Demon Knights #8

The Companions triumphant, they make their way to the Royal Court of Alba Sarum to be rewarded as heroes!

The art in this comic book is far better than the majority of the other 51.

While riding in the cart to Alba Sarum, Madame Xanadu tells the rest of her companions how she came to be in a relationship with Jason Blood and Etrigan. We've seen that she tells each that she only pretends to love the other to keep the other one in control. So which one does she truly love? Probably Jason Blood. But it would be super awesome if she really loved Etrigan instead.

Xanadu begins her tale of when she apprenticed for Merlin and went by the name 'Nimue'. I looked that up and it is one of the names given to The Lady of the Lake. Madame Xanadu is the younger sister of the Lady of the Lake and Morgaine le Fey is the middle sister. These are things I didn't know! I couldn't help singing the previous sentence in my head as I typed it. It sounds the refrain from a Sesame Street bit.

My knowledge of the Arthurian Legend has always been on the level of Trivial Pursuit questions. I know the basics of the myth and some knowledge proceeding from their but I've never been interested enough to read the various books and texts extending the myth. Until now, I guess?

This is more evidence that The Queen is Morgaine le Fey.

If The Queen is indeed Morgaine le Fey, does she know Madame Xanadu is her sister? It seems like she should but stupider things have happened in comic books! And she's now Xanadu instead of Nimue! She chose the name Xanadu because Merlin saw that in the future she would have the name Xanadu. I was named after Jeffrey Hunter who played Jesus Christ in King of Kings. But more importantly, he played Captain Pike in the pilot episode of Star Trek. This has given me a lot of my individual strength and my confidence in taking chances. Because I knew I wasn't a Red Shirt.

The Companions realize Camelot is cyclical.

While Xanadu was apprenticing for Merlin, Jason was acting as his scribe and secretary. They met and fell in love. But before either had the nerve to voice any feelings, Camelot was attacked by a space ship. None of the invaders are shown but with the ties to Stormwatch, I'm guessing it was Demon Knights Daemonites. During the attack, Xanadu's sisters arrive to take Arthur's body to the Island of the Dead. They insist Xanadu must come back with them as well. She doesn't argue and goes with them. What happens next is how this comic series started. Excalibur is thrown into the water and Xanadu dives from her sisters' boat to try and save it. But the sword disappears.

While Xanadu heads home, Merlin shoves Etrigan into Jason Blood's body. Xanadu believed Jason was killed in the attack. She and Jason continue to live their immortal lives apart until Jason stumbles into her at a local barbecue.

Technically, names are words of magic.

Jason Blood lets Etrigan loose to save Xanadu and it, amazingly, works. A few dozen people are killed in the escape but none of them are Xanadu, so it is a success. Jason and Xanadu find a nice quaint hotel room, probably at a local Green Gryphon franchise, and fuck their brains out. When Xanadu awakens in the morning, she's greeted by Etrigan who is into kinkier things.

Alan Grant set up the reason for The Demon's need to rhyme when he was writing The Demon.

Xanadu impressed Etrigan with her magic and she persuaded him to let her remain by their side as she tried to find a magical way to release the two from their bond. Etrigan proved to be a fairly normal male, yellow skin, fire breath, demon wings, and horns withstanding.

Hey! Eyes up here, princess!

Xanadu refuses. But Jason asks her to marry him and she accepts his offer. The night they are to get married, Etrigan finds out somehow and murders the priest and burns down his church. Jason and Xanadu realize they cannot be together without many innocents dying. So Xanadu hatches the plot to pretend to love Etrigan (based on his ENORMOUS display of power). And that's the story of their strange love or how the Magic Whore Xanadu Learned to Stop Worrying and Fuck the Demon.

When Jason awakens, he has to let Etrigan out for his morning walk and Exoristos asks Etrigan how he ended up with Xanadu.

And that's the story I intend to believe!

The issue ends on a small two page epilogue where Merlin is speaking with a mysterious somebody in a tower in Alba Sarum. He says the people of the city are already declaring it a new Camelot simply because Merlin is there. He wishes they wouldn't since Camelots have a way of being constantly destroyed. And then the stranger does this:

See? Daemonites!

Demon Knights Issue #8 Rating: +1 Ranking. What can I say? I enjoy a well told one part story where Etrigan gets laid!