If you've been waiting for a comic where Jonah Hex and Scalphunter murder Batman and Superman...what the hell is wrong with you?

This is a book I'd seen in the quarter bins a number of times, and been moderately curious about, but hadn't coughed up for it until recently. And...uh, it's pretty, anyway. From 2005, Superman/Batman #16, "Absolute Power, chapter three: When Time Goes Asunder..." Written by Jeph Loeb, pencils by Carlos Pacheco, inks by Jesús Merino.

The adult Legion of Super-Villains--Lightning Lord, Cosmic King, and Saturn Queen--are a continuity disaster just standing there; but they've gone a step further in this one, having altered the timeline so Superman and Batman were raised by them, and considered those three their parents! Although they had ruled the earth and crushed all opposition, now the timeline was going all weird, starting with Supes and Bats trapped in Kamandi's time. Kamandi tries to get "the Mighty One" to help, but this isn't the Superman of legend; and for good measure Batman gasses Tuftan when he tries to help; before Superman and Batman disappear again.

Next, in a version of New York City, Batman has been shot a few times, but Superman wants to get all of the culprits at once: a passel of DC's western heroes, including Bat Lash and El Diablo! Supes thinks he's got it all sewn up, until he catches a load of Kryptonite buckshot in the back from Jonah Hex. (Jonah seems to have intuitively determined, maybe use space rocks to kill a spaceman? Sure, it works, but...) Scalphunter assists with Batman, but as Supes and Bats die the timeline resets again; as they appear on Apokolips. Wait, that's earth's moon--this was earth! Damn him! He blew it all up--Anyway, Darkseid shows up, with a Kingdom Come-looking Superman, Metron, and a leashed Etrigan. They want the timeline reset the way it was, and Superman and Batman agree: Batman seems to think, they ruled before, they would rule again when it's all over. (For his part, Darkseid almost seems to admire the balls on the LSV; even if going big has shattered the timeline.) The heroes are sent back in time, to just before baby Kal-El arrived on earth; this time scaring off the Legion of Super-Villains, who retreat into the timestream. Superman is seemingly back to normal, albeit racked with guilt over those he killed in the other timeline.

They still have to reset Batman's origin though, by preventing Cosmic King from saving the Waynes from Joe Chill: instead, Batman leaps in, disarms Chill, then blows his brains out--and wipes himself from the timeline! Is this the end of Batman--nah, there's still two more issues in this plotline. This felt a little mean for my tastes: usually, it's more fun to see Kamandi, Hex, or Etrigan; but they do look good here. Read more!

Klarion goes evil? How would you tell?

The Demon's second annual is far better known for introducing Hitman, but this one's got Klarion and Teekl, Eclipso, and mushrooms! So...yeah. From 1992, the Demon Annual #1, "Ex-Nihilo...Death!" Written by Alan Grant, pencils by Joe Phillips and David Johnson, inks by John Dell.

Jason Blood and his pal-turned-seat cushion Harry Matthews fly into San Francisco, summoned by a note that claims "Xavier Nihilo" can free him from being bound to Etrigan. Making their way through the city, they are attacked by a scorpion monster, and wreck up what I think is a thinly-veiled version of Comix Experience! But meanwhile, next door at an occult bookstore, the owner tries and fails to throw out a browser: Teekl, the cat familiar of Klarion the Witch Boy! (First, it would take some nerve to try and take on a cat reading a spell book; second, take some pictures and coast on internet cred forever!)

After Etrigan defeats the scorpion, Jason and Harry continue to Nihilo's castle outside of town; followed by Klarion and Teekl, who have stolen a motorcycle. They have fun! Xavier Nihilo is of course a nut, who had sent the scorpion to test Etrigan; but he has an excuse: he was like 9000 years old! Nihilo had survived the Great Deluge, the Biblical flood, which in DC continuity had been Eclipso's work: God may have fired him after that for being a little too into his work. Nihilo tried to save his family in a little boat, but Eclipso kills them, then curses Nihilo to walk the earth until he came again. Only his precious "amanita" kept him going, but he also had a piece of Eclipso's black diamond: that power could free Jason of Etrigan, if he will only kill Nihilo. Jason balks at that, and gets clobbered by a largish brute; while Harry is stuffed full of mushrooms and goes on a little trip.

