The Demon, Vol. 3
The Demon Quartet #3
By Jason Shiga
ISBN: 9781626724549
Website: shigabooks.com
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Scott
Summary:
With his demon powers, nothing is denied Jimmy Yee. Sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll that’s just for amateurs. He s experienced every earthly pleasure known to man, and even invented a few of his own. Confident that he and his daughter Sweetpea have outlived all of their enemies, Jimmy spends his day reveling in his immortality. But after 250 years, immortality is getting a little dull.
Jimmy’s bacchanal lifestyle is about to get a shake up. The OSS is back and ready for a showdown, and this no-holds-barred battle promises to be Jimmy’s most violent and raunchy one yet.
From the brilliant and profane mind of Jason Shiga comes Demon: a four-volume graphic novel epic about the unspeakable chaos that one indestructible man can unleash on the world and the astronomical body count he leaves behind. (Goodreads)
Review:
Set 100 Years after Book 2, The Demon Vol. 3 graphic novel sees Jimmy Lee and Sweetpea back at their shenanigans again resulting in a far more rollicking ride than ever before. With a plot more twisted and bizarre than the previous two installments. The Demon both has to be read in conjunction with Vols. 1-2 but also in its own right as while it doesn’t stand on its own, it certainly jumpstarts the series back to a more quiet beginning – only to be ramped up later in the graphic novel.
Dialogue-wise. The Demon Volume 3 is overall the same as the first two, although much more reflective and at times philosophical. 100 years hopping from body to body has taken its toll on the protagonists, and they start reminiscing on the journey that has led them to this point. This isn’t to say that it packs any less of a punch (recall this series is not for children) but it isn’t until the end when a plot contrivance sends the protagonists down a brilliantly Body-strewn path, that sets things up for Vol 4.
Plot-wise, this is Shiga at his finest. A tight narrative is woven around seemingly sporadic violence that would find its way translated to the big (or small) screen. There are no wasted words or actions that would distract the reader from the overall experience. From Page 1, Shiga holds your attention and doesn’t let it go until the end. It’s an immersive experience that is difficult to achieve in the full-fledged novel format. Carrying the momentum forward would be difficult enough in the comic-sized format so it is quite remarkable that Shiga is able to do it over the course of three graphic novels.
The artwork suits the prose, paring it down to a no-frills experience – sparse – but full of the detail it needs. This no-nonsense, in-your-face palette is perfect for over-the-top ultraviolence that has become a hallmark of the series. If there were more detail, the pages would drip red with gore. In a small sense, this is a relief, as it allows Spiga to take the series wherever it tends to go. Keeping the artwork at the same “level” as the dialogue lends credibility to the work as a whole. During periods of introspection, the art focuses on the character wiping out the background. During its high-octane moments, the artist in Shiga pulls back rendering the scene as a whole. It’s quite the dichotomy that is pulled off wonderfully.
Finding an audience for the Demon is the dilemma, though. If you like your comics running the gamut from ultraviolence to introspective then this might be well worth a read. Without fail, past readers of the Demon Vols 1 &2 will find the transition into Vol. 3 to be easy and smooth. And although I highly recommend reading Volumes 1 and 2 first, volume 3 also marks an easy jumping on point for readers with a minimum amount of confusion.
