Damn Them All Vol. 1
Simon Spurrier, writer; Charlie Adlard, illustrator; Sofie Dodgson, colors
BOOM! Studios, 2023
As the story begins, we meet Ellie "Bloody El" Hawthorne who is introduced to magic by her uncle Alfie, an infamous magician and occult detective. Jump forward twelve years, and it's Alfie's funeral (with Ellie officiating) and a wake at a nearby pub. It is interrupted by a demon summoning, which does not seem to follow the usual rules, but Ellie is quick enough to save her client.
It turns out that the 72 devils of the Ars Goetia have been mysteriously freed from their infernal realm. All of the magic dabblers are using the situation to seize power, and it's now up to Ellie to track down each of these demons and damn them back to Hell. The book gets a bit too invested in the demonology–there are brief prose descriptions of all of the demons that show up in the story–but Ellie's mission remains central, and the freed devils create plenty of mayhem on behalf of their temporary masters.
Spurrier wrote a Hellblazer run as part of the Sandman Universe, and this series has a definite Hellblazer vibe. I can certainly see Uncle Alfie as a John Constantine analog, making this series a kind of alternate history. Charlie Adlard's art recalls his work on The Walking Dead, but this is a horror story which is right down his alley. I am looking forward to seeing where the series goes next. Thanks to writer Steven Grant for recommending this on LinkedIn.
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