What do you think?
Rate this book
Demon Knights (Collected Editions)
Demon Knights, Volume 3: The Gathering Storm
Acclaimed writer Paul Cornell sends the Demon Knights to Hell in this third installment in the series!
Betrayed by Etrigan and trapped in Hell, the Demon Knights must find a way to escape the clutches of Lucifer. To do so, one of the Demon Knights must make the ultimate sacrifice. Everything changes for the Demon Knights in this volume directly connecting to the mysterious Black Diamond.
Collecting: Demon Knights 13-23
Betrayed by Etrigan and trapped in Hell, the Demon Knights must find a way to escape the clutches of Lucifer. To do so, one of the Demon Knights must make the ultimate sacrifice. Everything changes for the Demon Knights in this volume directly connecting to the mysterious Black Diamond.
Collecting: Demon Knights 13-23
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 21, 2014
8 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
About the author
Robert Venditti
797 books398 followersRobert Venditti is a New York Times bestselling author of more than three hundred comic books and graphic novels. Some of his works include the monthly comic book series Justice League, Superman ’78, Hawkman, and Green Lantern for DC Comics, X-O Manowar, Armor Hunters, and Wrath of the Eternal Warrior for Valiant Entertainment, and the graphic novel Six Days, inspired by the story of his uncle’s participation in D-Day. He has also adapted Rick Riordan’s global bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus novels, as well as Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia and Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz. His graphic novel The Surrogates was adapted into a feature film by Touchstone Pictures, and his work on The Flash was the basis for season three of the CW television series.
Venditti lives in Atlanta, where he both writes and serves as a storytelling consultant for some of the most recognizable entertainment brands in the world.
Venditti lives in Atlanta, where he both writes and serves as a storytelling consultant for some of the most recognizable entertainment brands in the world.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
April 27, 2017
Decent ending provided closure. Stories jumped around a bit, as did artists, but overall an enjoyable medieval magical adventure. ( ties to Stormwatch too forced...)
May 18, 2014
Fight for Avalon (13-15). Cornell's final three issues are a fair conclusion to his run. He's set up the plotlines, and this is mainly about bringing them to a conclusion. I have no idea why this wasn't in the previous volume, as it's just three issues long and it's the end of that story [7/10].
Vampires! (16-19). Venditti’s Demon Knights is unfortunately another step down. I felt like the characterization wasn’t as strong and wasn’t thrilled by his decision to remove two of the characters with a 20-year time jump. Venditti's story was somewhat more epic and had a grittier feel to it, though, and so I have some hope for improvement as he comes to know the characters [6/10].
The Grail (20-23). In the comic’s last arc, Venditti starts to make the comic his own, advancing some new ideas, rather than just building on Cornell’s concepts. The result never catches the same spark as Cornell’s writing, but this is still a fine storyline, and an OK ending for the comic. The interactions between Blood and Savage are particularly great [6+/10].
Vampires! (16-19). Venditti’s Demon Knights is unfortunately another step down. I felt like the characterization wasn’t as strong and wasn’t thrilled by his decision to remove two of the characters with a 20-year time jump. Venditti's story was somewhat more epic and had a grittier feel to it, though, and so I have some hope for improvement as he comes to know the characters [6/10].
The Grail (20-23). In the comic’s last arc, Venditti starts to make the comic his own, advancing some new ideas, rather than just building on Cornell’s concepts. The result never catches the same spark as Cornell’s writing, but this is still a fine storyline, and an OK ending for the comic. The interactions between Blood and Savage are particularly great [6+/10].
October 27, 2022
I was so impressed by how Venditti wrapped up the series (due for cancellation when he took over) that I am giving this volume 4 stars. Overall though, with all of its ups and downs, it might be closer to 3.
Fight for Avalon (13 - 15)
Frankly, the first 3 issues here should have been collected with the previous volume. Not only they were written by Paul Cornell, but they also contained the -not so- grand conclusion to the 15 issues that he's written.
The conclusion to Paul Cornell's run begins by showing how each of the knights is doing in hell after Etrigan's treason. But as disturbing as it is to force Ystin to choose her sex by marrying a demon or to serve Al-Jabr only wine to quench his thirst when his religion forbids it, it is all really a bad joke compared to what you would imagine hell to be like.
