It’s the return of sorceress Morgaine Le Fey, as the Demon Knights unwittingly enter her stronghold, only to immediately find themselves affected by her magic.  King Arthur is alarmed to find his round table desecrated, surrounded by corpses, including one of Madame Xanadu’s sisters.  The heroes are assaulted and taken captive by the sorceress, who plans to posses Merlin’s body to return to the world.  (Her own face and body have been ravaged, which is why she conceals her face behind her golden mask.)

The heroes go to desperate extremes to free themselves and stop her and ultimately one hero must lay down their life.  The rest of the heroes continue, but their quest to reach Avalon to save Merlin may be doomed… which upsets one character’s secret plot to betray the others.

The one thing I really liked about this issue is how concise it was.  The heroes encounter Morgaine this issue, battle her magic, are captured, freed and then battle again to stop her plan.  It could have been stretched out over several issues, but it wasn’t and I like that.  Too many books are stretching plots out month after month.  The over-all storyline, their search for Avalon, is still going on, but this was a satisfying end to one particular plot thread.

If I had any complaint, it’s that certain characters seem to get the lion’s share of attention, namely Etrigan and Xanadu, while some of the others don’t get much to do.  But it’s a team book and those two are among the bigger names here, so it’s a minor complaint.

The art and coloring work very well, breaking up the different scenes with different color schemes.  It flows very well.

I can’t say this was my favorite comic of the week, but I do enjoy this title month in and month out.  Give it a try!

Verdict: Borrow

DEMON KNIGHTS #12
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Diogenes Neves
Cover by Alex Garner