Review: Demon Knights #17

(w) Robert Vendetti
(a) Bernard Chang

Demon Knights has been in a unique position since it debuted with the 'New 52'. It's not a top seller, it features a group of characters that are either more obscure or brand new, and it's set in Medieval times. Under normal circumstances, this title would have been cancelled months and months ago. Fortunately for us readers, stellar writing coupled with an intimate look at the history of the 'New 52' has made Demon Knights a must-read title more months than not.

Robert Vendetti continues his run in Demon Knights #17 which sees an incomplete team tracking down their missing pieces. To stop the evil vampire Cain from taking the Amazon island of Themyscira -- and thus the whole world with the power of Amazonian vampires -- Al-Jabr has tasked Exoristos, Shining Knight Sir Ystin, and the Horsewoman with finding Jason Blood and his demonic alter-ego, Etrigan. It's a classic "get the gang back together" scenario, except it involves confronting one of their old allies, Vandal Savage, who keeps Blood as a prisoner and tortures him on a daily basis. Vendetti's characterizations of the Demon's Knights stay true to Paul Cornell's stellar interpretations, but he also adds a new layer of mystery that comes from not knowing what they've all been up to over the past 30 years. It's there, in the little one-offs and asides, that Vendetti truly captures the feeling of removal from these characters' ongoing tales. Obviously, we'll learn more as the story continues, but it's nice seeing old friends interact in new ways as a result of something we can all relate to: the passage of time.

As the 'New 52' moves forward, cohesion amongst titles has become an extremely important aspect of the storytelling process. Seeing Cain and his vampire horde traveling through Medieval Europe adds more credence and meaning to the events of I, Vampire, and we've already seen Etrigan pop up in Stormwatch. Robert Vendetti has stated that he's got a long-term game plan in place for the series, and Demon Knights #17 is another great example of how the setting for this title allows for fantastic storytelling because of it's distance from the rest of the DCnU.

GRADE

9/10

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #11

STORY: James Robinson
ART: Bernard Chang

While the spotlight remains on his work over on Earth 2, James Robinson has assembled a fantastic trilogy of issues that focuses on Vandal Savage, one of DC's most brilliant and deadly villains. Mirroring the structure of Silence of the Lambs - not unlike many contemporary thriller stories involving serial killers - Robinson introduces Savage's daughter and hard-ass, Kassidy Sage, as a detective trying to take down a murderer imitating a killing spree her own father went on years earlier. While the narrative structure might be familiar, Robinson's style gives the relationship between Savage and Kass a thick tension that never really lets up.

In this final issue of the arc, the killer is revealed to be Steven Ward, the son of the detective to tracked down and arrested Vandal Savage all those years ago. Adam Ward was celebrated as a criminal justice mastermind, able to decrypt Savage's ancient methods and inhuman motives. For reasons unexplained - because it really isn't that important, Ward became physically deformed after Savage murders his father, developing bleach white skin and grotesque bird-like talons where hands should be. He blames Savage not only for the murder of his father, but also for the string of murders Ward himself was "forced" to commit in order to orchestrate Savage's leave from his prison cell. Ward's belief in his righteous cause blinds him to the truth of his situation - he's become a homicidal maniac.

Robinson's characterization of Kassidy Sage is nothing short of devoted. At the beginning of this arc, the reader is introduced to a strong female character that was suddenly faced with a situation that could have shattered her confidence and made her question her own morality. Instead, Robinson gives Kass an unyielding personality with stoicism that never breaks. Kassidy Sage is who Jodi Foster wishes she had been. It doesn't take a genius to see how popular forensic criminal science has become over the past decade (CSI, Cold Case, Law & Order, NCIS, etc.), and Robinson takes advantage of this fad, presenting traditional DC characters in a more familiar and attention-grabbing role that's sure to win over a few crime procedural fans.

DC Universe Presents exists to give lesser-known characters a bigger spotlight. And though Vandal Savage is hardly "lesser known", beyond this arc, he's only featured in the pages of Demon Knights, a title set centuries in the past. Robinson's fun romp into the arena of psychological thriller is just fun. It's not too original, hardly unique in it's narrative structure, and Savage is presented as a stereotypically remorseless killer (who believes he's been) gifted with immortality. Really, it comes down to Robinson's handling of each character and the relationships between them that really sell "Savage" as an excellent part of DC's 'New 52' universe.

GRADE

B+

(COMIC) DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #10

STORY: James Robinson
ART: Bernard Chang

DC Universe Presents is a great series. While I didn't find "Challengers of the Unknown" particularly engaging, both "Deadman" and now "Savage" have been fantastic arcs that are highlighting less popular characters while simultaneously adding bricks to the 'New 52' universe and how it operates. And though Vandal Savage has been a mainstay in Demon Knights - a title I highly recommend - there's not a whole lot of character development for him in a time period where Savage was little more than a barbarian. "Savage" is giving readers a better look into the immortal man, who he was throughout the ages, and how his actions in the past have repercussions in the current day.