That is because the ruler of hell, Lucifer, isn't any sillier: a character whose every line must contain the word 'entertainment' like a super-powerful man-child, which leaves you without a single decent villain in the series other than Etrigan, who, ironically, is supposed to be the series' main protagonist.
Paul Cornell's run concludes with a series of double crossings that puts Mission Impossible 1 to shame and leaves you staring idly at a huge battle that includes every single character in the previous 14 issues, with no reason for half of them to be there.
The Rest
Set 30 years after the events on the previous issue, Cain's army of vampires begins its invasion of Europe. Al-Jabr, now the ruler of a great city and the only member of the group who has aged during this time, reassembles the team to fight against Cain.
One of my biggest criticisms of Cornell's run was that he failed to provide a reason for these people to unite. Venditti managed to reunite the group in a very believable way, starting with Al-Jabr's call to the most virtuous of them to defend his city and ending with Vandal Savage accidentally facing Cain while attempting to attack the Demon Knights!
Even though I loved the team's members ever since the series debut, Cornell was not nearly as successful as Venditti in showing their individuality. In a way, Al-Jabr replaces merlin as the group's wise advisor, Vandal's whimsical nature is pushed to its limits, making him more a villain than a hero towards the end, and Jason's personality begins to mature, giving him a lot more weight even without calling Etrigan.
With the cancellation announced, it is clear that the series was wrapped up rather hastily, with the fight against Cain leading clumsily to the discovery of the Holy Grail's whereabouts. However, I was very impressed with the way Venditti handled the story, utilizing a few plot devices from previous volumes to tie up all loose ends.
Although I find it hard to recommend this series overall, I think it would be a great waste if you made it this far and did not read its conclusion. If you weren't entertained by the previous volumes, then maybe skip Cornell's issues from this one, but certainly don't miss the rest.
Fight for Avalon (13 - 15)
Frankly, the first 3 issues here should have been collected with the previous volume. Not only they were written by Paul Cornell, but they also contained the -not so- grand conclusion to the 15 issues that he's written.
The conclusion to Paul Cornell's run begins by showing how each of the knights is doing in hell after Etrigan's treason. But as disturbing as it is to force Ystin to choose her sex by marrying a demon or to serve Al-Jabr only wine to quench his thirst when his religion forbids it, it is all really a bad joke compared to what you would imagine hell to be like.
That is because the ruler of hell, Lucifer, isn't any sillier: a character whose every line must contain the word 'entertainment' like a super-powerful man-child, which leaves you without a single decent villain in the series other than Etrigan, who, ironically, is supposed to be the series' main protagonist.
Paul Cornell's run concludes with a series of double crossings that puts Mission Impossible 1 to shame and leaves you staring idly at a huge battle that includes every single character in the previous 14 issues, with no reason for half of them to be there.
The Rest
Set 30 years after the events on the previous issue, Cain's army of vampires begins its invasion of Europe. Al-Jabr, now the ruler of a great city and the only member of the group who has aged during this time, reassembles the team to fight against Cain.
One of my biggest criticisms of Cornell's run was that he failed to provide a reason for these people to unite. Venditti managed to reunite the group in a very believable way, starting with Al-Jabr's call to the most virtuous of them to defend his city and ending with Vandal Savage accidentally facing Cain while attempting to attack the Demon Knights!
Even though I loved the team's members ever since the series debut, Cornell was not nearly as successful as Venditti in showing their individuality. In a way, Al-Jabr replaces merlin as the group's wise advisor, Vandal's whimsical nature is pushed to its limits, making him more a villain than a hero towards the end, and Jason's personality begins to mature, giving him a lot more weight even without calling Etrigan.
With the cancellation announced, it is clear that the series was wrapped up rather hastily, with the fight against Cain leading clumsily to the discovery of the Holy Grail's whereabouts. However, I was very impressed with the way Venditti handled the story, utilizing a few plot devices from previous volumes to tie up all loose ends.
Although I find it hard to recommend this series overall, I think it would be a great waste if you made it this far and did not read its conclusion. If you weren't entertained by the previous volumes, then maybe skip Cornell's issues from this one, but certainly don't miss the rest.
