THIS WEEK: A pair of writer/artist debuts continues DC Next Level’s string of successes, in Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death #1 and The Demon #1.
Note: The reviews below may contain spoilers.
Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death #1
Writer/Artist: Michael Walsh
Colorist: Toni-Marie Griffin
Letterer: Becca Carey
Man, that Michael Walsh is pretty good at horror comics, huh? The pacing, the atmosphere, the “I’m dreading it but I can’t help but do it” page turn. Walsh is a master at them all. And so, maybe Walsh, colorist Toni-Marie Griffin, and letterer Becca Carey’s Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death #1 should not have impressed me as much as it did. Maybe I should have expected this expert, finely-tuned debut, which made me want to read issue two immediately.
But it’s still a bit surprising, how much I like this Jonah Hex comic. Part of my reaction is certainly down to how collaborative this relatively small creative team seems to be. The linework of Carey’s sound effects, for example (assuming they’re hers), matches Walsh’s linework almost exactly. Griffin’s colors match the mood of Walsh’s story and art throughout. They convey the sense of rot, disquiet, and unease that permeates Walsh’s vision of the late Old West, as well as our protagonist. This is a creative team that is operating on the exact same wavelength and knows exactly what type of story they’re telling.
Still, that alone wouldn’t be enough to get me to gush about good ol’ (or perhaps just ol’) Jonah Hex. For that, you’ve also got to provide a story that’s equal parts steady and intriguing. That leans into the character and his genre’s strengths, while also incorporating something fresh and new. Walsh does that here, turning in clean, sometimes-haunting pages that tell the story of a killer who no longer wants to kill, and a town that is very likely going to demand he pick up his guns again. Whether to kill humans, horrors, or both … well, we’ll see.
That, I think, is Jonah Hex #1’s biggest strength. Walsh’s page layouts, characters, and paneling pull readers along, compelling them to turn the page and find out what’s next. Can Jonah face the killer he’s become over his long years? If he doesn’t, can he face down the supernatural presence(s) haunting the town of Ashecott? Each page offers a bit more of an answer to those questions, while leaving both Hex and readers haunted by the remaining unknowns.
It is those unknowns, as well as this team’s smooth, synergistic storytelling, that will bring me back for Jonah Hex #2. Because now that I’ve gotten a taste of Walsh, Griffin, and Carey’s Jonah Hex, I have to see what happens next.
The Demon #1
Writer/Artist: James Harren
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
There is a page in The Demon #1 in which Morgaine le Fey stands upon a rooftop, a thunderstorm raging around her. She has plugged a baby Merlin (the magician, not the bird) upside-down into a crazy-looking Kirby contraption. Electricity crackles and neon pink energy suffused with Kirby dots gathers around le Fey, as she uses her machine to summon the Princes of Hell into our world.
If that sort of slightly-manic, almost-dream-like setup – that almost makes sense even if you don’t quite understand how – is your sort of thing, then James Harren, Dave Stewart, and Clayton Cowles’s take on The Demon is for you. If not, well.
There is no question that, from an artistic standpoint, Harren and his collaborators produced a standout first issue. Those familiar with Harren and Stewart’s other collaborations will recognize their bold, expressive style, here applied to a Gotham City overrun by demons, an amnesiac Jason Blood on the hunt, and a desperate Morgaine le Fey. Overall, these pages sing, and you can feel Harren leaning in to Jack Kirby’s influence. The Demon #1 moves at pace, is quite easy and enjoyable to read, but also demands readers go back and read each page a second time, to examine details they might otherwise miss.
And yet: I’m not quite sure this issue’s plot hangs together. The contours of the thing work. Jason Blood is down and out in Gotham City. He remembers just enough to know he should be hunting demons, and that he should not let free the one that lives in him. On the other side of the coin, Morgaine le Fey is feeling the weight of her years, and thus is breaking with her coven to pursue eternal life.
But within those contours, The Demon #1 packs in a lot of dream logic, additional characters, and additional detail. Perhaps too much. It’s rare you’ll hear me complain about too much going on in a monthly chapter of a comic book. But here, Harren and co. do almost introduce too much at once, without letting readers spend much time with most of it. If you’re willing to follow along for this team’s ride, to enjoy and understand what you understand and handwave what you don’t, I don’t think that density will be a problem. I’d certainly rather receive a debut like this than something too decompressed and unambitious. But I also wouldn’t fault a reader who reads this first issue once and sets it down feeling lost, because they don’t quite understand what The Demon is aiming at.
Me, I’m unconcerned. Having read this issue multiple times, I expect Harren knows what he’s doing and where he’s going. What’s more, a slightly-too-busy plot is a small demerit, weighed against the art on display in The Demon #1 and the promise of more excellent pages to come. I’ll do the work it takes to follow Harren’s plot, as long as the rest of The Demon looks and reads like this.
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