One of the things I got in San Diego (yep, I'm still working my way through material from July... you should see my night table) was Killing Demons, an original graphic novel written by Peter Siegel, perhaps best known as one of the minds behind the site artbomb.net. Siegel has a foreword and afterward in this book that pretty much set the tone for the book, and that is a tribute to the types of horror movies made during the 70's and 80's, in particular the work of John Carpenter and Wes Craven. Honestly, though I've seen my fair share of Friday the 13ths and Nightmare on Elm Streets, as well as a sizable chunk of Carpenter's work, it's not my favorite genre, so I don't think I could relate to the book on the "love letter to a genre/style" approach. It's possible that it's just my sensibilities that gave me pause in reading Killing Demons, but I suspect it had more to do with some basic structural and story failings.
Siegel's story does have some very intriguing qualities to it, though, including a nicely creepy vibe of a world full of demons that very few people can see and a hero who straddles the line between action-movie ass-kicker and philosophical warrior. Siegel's dialogue also has some of the same zip as his friends Warren Ellis and Matt Fraction, especially in the "whammy it" interaction between the newly romantic Detective Bentley and Mr. Brand, our two protagonists.
In addition, Siegel and White certainly deliver on the creep factor. Mutilated bodies, terrible demons and a sense that a horrific world lurks just beneath the world we know makes for an effective horror book. The opening sequence in particular grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go, as a little boy started to see horrible things no one else could, and came home to find his normal life irrevocably shattered. While the opening sequence hints at the flaw that would develop in later chapters (notably a splash page that is less horrific because it's so damn hard to make anything out), it is in general a really solid opening, introducing the premise of a young man of unfortunate destiny and a world of demons, and had me very curious to see what came next.
Unfortunately, while the book has tons of style and some interesting atmosphere, it lacks in the all-important area of clarity. White's artwork shows promise, especially in the opening sequence, which looks like Frank Miller by way of Katsuhiro Otomo and has perhaps the most creepy visuals of the whole thing, but his action sequences are clunky and difficult to follow, and as a result, the story is often choppy and hard to follow as well. Not all of the blame can be laid at White's feet, as Siegel rushes into his mystery and delivers a finale that is more of a head-scratcher than an "a-ha!" moment. Basically, the deliberate pace and creepy vibe that defined the opening sequence is lost when the story moves to the modern day.
Though Killing Demons does succeed in evoking some of the cult horror film ethos that inspired Siegel, it lacks focus and also just lacks the simplicity of those films, and in adding to the complexity without maintaining the clarity of purpose, Killing Demons doesn't quite come together right.