May 5, 2014
A truly amazing conclusion to an overlooked comic series. I really enjoyed the Demon Knights books. DC has a done a great job reintroducing unknown characters like Shining Knight, Xanadu, Vandal Savage, and of course Kirby creation Etrigan. I think the struggle between Jason Blood and his demonic other half is always fascinating. After all everyone has their own personal demons to battle Jason just has to literally. I really enjoyed Benard Chang's art on the book as well. I hope DC considers doing a solo Etrigan series and maybe see how the former Demon Knights are faring in our time. My biggest hope for that series would be a Jeff Lemire (writer) and John Romita JR. (artist) team. Or maybe Scott Synder and Jim Lee doing Etrigan. That series would be awesome. Etrigan is just a great character like all Jack Kirby creations.
Read
June 18, 2014The Dark Ages DC book takes an inevitable nosedive with Cornell's departure and some very dodgy art, but the concluding chapters could still be a lot worse. They're saved largely by the gleefully awful Vandal Savage, who combines the appetites of an immortal monster with the impulse control of a tired baby.
August 30, 2018
Better to read the first two volumes of Demon Knights before this one. This rips to its conclusion with some new takes on the Grail and Camelot, items that are admittedly suffering from overexposure in popular media. The take on those things here is new, though not as convincing as other tales. What works here is the thundering adventure and battles. Also, there is that craziest of love triangles with Madame Xanadu, the Demon, and the Demon's reluctant alter ego, more like alternate person, Jason. One of them is in hell, literally, and the other is often in the sensuous embraces of Madame Xanadu. Naturally the two males hate each other and their bond. She seems to enjoy whomever is with her. The problem is that after her lover changing almost panel-to-panel in one issue, that storyline is nearly dropped subsequently. A writer change and two artist changes in the last few issues often makes a series finish with a clunk. Even with the unresolved love triangle, that is not the case here. It remains a satisfying adventure read.
September 21, 2014
Definitivamente este es el mejor de los tres tomos. La historia fluye al tiempo que distribuye buenas ideas en cada episodio. Incluso se baraja la posibilidad de establecer una continuidad de este imaginario medieval con las colecciones DC ambientadas en la modernidad. Los elementos mágicos, míticos tecnológicos están manejados con destreza y mezclados hábilmente con elementos históricos, lamentablemente la serie es cancelada (aunque le dan tiempo a los creadores para hacerlo con cierta solvencia. Por este tercer volumen es que vale la pena sumergirse en la lectura de esta colección.
May 31, 2016
At the heart of this team is a heteronormative relationship between Jason Blood and Madame Xanadu but there is also Ystin and Ex the exiled Amazon who make for an interesting couple. Meanwhile, we have an always conniving Vandal Savage and the 'woe will not be me' Horsewoman. Etrigan might be the demon in the Demon Knights but he's certainly not the most exciting character. Unfortunately we don't get much Al Jabr but we do get some Lucifer. Overall, this is a good read for fantasy fans and anybody looking for diversity in their comics.
March 5, 2014
The worst thing about this volume is that it's the last one, since DC cancelled the title. The overarching saga comes to a reasonably satisfying state of closure, while still leaving open the possibility of future stories that could be told, if the publisher ever comes to their senses and revives the book. Oh, DC, why did you have to get so dumb in the past few years.
March 2, 2014
I will miss this title.
I thought the whole run was a strong fantasy series that should have found it's audience.
There were some things I did not like, like horsewoman now talking to horses all the time. But I'm sad it was cancelled.
I thought the whole run was a strong fantasy series that should have found it's audience.
There were some things I did not like, like horsewoman now talking to horses all the time. But I'm sad it was cancelled.
March 5, 2024
There’s like seven circles of distance between the last volume of Demon Knights I’ve read and current day. Hell, I might as well just rate this individually and not as a continuation. As I recall the series started lit as hellfire and really fell into an endless pit. That’s not to say it wasn’t entertaining. I kept Demon Knights BECAUSE it was entertaining. Anyway, that’s where we are.
