Watches the Storm, Huh? I Don't Get the Reference. Too Clever.
The creative new origin of Shining Knight is revealed in this issue as the character sinks into a vision with Merlin, the architect of how she came to be. Demon Knights' connection to Stormwatch comes to be revealed as well.
As big of a fan as I was of Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers project, I have no problem at all with Paul Cornell modifying Shining Knight's origin to suit this story. Going with Morrison's wildly different and complicate take on Arthurian lore would have been a mistake in the New 52. This new origin, with Merlin and the Grail, is a much cleaner origin that readers really shouldn't have any trouble grasping. Another thing I like about it is how Cornell bypasses the matter of how living for centuries would dampen Ystin's youthfulness. The idea that she tends to sleep for long periods of time works well for that and adds another great fantasy element to her character.
What turns out to be the connection to Stormwatch proves to be something much better than I expected it to be. As much as I enjoy Demon Knights, I really dislike Stormwatch. The idea of anything from that book invading this one really did not appeal to me. What Cornell comes up with here really seems to work, though. There are some minor nitpicks with it that I can see, but none are important or really affect this book. It will be interesting to see how well DC sticks with it too. Neither DC or Marvel really have a good track record when it comes to be consistent in portraying King Arthur's role in their histories.
It is a good thing Cornell does such a strong job on these two parts of the issue, though. Because otherwise, this book would have some big problems brewing. The story doesn't feel like it is actually moving at all. It feels like the plot is in the same place that it was at the first of Demon Knights' first issue. How long is it going to take for this book to get out of this village?
There is also a weird reference to Camelot falling 9,000 years ago now instead of four hundred. I am hoping this is just the result of Merlin not being a very reliable narrator when it comes to the passage of time.
Mike Choi does a good job helping out with the art in this issue. His style doesn't clash with Diogenes Neves in any way that comes off as distracting.
Demon Knights continues to be a great new book in DC's lineup, but it really needs to pick up the pace on its story. The new origin of Shining Knight manages to carry the book this time, but the cast is eventually going to need to start actually doing something. This will hopefully begin to happen next issue.