Before Nihilo can turn Jason into Etrigan--everybody knows the words!--Klarion steals the diamond, Eclipsing himself and Teekl. Eclipso remembers Nihilo, but can't really play with him until he takes care of "the rage that drew me here" by wiping out Etrigan, and the fight goes back and forth for a while: even lashing Klarion to a flagpole in a lightning storm won't get rid of Eclipso! He was vulnerable to sunlight, and dawn was a ways away...! And Nihilo tries to keep the fight going, since he can't trust Eclipso to kill him. 

I got this one on the strength of Joe Phillips art--around the same time, he did the Timber Wolf mini-series I love. I know I didn't read all of the "The Darkness Within" crossover annuals; mostly just whatever titles I was reading at the time. I remember being mildly annoyed Anarky took a loss in the Robin Annual, also written by Alan Grant.

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As often the case around here, things have been on blog-o-pilot for the last week or so: I've been out, and it's the brief stretch where it's really hot locally. Maybe this comic will make things seem cool by comparison! From 2008, Reign in Hell #4, featuring "Counterstrike!" Written by Keith Giffen, pencls by Tom Derenick, inks by Bill Sienkiewicz; and "Half Measures" Written by Keith Giffen, pencils by Justiniano, inks by Walden Wong.

No opening recap here, as war in Hell continues, with the Demon and Blue Devil smacking each other around. That's...kind of good on Danny, for going toe-to-toe with Etrigan; but on the other hand, remember when he used to be fun? Two lower-level devils cut out as the fighting gets too close, as that could maybe release something worse...Elsewhere, Dr. Fate visits, I think that's Lady Blaze? about the ongoing Neron problem, but may have said too much and gets attacked by her she-devils. Zauriel meets with part of the Shadowpact, regarding a resistance in Hell, which may also involve Zatanna.

Back on earth, the Etrigan-less Jason Blood is hitting the spell books, trying to find a way to keep the Demon from ever being bound to him again. Good luck with that! But he's visited by Deadman, who warns of Ruma Kushna losing balance: all "infernal" things had been purged from earth, but that was driving her insane. Boston advises, an intervention. Finally, the Etrigan/Blue Devil brawl hits "deep detention," something it took all of Hell to imprison in a "runespout," which of course they then fall into. After a massive explosion, a familiar figure emerges from the smoke...none other than the main man himself, Lobo! The next issue box praised the "frag-tastic" return of the "real" Lobo; what, was there a fake? I was thinking of the later New 52 version, but that was years away.

The second feature continues Dr. Occult and Yellow Peri's journey deeper into Hell, in search of Occult's "soulmate" Rose. They appear to be coming up on a weird techy part of Hell, but not much to that one.

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"The End" Week: The Demon #58!

I haven't been a fan of McFarlane Toys DC figures, but I did get lured back in for their spin on the Demon: I probably could've waited for it to go half-off. But I'd been looking for this issue for some time, and good news: possibly thanks to some friendly encouragement, I think this has been reprinted! From 1995, the Demon #58, "The Longest Day, part 4" Written by Garth Ennis, art by John McCrea.

The angels are winning the war in Hell, as Etrigan and his forces are down to their final stand, unless they can find the Horned Crown. Etrigan goes back for one of his troops, the minotaur Morax; only to find his head, severed by the angels' leader, Karrien. While Etrigan (who seems to have foregone pants for most of this issue...) gets him with "your shoelace is undone," Karrien cuts the Demon up, since he has "right" on his side, and throws the body into a pit.