Like a fallen angel there ain’t much to save the beginning of this comic. It just seemed to serve as an excuse to have as much BS crammed into comic book pages as could be stretched. Hey guys, dinos versus demons!!! And wizards vs wizards vs …well you get the idea. The latter part is better on paper and feels more like a fleshed out story, even still it’s too backstabby and makes you wonder why the hell they're called the Demon Knights.
Also, who in their right mind would welcome Vandal back with open arms. That dude was the baddest boy in the whole comic and he shared pages with Lucifer. LOL.
Overall Demon Knights gets worse as it reads on. Volume 1 = Numba 1, Volume 2 is second best and the third volume exists. Which, hey I picked this up because it had potential. Demon Knights is worth picking up, maybe not worth finishing. Cheers!
Gone gone this final review, farewell B-rad, a-pew pew pew!
Like a fallen angel there ain’t much to save the beginning of this comic. It just seemed to serve as an excuse to have as much BS crammed into comic book pages as could be stretched. Hey guys, dinos versus demons!!! And wizards vs wizards vs …well you get the idea. The latter part is better on paper and feels more like a fleshed out story, even still it’s too backstabby and makes you wonder why the hell they're called the Demon Knights.
Also, who in their right mind would welcome Vandal back with open arms. That dude was the baddest boy in the whole comic and he shared pages with Lucifer. LOL.
Overall Demon Knights gets worse as it reads on. Volume 1 = Numba 1, Volume 2 is second best and the third volume exists. Which, hey I picked this up because it had potential. Demon Knights is worth picking up, maybe not worth finishing. Cheers!
Gone gone this final review, farewell B-rad, a-pew pew pew!
June 1, 2020
Man, this volume really spladoodled the bed. The 1st volume had real potential and had me excited for this piece of the DC Universe, but this fell apart completely. There were signs of this in the 2nd volume, but I held out hope. And, yeah...this was not good.
The art was good for about 75% of this, none as good as the initial artist, Neves. The last issue was particularly bad, like they forgot they were supposed to finish this series and had an intern wrap it up right quick. That goes for the story and the art.
Over the course of all 3 volumes, characterization was pretty lacking save for a handful of moments, and underdeveloped subplots were tied up with thoughtless convenience. Not to be too harsh on Venditti, (who only wrote maybe the last quarter of the series) because he’s written good stuff (see: Hawkman). Even the main story was mcguffined to death. Like I said, there was a lot of potential there for a great adventure and team, which is why seeing it meander off a cliff sucks. For the series as a whole, I’d suggest reading the first volume and moving on.
The art was good for about 75% of this, none as good as the initial artist, Neves. The last issue was particularly bad, like they forgot they were supposed to finish this series and had an intern wrap it up right quick. That goes for the story and the art.
Over the course of all 3 volumes, characterization was pretty lacking save for a handful of moments, and underdeveloped subplots were tied up with thoughtless convenience. Not to be too harsh on Venditti, (who only wrote maybe the last quarter of the series) because he’s written good stuff (see: Hawkman). Even the main story was mcguffined to death. Like I said, there was a lot of potential there for a great adventure and team, which is why seeing it meander off a cliff sucks. For the series as a whole, I’d suggest reading the first volume and moving on.
December 12, 2020
I really liked this title. The flimsy alliances of these heroes work well in a book like this, where these immortals’ fates are tied together. My biggest complaint is how rushed the last two issues were, as it was obvious the individual issues were ending their run, and they had to tie together the loose threads quickly. Still, it wasn’t a disappointment; the last two issues just felt inferior to the first nine. Yeah, that’s eleven in this trade alone. Art starts off very strong. I highly recommend all three trades. The only reason I didn’t give this one a full five was the last two issues, as well as the sudden time jump just a few issues in. I don’t understand why not just cut off the first decade with the previous book.
January 27, 2021
There’s a big step down across the board here. The art isn’t near the level of what we had when Diogenes Neves was on the book, Bernard Chang is serviceable alright, even good at times but you’re setting him up to fail if you make him follow Neves.
The narrative is a bit of a clusterfuck, they spend two issues in hell, two in Avalon, 3 fighting Vampires and defending Temyscria and the rest has them pit against giants fighting for the grail. It’s a lot, too much. The story has no room to breathe. There’s no character development, no intimacy or humour between the Knights. Just a bunch of grim dark bullshit.
