We Have Demons #3
Lam and the Glories face the truth of their mission in We Have Demons #3, by writer Scott Snyder, artist Greg Capullo, inker Jonathan Glapion, colorist Dave McCaig, and letterer Tom Napolitano. This issue is the end of this story’s Book One, and it’s a doozy.
Lam faces down her newly revealed demon father. The other Glories are knocked out of the room, and he mocks her for not being able to light her blade. However, she’s able to and cuts, with Gus sneaking around the back and throwing his sword through the window, killing the demon. The Glories discuss what to do next, fearing a trap, but Lam, Gus, and June decide to stay and fight, believing that the Halo meteor wasn’t the trap demon Cash intimated it was. Later, they make their way to the impact site only to learn it was a trap set by someone no one expected. The culprit who turned Cash into a demon is revealed- June. The resulting battle is full of ups and downs, but good guys win. For now.
This comic is a lot of fun right from the start. Snyder turns the pace up for this issue. Opening the chase with a battle of wills is a nice touch. Cash wants his daughter to embrace the darkness and join him, but she wants to fight. It’s a great scene because it also sees her finally find her faith. It’s a wonderful way to begin the comic. Things slow down a bit in the middle, but the whole thing inevitably leads towards the final battle. At times this comic feels a little overbooked (a wrestling term meaning when more wrestlers are booked for the match than advertised), but it works from a story standpoint, as an overbooked wrestling match often can.
It all leads to the last battle, where Snyder pulls out all the stops to sell it as a big final battle. It works to an extent, but it sometimes feels like he’s trying a bit too hard. It’s still entertaining and feels like the perfect climax to this story, even if it’s a little much. In narration towards the end of the book, Snyder uses Lam to talk about why the book’s title is what it is, and it’s a nice little touch. This isn’t a super deep comic or anything but the narrative resonance of the title and the point that Snyder is trying to make with it and everything else in the book works very well.
As usual, Capullo, Glapion, and McCaig impress with the art. There’s one panel with a long shot of the Glories where June and Lam’s bodies look weird, but other than that, the art is fantastic throughout. The demons are a highlight, and the book’s action is wonderful to look at because this is an amazing art team. Snyder knows exactly how to write for Capullo, and Glapion and McCaig make it that much better.
We Have Demons #3 is the kind of comic that, in the hands of any other creative team, would have been a little much, but Snyder and company stick the landing. This is a fun, action-packed little number, injected with just enough depth to make it that much better. It’ll be interesting to see where Snyder takes things, as Lam and Gus both tell readers this is a fall of man and rise of man story. Capullo, Glapion, and McCaig are amazing, and that’s all there is to it. All in all, this is a fitting ending for the book’s first arc.
