Graphic Novel Week: Demon Vol. 2 by Jason Shiga

Welcome to Graphic Novel Week! This week, I will be posting reviews of graphic novels, specifically ones from :01, which is a favorite graphic novel publisher of mine. Here's a link to their website.

The dedication of Demon Vol. 2 by Jason Shiga is as entertaining as that of the first. "To my wife, Alina, who's still mad at me for dedicating the first volume to her." Having read the first volume, I laughed when I saw this, and thought, "Well, that's fair." But still, I paged beyond the dedication to find out what else lay in store for former actuary (current demon) Jimmy. But first, I had to stop and appreciate the appropriateness of the cover art for what lay beyond. If the cover for Vol. 1 served as a warning, the cover for Vol. 2 serves as a tribute. As you can see, demon Jimmy simply can't behave peaceably.

Still reeling from the big reveal in Vol. 1 that *spoiler for Vol. 1* Jimmy's wife and daughter were killed by a drunk driver, and Jimmy's mission is to exact his revenge upon him, I was distracted from the artfulness of that by one thing--the most disgusting prison break I have ever encountered in fiction. Also, I am giving Shiga the side-eye pretty hard because... how does he know that would work? Did he actually test it out? I do not want to know. 

But, back to Jimmy's tragic past! This is another illustration of Shiga's brilliance, because just when he makes the reader think Jimmy is nothing but a disgusting, violent, selfish mess of a person demon, then he reveals that some drunk schmuck thoughtlessly killed Jimmy's wife and daughter by getting behind the wheel after already having DUIs on his record. Jimmy's demon side (the emotional one, at least) now has an origin story. That begs the question: who is really the monster here: Jimmy, or the driver? As foul and disturbing as Jimmy's actions are, somehow they don't bother me as much as the drunk driver's choices that led to Jimmy's family being killed. Shiga has managed to do the almost impossible--create a supremely unlikable protagonist who is an empathetic character. That, combined with all of the satisfyingly surprising plot twists and intrigue Shiga develops surrounding the government agents pursuing Jimmy are what will keep dubious readers' eyes glued to the page through every last gory panel. I'm sure those readers will be comforted to know that Demon Vol. 3 comes out July 18th, and curious about its dedication page. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.