This 3 is really a 2.5, a real disappointment after the promise the series showed at its beginnings.
The narrative is a bit of a clusterfuck, they spend two issues in hell, two in Avalon, 3 fighting Vampires and defending Temyscria and the rest has them pit against giants fighting for the grail. It’s a lot, too much. The story has no room to breathe. There’s no character development, no intimacy or humour between the Knights. Just a bunch of grim dark bullshit.
This 3 is really a 2.5, a real disappointment after the promise the series showed at its beginnings.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2020
Demon Knights was, in my opinion, one of the more interesting titles to come out of the New52. I'm not sure it was ever one of their best titles, but they certainly earned points for doing something unexpected. That being said, this final volume is the weakest of all of them and even something of a slog at times. I also don't understand DCs reluctance to put a page with a synopsis in it at the beginning of their trade paperbacks. This is the third volume of the series, and if you hadn't read the first two, you'd have no idea what is going on or who any of the characters are (I did read the first two volumes and I still had trouble remembering what had gone before.
March 9, 2023
Not as good as the previous two volumes.
The first 3 issues seem to be better suited to being bundled with vol 2 since it's the continuation of that storyline.
Then it's 30 years later. And a new writer. Several new artists. Not sure that the new writer understood the characters completely. They certainly seemed to misrepresent Ystin.
Anyway, even in the later issues we had vampires, giants and the Holy grail. What more could you want?
And considering the title had been cancelled (shame on you, DC) the story was wrapped up satisfactorily.
Overall this series made my D&D player's heart happy.
The first 3 issues seem to be better suited to being bundled with vol 2 since it's the continuation of that storyline.
Then it's 30 years later. And a new writer. Several new artists. Not sure that the new writer understood the characters completely. They certainly seemed to misrepresent Ystin.
Anyway, even in the later issues we had vampires, giants and the Holy grail. What more could you want?
And considering the title had been cancelled (shame on you, DC) the story was wrapped up satisfactorily.
Overall this series made my D&D player's heart happy.
January 11, 2024
This was a fun series to read through though it also feels like the characters are never fully developed. Frankly a couple feel very one note throughout the run but that doesn’t distract from the sword and sorcery style of the comic.
And as much I liked the main team, I couldn’t help but enjoy whenever Lucifer Morningstar popped up in the story. Who was in it as much more of a supporting character than I expected him to be.
Though at the end of the day, this volume was definitely better than the second volume yet tended to meander more than volume one. Yet there’s still fun to be had. Since it’s a team of immortal characters you don’t have to take it too seriously.
And as much I liked the main team, I couldn’t help but enjoy whenever Lucifer Morningstar popped up in the story. Who was in it as much more of a supporting character than I expected him to be.
Though at the end of the day, this volume was definitely better than the second volume yet tended to meander more than volume one. Yet there’s still fun to be had. Since it’s a team of immortal characters you don’t have to take it too seriously.
September 26, 2021
Didn't enjoy this one as much as the first two volumes, and thought the art was a little more inconsistent, I especially didn't like some of Exoristo's or Vandal's look in the panels. However, there is still plenty of crazy, with cool creatures and conflicts, and I dug the addition of Cain's vampires.
Halloween 2021 Read 16/20
Halloween 2021 Read 16/20
September 22, 2022
This was the end of the series and probably a good thing, because I was getting a little bored. Not much character development going on here and the characters aren't really linked to the rest of the New 52 universe (except Madame Xanadu), so there wasn't much "on the line". This is regular fantasy stuff, just fun brain candy.
January 28, 2020
Tohle bylo rozhodně lepší než zamotaný druhý díl. Hodně toho zůstává otevřeného na pokračování ale kapitola démoních rytířů je ukončena.
Svatý grál je nalezen a neutralizován. Už stačí najít jenom merlina. Někdy, někde v nějakém dalším komiksu.
Svatý grál je nalezen a neutralizován. Už stačí najít jenom merlina. Někdy, někde v nějakém dalším komiksu.
October 26, 2019
The Cain arc was fine, but I really enjoyed the arc of the Grail progression. Al Jabr is a great character. It’ll be a shame to see him go.
July 16, 2020
Une fin de série correcte. L'avant dernier arc narratif est en lien avec la série I vampire. Plutôt cool.
