“Look!” bellows caveman Vandal Savage, “It’s a pirate sea serpent! That is something I have never shouted before!” Indeed, it is a pirate sea serpent, or rather a sea serpent with a crew of pirates attached to the top of its head, guiding it like an attack beast. That, in a nutshell, sums up this fun, probably anachronistic team book set in the post-Camelot DC Universe.
The pirates attack, but the heroes fight back and win. They take the pirates captive and use their sea creature to protect them as they reach shore. Xanadu and Jason Blood comment that was a wise move, as they spotted all manner of horrors in the water on their way.
The town’s Squire, Gwyn Godwinson, tells the heroes of their town’s history. They mine and trade tin but these sea monsters have wrecked their industry. Desperate, some men locate a beached creature and became the pirate band that attacked them earlier. Godwinson also reports that huge animals have been attacking, from the direction of Camelot.
The heroes depart. Exoristos makes a reference to Robin Hood, but Horse Woman says that if there were an archer nearby, she’d know. They are attacked by a giant wolf but all of their defenses are useless against it, even Etrigan’s might. Ultimately, it’s the Shining Knight that kills it. Upon its death, it turns into a normal sized wolf. Later, Al Jabr observes that the creatures are transformed “to be more like their essential natures. The deer was more wolfish. Those deer we saw, just flashes of movement.”
As they reach Camelot, they encounter… zombie King Arthur?!
Honestly, this book is just fun. It can be silly, but not in a bad way. My one complaint might just be that there are a lot of characters, so it’s hard to properly share the spotlight among them all. The original characters still haven’t been very fleshed out and are still sort of mysteries. Diogenes Neves’ art perfectly captures the energy of the story. And I’ve mentioned it before, but Marcelo Maiolo’s colors on this book are just fantastic and really accentuates the art.
I highly recommend this book, if you like fun, over-the-top super heroics with a twist.
Verdict: Buy
DEMON KNIGHTS #10
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Diogenes Neves, Oclair Albert and Julio Ferreira
Cover by Michael Choi
