It's very rare for anyone to get my last name correct yet manage to still misspell my name. Fortunately for Larry Young at AIT/Planet Lar, it doesn't bother me at all (witness the fact that I usually don't correct people). In any case, I apparently won an "unofficial blogger's contest" by mentioning the Demo comics that he sent me first. I'm a little surprised to be referred to as an "industry-opinion leaders", and flattered by the implication that somebody out there thought to recommend me. However, all I did was mention the comics... don't you think it's time I start to review them?
Demo is written by Brian Wood with artwork by Becky Cloonan.
Demo #1: Oh. Wow. Hmmm. I wasn't sure what to expect, and I sure wasn't expecting this. Having heard good reviews of the book already, I wasn't too worried about its quality, but I couldn't be sure I would enjoy it. I'm beating around the bush a bit here, because I'm having a seriously difficult time coming up with something to say. This is a remarkably well-crafted story. The bits fit together, and on re-reading they just get better and have deeper meaning. The art fits the story like a time-worn glove. It's comfortable... so comfortable that at times I almost forgot I was reading a comic book and felt like I was looking at a show. The whole thing just works. If I have any nit to pick, it's that the first three pages seemed to not fit with the rest of the story. Part of me thinks they would have been better at the end, while the other part thinks they worked fine where they are. In any case, reading the first issue made me very eager to read the rest, but I'm determined to write up my review of each book before I tackle the next, so what I see as I move on won't influence my initial opinions. That's why these are "rapid reviews" and not real reviews, after all. 
Demo #2: Is it me, or is it beautifully ironic that a story about a girl who dare not talk is told almost completely in images? This is great. I had to look at the artist's name again, Becky Cloonan, to make absolutely sure she's the same artist as the first issue. The style is so different, and yet again, it's perfectly suited to the story. Now I think I appreciate the first three pages of issue one more... in this issue I really want to know what happened to Emmy after the events in this book. She's smart, knows what she has to do, but emotional and young. Her story could be truly fascinating, if Brian Wood ever felt the need to revisit her. I also wish I knew what she'd said to her mother. Again, a very strong issue. Had Larry Young just sent these two, I'd be ordering the rest already.
Demo #3: The first two issues let the reader in on the character's powers right off the bat. You knew what made them different, and the differences in them drove the story forward. This story comes at it from a different angle, giving us the characters, and developing them nicely, then throwing the reader a serious curveball. Again, the art style has changed. It's still Becky Cloonan, but it's a different inking style. The blacks are much deeper, which fits a story about a funeral. And, again, the story is very well-crafted. I feel like each issue of this series so far is a chocolate in one of those really expensive boxes you can get at upscale chocolatiers. Each one is delightful in its own way, and you really wish you could make each one last a bit longer. That's why I'm stopping my reviews here, and holding off on reading the next two. I want to make these last longer.
Still to review: Demo #4 and Demo #5. And the rest. These are going on the pull list. And I'm going to make hubby-Eric read them, too.
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