January 1, 2021
The Demon Knights story continues in this volume. Mindless silliness, but the characters are interesting enough to keep you reading.
July 6, 2023
I usually like Paul Cornell’s writing, so it grieves me to say that the writing on this series improved significantly when Venditti took over.
August 14, 2016
Highlights of the Hell portion for me were the reactions of the Shining Knight, Horsewoman, and (suprisingly) Vandal Savage to their predicaments. Shining Knight is probably my fave over all, with the Amazon Exoristos a close second. But really the whole team is just so interesting.
Once Cornell left this book, it took a definite dive in terms of quality and what I found interesting. At one point I read a passage and went, "That doesn't sound like Cornell," and went to actually check the credits, and ahhh. (I think it was the scene where we get definitive confirmation of whether Shining Knight is AFAB or AMAB, when her/his gender had always been kept ambiguous. Shirt-off-while-unconscious seemed the least delicate way to do it, too.)
Still, the vampire plot gave the team a chance to get back together, we saw a bit more of Al Jabr (who unfortunately was way underused in the series on the whole), and my ship gets a kiss! A queer-as-fuck kiss with a lotta love and loyalty behind it! And after all the hell stuff it was great to see the Holy Grail kicking some awesome life-and-good-energy kinda ass. (Even though as I've said in previous reviews, the whole Camelot and Holy Grail mythology tends to leave me cold.)
Oh, and Savage--who I'd found entertaining in Vol 1 & 2 but a complete and utter bastard in this one--kinda gets his in this, which was satisfying. And the ending leaves open the possibility for future team shenanigans. Whoo!
Once Cornell left this book, it took a definite dive in terms of quality and what I found interesting. At one point I read a passage and went, "That doesn't sound like Cornell," and went to actually check the credits, and ahhh. (I think it was the scene where we get definitive confirmation of whether Shining Knight is AFAB or AMAB, when her/his gender had always been kept ambiguous. Shirt-off-while-unconscious seemed the least delicate way to do it, too.)
Still, the vampire plot gave the team a chance to get back together, we saw a bit more of Al Jabr (who unfortunately was way underused in the series on the whole), and my ship gets a kiss! A queer-as-fuck kiss with a lotta love and loyalty behind it! And after all the hell stuff it was great to see the Holy Grail kicking some awesome life-and-good-energy kinda ass. (Even though as I've said in previous reviews, the whole Camelot and Holy Grail mythology tends to leave me cold.)
Oh, and Savage--who I'd found entertaining in Vol 1 & 2 but a complete and utter bastard in this one--kinda gets his in this, which was satisfying. And the ending leaves open the possibility for future team shenanigans. Whoo!
September 15, 2025
I will never forgive DC for cancelling this book
Fantastic ending, while it definitely feels a little rushed due to the unfortunate cancellation of the title, it still kicks so much ass.
This book deserved so much more dude. It deserved all the attention it could’ve gotten, it deserved to be one of the titles that made it to the end of The New 52 and into Rebirth, hell, it deserved a second chance when Rebirth came around and relaunched a bunch of books with new #1's. It’s such a fantastic story with amazing characters and dynamics that deserved a better ending and a continuation and closure to a lot of its loose threads, but oh well.
There’s definitely a major theme of cycle closure, both with the ending of Cornell's run, taking place across the first three issues collected here, as well as Venditti's run, which spans the rest of the book.
There’s a lot of payoffs to be seen here, but unfortunately some are more satisfying than others, again, due to the then imminent cancellation of the book; but that being said, it’s still super strong in terms of what the stuff it’s allowed to do within such limitations.
This is a must-read in my opinion and I hate that DC have done absolutely NOTHING with it since 2013.
Fantastic ending, while it definitely feels a little rushed due to the unfortunate cancellation of the title, it still kicks so much ass.
This book deserved so much more dude. It deserved all the attention it could’ve gotten, it deserved to be one of the titles that made it to the end of The New 52 and into Rebirth, hell, it deserved a second chance when Rebirth came around and relaunched a bunch of books with new #1's. It’s such a fantastic story with amazing characters and dynamics that deserved a better ending and a continuation and closure to a lot of its loose threads, but oh well.