Dying, Etrigan is visited by Morax, either the ghost of his head, or a dying hallucination, but that gives him the strength to get up. He then nearly breaks his foot on something while cursing Karrien...namely, the lost Crown of Horns! Etrigan returns to the fight, restored and stronger than ever, but also now aware that maybe Karrien didn't have right--or 'God'--on his side; the angel may have been acting without sanction. Etrigan tears him up, then seemingly offers forgiveness...nah!

With the battle over, Etrigan drops the crown, and walks away; leaving the remaining denizens of Hell to consider who should take it. The concensus is ruling Hell would be a colossal pain in the ass and only a goddamned lunatic would even consider it...enter Baytor, with an extended Ren & Stimpy riff that may have been his only dialog besides "I am Baytor" ever! Hell seems more than happy with King Baytor, especially when he vomits and kills the remaining angels. Etrigan knows, though: "No future lies in ruling Hell...that's a lesson I learned well." But the last three pages are a thank-you from Etrigan, to Jack Kirby and the creators that followed him in presenting his adventures. In rhyme!

The Demon has of course returned multiple times since this. Books like this are why! Read more!

80-Page Thursdays: the Doomed and the Damned #1!

Like I think I said on our last 80-pager, I keep getting these on the cheap at EntertainMart. You just have to hold out a bit! From 2020, the Doomed and the Damned #1, featuring stories by Saladin Ahmed, Marv Wolfman, Alyssa Wong, and more; and art by Travis Moore, Baldemar Rivas, Max Fiumara, and more.

"Doomed and the Damned" is a nice riff on "Brave and the Bold," but this issue isn't as grimdark as that title might make you think. The cover pitches it as "Ten twisted team-ups straight from your nightmares!" but hey! Batman doesn't team-up with anybody in his story! Unless you count the nth metal shank Batman says he made with Dr. Fate; somewhere, Hawkman is feeling real left out. Madame Xanadu and Man-Bat join forces to deal with a ghost and a White Martian; Superman and Swamp Thing face a Batman villain (and I may have unintentionally dropped a clue!) and Green Lantern and the Demon grudgingly team-up against an alien demon. (There's some juridictional scuffling there.)

Raven appears in two stories this issue; first with Wonder Woman against Redjac a surly relation; then as the point in a love quadrangle between herself, Beast Boy, Klarion the Witch Boy, and Teekl. (While, as usual, it barely fits in the scanner; you might notice Beast Boy is unusually handsome in his story!) R'as al Ghul and Talia sacrifice Solomon Grundy to recharge a Lazurus Pit; but he may have a longer memory than you would think; and Batgirl--fine, Orphan--teams up with mildly obscure villain Orca to jack up some human traffickers. And there's an unlikely pairing of Frankenstein and Aquaman, in a story involving Mars--J'onn get a day off or something?

Of course, the most fun story is Garth Ennis and PJ Holden on "Darkseid vs. Baytor," in which a quiet drink turns into a chain of disasters for Darkseid. It's the best of the lot, and I'm not just saying that for fear of being cancelled... Read more!

Maybe they think he looks like Prince Valiant under that thing...

The cover makes it look like the Demon was moving into romantic lead territory again, but not this time! From 1991, the Demon #17, "The Region Beyond, part II: Beyond Redemption" Written by Alan Grant, pencils by Val Semeiks, inks by Bob Smith.

This was a War of the Gods crossover, and seems to include a major event, perhaps from a different perspective: Circe the Sorceress kills Wonder Woman, by turning her back into lifeless clay. But, what may not have been seen elsewhere: a very cherubic looking Klarion the Witch Boy and Teekl the Death-Stalker go looking for mischief, teleporting to Paradise Island. Avoiding "mother hen" Amazons, Klarion sees Wonder Woman's spirit leaving her mortal remains, and decides she would probably have more fun not in the "Halls of the Dead," but "the Region Beyond." As in, hell.

