Demon, Volume 1

by Jason Shiga, Jason Shiga (Illustrator)

Overview

An Eisner Award winner and LA Times Book Prize finalist!

No matter how hard he tries, Jimmy Yee cannot die.

A noose around his neck, a razor across his wrist, and even a bullet to his head all yield the same results: he awakes from each suicide attempt, miraculously unharmed, in his shabby room at the Sunbeam Motel.
Has he gone mad? Or has he truly died and found himself in hell? Jimmy is willing to tear the world down around him to get at the truth. Highly analytical and utterly unscrupulous, he is uniquely suited to unraveling this bizarre mystery.

From the brilliant and profane mind of Jason Shiga, known for his high-concept graphic novels, comes Demon: a four-volume magnum opus about the unspeakable chaos that one indestructible man can unleash on the world—and the astronomical body count he leaves behind.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626724525
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	10/04/2016
Series:	Demon Series , #1
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Jason Shiga was born and raised in Oakland, California. He is the author of Meanwhile, Empire State, Fleep, Bookhunter, and over twenty other comic books and graphic novels. He is also the creator of the world’s second largest interactive comic. His comics have a geeky side and often feature exciting uses of mathematics and unusual structural forms. Demon is his most ambitious project to date.

Editorial Reviews

…[Shiga's] stories are entirely plot-driven, and his drawing skills are technically very modest…Still, he uses what he's got brilliantly in the first two volumes of Demon…The result is a bit like Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata's Death Note—escalating mayhem based on a plot gimmick with very specific rules—except that Shiga delights in letting the simple cuteness of his visual style sugarcoat horrific gross-outs.

The New York Times Book Review - Douglas Wolk

★ 09/05/2016
Suicidal Jimmy Yee’s multiple attempts at killing himself result in a Groundhog Day–like resetting of where he began, but with bodies piling up with each try. To say any more would spoil intriguing revelation after revelation, as Jimmy begins to sort out what’s happening and comes to a startling conclusion—one that solves the mystery but adds a new layer of horror. What can be said is that Shiga (Meanwhile) has woven a tight and tense narrative that keeps readers intrigued and guessing along with Yee, as he endures the mind-bending ramifications of his situation. Shiga’s art style is a perfect accent to the story, largely due to its resemblance to clip art and the aesthetic of Sesame Street. The rounded, cartoony cuteness adds a perfect icing of incongruity to Shiga’s rich cake of twisted tension. As with Shiga’s other books, there are puzzles aplenty to solve, with an added layer of urgent narrative drive. Originally serialized as a webcomic, the story will prove just as addictive for readers finding it in print. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"Thanks to the overarching conundrum and Shiga's sparse, cartoony style, the gore and nihilism manage to be simultaneously gloomy and cute." —NPR, from their "Guide to 2016's Great Reads" list

"I truly think Demon is one of the best comics that has come out in the last few years. It's surprising, unique, and insanely well crafted." —Brian Michael Bendis, author of the Ultimate Spider-Man series

"Jason Shiga has done something remarkable with Demon: created a surpassing morally repugnant protagonist I still root for because of his prodigious intelligence. I'm ashamed of myself for liking him!" —Adam Savage of MythBusters

"It’s bizarre, sick, funny, and more than a little depraved, all of which is part of its charm." —Nerdist

I respect Jason so much for following his audacious, wild, insane muse. Demon is raw, explosive fun.” —Chester Brown, author of Paying For It

"What can be said is that Shiga (Meanwhile) has woven a tight and tense narrative that keeps readers intrigued and guessing along with Yee, as he endures the mind-bending ramifications of his situation."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"[Shiga] set out to make a dynamic comic, one that would both encourage and facilitate readers to turn the page again and again...The result is something goofy, funny, harrowing, and exciting in a way that action comics rarely—if ever—achieve." —A.V. Club

“Deeply uncomfortable and utterly brilliant.” —Gene Luen Yang, author of American Born Chinese, Boxers & Saints, and the Secret Coders series

“Awesome! And horrifying. But mostly awesome!” —Zach Weinersmith, author of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

"Shiga’s simplistic cartoon style helps soften the blow; with his characters’ bug eyes and rounded structures, murder and suicide have never looked so adorable" —Booklist