There’s definitely a major theme of cycle closure, both with the ending of Cornell's run, taking place across the first three issues collected here, as well as Venditti's run, which spans the rest of the book.
There’s a lot of payoffs to be seen here, but unfortunately some are more satisfying than others, again, due to the then imminent cancellation of the book; but that being said, it’s still super strong in terms of what the stuff it’s allowed to do within such limitations.
This is a must-read in my opinion and I hate that DC have done absolutely NOTHING with it since 2013.
March 4, 2016
It had been a while since I read the Demon Knight earlier volumes, so it took me a little bit to get caught up to speed, but the story made it fairly painless. And the story hits a high point early on, finishing the second volume's story with a fairly epic confrontation. From there, a third story, set decades later, takes the demon Knights to Themyscira and up against Cain and vampires. The story works surprisingly well, with some surprising twists and turns, and some strong action moments. The characters all manage to grow and move forward, although Al Jabr gets short shrift. Still, this story is one of the better New 52 titles, and it's interesting how it ties into some of the larger universe (Stormwatch, I, Vampire). The art is strong as well. It's too bad this marks the end of the series, because it really stood well above a lot of the other titles. I have some issues with their presentation of Lucifer (definitely not the Vertigo version), but beyond that, it's a definite recommend.
January 30, 2025
'Demon Knights' was never destined to be a legendary series, but it was certainly a fun ride while it lasted. In an era where even critically acclaimed DC and Marvel titles struggle to survive without star characters or big-name writers, it’s impressive that this one managed to reach 23 issues. Unfortunately, after Paul Cornell’s departure, it barely held on for a single story arc—unsurprising, given the sharp decline in both writing and art.
Robert Venditti’s run isn’t outright bad, but it lacks the punch of Cornell’s and leans heavily into cheesy territory. To make matters worse, with the title’s abrupt cancellation (as is so often the case), Venditti didn’t get the chance to wrap things up properly, leaving the story dangling just as it felt like it was truly taking off. It’s a shame Cornell couldn’t stay on longer, as the series had real potential. Still, here’s hoping these characters find a second life elsewhere in the DC Universe.
Robert Venditti’s run isn’t outright bad, but it lacks the punch of Cornell’s and leans heavily into cheesy territory. To make matters worse, with the title’s abrupt cancellation (as is so often the case), Venditti didn’t get the chance to wrap things up properly, leaving the story dangling just as it felt like it was truly taking off. It’s a shame Cornell couldn’t stay on longer, as the series had real potential. Still, here’s hoping these characters find a second life elsewhere in the DC Universe.
May 9, 2014
The Demon Knights are the first version of Stormwatch!
Oh wait, was I supposed to announce that that was a spoiler? It is kind of in the title for this trade. Man, it was a nice surprise, after being on a Valiant kick, to see that Robert Vendetti is the one who took over this book, after Paul Cornell left. It is too bad that, ultimately, the book got cancelled.
This trade did a great job of tying up the loose ends from Cornell's run, and just continuing to deliver adventures starring these intriguing characters. Like the old DC comic, Shadowpact, this was a gem that should have stayed present on the comic book shelves.
Oh wait, was I supposed to announce that that was a spoiler? It is kind of in the title for this trade. Man, it was a nice surprise, after being on a Valiant kick, to see that Robert Vendetti is the one who took over this book, after Paul Cornell left. It is too bad that, ultimately, the book got cancelled.
This trade did a great job of tying up the loose ends from Cornell's run, and just continuing to deliver adventures starring these intriguing characters. Like the old DC comic, Shadowpact, this was a gem that should have stayed present on the comic book shelves.
April 15, 2016
Third volume contains the closure of the story arc by Paul Cornell, which started in vol.1-2 (and I don't understand why those three issues were added to vol.3 - not to vol.2), and has two story arcs by a new writer - Robert Venditti. The stories themselves are ok: after all you are not expecting much from a comic like this, but these last stories lack almost any humor. The worst part is the art: somehow they decided to make it a test filed for the artists, and after beautiful work of Diogenes Nevis in vol.1-2 the stories in this volume are drawn by three different artists. They may be not bad in other comics, but for me here they ruined the characters.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews