Compared to many other DC titles during the 1970s – a period in the company’s history where titles were launched and cancelled all too frequently – The Demon was a roaring success. Jack Kirby had intended to write only one issue of The Demon, but it instantly received a grand reception, and more issues were to come. According to Mark Evanier, Kirby’s loyal assistant during this period, the creator was not hugely keen on this new title. While his Fourth World works were a genuine labour of love which allowed Kirby to unleash his inner creativeness, The Demon was a self-contained title which DC were keener on producing than he was. Although it ran for just sixteen issues, Kirby made sure to write and pencil some of his best stories from the seventies. After a strong first half, the second is when Kirby truly hits his stride…
The Demon (vol 1) 8-16 was published from April 1973 to January 1974. As before, all stories are written and pencilled by Kirby, while Mike Royer is the always-present inker. I’ve read these issues in the great Jack Kirby’s The Demon hardcover.
Phantom of the Sewers/Whatever Happened to Farley Fairfax?/The Thing That Screams
Carrying on with the same cast from the previous seven issues, The Demon (vol 1) 8-10 focuses on a character who had little purpose in previous stories. That character is Glenda, Jason Blood’s girlfriend, who was only really notable for disturbing a fateful exorcism in the sixth issue. This time, she becomes a kidnappee. Before we get to that, Kirby treats us to a tour of Jason Blood’s wacky apartment full of mystical items of sorcery. It’s the Demon who wanders around the apartment with Jason’s friends Harry and Randu, but the anti-hero detects a threat. With many of Jason Blood’s belongings missing, the Demon heads into the sewers to find the enemy of this three parter – Farley Fairfax, a mystically masked figure with much mystery. Etrigan tries to reclaim the stolen goods, but since this is only the first part and we have many pages to go, Fairfax escapes back to his home in the sewers, where he is shown praying at a statue of a woman named Galatea. Kirby builds much mystery here and the first part is a dramatic build up to future revelations. However, that story is put somewhat on the backburner as Jason Blood continues his fight with his demonic alter-ego. By using a Philosopher’s Stone, Jason Blood manages to banish Etrigan from his body for good. Just like that? While Kirby had little interest in continuing this title, it’s pretty apparent that Jason Blood’s success will be short lived. I think that this is something of a missed opportunity. Since Kirby put the battle between Jason Blood and Etrigan centre-stage during the run thus far, surely it would make more sense for this moment to be dramatic and perhaps even feature at the end of the eighth issue? Here it's displayed as a forgettable event – one which will be reversed later. This would have made the tale even tenser, because just as Jason Blood enjoys his victory, Glenda is kidnapped by Farley Fairfax, who mistakes her for Galatea. It turns out that Farley Fairfax wears his mask because Galatea caused him to be severely disfigured. This revelation makes for a great reveal at the end of the first part, showing off Kirby’s majestic sense of ugliness when it comes to the villains.
It's here where the comparisons to The Phantom of the Opera really shine. With a house in the underground, a deformed face, a woman held hostage, and a dash of melodramatic acting, Kirby’s three-parter isn’t exactly original, but it is entertaining and dramatic. The second issue focuses predominantly on The Demon. Shocked at Glenda’s disappearance, Jason Blood now tries to reverse what he did in the previous issue and bring back the Demon. Meanwhile, Farley Fairfax moves Glenda to an abandoned theatre – his plan is to force Galatea to summon a demon to reverse the injuries to his face to make him good-looking again. Farley Fairfax used to be an actor, but it all went wrong when his partner Galatea believed that he was betraying her, and she summoned a demon to take his face. Once again, I wonder where Kirby got these ideas from. It’s at this point when Jason Blood heads into the sewers himself to look for Glenda, but without his demonic side, death cannot be far away. And that is exactly what happens – Jason is careless and is electrocuted by thousands of volts, but he miraculously survives. That is because he still holds the Philosopher’s Stone, and its power from the volts unleashes Etrigan’s power back into Jason. With the Demon back, he easily locates Farley Fairfax and it’s time for the big fight.
After a flashback reconveying the origin of Farley Fairfax’s foes, the Demon tries to convince the villain that Glenda will not be any use to him. Instead, the Demon attempts to summon Galatea since she was a witch and part of the Demon’s plane. Etrigan manages to resurrect Galatea in Glenda’s body (a move that only works because Etrigan is a different entity entirely from her boyfriend, Jason Blood). This spawns a new villain – one who does give Farley Fairfax his face back, but only after killing him. While Galatea may leave Glenda’s body, the witch returns by possessing that statue from earlier. It’s a shame that this threat appears just three pages from the end of the final part – Galatea’s statue is destroyed by a random bomb that Farley Fairfax just had laying around for some reason. But surely, if Galatea is such a powerful witch, she could just return by possessing anyone she likes? If she can only be summoned by an entity like Etrigan, then how did she possess the statue after she left Glenda’s body? The large number of plot holes here leads me to think that Galatea’s part in the story was rushed and ill-thought out. The conclusion to Farley Fairfax’s story – while sad – is underwhelming and doesn’t do him justice. He was set up incredibly well in the first and second parts, but his death leaves little impression. Nevertheless, this three-parter is paced very well and while there may be problems or occasions of vacuousness, overall, it’s good fun.