From the Publisher

Definitely for a select audience, this graphic novel begins with the author’s statement that this title is his “gleeful homage to the lurid and pulpy entertainment rags that make up the detritus of our childhoods.” He continues with a tongue-in-cheek warning to children to put this book down and walk away. And so, the young adult reader is pulled into the story of Jimmy Yee, who has been in a horrific accident that took the lives of his wife and daughter. He tries to kill himself time and again, but always wakes up to find that someone else is dead. Finally, he realizes that he is a demon that simply takes over the nearest living body every time he kills himself. Then there is the Dick-Tracy-look-alike agent pursuing him, wanting him to work for the OSS. Part science-fiction story about living forever and part bloodbath depicted in reds and grays with Shiga’s round-headed, round-eyed characters, the plot revolves around Jimmy’s efforts to successfully commit suicide. In spite of blasting bullets, spewing blood, and headless bodies, the story has its funny moments. The reader who appreciates the author’s deliberately over-the-top-depraved humor will have quite a journey through this volume, as well as the rest of the four-volume set. There is a promise of a bloody ending in the last book. Reviewer: Marla Unruh;

VOYA, December 2016 (Vol. 39, No. 5) - Marla Unruh

This book is absolutely bizarre. It is definitely meant for mature readers who find sick humor funny. The book is short, a thirty-minute read. It has a wonderful story, but lots of disturbing and strange stuff happens. Jimmy Yee, the main character, is quite twisted but smart and an interesting choice for a protagonist. A story about a suicidal mass murderer who is also a mathematical whiz and a demon is not the kind of story to which just anyone will relate. 3Q, 3P. Reviewer: Ty Johnson, Teen Reviewer;

VOYA, December 2016 (Vol. 39, No. 5) - Ty Johnson

The old device of a demon inhabiting a body is reimagined in a series of possessions initiated by the protagonist, Jimmy Yee. Jimmy is trying to kill himself because he has just robbed a bank to avenge the death of his wife and daughter. Regret for shooting a bank teller leads Jimmy to hang himself in a motel room. Instead of dying, he wakes up in the room next door, in possession of the body of his motel neighbor. Repeated attempts to kill himself include wrist slashing, shooting himself in the head, and stepping in front of a tractor trailer. Finally, he lands in the hospital where he is identified by the latest victim’s family and brought home. He runs away, and in the process, unravels the mystery of what has been happening to him. One last suicide attempt leads to the final possession, which points to the book’s sequel. Shiga’s illustrations follow the conventions of graphic novel design: simple forms outlined in black and filled in with flat washes of color. Varying perspectives add interest, and the layout of the illustrations, which includes significant white space, helps to lead the reader through the story. The color palette is muted, except for frequent use of red. Each incarnation of Jimmy is identical because his head follows his demonic possessions onto the new bodies (even though family and acquaintances do not seem to notice). This can make keeping up with Jimmy’s journey of demonic possession difficult. Shiga’s book, an Eisner Award winner and LA Times Book Prize finalist, and first of a four book series, is an equal opportunity offender, with something for everyone. Readers should note that profanity, graphic violence (only slightly softened by the comic book style), nudity, and repugnant behavior are all offered in a narrative that is celebrated as “genius.” Caveat emptor. Reviewer: Hazel Buys; Ages Adult.

Children's Literature - Hazel Buys

★ 09/15/2016
At the literal end of his rope, Jimmy Yee has lost his family in an accident and commits suicide. Yet he wakes up alive. He tries again with a revolver, then with pills. Eventually, he figures out why he can't die—and so does the clever agent Hunter, who wants Jimmy to work for him. This is Jimmy's idea of a fate worse than death, and he sets out to best his adversary with murder, mayhem, and impromptu weaponry. Shiga's (Bookhunter) childlike, blobby characters create an effect that's both unsettling and engaging. Many simple, almost wordless two-color panels invite readers to scheme along with Jimmy, an amoral character who yet inspires sympathy and chuckles. Three more volumes are coming, so expect many more paradoxes (Shiga has a math degree), twists, and corpses as two brilliant minds try to outfox each other. VERDICT Shiga knows how to run a premise into the ground with supreme goofiness, and crime buffs looking for something completely different will be drawn into Jimmy's conundrums. Plenty of adult content makes this for older teens and up.—MC

Library Journal