Dead Of Night Featuring Devil-Slayer #3 – Review

Brian Keene, (writer) Chris Samnee, (pencils) June Chung, (colors) Joe Caramagna, (letters) Kaare Andrews, (cover and Devil Slayer character design)

The Story: The Devil Slayer has been awakened, and he’s been tossed directly into the fire (no pun intended). Angels and Demons are working together to bring about the apocalypse, there’s work to be done, and no time for the necessary training. Caught in between the forces of Heaven, Hell, and a military search team, Danny needs to learn fast, and act faster. But is he in over his head?

What’s Good: The writing and art remain fantastic. As the plot for the armageddon gets closer to fruition, we get to see how truly unprepared Danny is. His “on the job” training adds to the drama exponentially. He’s our only hope for survival, and all of his military training (while good) won’t be enough. He needs something more, but the only man who can hone his Devil Slaying skills was the last of the Magi, killed by Belathauzer. Adding on to this exciting story, is the exceptional art team, where they do a great job with Danny and his environment, even though Danny sticks out in each panel. There’s a very realistic isolation about him, fitting for humanity’s only hope.

What’s Not So Good: As much as I love this book, it’s been done. “The Devil Slayer” concept is basically Buffy, as a dude. Absolutely nothing wrong with Buffy, but the whole “you come from a long line of devil slayers” thing feels a little too on the nose. There’s also a lack of story movement which is cause for concern. Danny’s on his own and framed for the murder of his unit. That’s established in the first four pages. Then he spends the rest of the book on the run, which shows us his instincts and military training. Mission accomplished, but I’m left wondering how everything will tie together in the end. Single-handedly averting the apocalypse isn’t something easily done in thirty pages.

Conclusion: Even though much of Devil Slayer feels like it’s been done in one form or another, it’s still a great read. All of the elements tie together really well, which makes the generic plot elements less noticeable. A satisfying conclusion is gonna be a bit of a challenge, but I think this team’s up for the task. Hopefully, this becomes an ongoing series, there’s a lot of potential for future stories.

Grade B-

-Ben Berger

Dead of Night Featuring Devil-Slayer #1 – Review

Brian Keene, (writer) Chris Samnee, (pencils) June Chung, (colors) Joe Caramagna, (letters) Kaare Andrews, (cover and Devil Slayer character design)

“They told us in school this was where civilization started. This will probably be where it ends, too.”

This sentence alone peaked my interest in this comic. That, plus the story of a soldier fighting demons in Iraq seemed like the perfect thing for me to check out. The plot has a lot of promise, and even though it’s different from what I expected, I’m really excited to see where everything goes.

Brian Keene’s dialogue is excellent. Danny Sylva has one of the clearest voices I’ve heard in a long time. He’s bitter, jaded, and cynical and none of it feels forced or cliche. His wife left him, he couldn’t find a job, and civilian life just doesn’t cut it. Because of all that, Danny’s re-enlists for a third tour in Iraq.

Most of the book is about Danny’s return to the military and I began to wonder how or when demons would enter the story. Did we really have a book called Devil Slayer without any devil slaying? Anticipation builds for the whole book and we don’t see anything until the last page. It’s a bit frustrating, but the tease ultimately works since I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Chris Samnee’s pencils are great to see. They’re very detailed and gritty which reflects the tone very well. More importantly, it’s a very clean style. Each panel shows exactly what we need to see in the best possible way. This issue doesn’t have much gore (though I’m sure it’s coming), but what is shown has a lot of promise. It’s realistic damage which heightens the reader’s emotional response; instead of exploding bodies and guts everywhere it’s a simple exit wound and the appropriate blood-splatter. I found myself concerned even for characters I hated because it looked so real.

Devil Slayer #1, is the perfect setup for this mini-series. The choice to make the reader wait to see the demons, to commit an entire issue to Danny and his back-story works so incredibly well. Keene and Samnee compliment each other greatly, and if they can keep this up they’ve got a winner on their hands. I was expecting demons right away and now I’m glad I didn’t get it. If this sounds up your alley, or close to it, don’t miss this book. (Grade: A)

-Ben Berger