dealing with a denizen of Hell. And the killing off of so many horses for no reason was particulaly painful to see, since I'd just gone through the pet deaths.
And the artwork was poor. Now, I can forgive a lot in a graphic novel, but not that. If you're going to draw every damn scale on a T-Rex and every muscle imaginable on the human body, at least get an artist to do a decent horse.
There were a lot of fuzzy backgrounds, too. I think this was an attempt to make the art more three dimensional, but to me it made the figures in the foreground even more flat. (I do have monocular vision, so this problem may only be with my wonky eyes.)
I also couldn't recognize Etrigan here. Since when did he ever talk normally? And had human girlfriends? I mean, what the HELL is going on here???
And I guess you do need to read a lot of DC Universe stuff before picking this up because I could barely figure out what was going on -- except there were a hell of a lot of deaths, dismemberments and setting critters on fire.
If this is typical of the New 52 stuff, I'll pass -- even on the Hellblazer issues.
March 8, 2022
Most of the pre-New 52 Demon comics were set in our time, with a few flashbacks revisiting Jason/Etrigan's time at Camelot; this reincarnation, however, goes 100% fantasy, including magic, mechanical dragons, and sword-wielding dinosaurs. It is also quite colorful compared to its predecessors.
I liked the way most of the characters were rebooted. Jason Blood/Etrigan begins the story traveling with Xanadu, which turns out to have a romantic relationship with both Jason and Etrigan. Vandal Savage (a pre-New 52 immortal villain) is a joyful scoundrel after nothing but his own amusement. All three of these characters are immortal and have met many times during their long lives.
The rest of the group are an exiled Amazonian warrior, an Arabian scientist/inventor, a mysterious horse-riding archer (literally named Horsewoman), and another immortal knight who knew merlin and has an intentionally undefined gender.
This volume tells the story of these seven heroes as they happened to be at the same village at the time it was conquered by the so-called Questing Queen and decided to rise and defend it. The series itself, however, does not seem to have a grand plot so far.
While I found the volume to be amusing and liked most of its characters, I was not invested in its plot, possibly because I did not bond with the villagers at risk, half of which were against the heroes, to begin with, and wanted to surrender to the queen anyway.
Additionally, the queen herself was lacking in the villainhood department. Her motives for burning villages and killing people aren't that clear. I am pretty sure she could have passed through without going to the trouble of fighting seven heroes. She also seemed very weak without the help of her companion wizard.
On the bright side, the series' fantastic art and good action, coupled with its interesting protagonists, appears to have hooked me enough to pick up the next volume and continue with their adventure.
I liked the way most of the characters were rebooted. Jason Blood/Etrigan begins the story traveling with Xanadu, which turns out to have a romantic relationship with both Jason and Etrigan. Vandal Savage (a pre-New 52 immortal villain) is a joyful scoundrel after nothing but his own amusement. All three of these characters are immortal and have met many times during their long lives.
The rest of the group are an exiled Amazonian warrior, an Arabian scientist/inventor, a mysterious horse-riding archer (literally named Horsewoman), and another immortal knight who knew merlin and has an intentionally undefined gender.
This volume tells the story of these seven heroes as they happened to be at the same village at the time it was conquered by the so-called Questing Queen and decided to rise and defend it. The series itself, however, does not seem to have a grand plot so far.
While I found the volume to be amusing and liked most of its characters, I was not invested in its plot, possibly because I did not bond with the villagers at risk, half of which were against the heroes, to begin with, and wanted to surrender to the queen anyway.
Additionally, the queen herself was lacking in the villainhood department. Her motives for burning villages and killing people aren't that clear. I am pretty sure she could have passed through without going to the trouble of fighting seven heroes. She also seemed very weak without the help of her companion wizard.
On the bright side, the series' fantastic art and good action, coupled with its interesting protagonists, appears to have hooked me enough to pick up the next volume and continue with their adventure.
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