Meanwhile, in hell, the Demon and Jason Blood still share a body but have switched: Jason controls the Demon, while Etrigan makes for a somewhat deranged looking (and rhyming) Jason. Jason/Demon is chained up and facing a banshee, and is having trouble making the Demon's body work for him; when Wonder Woman arrives. When she is bloodied during the fight, that gets a rise out of the Demon's body, and he responds, first taking down the banshee, planting a big sloppy kiss on Diana! She fights back, but Jason worries eventually the Demon would overpower her, and recites the rhyme to change back into "Jason," putting Etrigan back in the driver's seat. Etrigan/Jason tries to convince Diana they should work together to escape hell, but she's suspicious; then when the Thing-That-Never-Dies arrives and defends her she uses her magic lasso on Etrigan and learns the truth. She leaves him chained up, where he would face the Wild Hunt the next issue; and tries to follow the golden thread of virtue out of hell. Diana tells the Thing to keep at his own virtue, and he may free himself someday.

We saw the golden thread of virtue before, when we looked at the Demon #19 some years back: I assumed Diana escaped hell in her own title, but maybe not.
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It's an "Everything you know is wrong" story, but this was the time to do it.

We've seen a number of Demon appearances here over the years, and in them his level of badness has varied from Chaotic Good to eat-a-baby, full-on Belichick evil. Today the knobs go up to 11. From 1994, the Demon #0, "Zero Hour" Written by Garth Ennis, art by John McCrea. Despite the title and the tie-in, this didn't have much else to do with the crossover...

Jason Blood has just drank an elixir prepared by himself and Merlin, removing the mental blocks Etrigan had placed on Blood. Having eleven centuries of memories suddenly return would probably be bad enough, but eleven centuries of his crimes and sins may be more than his sanity can bear. In the year 560, Jason was a family man, with no interest in the possible fall of Camelot; but Merlin hears his grousing as treason. Likewise, Merlin's half-brother Etrigan has not been a great deal of help against Morgaine Le Fey, and Merlin knows he'll soon be unable to control the ambitious Demon. So, Merlin kills two birds with one stone, trapping Etrigan in Jason; driving both of them completely insane. Jason kills his family, then the Demon murders his entire village; earning them the name Jason-of-the-Blood.

Since Jason had been a good, if cynical, man; Etrigan has work on him to make a good host. He alters Jason's thoughts and memories to make him more amenable; making Jason a willing partner. Using Etrigan's power, Jason quickly amasses a massive fortune; but Etrigan's also making moves to keep advancing in the hierarchy of hell. After the brutal murder of a cardinal, Jason confronts Etrigan, and tells him no more; Etrigan alters his mind again. After more centuries of atrocities, Etrigan and Blood are invited to Hell to see Lucifer. (Described here as "a million miles away from the flake who will eventually quit his post.") Blood asks Lucifer where to go for new experiences and opportunities, and is told simply "west." Blood and Etrigan go to America, and commit about every horrible thing ever done in this country; until in July 1917, at a party Jason almost literally says "hold my beer" and leaves to wrap up the first World War. (Partly because he could, mostly for a million gold sovereigns.)

On August 1, 1917; Jason Blood is moved to save "a regiment of virgins," sad, doomed soldiers; and unleashes the Demon against the Germans. And the Demon even brings back-up, partly because he has advanced in rank to rhymer, partly because he felt Jason's deal didn't really do anything for him. After slaughtering the Germans, he does the same to the English; leaving ten thousand dead in the trenches. Jason loses his mind again, and the Demon is forced to erase his memory, but goes too far: everything from when Merlin joined them is forgotten. Jason believed himself to be a good man, struggling to get separated from Etrigan; piecing together clues over almost eight decades. Now, with Etrigan planning to unleash his son on Glenda and her unborn child, Jason has forced Merlin to show him the truth. (And in truth, Merlin was responsible for much of it!) All that saves Merlin, is that Jason needs Merlin's help to kill Etrigan...!

There was less than a year left of this book, before Ennis and McCrea moved on to Hitman, but I don't think the Jason vs. Etrigan plot ran the whole distance. Still, not unlike Marvel's Ghost Rider, every so often the Demon is portrayed as evil who happens to occasionally take out other evil, but not necessarily good...
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"The End" Week: The Batman Strikes #50!

Back in 2013, we checked out the last issues of four Batman cartoon tie-ins: the Batman Adventures, Gotham Adventures, another Batman Adventures, all tying into Batman: the Animated Series; and Batman: the Brave and the Bold. Today, we've got the last issue of the comic tying into the series between those two, with the Batman Strikes! #50, "Night of the Demon" Written by James Peaty, pencils by Christopher Jones, inks by Terry Beatty.

This is a fun little done-in-one guest-starring Etrigan, the Demon: centuries ago, he betrayed his cohorts the Demons Three--Abnegazar, Rath, and Ghast, although they aren't named here--and they had been trapped in a puzzle box ever since. (Seems familiar somehow...) The box has fallen into the hands of the Riddler, who is compelled to open it and release the demons.

As often happens to the Batman animated titles, this was being phased out to make room for the new version. Shame to introduce Etrigan so late in the game! I had been re-watching the Batman on Netflix: if you're not sure about it, start with season four! Good grief, I think we mentioned an episode, "Artifacts," back in 2007!
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Seriously, DC, reprint this, get it on Comixology, cash in today.

If this is Monday, there should be about 133 days until the U.S. presidential election...and it's already pretty ugly. Hell, it was ugly six months ago, we've crossed into grotesque, and it would be a class-one miracle if it somehow improved between now and then. It's polarizing, mean-spirited, hateful, and depending on who you listen to, probably includes a few secret agendas. Like today's comic, except the comic is funnier: from 1992, the Demon #27, "Political Asylum, part 2: 'Etrigan, he's our man, if he can't do it, no one can!'" Written by Dwayne McDuffie, pencils by Val Semeiks, inks by Bob Smith and Denis Rodier.

Before picking this up, I had no idea McDuffie, or anyone else, had written for this series except Alan Grant and Garth Ennis. In the second issue of this four-parter, the Demon Etrigan begins his presidential campaign in earnest. Running as a Republican, he announces his run in "recession-plagued Detroit" (the more things change, huh?) and denies accusations of being a hoax; although the press and general public so far don't seem to think he's actually from hell. President Bush--the first one--declines to comment, although Quayle mangles a quote in support of his boss.

Jason Blood had agreed to the Demon's request to run, although his friends Randu, Glenda, and Harry (currently a seat cushion, after a sojourn in hell) aren't sure what Etrigan's game is. His speech writer, Patty Nonage, seems committed to her candidate; and Etrigan's book is on top of the best seller lists...even though it's a 32-page picture book for $12.95, titled "America Rules." (Noted right-winger Guy Gardner likes it!) He even has campaign managers, although I'm not sure where they came from: did Etrigan hire them, or did they just show up to run the campaign? Not like one just runs itself, does it? They are concerned about handling Etrigan after he sets Sam Donaldson on fire, a little, but that gives him 16 more points in the polls. Perfect time to crash a debate!

Some of this year's prospective candidates weren't great, but the primaries in 1992 had David Duke and Pat Buchanan, and they weren't exactly prize pigs either. Somewhat surprisingly, these aren't close-enough, not-quite versions of those guys--McDuffie uses Duke and Buchanan, although he doesn't exactly paint either in a flattering light. Outside their debate appears to be nothing but Klansmen, neo-Nazis, and cops; although the cops are primarily to keep Etrigan out. No chance. Beating up the Klansmen and the Nazis before sitting on Buchanan and Duke, Etrigan rises to within 10 points of Bush. Glenda asks Jason if this hasn't gone too far, but Jason is sticking to his end of the deal, reasoning the Demon couldn't possibly win: he wasn't a U.S. citizen! I thought Blood was going to say Etrigan wasn't born in America, and that may be a plot point later; here, Nonage catches the tailend of that conversation and Blood's transformation.

Still, not everything is going Etrigan's way: at a rally, an assassin takes a shot at him, hitting him in the eye! Which just pisses him off. Etrigan is about to tear his would-be assassin apart, when he's stopped by...Superman!

Let's see, outsider candidate, oddly-colored, talks a lot of trash and sloganeering, incites violence...well, I suppose Etrigan actually causes most of the violence, he's a little more hands-on. We'll see if we find the next chapters, hopefully within the next 133 days!
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80-Page Thursdays: Countdown Special: Eclipso #1!

The last of the Countdown specials I have: from 2008, Countdown Special: Eclipso #1, featuring stories by Robert Loren Fleming and John Ostrander, with art by Colleen Doran and Ray Kryssing and Tom Mandrake.

Huh, for some reason I thought this was going to have a reprint of Eclipso's first appearance, but we saw that in another 80-page reprint several years back! Instead, this one leads with a highlight of Eclipso's 90's book, "Black Pieces," featuring a chess match with Eclipso vs. Darkseid! (Which reminded me of an old Thor Annual with Odin playing Dormammu, and man, I've been blogging a long time.) Moreso than the actual match, the conversation is key: Eclipso tells that story about Noah's ark again, which Darkseid probably doesn't believe. Darkseid reveals the secret origin of Desaad, which may or may not be true either, but is genuinely disturbing. Eclipso explains a little about his black diamonds...and why he can't kill his former host Bruce Gordon, or Bruce's long-suffering girlfriend Mona Bennet. Yet. And before the game ends in a draw, Darkseid confesses why he had his own mother assassinated: revenge, for her murder of Darkseid's first wife and only love. (Of course, consider the sources: any or all of the above could be lies. Or retconned.)

Next we have a two-parter from the 90's Spectre series: "Into the Dark Side" and "Final Judgments." On the cover for the latter, the planet-sized Spectre appears to be giving earth the People's Elbow...That would be entirely too playful and fun for this series, yeah. As occasionally happens, long-time ghost Jim Corrigan has had it up to here with being the Spectre. He wasn't able to save the life of the woman he loved, and the general ongoing awfulness of humanity has gotten on his last nerve. This leaves him open to possession by Eclipso, who argues that he's been where the Spectre is, and humanity isn't any more worth saving now than when he was God's angel of vengeance. The Phantom Stranger puts together a mystic all-stars team to confront the Eclipsed-Spectre--the Demon, Zatanna, and the female Dr. Fate--but snubs Madame Xanadu, for telling him his terrible plan won't work. Xanadu then, with Father Richard Craemer and Ramban, pulls the spirit of Corrigan out of the Spectre, leaving him soulless and completely controlled by Eclipso! This seems like a ridiculously bad idea, and the Stranger's team gets clobbered.

Even released from Eclipso's power, Corrigan doesn't want to become the Spectre again, but Father Craemer convinces him not to doom the earth out of grief and loneliness. While Eclipso possesses Zatanna and the Demon, and nearly gets Dr. Fate; when Corrigan comes back it's over pretty quickly. The Spectre imprisons Eclipso in his black diamond, then seemingly crams his black fortress in there as well, and then reduces all of it to ash. Afterwards, it's difficult to tell if the Spectre is chagrined or unrepentant, but he declares he can not judge humanity as a whole, only one by one, as he finds them. I believe that would be the last (in-continuity) Eclipso appearance for almost a decade, until an altered (and ultimately unsuccessful) version appeared in 2004's JSA #56.
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In case the "Great Disaster" wasn't great enough for you:

I picked up most of this series for a buck an issue, but did have to order the last one: from 2013, Joe Kubert Presents #6, featuring stories and art from Joe Kubert, Henrik Jonsson, Sam Glanzman, and more. But my favorite this issue was a Kamandi eight-pager by Kubert and Brandon Vietti, "Devil's Play." It adds a couple new wrinkles to both Kamandi and the Great Disaster, as Kamandi here also works as a scientist, intent on discovering a cure to restore humanity's intelligence; and that there may have been even more to the Great Disaster than anyone could've possibly guessed. Namely, the involvement of the supernatural, personified by Etrigan the Demon!

This Etrigan seems full-on evil, and hints that maybe some force wanted the Great Disaster to happen. It's also a great-looking little story, and I wish it could be followed-up on.
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When did the Demon become a romantic lead?

So far in the New 52, I think I've seen Etrigan with more girls than Hal Jordan: Madame Xanadu in Demon Knights, Zatanna in Justice League Dark: Futures End, and here Fire, in Justice League 3000 #15, "Burning Bright!" Plot by Keith Giffen, dialog by J.M. DeMatteis, art by Howard Porter.

I really need to pick up more of this, even though this was technically the last issue: it's up to Justice League 3001 now. (When it reaches 3100, sell!) (Boo!) This issue features the cloned Justice League, Fire and Ice, a future Camelot, and the new Injustice League of Lois Lane!...I have no idea what is up with half of that, hence, need more comics.
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I think that G.I. Zombie cover must be broken...

Somewhat improbably, I picked up 24 of the 41 books in DC's recent Future's End event, 23 of them with the fancy-pants lenticular covers. This batch was ninety-nine cents an issue, down from the $3.99 cover price, and I'd probably be asking too much if I expected to find the most popular books like Harley Quinn or most of the Batman titles at that price.

Without being 100% up on the current DC status quo, this event was set five years in the future, after any number of terrible and life-changing events had happened to our heroes; up to and including a much-teased war with Earth 2. Or possibly the Apokalips of Earth 2? It's not necessarily important, depending on the book.

Out of the titles I've read, Grayson may be the best of the lot: I had read the Comics Alliance write-up on it, but was still surprised. I thought Constantine was pretty good, although I'm trying to remember how Dr. Fate transitioned from superhero to dick to outright villain. New Suicide Squad finally lives up to the name, but felt just a hair too thin. Star-Spangled War Stories wasn't bad: I didn't have any particular attachment to those characters, but I like Scott Hampton's art and that the story seems to wrap up the series preemptively. (That was the only issue I've picked up the plain cover for, so far.)

I found two two-parters: Justice League United/Justice League and Aquaman/Aquaman and the Others. They were both blah. (Captain Atom, with a crappier version of his 52-look, is the bad guy in the JL one, but I'll be damned if I could tell you why exactly.)

Somehow, the Demon is a romantic lead in the New 52, on more than one occasion: in Justice League Dark here with Zatanna, and previously in the cancelled Demon Knights with Madame Xanadu. It's a bold choice, I'll give 'em that. (From "Scars" Story by J.M. DeMatteis, script by Len Wein, pencils by Andres Guinaldo, inks by Walden Wong.) That actually almost made the issue for me, although if you read all the Future's End issues, some seams don't line up: before he can change into Etrigan, Jason Blood is apparently killed by a vampire Batwoman!

I don't know if I'd have paid full price for them, but the Batgirl and Red Lanterns issues worked for me: both were happy endings that probably couldn't happen without ending the characters' stories. But I was a little disappointed by the Booster Gold story: it seems to pick up from the last time he was seen in the New 52, but also ends on a cliffhanger that felt forced to me. I'm not sure if any of these made me want to run out and pay cover price for new DC books, but some of them made me a little curious how they were doing.
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More like Presumptuous Woman, here.

