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In 1972 DC Comics introduced a new title to readers, The Demon. The character was Jason Blood/Etrigan the Demon, created by the great Jack Kirby. Etrigan fought many epic battles against supernatural foes: The Howler, Phantom of the Sewers, and his most hated nemesis, Witchboy (see the current Seven Soldiers of Victory titles).*

Now it's 2005 and Jason Blood has returned as his alter ego Etrigan the Demon.

This is a very intense and graphic tale written by Will Pfeifer with plot and pencils by the legendary John Bryne. Jason Blood is in Gotham City being tortured and interrogated by a sorcerer about the whereabouts of Etrigan. The sorcerer wants to use the demon’s powers for his own. The interrogation turns deadly as Jason appears to lose his life to keep Etrigan’s secret safe. Amazingly, Jason finds himself still alive and seeks refuge from his long time friend Randu. Jason wants answers for the events that happened that night, so he decides to take matters into his own hands. He confronts the evil sorcerer and his henchmen alone with some back up that the sorcerer is not aware of — Etrigan the Demon.

Byrne and Pfeifer masterfully plot this story with fast-paced action and dialogue. This is some of the best work I've seen from Byrne since he penciled the Fantastic Four for Marvel in the 80’s and Namor in the 90’s. The inks bring out the best of Byrne's pencils. There is a distinct look to Nekros' inks — I can visually tell the difference in the styles between the artists, not just his tracing over the pencils. Bryne does not work with many inkers, but Nekros complements Byrne’s details well.

The panels in which Jason fights the evil sorcerer’s henchmen are incredible and very graphic. Bryne depicts the violence stoically and draws the scenes with refined details and the blood is not splattered all over the panels. The colors by Alex Bleyaert were great: very dark hues of blue, red, and amber were used to make the Demon costume dark and menacing.

The artistic duo of Bryne and Nekros and the strong, solid writing from Pfeifer makes Blood of the Demon a title that should not be overlooked. I give this title a 4.75 for the re-birth of a classic DC character, and the art team of John Byrne and Nekros. Also the great cover by John Bryne after Jack Kirby is cool.