Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Demon Knights Solicitations

I just realized I never posted these:

DEMON KNIGHTS #2
DC Universe 
On Sale October 12, 2011
32pg.
Color
$2.99 US

Written by PAUL CORNELL; Art by DIOGENES NEVES and OCLAIR ALBERT; Cover by TONY S. DANIELThe siege that will reverberate through history to the present-day DCU begins as the Demon Etrigan and his unlikely lover, Madame Xanadu, face the Horde! What five (mostly) noble souls would be crazy enough to join them? The cover gives but a hint, and the point could well be moot by the time this issue's done. For the Horde is armed with the magic of Mordru – including some decidedly different dragons!

DEMON KNIGHTS #3
DC Universe
On Sale November 9, 2011
32pg.
Color
$2.99 US

Written by PAUL CORNELL; Art by DIOGENES NEVES and OCLAIR ALBERT; Cover by TONY S. DANIEL and NORM RAPMUNDUnder siege and under fire – quite literally – the hastily assembled Demon Knights find that the villagers they're trying to protect are ready to turn on them… and that they're locked behind embattled walls with a demon whose very touch can kill! And if the only human Etrigan gives half a damn about dies of her wounds, then Hell help anyone around him…
DEMON KNIGHTS #4
DC Universe
On Sale December 14, 2011
32pg.
Color
$2.99 US

Written by PAUL CORNELL; Art by MIKE CHOI and DIOGENES NEVES & OCLAIR ALBERT; Cover by MIKE CHOIIt wasn't a coincidence that the Shining Knight found herself in Little Spring as the Horde massed at the village gates. She's on a quest, and has been all her long life – whether she's known it or not! Now, a powerful vision will reveal to her the true stakes of the battle for Little Spring and pull back the curtain on one of the biggest secrets in the DC Universe! Don't miss "Merlin Watches The Storm," featuring guest art by the sensational Mike Choi (X-Force)! And yes, "storm" is a hint.

Superheroes of the Round Table Update

Jason Tondro's book Superheroes of the Round Table: Comics Connections to Medieval and Renaissance Literature is out now, as detailed on his blog. You can order it direct from publisher McFarland or your favorite online book seller. Developed from his dissertation, the book includes two chapters devoted to the Arthurian in comics, which should be required reading for anyone doing research in the field, and one each on Spenser, Jonson, and Shakespeare in comics.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Aquaman Reborn

Having recently celebrated his 70th anniversary, Aquaman a.k.a. Arthur Curry, King of Atlantis, has been re-envisioned by writer Geoff Johns as part of DC Comic's New 52. The presence of Arthurian elements--always elusive with regards to most renderings of the character--is unknown at this time, but Johns offers details on the series in an extended interview for Newsarama.

Demon Knights Update

Over the course of this weekend, I've come across some material on DC Comics's new series Demon Knights by writer Paul Cornell. DC now includes solicitations up to number 4. Praised by a number of critics including PopMatter's shathley Q, the series features Jason Blood/Etrigan, Madame Xanadu, Vandal Savage, and Ystina, the Shining Knight and opens at the fall of Camelot.

First up, David Uzumeri of Comics Alliance comments on its reworking of continuity in the wake of the Flashpoint event; he notes elsewhere that the new Stormwatch series (also by Cornell) is tied to Demon Knights by virtue of its founding by Etrigan.

While, shathley Q offers a more detailed commentary for PopMatters that establishes what he sees as the series strengths.

I welcome news of further comments/reviews on the series.