Demo (comics)
Encyclopedia
Demo is a twelve-issue limited series
of comic book
s by writer Brian Wood and artist Becky Cloonan
, published from 2003
–2004
by AiT/Planet Lar
. Each issue is an isolated story, but they all revolve around the lives of young people. Originally, the series was intended to focus on young people with supernatural powers — which many of the issues indeed do — but as the year progressed, the stories increasingly focused on people, relationships, and emotions, with the "supernatural" angle quietly deemphasized.
world, but also found some crossover success with superhero readers. Wizard
, a steadfastly superhero-oriented comics magazine, named Demo its 2004 "Indie of the Year". The series was also nominated for two Eisner Awards in 2005, for "Best Limited Series" and "Best Single Issue" (for #7, "One Shot, Don't Miss").
Initially, Wood and publisher Larry Young
emphasized the single-issue aspect of Demo, suggesting that the series would probably not be collected into a trade paperback
. AiT/Planet Lar, generally seen as a publisher of graphic novel
s, held up Demo as proof that it had not abandoned the monthly-pamphlet format. However, the series was collected in 2005, minus the extra materials originally presented with the single issues.
In September 2007
, it was announced that the publishing rights to Demo had reverted back to the creators, and in November the DC Comics
imprint Vertigo was named as the publisher. They reprinted the original series as a 328-page trade paperback in June 2008; and later published a new 6-issue limited series, entitled Demo: Volume 2, starting in April 2010.
Volume Two:
:
The scripts have also been collected and published in their own volume:
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
of comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s by writer Brian Wood and artist Becky Cloonan
Becky Cloonan
Becky Cloonan is an American comic book creator, known for work published by Tokyopop and Vertigo Comics.-Career:...
, published from 2003
2003 in comics
-January:* January 2: Kid Colt artist Jack Keller dies at age 80.- April :* Action Comics #800: Double-sized anniversary issue, "A Hero's Journey," by Joe Kelly, Pascual Ferry, and Duncan Rouleau...
–2004
2004 in comics
-February:*February 6: Marvel Enterprises and Electronic Arts announce a multi-year agreement in which EA will develop a new generation of fighting video games pitting Marvel superheroes against a new, original set of EA heroes....
by AiT/Planet Lar
AiT/Planet Lar
AiT/Planet Lar is an American comic book publishing company based in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1999 by Larry Young and Mimi Rosenheim...
. Each issue is an isolated story, but they all revolve around the lives of young people. Originally, the series was intended to focus on young people with supernatural powers — which many of the issues indeed do — but as the year progressed, the stories increasingly focused on people, relationships, and emotions, with the "supernatural" angle quietly deemphasized.
Publication history
Demo was very well-received. The series was not only embraced by the indie comicsAlternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
world, but also found some crossover success with superhero readers. Wizard
Wizard (magazine)
Wizard or Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture was a magazine about comic books, published monthly in the United States by Wizard Entertainment from July 1991 to January 2011...
, a steadfastly superhero-oriented comics magazine, named Demo its 2004 "Indie of the Year". The series was also nominated for two Eisner Awards in 2005, for "Best Limited Series" and "Best Single Issue" (for #7, "One Shot, Don't Miss").
Initially, Wood and publisher Larry Young
Larry Young
Larry Young may refer to:* Larry Young , jazz organist* Larry Young , baseball umpire* Larry Young , Olympic racewalker* Larry Young , author of Astronauts in Trouble and publisher, AiT/Planet Lar...
emphasized the single-issue aspect of Demo, suggesting that the series would probably not be collected into a trade paperback
Trade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
. AiT/Planet Lar, generally seen as a publisher of graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
s, held up Demo as proof that it had not abandoned the monthly-pamphlet format. However, the series was collected in 2005, minus the extra materials originally presented with the single issues.
In September 2007
2007 in comics
-January:*January 10: Superman & Batman vs. Aliens & Predator released.*January 24: The Boys is canceled with issue #6.-February:*February 2: Newsarama reports that The Boys has been picked up by Dynamite Entertainment....
, it was announced that the publishing rights to Demo had reverted back to the creators, and in November the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
imprint Vertigo was named as the publisher. They reprinted the original series as a 328-page trade paperback in June 2008; and later published a new 6-issue limited series, entitled Demo: Volume 2, starting in April 2010.
Issues
Volume One:- #1: NYC
- #2: Emmy
- #3: Bad Blood
- #4: Stand Strong
- #5: Girl You Want
- #6: What You Wish For
- #7: One Shot, Don't Miss
- #8: Mixtape
- #9: Breaking Up
- #10: Damaged
- #11: Midnight to Six
- #12: Mon Dernier Jour Avec Toi (My Last Day with You)
Volume Two:
- #1: The Waking Life of Angels
- #2: Pangs
- #3: Volume One Love Story
- #4: Waterbreather
- #5: Stranded
- #6: Sad and Beautiful World
Collected editions
Both limited series have been collected into trade paperbacksTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Demo: The Collection (328 pages, AiT/Planet Lar, December 2005, ISBN 978-1932051421)
- Demo: Volume 1 (328 pages, Vertigo, July 2008, ISBN 978-1401216214)
- Demo: Volume 2 (160 pages, Vertigo, March 2011, ISBN 978-1401229955)
The scripts have also been collected and published in their own volume:
- Demo: The Twelve Original Scripts (AiT/Planet Lar, January 2005, ISBN 978-1932051308)
External links
- Doing the Demo 1: Looking Back with Brian Wood. NewsaramaNewsaramaNewsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
. May 15, 2008. - Doing the Demo: Looking Back, II. Newsarama. May 22, 2008.
- Doing the Demo III - Brian Wood Looks Back. Newsarama. July 3, 2008.
- Doing the Demo, Part 4 - Reflecting with Brian Wood. Newsarama. September 24, 2008.