Demo (comics)

AUTHOR: Wood, Brian

ARTIST: Becky Cloonan (illustrator); Ryan Yount (letterer)

PUBLISHER: AiT/Planet Lar

FIRST SERIAL PUBLICATION: 2003-2004

FIRST BOOK PUBLICATION: 2005

Publication History

Demo was first published in single-issue format by AiT/Planet Lar in 2003. Originally, both AiT/Planet Lar and writer Brian Wood asserted that there would be no collection and that the single issues were the only way to experience the project because of the large amount of additional content included in each issue, such as playlists, guest art, sketches, and script excerpts.

After the issues were out of print for a time, however, AiT/Planet Lar relented, and in 2005, the stories were collected in the Demo trade paperback, which did not include the additional content. A companion book, Demo: The Twelve Original Scripts (2005), was also published, assembling the scripts, notes, and character illustrations in a separate volume. In September of 2007, the publication rights reverted to Wood and artist Becky Cloonan, who made a deal with DC’s Vertigo imprint to republish the original Demo run in a new collection, which was released in 2008.

Plot

Demo is unique in that it is a collection of single issues without any recurrent characters. There is no overarching plot, which is the source of the series’ strength. In an interview with Comic Book Resources, Wood cited short films as a big influence on the creation of Demo, as well as on the particular approach to storytelling he used.

The uniting factors are the emotional struggles each of these characters faces, along with the central theme of superpowers (or supernatural circumstances) granted to young men and women with otherwise ordinary lives. Each issue addresses the way these characters handle their superpower or supernatural circumstances and how they shape their lives. Though some of the characters are akin to superheroes, such as those in issues 1 (“NYC”) and 5 (“Girl You Like”), there are slight deviations, namely in issues 11 (“Midnight to Six”) and 12 (“Mon dernier jour avec toi,” which translates to “my last day with you”). The latter two stories fit tonally with what Wood was seeking to create—a series that dealt with personal responsibility, identity, growth, and struggle—if not with the superhero/supernatural focus that the earlier stories had. Thus, character development is the heart of Demo, which sets it apart substantially from other deconstructive works that view superheroes in a critical or realistic light, especially because the characters lack external threats to their lives. With nothing else to distract the readers, they are left with the characters and their stories.

In “NYC,” individuals deal with the dilemma of conformity versus individuality, while issue 2 (“Emmy”) addresses personal responsibility in regards to superpowers. Issue 3 (“Bad Blood”) touches on family connections between children and less-than-ideal parents. On the other hand, issue 4 (“Stand Strong”) shows family to be a source of pride and strength against peer pressure. Issue 5 (“Girl You Want”) opens dialogue on the mutability of personal identity and obsession. Issue 6 (“What You Wish For”) addresses rage, racism, and mixed-race identity.

Issue 7 (“One Shot, Don’t Miss”) looks at the concerns of a volunteer soldier whose abilities and needs put him at odds with his moral code, and issue 8 (“Mixtape”) deals with selfishness, suicide, and regret in an unselfish way. Issue 9 (“Breaking Up”) examines an acrimonious break-up from both positive and negative angles.

Issue 10 (“Damaged”) deals with themes of isolation and the need for dependence on others. Issue 11 (“Midnight to Six”) is a departure from the superpowered stories that examines society from the vantage point of three deliberate underachievers. The final installment of the series, issue 12, “Mon dernier jour avec toi,” is told entirely without dialogue and tackles the depths and extent of young love.

Characters

•Marie, the protagonist of “NYC,” is a teenager struggling with her psychokinetic powers after discontinuing the use of her mind-dampening medication.

•Mike, in “NYC,” is Marie’s boyfriend. He helps her escape her controlling mother.

•Emmy, the titular character of “Emmy,” is a young woman in her early teens who lives a lonely lifestyle and feels regret for misusing her superpower on her mother.

•Samantha Hurley, the main character of “Bad Blood,” reconciles with her half brother after their father’s apparent funeral and learns about their family’s unnatural healing ability.

•Sean Hurley is Samantha’s half brother in “Bad Blood.” He convinces her to forgive their absentee father and demonstrates their mutual immortality.

•James McMurray is the main character of “Stand Strong,” a mid-twenties, heavily tattooed factory worker who has superstrength and is reluctantly recruited for a payroll heist.

•Amy is James’s girlfriend, who pressures him to help his coworkers steal the factory payroll.

•Kate is the main character of “Girl You Want,” a young woman whose appearance changes to match the subconscious desires of anybody who sees her.

•The Barista is an unnamed character in “Girl You Want” and the object of Kate’s romantic obsession.

•Ken is the mixed-race protagonist of “What You Wish For,” whose rage-based necromantic abilities are triggered by racial slurs, the ire of his neighbors, and the death of his dog.

•PFC John Hatfield, the protagonist of “One Shot, Don’t Miss,” is forced to negotiate his uncanny marksmanship, his desire to avoid killing people, and the orders he is issued as an enlisted soldier in the U.S. Army.

•Kendra, John’s wife, could be considered the moral antagonist of “One Shot, Don’t Miss.” She is more concerned about John’s ability to pay the bills and support their family than his personal struggles with the deadly nature of his job.

•Nick, the protagonist of “Mixtape,” is forced to confront his self-centered reality after his girlfriend Jess’s suicide.

•Jess, Nick’s girlfriend, leaves him the titular “mixtape” that conjures a ghost of her, so that she can impart some last bits of wisdom to him.

