Demo #5 (of 6)
Written by: Brian Wood
Art & Cover by: Becky Cloonan
Letters by: Jared K. Fletcher
Vertigo
Price: $2.99
Release Date: June 3, 2010

Brian Wood is a master at characterization. I don’t know what it is about him, but he seems to be able to capture the essence of a character in one issue where it takes many others entire trades to accomplish the same. This is best seen in his series Demo and is definitely captured in the latest issue titled “Stranded.” Not only is the characterization spot-on in this issue, but it also gives the main character a power that I love: time travel.

The story covers Elisabeth, who is very different and alone for more than one reason. As I mentioned before, she has the power to time travel, but the other reason is a little more real to life. Elisabeth’s problem caused her to have problems with her father and leads her to make decisions she regrets later in life, but that’s okay because she has decided to change all of that using her power.

When you add all of this to Becky Cloonan‘s beautiful artwork you can’t go wrong. Cloonan has the power to convey each emotion distinctly in each panel while continuously amazing me with her storytelling ability. I love every panel of her art and could not see any way to improve it. Her covers continue to astound me and I love the black and white interiors because they just work so well.

The combination of the unique art and the imaginative story makes for one of the best comics on the shelves today. If you are a fan of comics or even just a fan of good stories, you need to pick up this comic. The great thing about Demo is that you don’t have to read any of the prior work to enjoy the story, so go out and pick up the fifth issue right now.

Overall I give Demo #5 (of 6) a 5 out of 5.
The series so far also gets a 5 out of 5.