Plot: A man is tormented by a demon that wants the pure souls of his wife and daughter. To save them the man dresses up in a devil’s mask, cloak, and blades strapped to his hands and sacrifices criminals to feed the demon’s hunger.

Comments: One of five in a series of “taste tests” written by Robert Kirkman and presented by Top Cow. Once all five are completed the public will get to vote on the idea they like the best. The idea chosen will then go on to be a mini-series.

The premise of Demonic is simplistic which could allow the story to goin many a different direction. The hero of the story, Scott, finds himself in a dilemma--he is beholden to a demon who wants to eat the souls of his wife and daughter. He has superhuman powers provided by the demon and the subtext seems to be that Scott has made some sort of deal with the demon. While the setup is intriguing, the nature of the Pilot episodes makes it way too brief and I found myself wanting to know more about Scott and why he threw in with the demon. It's early enough that it's even possible that there is no demon and Scott is tormented by his own psyche.

Putting aside those intricacies, my favorite part of the comic is the major fight scene. Scott finds himself ambushed when he goes to help a “damsel in distress” and it turns out to be a sting operation to catch him. Feeling backed against a wall he slaughters 16 police officers, all the while pleading with them and himself to stop the killing. The artwork of the fight scene is great--Scott's emotions are well captured on his face, as well as the look of shock on all the people he slaughters. That's not even to mention the close ups of limbs and weapons flying every which way. Hearing Scott plead with the well armed SWAT team to stop because he can’t adds to the appeal of this scene.

Scott is a drawn as any hero would be in comics--muscular and tough, a killing machine. This issue also allows the reader a glimpse of the hero's (although in this case our hero is the villain) vulnerability. This makes it all the better because it makes it clear just how much the demon is in control.

The way the demon was drawn is attractive and disturbing; she is curvy and well endowed limbs that are reminiscent of an insect, with the face of a monster. The insect limbs work well since this thing is gnawing at him. When I first saw the demon I found myself having Naked Lunch flashbacks and had that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Scott’s costume was simplistic but works well--a battered cloak with devil mask that seemed to adhere to his face, blades strapped to his hands. The costume he dons leads you to fear and sympathize with him. Scary devil face and blades, tattered cloak and clothes, made me think of a scary dude that needs some love.

Demonic is akin to a movie preview, lots of good stuff which is intriguing but leaves you wondering if that’s all the good stuff there is. Overall this comic is worth buying especially if you are a Robert Kirkman fan and there are three others coming. Thanks Top Cow!

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