•Gabe, a young man endowed with total and complete memory of every experience he has ever had, is the repentant antagonist of “Breaking Up.”

•Angie, Gabe’s former girlfriend in “Breaking Up,” alternates between being sympathetic and antagonistic. Ultimately, she and Gabe leave on good terms.

•Thomas Martin is the main character of “Damaged,” a hardworking, well-heeled loner who comes in contact with a young homeless girl, who seems to have incredible insight into his life.

•The Therapist is the unnamed young girl in “Damaged” who helps Thomas sort out his life, before being revealed as a scam artist.

•Jace Sterling, the antagonist of “Midnight to Six,” is determined to hold true to the “Slacker’s Pledge” that his cohort Brad Searles created ten years before and is perfectly satisfied with his life of underachievement.

•Brad Searles, the protagonist of “Midnight to Six” and creator of the “Slacker’s Pledge,” has aspirations to break out of his dead-end life and comes in conflict with Jace’s desire to uphold the status quo.

•Jill Macomber, the secondary protagonist of “Midnight to Six,” is the voice of reason and the third signee of the “Slacker’s Pledge.”

•The Boy is half of the young, unnamed couple in “My Last Day with You.” He spends his last day with the girl, before jumping off a building. His fate is uncertain.

•The Girl is the other half of the young, unnamed couple in “My Last Day with You.” She spends her last day with the boy, before jumping off a building. Her fate is uncertain.

Artistic Style

The overall visual strength of the series is the result of Cloonan’s virtuosity. She handled pencilling, inking, toning, and lettering, while incorporating elements of storytelling and paneling from both manga and Western comics to create something wholly unique. Though many of the stories have the thick inks and hatching for which she has become known, she embraces lightness, manga tropes, and thinner lines in places they are needed to bring out the most in each story. The art is done in black and white, which allows for the emotional depth of the drawing to come through. In an interview with Anime News Network, Cloonan noted that she found different inspirations for each story: “For example, the fourth issue, ‘Stand Strong,’ was about strength, so I looked at old propaganda posters that really convey ideas of strength and power when coming up with the visuals. These were really striking images, and I wanted to bring that impact to the story.”

Also notable are the Frank Miller influences in “One Shot, Don’t Miss”; the relatively lighthearted approach of “Midnight Til Six”; and the clean, stylized approach in “What You Wish For,” which pulls from the manga tradition but remains rooted in Cloonan’s style. Most striking about Cloonan’s work is the ability with which she creates emotionality: The character’s facial expressions are vivid, and her inking creates a raw, emotional undercurrent. However, the rawness does not overpower the content. Her inks and stylistic choices never distract from the story; rather, they add tremendously to it.

Themes

Demo is generally described as a set of coming-of-age stories, but that does not do justice to the breadth of topics and situations that occur in the course of the twelve issues. There are stories of loss, rage, heartbreak, obsession, growth, and responsibility, as well as those of joy, happiness, and little victories. There is no evil to fight, no grand, epic struggle; the character’s struggles are daily ones, and the evils mirror humanity’s. “Breaking Up” might be considered one of the weaker stories because it lacks these strong emotions, but it has a subtle strength to it. The story can be seen from both sides of a breakup, and when one takes into account that Gabe’s superpower is one of total recall—being able to remember every high and low of his life perfectly—the reflections of the couple’s shared past take on a different feel with his present.

With the exception of “Girl You Want” and possibly “My Last Night with You,” personal growth is a theme that all of the stories have in common, with “Emmy,” “Stand Strong,” “Midnight to Six,” and “One Shot, Don’t Miss” standing out as particularly effective examples of characters taking responsibility. Emmy decides to avoid hurting others with her power; Jeremy of “Stand Strong” embraces a steady job and ditches his larcenous friends; Brad and Jill of “Midnight to Six” leave a dead-end lifestyle to move on with their lives; and James Hatfield makes a moral stand against using his ability to kill, leaves the Army, and returns home to raise his child in “One Shot, Don’t Miss.” Aware of the normal view of superheroes as paragons of responsible action, Wood decides to give his a simpler, more down-to-earth set of responsibilities.

Impact

Demo has had a small but significant impact in that it helped expand the careers of both Wood and Cloonan and led to an additional six stories in the Demo style to be published by Vertigo. It won the title of “Indie of the Year” from Wizard magazine and was nominated for two Eisner Awards: Best Single Issue and Best Limited Series. It has also paved the way for other thematically similar books, such as Cloonan collaborators Gabriel Bá and Fabio Moon’s Daytripper (2010- ). While other books released in the same period of time may have had a more direct influence on content being released, Demo’s impact is yet to be fully felt or seen.

Further Reading

Bá, Gabriel, and Fabio Moon. Daytripper (2010- ).

Segal, Steven T., and Becky Cloonan. American Virgin (2006-2008).

Wood, Brian, and Becky Cloonan. Demo, Volume 2 (2011).

Wood, Brian, and Ryan Kelly. Local (2008).

Bibliography

Khouri, Andy. “Brian Wood Talks Demo at Vertigo.” Comic Book Resources, May 9, 2008. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16351.

Miller, Evan. “The Gallery: Becky Cloonan.” Anime News Network, December 19, 2009. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/the-gallery/2009-12-19.

Sunu, Steve. “Demo-ing with Brian Wood.” Comic Book Resources, February 1, 2010. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=24662.