Baron Von Evilstein/Rebirth of Evil/The Night of the Demon
For The Demon (vol 1) 11-13, you know it’s going to be a classic by the story’s name. Baron Von Evilstein – the name too of the main villain – is up there with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants as one of the most hilarious and silly names for comic book characters. Kirby wrote many characters during the 1970s who enjoyed similar names, but Baron Von Evilstein really does live up to his name! It begins with Etrigan encountering a huge monster. Despite his strength and power, this monster is actually a slave whose mission is to capture the Demon. Returning Etrigan’s unconscious body to Baron Von Evilstein, the parallels with yet another famous fictional story jump out. Baron Von Evilstein is effectively Doctor Frankenstein, with this monster as one of his test subjects. Meanwhile, he has a servant called Igor. The similarities aren’t exactly subtle. Anyway, Evilstein works out that Etrigan and Jason Blood are one-in-the-same, and his plan is to harness the powers for his own purposes by transporting Etrigan into a stronger body.
Kirby succeeds in writing Evilstein as a darkly malicious villain. But when it comes to originality, this story is worse than the previous one. Evilstein is too cliched and unoriginal a foe to register as a great Etrigan villain.
I suppose the topic of most interest in the story is how the Demon’s friends react to his disappearance. With Glenda in hospital after the trauma of the last issue, Randu and Harry enlist the help of Janie Welles, a psychic who can mentally contact demons and supernatural creatures. She manages to contact Evilstein’s monster, who is being used as the subject in a test to transport the Demon’s power to his more brutish body. The monster breaks free onto the streets of Gotham, screaming for Janie as his saviour.
The Demon (vol 1) 13 focuses both on the Demon’s fight against Evilstein, and Janie as she attempts to help the monster and rescue him. The former story is put on the backburner, since Janie takes centre stage of the third issue. It’s all very cliched here – while she befriends the monster, the public and the police want to destroy it out of fear. The monster pledges to protect her, but it all comes tumbling down when Evilstein gets the last laugh by shooting the monster. The Demon makes easy work of Evilstein and Igor – he uses the Philosopher’s Stone to cause a huge explosion which engulfs the villains. It’s a fitting end to a cruel villain like Evilstein, especially since he was a fairly basic villain who had little story ideas left in him. As for the monster, his death ends the story on a sad note. I like how Kirby built up the monster’s story. At the start, we see him as a villain, but it’s quickly revealed that he is a victim just like the Demon. While Janine as a character is probably thrown into the story a little too late, Kirby writes a genuinely powerful story that ends tragically. In short, Kirby writes the emotional side of the characters well. Overall, Etrigan the Demon doesn’t feature too much here, but with a mostly strong cast of characters and some good writing, this three-parter speeds by brilliantly.
Spirit from the Night/The One Who Vanished
Ever since he first appeared in The Demon (vol 1) 8, the return of Klarion the Witchboy has been long awaited. Unlike, say, Baron Von Evilstein or Morgaine Le Fey, Klarion is an impish villain who reminds me very much of Bat-Mite, that creature from the Fifth Dimension who simply annoyed Batman from time to time. In his first appearance, Klarion did just that, but its amps up his plans for the Demon (vol 1) 14 and 15. One day, Jason Blood awakens from his sleep to find Klarion the Witchboy and his cat Teekl standing over him. At first, Klarion is as playful as before – his cat angers Jason, he summons a zombie, and helps himself to the fridge. It’s the same good fun as before, but Kirby develops it brilliantly as Klarion casts a spell which splits Jason Blood/Etrigan into two separate bodies. One Etrigan is controlled is normal, while the other is controlled by Klarion. In short, Jason must follow his Demon persona around Gotham as Etrigan tries to kill off some of his best friends. The stakes are high as Klarion has kidnapped Randu, while the two Demons fight over the fate of Glenda. Out of all the foes Etrigan has previously faced, himself is probably the strongest and makes for the best reading. Kirby also adds drama by adding a time limit – if the Demon cannot stop Klarion in time, he will cease to exist, while his evil twin will remain on Earth! This is exactly how the first part ends, with Jason Blood gone for good.
Despite this evil plan, there is still a great touch of playfulness added into the mix. Klarion is written to be a child. His plans are often dramatic and over-the-top, but he is shown to be easily bored. One moment, he will order the Demon to kill a human, while the next he will demand that Etrigan make him dinner. I really like this touch as it makes Klarion stand out from other villains. However, things go a little too far when Klarion uses his magic to transform Teekl into a half-cat half-woman creature. With some of Kirby’s bizarre dialogue, it becomes a tad cringey, even if it is funny when the two of them are shown just eating food for most of the time. Meanwhile, Glenda returns to the fray as she hears about the disappearance of Jason Blood. Still unaware that he and the Demon are the same, she prays for Jason’s return while clutching hold of the Philosopher’s Stone. This causes Jason to return and confront Klarion as the Demon. Sick of Klarion’s powers and plans, Etrigan opens up a mystical door to the Beyond Region (think of it like Superman’s Phantom Zone) and there he banishes Klarion and Teekl to. It’s quite similar to the ending of the first story featuring Klarion – the punishment may be harsher, but you have a strong feeling that he may return one day. After all the fun and the originality shown here by Kirby, we can only hope!
