So if the first couple issues are any indication, I think I've sussed out the general point of Demo, which seems to be "having superpowers sucks." And that's a concept that I've honestly gotten a little tired of in general, except that Wood and Cloonan just do it so well. "Emmy" is a haunting, tragic story that I could not put down, and while the silence that begins the story contributes to that atmosphere in large part, it's even more terrible when Emmy begins to narrate and we see that she has lost her innocence far too early. Demo is one of the best use of self-contained stories to be found in comics today, and this issue's exploration of the darker side of superpowers is one of the more effective stories I've read so far this year.
If Stray Bullets were a superhero book, I think it would look a lot like Demo #2. Wood and Cloonan really give a feel for a small town outside the mainstream, a town that mainly consists of a gas station and some trailers. There's also a seedy element to the story, whether it's the way the adults tease Emmy early on or the downright vulgar teasing she endures from some passing motorists, which also serves as a catalyst for the story.
Emmy as a character is just heart-breaking. Wood's narration for the character is part of that, as we learn slowly what Emmy's powers are and how her use of them at a young age essentially destroyed any change of a normal life, but a lot of the credit belongs to Becky Cloonan. Emmy's demeanor is mostly morose, never allowed more than a moment of joy, and that's bad enough, but it's worse when Cloonan shows her emotions overwhelming her and she begins to cry. The message is clear: This is a little girl who has lost all of her hope, and her only choices for a future are that things will remain the same or get even bleaker.
This issue makes for a fantastic standalone read, a snapshot of lives ruined by superpowers. However, I found myself wishing that maybe we'd see a little more of what happens to Emmy now, knowing that it isn't within the series' purview. On a note that is more important to the single issue tale, I wish that we'd been shown or told exactly what Emmy told her mother. The effects are clear, and the emotions behind them very effective, but what Emmy told her mother in a fit of childish rage just drives me crazy with curiosity.
I was kind of surprised to hear that Planet Lar was breaking their "graphic novels only" rule, even for Brian Wood, who is one of their star talents. After reading a couple issues of Demo, though, I can understand the thinking behind it. For one thing, you really couldn't turn this series down after seeing some art from Cloonan or the ideas from Wood, and for another, this is really a set of stories that benefits from the single issue form.
