Demon Knights #1 & #2

Spoilers Ahead

The Who: A band of heroes that come together fighting dragons. Jason Blood/Etrigan, Madame Xanadu, Shining Knight ("Sir" Ystin), Vandal Savage, Al Jabr, Exoristos, and the Horse Woman.

Why I chose this title: Writer Paul Cornell earned my respect for being nice enough to personal address the concerns of a fan and pitch this book. The more I thought about it the more I realize I wanted to try new genres like swords/magic and horror. This ironically was my first pick outside the superhero titles although I'm getting it rather late.

What I expect from this book: To be kind of epic and have kickass women.

Thoughts: I enjoyed it although I still need more of a feel for the characters. Cornell does manage to get a lot of detail about his group within two issues that as a new comer to these characters I appreciate. BTW Merlin is a jerk for binding Etrigan to Jason. I mean I knew that he did it but I was under the impression that he asked first. That Jason did it for the greater good. But back to the characters, the set up is pretty fast pace and fun. This is the second title with Madame Xanadu I'm getting so it's interesting to see how she differs. She's more overwhelmed with her visions in JLD while here in the past she's more carefree. Apparently in a relationship with both Jason and Etrigan although the demon thinks she's misleading Jason. She gets along fine with both.

The couple already know Savage since the three of them are immortals. Savage is rather funny here, admiring virtues in others although he has no regard for having those virtues in himself. I liked seeing his glee at the dinosaur looking dragons. Not only commenting on how tasty they were but eating them after the fight. It's also rather refreshing to note that while the town seems to be bias against Al Jabr for being a foreigner the "team" doesn't seem to care nor do they say anything against Shining Knight pretending to be a man. Ex in fact stands up for Al Jabr in a way that makes me think she's an Amazon. Her dynamic with Shining Knight is interesting because she doesn't hide her female form in armor and uses that as an advantage in a fight.

Horse Women interested me before I even got this book because of the tidbits of information that was released before Demon Knight came out. She's different in a way that I never saw explored in any medieval setting. Of all the characters I feel I know the least about Al Jabr in terms of what he can do and who he is. But I like all of them nonetheless. The villains? Honestly there's not enough of them either but I'm more interested in the heroes right now. It may not seem like it but I am reviewing issue one and two. There's not much for me to say outside my feelings on the characters. The art is lovely and the writing makes me happy

Did You notice?: Lady Flashpoint in the crowd at the beginning of #1.

Did You Know?: In previous canon it was revealed that Vandal Savage is related to Roy Harper. I found this interesting given the Horse Woman is a red headed archer. Maybe it won't happen but I'd love for Roy to be related to her.

Verdict: The one thing about this title that did bother me was the baby being used to summon someone then blowing up. Granted this was more tastefully done than some would draw it. And yes, the rating is T for teens. Otherwise a book I wouldn't mind following.