Immortal Enemy
Like all great things, The Demon comes full circle by the end. The first two issues brilliantly set up the story of Etrigan, Merlin, and the fight against Morgaine Le Fey. The second issue ended effectively with a cliff-hanger – did Morgaine Le Fey discover the secret to immortality? Heading into the sixteenth and final issue, Kirby heralds the return of Morgaine Le Fey in her ultimate battle against the Demon. It begins with
Etrigan facing the most demonic threat yet – a demon named Kafir. This horned beast is apparently in the top league of sorcery, but for some reason Kirby doesn’t exactly give him a dramatic entrance. Nevertheless, Etrigan cannot defeat Kafir, who is working for Morgaine Le Fey. Really, her plan isn’t very different to Klarion’s one in the last two issues. She makes Etrigan her slave and that’s about it. But Glenda, still with the Philosopher’s Stone, becomes a crucial part of the story. By using the stone (and with the help of an elderly sorcerer who Jason Blood encountered in the first issue) Glenda finds the Demon and Morgaine Le Fey. This is where – after sixteen issues – character relationships begin to develop. Here, Glenda learns that Jason Blood and the Demon are the same person. In the context of their relationship, this is a big moment. Jason has never told her about his demonic powers, and I do actually like how Glenda becomes a more heroic character here. She uses the Philosopher’s Stone to fight Morgaine Le Fey, but then the old sorcerer takes control and ends up transforming Morgaine Le Fey into an Egyptian Mummy. But soon enough, the sorcerer is taken care of as well and he’s forgotten about in a flash. Seriously, he appeared fairly briefly in the first issue and his return here just feels odd. Regardless, Jason Blood is now free from Morgaine Le Fey’s grasp, leaving Jason Blood and Glenda to speak openly for the first time about the Demon. With all of these questions up in the air, that’s where Kirby’s run comes to an end. It’s a great shame – I would have loved to have read a follow-up issue which answers some of the questions about Jason’s future. Kirby gives the title a new lease of life just for it to be killed immediately. Despite these revelations, there isn’t any answer to the question on everyone’s lips. Is Morgaine Le Fey immortal? I thought that Kirby would answer that question since the second issue didn’t confirm that. After all, it is her main goal. Are we just to assume that she is? Even one line of dialogue could clear that up. As a finale story, I have to say that’s fairly disappointing. Kirby has always had a knack for drama, but the ending to The Demon feels too similar to previous stories. Morgaine Le Fey’s plan is disappointingly cliched. She may be a strong challenge to Etrigan, but a more threatening plan would have made the story better. Also, since Morgaine Le Fey has been portrayed as the most important villain of the title, surely this finale should be longer or split into two parts? Honestly, the Klarion the Witchboy story feels like a better conclusion than this. Nonetheless, that’s not to suggest that this is a terrible finale. It’s still a strong story with some fantastic moments, but I was hoping for more.
It’s worth remembering that when Kirby launched The Demon, it was originally intended to be a horror comic. While that desired mood may have been heavily diluted (and even abandoned at times) in favour of the supernatural, action, and adventure, Kirby’s visuals do succeed in chilling the reader. Villains like Klarion the Witchboy and Baron Von Evilstein look very sinister and at times haunted. It’s interesting to read a Kirby comic where the hero doesn’t appear bright or overly heroic. While the Demon is a hero of some kind, his fearful look and demonic appearance made him unique. Overall, the quality of storytelling is just as excellent as in the first seven issues. There is drama present at most times and some very effective double-page spreads conveying grand fights. The inking – by Mike Royer as ever – is very faithful to the pencils. In his favour, the ink work is smooth and beautiful to look at, flowing flawlessly with the pace of the stories. However, his inking can occasionally be over faithful and there are a few instances where Kirby could be toned down texturally. Other than that, Kirby’s writing is made greater by his fantastic art. He is a true master of storytelling more than anything else.
VERDICT
Jack Kirby’s sixteen-issue long The Demon run has become something of a cult classic, and it’s not difficult to see why. With a unique protagonist and a hugely creative writer/artist present to formulate grand stories, good characters and fantastic action, it presents Kirby at his boldest. The fight between Jason Blood and Etrigan is an excellent plot point throughout the run, and along the way some memorable villains can be found, most notably Klarion the Witchboy. Unlike some other titles from this period, Kirby’s dialogue is by no means terrible or unreadable, and character relationships are both realistic and easy to engage with. After the Demon’s cancellation, Kirby heads off to pen numerous other classics, such as The Losers, The Sandman, and OMAC. While the latter may be more unique, creative and lovable than any other seventies Kirby work to me, The Demon stands tall as one of Kirby’s best works…
Next Week: JLA: A Midsummer’s Nightmare (1-3). Written by Fabian Nicieza and Mark Waid, with art by Jeff Johnson, Darick Robertson, John Holdredge, and Anibal Rodriguez.
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