Matt Wagner’s, The Demon from the Darkness and The Demon That Was Promised That Shall Rise Again (A Classics Review)
From DC Comics
Story and Art by Matt Wagner
So ultimately this article is going to be more of a long winded opinion piece as opposed to a traditional review, but I hope that if you are a fan of Etrigan and DC Comics in general, you will stay through till the end to share your opinion on this subject as well.
As most comic book fans know, Marvel Comics has a long history of copying DC Comics, and vice versa. Where there is a Green Arrow, there is a Hawkeye, where there’s a Thanos, there’s a Darkseid, where there’s a Catwoman, there’s a Black Cat, give me a Superman, I’ll give you a Sentry, and the list goes on and on and on.
This trend doesn’t stop with the comics though, as with the meteoric rise of Comic Book films, we can demonstrably see influence and allusion to the style of films being created by either company. With the surprise success of the Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), which was almost universally attributed to the tongue and cheek comedic/boundlessly adventurous tone of the films, DC Films rushed to create their first offering of the Suicide Squad (2016) in the hopes of capturing the same magic formula. This trend continued again with the advent and increasing popularity of the Avengers films in 2012 and 2015, encouraging the DCU to centralize itself and bring us the Justice League as quickly as possible.
We can debate all day about the success and intent of both Marvel and DC films, which honestly, I don’t want to do. I am SO tired, aren’t you?!
The point I am attempting to highlight here, is the pattern of either publisher filling cracks in their proverbial wall of intellectual property, with archetypal, intriguing, and entertaining characters as the cement. This practice is arguably a sound one. Especially for the comic industry in its early years, where editors on either side, struggling to gain popularity and footing in the literary market, could not afford to allow a rival company to provide a product they did not.
However, this practice of indirect replication is also evidence of a fundamental, unfortunate short sightedness from both companies that has relegated characters to a certain archetype or thematic box that only in recent years have writers and artists begun to revise. Spurring the question that perhaps these early creators didn’t quite understand the potential some of these characters possessed. Which is of course a time-honored comic book nerd conversation…
A clear example of this in the case of DC, is the character Hawkman. The creation of the character is a clear visual embellishment, not of a Marvel character, but of the Hawk Men from Flash Gordon comics created by Alex Raymond that predated Marvel and DC. For years, Hawkman’s origins and motivations were mere speculations that only slowly developed into canon through Justice League comics as opposed to a traditional solo title series. It wasn’t until 2019 that writer Robert Vendetti treated the characters origins and thematic function with an earnest pen, giving us one of the most profoundly beautiful series in DC’s entire history and I will stick by that.
For Marvel Comics, the most glaring recent example of an organically reworked legacy character is Venom. In 2018, Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman introduced a pivotal new direction for Eddie Brock and Venom that has since gone on to elevate the character from a street level villain, to a cosmic, time traveling God, which is about as extreme and drastic a change as I can think of. However, even before this, Marvel was experimenting with new directions for the character as far back as 2010, focusing on Flash Thompson with the introduction of Agent Venom, Space Knight Venom, and Venom with the Guardians of the Galaxy. The key takeaway from this particular groundbreaking editorial change being- allowing writers to evolve and grow characters over time by taking chances with genre, time, and major life events can lead to monumental results.
But WHAT does all of that have to do with the character of Etrigan and Matt Wagner’s 1986 release, “The Demon from the Darkness”?! Well put plainly- I believe that Etrigan the Demon, is DC’s foremost tragically underutilized character with THE most potential for an evolution/revival in both comics and in film.
WARNING! MINOR PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!
Etrigan the Demon does not have the loftiest of origins, created under protest by Jack Kirby who would have much rather been working on the New Gods storyline DC initially hired him to create. In fact, Etrigan was only conceived to fill DC’s perceived lack of “monster” or “horror adjacent” characters that Jack Kirby did not find interesting in the slightest. However, the popularity of the first issue of The Demon in 1972 would lead to a sixteen issue series from Kirby, cementing the character in the annals of DC’s early history. You would think that the surprise popularity of this inaugural run would have encouraged DC to further include the character in future plans, but it wasn't until 1986, a full ten years later, that Matt Wagner returned to the character outside of cameos and team ups.
In the 4 issue mini-series, The Demon From the Darkness, Wagner makes use of the characters' best quality, his unique, striking visual appeal, accompanied with pulp horror imagery reminiscent of the best Universal Monsters creature feature films from decades previous. In addition, Wagner offers an unfolding sinister mystery chronicling the piteous immortal life of Jason Blood, bound to the demon Etrigan for all of eternity by the wizard Merlin.
In this narrative, Wagner reduces Jason Blood somewhat, to the role of a traditional brooding “Hammer Horror” film protagonist as opposed to his powerful, discerning, occult persona with more agency as written by Kirby. As a result, Blood becomes a more tragic, relatable human figure, controlled by forces beyond his reckoning with only the skills necessitated by the burden of centuries that he hardly remembers. Additionally, Wagner includes the character of Glenda Mark from the original Kirby series, an outsider seeking to free Jason from his infernal bond with Etrigan once and for all.
