Demon Knights #5

writer: Paul Cornell
artist: Diogenes Neves

This is my second issue of Paul Cornell's Demon Knights, but I don't feel near as lost as you might expect, considering the last issue was a spotlight on a single member of the ensemble, and this one splashes everyone into the mix (and ends up reading a lot like Cornell's excellent Captain Britain and MI13).

Cornell is one of my favorite writers, so that's why I keep sampling this book, even though I'm never sure when I'll get to read another issue, much less how long he'll get to write this one (longevity is not one of his strong suits, which I attribute to editorial decisions more than anything).

One of the great virtues of this series, aside from Cornell himself (and Diogenes Neves) is the way it helps shape DC history, even bringing in historical Amazons (which is something I'm surprised hasn't really been done before). Too often comics are written from the perspective that an ongoing project either takes place in the crowded present, as a Western, or the distant past. This one's a welcome example of the rich prospects to be found elsewhere, where we can find Etrigan in his element for the first time; check in with Vandal Savage, who's easily one of the most interesting characters DC usually has no clue what to do with; and even check in with the Shining Knight legacy, recently explored by Grant Morrison in Seven Soldiers.

Yet it seems few readers are paying attention, which is a curse Cornell has been stung with for far too long now. Will it take his new Vertigo series, Saucer Country, for fans to finally take notice?