It's one of those projects where you can hear the pitch meeting: "It's Fast and the Furious meets The Demon!" While the concept is pretty straightforward, though, this is an off-beat choice of direction to take Jack Kirby's creation in, and so far I'm finding it quite intriguing. The Demon, and his human host Jason Blood, are bit players in this first issue, as Dysart introduces the reader instead to Ame, a 17-year-old Yakuza courier on the way up who street races at night for fun. Despite the very alien world that she lives in, one of Japanese mob culture, I found the story of Ame's life very accessible and engaging, and I'm very curious to see what the Demon's unrestrained power and evil will do to what seems like a structured little life for the most part.
The Demon in this case serves not only as a physical manifestation, but as a metaphor for Ame's internal conflicts. Though she can obviously put on a businesslike face, and has been raised in a very strict environment, her street racing and physical transformation from Yakuza professional to pink-haired street racer indicates that she already has a bit of conflict within her. In her last meeting of the day with her boss, you can see her impatience building, and the sequence where she changes clothes and heads out in her car indicates the relief she feels in letting go of that cold, professional exterior. Which serves as a nice contrast for the first time she lets go control to the Demon, unwittingly.
It seems clear that Dysart's take on this character is going to treat him as a demon, as a dark influence, if only by the last few pages, where he basically tricks his new host into letting him out. It's a creepy moment, made more powerful by the visual evidence of what he did once he was out but creepy even without that. The notion of something uncontrollable within us, manipulating our mind without us even knowing it, is powerful. Especially when we've seen Ame's life prior to this outburst, and though she lives in a world of violence and danger, it's clear that she's somewhat isolated from it, seeing the business of the Yakuza from just that, a business perspective.
My nervousness about this project came from a couple of places, including a general dislike for the Demon character, but if I had to pin down one reason why I thought I might not like this, it would be the name Pop Mhan. Mhan's work has never clicked with me, and I expected that some of the same storytelling weaknesses would be evident here. However, it's clear that Mhan has grown considerably since last I saw him, as the work here is not only clear but still exciting, and the style itself reminds me of Tom (Spectre) Mandrake crossed with Darick (Wolverine) Robertson. It's a perfect fit for the book, and it's nice that Mhan can handle the quiet business of the Yakuza, the excitement of a street race and the horror of a scene of carnage courtesy of the Demon equally well.
Driven Out has a double meaning, of course, referring to both the racing habits of the protagonist and the exorcism (however temporary) of The Demon from Jason Blood. Blood and Demon are not big players in this opening issue, but I look forward to seeing how they interact with Ame more in future issues. If Dysart, Mhan and the rest can handle the two main characters of previous Demon stories as well as they do their new protagonist, Driven Out could turn out to be quite a fun ride.