In fact, Glenda sparks the inciting incident of the whole story, showing Jason the confounding evidence of an ancient depiction of the demon Belial who looks strikingly similar to Etrigan. What follows is a roundabout investigation into Etrigan’s veiled, devilish history that awakens forces far beyond Jason and Glenda’s intent.
Wagner’s story speaks to the heart of what Etrigan comics should include, faithfully following the tradition of Kirby’s legacy, with petrifying, hellish imagery, fiendish shadowy landscapes, grotesque transformations, and dazzling elevated language. What’s more, this story effortlessly modernizes the character with familiar sensibilities, streamlining some of the more grandiose and complicated facets of his backstory into a palatable tale of love, family, and betrayal withal for the anti-hero.
While the narrative lacks a certain flare and punch in regard to comic book spectacle, and ends with what amounts to an anti–climactic reveal, Wagner’s “Demon” is ultimately the blueprint that DC should have considered as a foundation for the character’s future, and still can in my eyes.
Since the release of The Demon from the Darkness horror media has only continued to flourish. In modern times, there is a faithful pattern of horror film theatrical releases, and a cult following of elevated “art” horror cinema. Etrigan could very well be DC Comics' way into that particular market with the proper writer and thematic angle.
On the other side of the aisle, Marvel has only tentatively begun their attempt at the horror genre with the release of the tragically short format Werewolf by Night(2022). And yet, the basis for Marvel comics horror- particularly the exploration of “Hell” and related mythologies- is admittedly far deeper than anything at DC comics. In fact, if Etrigan has any comparable “duplicate” character at Marvel on paper, it is Mephisto, a demon ruler from hell established in 1968. However, it was no mere anecdotal coincidence that I mentioned the rise in popularity of Venom comics earlier- because it is my contention that the proposed future of Etrigan in DC Comics should be modeled after Venom and Eddie Brock as opposed to Hellish counterparts like Mephisto or Hela at Marvel.
Matt Wagner’s evocative work demonstrates this comparable characterization best, as Jason Blood communicates, competes, and grows inexorably tied to his “other” much like Eddie Brock and his symbiote. The original narrative history of “the Demon” offers a thematic look at the duality between man and his violent, bestial tendencies, the addictive, taboo nature of man’s relationship to fear and the paranormal, and the psychological exploration of the changing nature of the soul- all before Venom comics even existed. What is this if not evidence of a monumental wasted opportunity from DC Comics creators of the past who viewed the character through the limiting lens of merely a vehicle for typical monster and occasional demonology content, as opposed to a potential complex thriller/action hero with a guiding psychological stylistic edge.
All of this is to say that I believe that Etrigan has potential to be at the forefront of DC Comics due to the unique, compelling, boundary pushing, genre focused nature of the best of his stories like The Demon from the Darkness and his predominant role as a true anti-hero, all of which are key elements of the most popular comic book titles today. DC Comics has even created an entire separate publication identity for self described- “edgy,” and “adult-oriented” comic book series with DC Black Label, and it is a travesty that Etrigan the Demon has not been explored in that vein.
I should clarify here that I am not declaring outright that I think Etrigan should be written like Venom, I am just alleging one potential ideological root for the character to be grounded in so that it may blossom to popular acclaim. I think Etrigan is due for a passionate new direction and vision focusing on the unique elements of his nature that make him iconic.
If I had to offer commentary as to why Etrigan has been shelved and marginalized in modern DC Comics- I would point to the success and continued utilization of the character John Constantine across all of DC’s publications including Black Label with the Hellblazer series, who perhaps shares a similar narrative function to Etrigan in comics. Constantine of course explores elements of the occult, hell, the afterlife, magic, and the natural world, all through an unhinged, often comedic, and charming protagonist that is certainly more alluring than the stone-faced Jason Blood of yesteryear. Yet, Constantine is still an outsider to these fringe elements- and Etrigan is in the singular position of being a literal demon exiled in Hell. What is “Hell” like in DC Comics? Sure, it is often conflated with Apocalypse ruled by Darkseid- but what if we were able to explore the biblical/Dante’s Inferno-sequel environs that Etrigan so often alludes to. What does it mean for a demon to be a hero and a savior? As Etrigan so often is called upon to be. These are all questions that a modern take on “the Demon” can and should explore.
It is certainly beginning to feel like “now or never” for DC to revive and make use of this cult favorite demonic figure, and I can only hope that more comic fans discover and fall in love with works such as The Demon from the Darkness, in order to propel Etrigan back into- if not the far too ingratiating limelight- than the comforting mid-darkness of a beloved new Black Label mini-series.
-Nicholas Aaron Hodge
