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Nov 14, 2017 Issue #62 - Julien Baker By Jeremy Nisen

If nothing else, the Demon series—capped off in this fourth volume—has a protagonist responsible for one of the largest piles of dead bodies in comics history. But the book is a lot more than body count. In fact, the deaths come so rapidly and easily that they become more of a background noise, a dark comedy element than a tragedy.

Creator Jason Shiga’s art style is clean and simple, but his ideas are heady and complex and the excessively bloody action belies the charming cartooning. What started out in volume 1 as a seemingly botched suicide attempt quickly morphed into something out of Groundhog Day, but ultimately turned into something that is more of an ever-lasting conspiracy thriller from the point of view of Jimmy Yee—a man who seemingly can’t die. When one body expires, he automatically jumps into the next available vessel. He is what in this world is called a demon.

Demon is structurally clever, darkly comedic, action-packed (maybe too much), and surprisingly philosophical. It’s perhaps too much for the more squeamish sort, but if you can handle over-the-top cartoon violence where the main characters treat human lives like they generally aren’t worth tissue paper, you may find a lot to like. (www.firstsecondbooks.com)

Author rating: 8/10