I've enjoyed The Marquis on and off, but it seems as if this one-shot structure might be ideal for the character. Without more issues to spend the story on, Davis is forced to really focus his tale, and the result is one of the more compelling bad guys the series has had, as well as an interesting examination of why the Marquis does what he does. The one issue nature does mean that there's not as much build-up and atmosphere around the villain as there has been in the previous two Marquis series, but it also means that the story moves along much faster, and Davis does a really good job with the possessing demon, a classic evil villain that raises some classic questions about how you defeat it, coming up with a neat little solution that also allows him to show that the Marquis is not as alone as he is so often portrayed.
While the story is gripping, it's the artwork that really draws me in. Davis's work is, as always, evocative and detailed, with beautiful work on the wintery city that immediately puts the reader into the frame of mind that the story requires. The setting is dreary, cold and formal, a visual representation of the repression that is going on in this time period, and the people tend to look either rundown and haggard or ridiculously extravagant, demonstrating the class divisions which are so prominent in this setting as well.
One of the interesting things about the Marquis's setting, and this story in particular, is the inquisition as backdrop to the whole thing. I'm not sure if it is actually The Inquisition, or a fantasy version based heavily on the real religious atrocities, but at any rate, it's easy for a reader to get the meaning. Davis presents a world in which there actually are hidden and dangerous demons that the inquisitors are searching for, and still the inquisition comes across as just as wicked and misguided. One of the more effective scenes in the issue for me was seeing deGeneral refuse to submit a woman for torture at the hands of the inquisition, indicating once more that though he is seeking the Marquis, he is not an evil man himself.
The strength of the story, however, lies in the confrontation between the Marquis and a devil that is trickier than most he has pursued. It's repeated cries of "Meurtrier! Murderer!" and "Filthy Old Marquis," interspersed with what can be "heard" as cackling, sickly laughter, makes for a creepy villain, especially when the Marquis is unable to bring the devil to justice due to its ability to sense him and commit suicide with the body he's inhabiting. It seems quite clear that it could get away with any number of atrocities until the Marquis meets a woman with strength and faith that helps him defeat it. Unless I'm misremembering, this is the only time we've seen the Marquis really find an ally amongst normal people, and I thought it was a very interesting twist.
As with all the Marquis stories, this is an interesting period piece with beautiful artwork. I would like the book a little more if the character had something other than his madness to define him, to make him easier to relate to, but Davis's stories of madness versus evil are always intriguing, even if they don't grab me and pull me in the way some of the best stories can.
