Demon Knights #12 – Review

By: Paul Cornell (story), Diógenes Neves (pencils), Oclair Albert & Dan Green (inks), Marcelo Maiolo (colors)

The Story: Even in the medieval ages, sororities aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.

The Review: One year later, has Demon Knights given us the epic comic-book fantasy we’ve been craving?  (By “we,” I do mean of course those of us who ever cared for such a thing.)  The answer is no, and frankly, I don’t think Cornell ever intended to give us the usual Tolkien-type fantasy.  What he’s going for is a strange mixture between parody (if the surplus of dinosaurs didn’t bring that home to you) and human drama, and it’s still not clear how it’ll work long-term.

Lately, the title has been steering away from the slapstick and gags which characterized the early issues.  This makes sense, considering all the Knights have been through: a terribly costly siege, near-death experiences, mystic manifestations of self-loathing.  But you can’t help missing the humor of more innocent days, kept alive only by Savage’s occasional but always hilarious quips: “I will not die so a woman with no face can gain different genitalia!”