A bit o’ hist’ry here: apparently The Demon is a grudge comic. Kirby only created it when DC pressured him into doing a horror comic, and he’d just come off his Fourth World stuff, so he was bitter about it. Always a good start!
Look! It’s Merlin, who apparently speaks of himself in the third person, as we all suspected he did.
You can’t fault Kirby for giving it all he’s got, though. Check this out. Amazing stuff. Nobody’s work has the same energy as The King’s.
Kirby here implies that magic is really just technology that people don’t understand. A theme to which he returns many times.
The King loves him some crazy headdresses! When we get to Thor, you’ll see more of this kind of thing.
Of all his inkers, I think Mike Royer did Kirby the most justice. If he’s not inking himself, ol’ Mike at least seemed to understand how to render Kirby’s pencils best.
I know the use of the double hyphen is meant to make utterances more dramatic, but if you read this dialogue aloud, it’d just sound silly.
Another thing I love about Kirby’s work is his sense of scale and the way he imparts a sense of solidity.
“They” who, exactly? There’s no one around. Unless, of course, this is the work of T.H.E.Y., The Hearsay Experts for You. T.H.E.Y. instantly validate anything you say if you invoke their name first!
Incidentally, I just ran the word ‘yarva’ through Google Translate, and it claims the word to be of Azerbaijani origin. The translation: yarva.
Holy crap, now THAT’S a face! You can’t convince me this isn’t a proboscis monkey wearing human clothes.
Oh, by the way, that’s Jason Blood standing behind the monkey guy. Just, y’know, FYI.
Ooh, is it ‘real handy with a sword’ to be able to just hit a table?
Hmm… what’s Jason know that we don’t? That fire’s got some Kirby Krackle™ around it, so you know it’s good!
THIS IS WHAT I’M TALKIN’ ABOUT
The “thing” also needs a new pair of Reeboks, ’cause the soles of the ones he’s wearing have HAD IT.
DUDE! We GOT IT. Etrigan. And remember: Etrigan spelled backwards is ‘Nagirte’. What does this mean? Well, according to the Pathfinder wiki:
“The babau Nagirte has been trapped within the walls of a portion of the city of Corentyn for decades. He was placed there by a pre-Thrune diabolist who enjoyed tormenting demons. The diabolist is long-dead and his name has been lost, but Nagirte remains imprisoned in the Gallows Walls of Corentyn to this day.”
…
Moving on! Join us on Wednesday for Part Two of The Demon #1!
