Panels From Beyond the Grave #32

THE EUDAEMON #1-3 (Fall, 1993)

I couldn't think of a better way to recommence hoopla here at Random Reviews Incorporated than to disembalm a rad comic, and in turn, disembalm an inert column.  Really?  I couldn't think of a better way?  Step it up, Dom.  So I'm not reviewing one specific issue of The Eudaemon (a Dark Horse title).  No, I'm covering the entire series.  It's just a three-book run, as nothing happened with the character afterwards aside from cameos twain in Vampirella and something else.  What, you expected me to do research?  I suppose that I should mention that The Eudaemon is that red-purple barbarian to the left.

The other boorish biped?  Mordare!  In my cocky, ill-bred opinion, Mordare - the literal spawn of darkness - is the star of the show.  The Most Valuable Player!  Look at him!  He's fucking cool.  Kudos (or props, if you prefer) to Nelson for his provenience and imaginative creature design.  Yes, the creator of this comic's macrocosm is named Nelson.  Unless I am to believe that The Eudaemon was shaped by an oil-slick glam rock band from the late 80's (sidenote...when I was 6, I knew every word to "After the Rain"), then this Nelson fellow never needed a first name.  Or last name.  Whatever.  Either way, Nelson had a knack for "world building," at least from a visual perspective.

He also wrote these issues, and that's where this doohickey shorts out.  Nelson's dialogue is as awkward as a cockerel swallowing water pills.  The attempts at humor hurt.  In response to a stranger disparaging his appearance, The Eudaemon reciprocates with, "You're not exactly Cindy Crawford yourself."  To a man.  God, what a miserable reference.  I mean, if you're dealing with a dark monster tale, it's best to dismiss current pop culture.  The plot has Bobby mutating into a plum ogre after running into his long-lost father and watching him disintegrate.  Apparently, this "eudaemon" schtick is a family curse.  Bobby is the last in line.

We don't get more explanation than that, and we sorta need it.  I gather that this series was meant to be expanded.  Surely Nelson was planning on revealing what the fuck...that's the end of the sentence.  Mordare dwells in his own dimension, domineering a pack of skeleton dogs.  A pair of portals open in the city and it's up to The Eudaemon to close those sumbitches before Mordare can wreak havoc on the real world.  But even if he manages to close the portals (let's say he does), what's to stop them from reopening?  That's my main gripe with this three-issue arc; the storytelling is impotent.  Still, I recommend acquiring these shaver-sprouts online.  The Eudaemon is fun to read, the artwork is badass and Mordare is the best villain you've never come across.

Savage Dragon says, "Shit, I forgot I was an icon on this site."