Blood Of The Demon #17

Without a doubt writer/artist John Byrne is my favorite comic book creator.  Over the decades he has transformed comic books and always turned out stellar stories.

In the early 2000s John re-imagined and re-engineered Jack Kirby’s Demon.

While paying tribute to the past John brought a number of twists and tweaks to the property.

Unfortunately the book failed to generate the audience it needed and was cancelled with issue Blood Of The Demon #17.

Whenever it comes to John Byrne and any property he tackles it’s never really clear why he leaves a title.

Some say it’s his curmudgeon personality.  I prefer to think its his creative standards.  He does not suffer fools and will oftengo face-to-face against the higher powers.  He is notorious for burning bridges behind him.  Perhaps that explaiins why is currently doing no work for the ‘Big 2“.

Blood Of The Demon was completely different than the previous or follow-up series about the charcter.

John Byrne both wrote and drew the series and it was bloody and violent.

It was so violent it’s a wonder DC Comics did not put it under its Vertigo imprint.

Byrne delved heavily into the hellish world of the Demon.  His vivid imagination conjured up all sorts of demonic nasties.

As violent as the series was, Byrne took time to delve into the personalities and motivations of the main character and supporting cast.

Like all of his comic book work John strove to give each individual character their own look and personality, strengths and weakness.  Readers ‘felt’ for the characters-whether good or bad.

In issue #17 John ended the series. The Demon ‘dies’ sort of, and his human friends and acquaintances go on with their lives, especially Jason Blood, the human vestibule for the Demon.

It’s a fitting end to the series that left further stories of the Demon open to other creators.

Psalms 34:4 - I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.