The Demon #2 – A Family Reunion From Hell

The Demon #2 continues the slow-burn following the cursed Jason Blood and his struggle to contain The Demon Etigran and setting the status quo, post-DC K.O. and his cameo in the Deadshot Next Level teaser oneshot.

In the first issue, Harren established Jason as a vagrant, living in the streets of Gotham City and dealing with his demonic alter ego, the return of the villainess Morgan LeFay, who has been stealing the magic of a severely de-aged Merlin. However, LeFay’s number seems to have been punched as Etigran’s brother has been pulling the strings, disposing her, claiming that she is in fact the one hiding Etigran from him.

Issue #2 begins with a flashback to the days of Camelot, when Blood was an Acolyte of Merlin protecting the Kingdom, as a vigilante, following Merlyn’s disappearance and after the reign of  King Arthur.

Back in the present, the now-released Etigran faces his brother, who reveals their family is larger than originally thought, and they are all looking to take Etigran.

Harren does a good job of bringing the weird fantasy to the page with both the story and art, as  the color work from Stewart and lettering by Clayton Cowles are the cherry on top of the sundae, which makes this comic fire on all cylinders. The issue is well-paced, giving equal time to both events in the present and filling in Jason’s backstory, building the larger story themes, and growing the supernatural aspects of the issue. The expansion of Etigran’s family unit is a solid direction, and the idea that they are gunning for him is a nice direction for this Next Level story to take.