Wonder Woman has a lot on her mind this issue: her friend Etta Candy has seemingly been sucked into hell by demons, the leader of which beat her down soundly. Waking up on the Potomac Parkway, she switches to her secret identity of Captain Diana Prince, to try and get access to the mysterious Delphi Foundation with Col. Steve Trevor, but they find nothing. Wonder Woman then turns to her mystic friend Mother Juju (groan...) who tips her the name of someone who could help. Maybe two names...

Jason has to be regretting sending out all those headshots now. Flying to Gotham, Wonder Woman barges through a window as Jason spars with his blind friend Randu, and calls him out immediately--which seems like a breach of super-hero etiquette, since she couldn't know if Randu was in on Jason's secret. They politely deny WW's ideas about Jason as "utter nonsense" and try to herd her to to the door. Instead, she goes all in, using the "Change! Change o'form of man!" spiel to turn Jason to Etrigan the Demon! That seems outright rude: you shouldn't just stomp into someone's house and use their magic words and everything.

I don't think it had been firmly established at this point, where Jason or Etrigan went when the other took over; but Etrigan is pretty thrilled to "live again" and seems completely willing to help Wonder Woman out with a trip to hell. Randu tries to stop Etrigan, warning he may lose his way back, and gets a shove for his trouble; which still doesn't deter WW.

Of course, I don't think I have two consecutive issues of Wonder Woman in my collection, so I don't know how this turned out. I also wonder if this related to post-Crisis Diana's trip to hell in the 80's, as mentioned a while back. From 1981, Wonder Woman #280, "In the Claws of Demons!" Written by Gerry Conway, pencils by Jose Delbo, inks by Dave Hunt.


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"The End" Week: The Demon #16!

I was going to say it was weird that John Byrne's Blood of the Demon ran longer than Jack Kirby's original series. But Alan Grant and Garth Ennis both had longer runs with the character (39 and 18 issues respectively, or thereabouts.) and since there was a zero issue, Paul Cornell tied Kirby on the recently departed Demon Knights. And I don't think Kirby had that many long runs on his DC characters anyway, unless you count all the New Gods stuff as one long series. He only stayed on Mister Miracle until #18...

But, back to the book at hand: the Demon #16, "Immortal Enemy!" Edited, written and drawn by Jack Kirby, with letters and inks by Mike Royer. While fighting the lower-case demon Kafir in Gotham City, Etrigan is gassed and captured by Morgaine Le Fey. She puts the "ritual mark" on the Demon's head, making him her slave. Meanwhile, Jason Blood's love interest Glenda has discovered the power of the mysterious Philosopher's Stone, and is brought to Morgaine by her old henchman Warly. Morgaine is having Etrigan beaten, to soften him up for her control, and turns him back into Jason Blood, revealing his secret to Glenda at last.

Although Morgaine's wary of the Stone, she tries to extort it away from Glenda; but it's grabbed by Warly. Instead of passing it to his mistress, he turns on Morgaine, using the Stone to turn her into a mummy. (Complete with sarcophagus!) Morgaine had spells in place for such a betrayal, though; and as a tentacled monster grabs Warly, he tries to use "nether-flame" to stop it. Jason, released from the power of the mark with Morgaine's mummification, saves himself and Glenda from the fire, and now has to explain the Demon to her...

Even though he's been cancelled many times--it looks worse if you count the miniseries he's had, too--the Demon always turns up again like the proverbial bad penny. Good. He's my favorite of Kirby's DC creations, and I suspect he's a lot of other people's favorite as well.
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"The Right Way to Move..."

I'm sure about now I'm wishing I could take Batman's example and throw money at moving...moving stuff out of my old apartment has been like unpacking a clown car. It just keeps going...

I had been hoping to have a little fun, finding stuff I'd lost or forgotten, but not so much. For example, I did find a Marvel Legends Dr. Doom mask that had been lost, but where did I put that Doom? Or the mask, now? I was also hoping to set aside junk for trades or eBay, and I'm of course nowhere near that organized. Still, approaching the home stretch.

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