Review by Frank Plowright

Demon Days concerns the initially strange idea of Marvel characters reconfigured as various forms of mysterious Japanese spirits in a medieval society, some bad, some good and some misunderstood. Connecting them all over several chapters is Mariko Yoshida, a teenage girl experiencing strange dreams that progress to messages in her head.

It’s best not to become too concerned about the variations of known characters, as they’re just the dressing around Mariko recovering her memories and realising her potential. Japanese mythology has so many strange spirits they’re a universe of new characters in themselves, and those used in the stories are explained in the back of the book.

Peach Momoko’s art is an immediate attraction, delicately drawn figures occupying sparse watercolour backgrounds adding depth. From the start Mariko transmits as a tragic character, her missing memories casting a sorrowful demeanour over her, and she’s never seen happy or smiling. Momoko’s versions of Marvel characters are differently named, but recognisable in their revised identities, some more radically changed than others.

The opening four chapters present a completed quest supplying answers, but which draws on peculiar circumstances never really explained. Ethereal qualities so gracing the art are true to myths of creatures beyond our total understanding, but readers might prefer complete explanations rather than having to accept never knowing how some things happened.

Two brief tales close the book. The first is slim in returning to the past first seen in the opening chapter, and the second is a largely wordless variation on Elektra. Again, the art looks wonderful, but a story of strange monsters and trickery leaves too much to be desired, being far too random.

Mixing Marvel heroes with ancient Japanese legends is an interesting idea, but ultimately it’s the art that impresses over the story. A year after the original paperback release Marvel issued a black and white version.