James Robinson has employed the 'Hannibal Lecter' approach to this story; Kassidy Sage, Savage's daughter and police office, has come to her father seeking help involving a serial killer mimicking Savage's murders years, decades, and centuries before. While Kass doesn't believe her father's to be trusted (or that he's immortal), she does believe that he can be useful in the case. It's a pretty common hypocrisy when police work with criminals like this - the law doesn't actually trust the criminal, so they only listen selectively, to what they believe actually makes sense. But hey, I'm no police officer.

While normally I find father-daughter conflicts uninteresting, the dynamic between Kassidy and Savage is fantastic. Robinson is really taking his time when it comes to their relationship, which is hard to do with only three issues in the "Savage" arc. Nonetheless, Savage is well written as a cold-blooded killer than just so happens to care for his family - centuries of life experience have shown Savage that some things are more important than others, and while he likes to mess around with Kass' head, he really does love his daughter and wants the best for her. It's not out of the ordinary, just out of character for Savage who, before the 'New 52' relaunch, was much more vicious. I mean, Scandal Savage was a super-villain from her first appearance!

I've mentioned before, in other reviews, how much I appreciate a dose of realism in comic books. That's not to say I prefer realism over innovation, just that including small bits of realism to ground a story can have immense effect on the overall appeal of the narrative. Seeing civilians tweeting and sharing pictures of an alien invader makes for a much more relatable setting than people using old cell phones and reading newspapers on the street. "Savage" only really employs 'sci-fi' or 'fantastical' elements with the villain, some white-skinned, red-cloaked mystery man who uses his own pattern of killing against Kass' squad to use them in his sacrifice, much like Savage did all those years ago.

After employing his own methods to the crime scene, Savage leads Kass and her team to the killer's location. Kass immediately has her father removed from the scene and taken back to the transport. On the way, Savage realizes he was wrong and that the killer was after the police, not the original victim. Though he tries to reason with his escorts, the officers don't believe Savage and don't radio back to Kass with the new information. One by one, Kass' squad is picked off while Savage attacks his escorts while on a plane mid-flight, then jumps back into the woods to save his daughter. The entire scene is excellently written by Robinson, and the artwork by Bernard Chang really drives the emotion. Chang's cuts between Kass' team and Savage are perfect and the violence is neither too gory or underdeveloped.

This second part of "Savage" would be hard to read as a stand-alone issue, seeing as elements from DC Universe Presents #9 come into play throughout the issue, and the ramifications of this month's events will be concluded next month. Then again, I guess the same could be said about most any comic book series, but in this case, it would be like watching The Godfather, Part II without having seen The Godfather or knowing anything about it. I'm sure it would be enjoyable, but you wouldn't have a frame of reference for these characters or their motivations.

GRADE

B+

Review: DC Universe Presents #5

Review




DC Universe Presents #5
Written by Paul Jenkins
Pencilled by Bernard Chang

** Since I've just now started covering DC Universe Presents, I won't be writing a full Review for the title's first arc, "Deadman: Twenty Questions." Starting next month, regular reviews will be written for each issue and it's completed arcs. ***

In the final chapter of "Twenty Questions",  the first arc in DC Universe Presents, Deadman goes philosophically head-to-head with the deceitful goddess Rama for the fate of his soul. If that sentence alone doesn't get you pumped about Deadman, I don't know what would.

Paul Jenkins has done a fantastic job reinterpreting Boston Brand's story for the 'new 52.' By giving Deadman a less altruistic path, Jenkins gave us a five-part tale of higher beings flawed by their very nature (much in the same vein as recent Green Lantern arcs concerning the Guardians of the Universe) and how a simple question can change everything. Jenkins spent the first four issues of DC Universe Presents delving into Deadman's abilities, his 'style' of heroism and how he fits into the new DC universe. At the same time, he wove a philosophical thriller based on the questioning the meaning of life and existence. What makes the arc so satisfying is that you don't need a background in critical analysis to understand the sentiments and feeling create by these questions, by pondering the essence of life. Jenkins' technique involves boiling down the various philosophical idioms presented to their most minimal form and presenting them in fun anecdotes. And while that made for an awesome build-up, it was great to see Brand speaking so frankly to Rama in this final issue featuring Deadman.

While Brand knows he can't "win", in as much as being free of Rama's grip, but at least he can alleviate some of the pressure before giving in to her control. Through a mildly complex series of connected ideas, Brand explains that gods feel no humility which means they could never think to ask one of the most simple, yet most important, questions mortals feel every day of their lives: "Why me?" Everyone has, at some point in their lives, felt victimized and that shared sentiment cannot be felt by those with no true humility. In a true 'thinker' piece, Jenkins crafts a damn near-perfect origin story for Deadman before letting him go to exist between the pages of other books until DC sees fit to give Brand his own ongoing.

Grade: A