Story & Art: Peach Momoko
Co-Script: Zack Davisson
Lettering: VC’s Ariana Maher
Cover Art: Peach Momoko
Variant Cover Artists: Peach Momoko; Gurihiru; MatÃas Bergara; Terry Dodson & Rachel Dodson; Alex Maleev; Audrey Mok; Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado; Matteo Scalera & Moreno Dinisio; Rickie Yagawa & Jordie Bellaire
Designer: Jay Bowen
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: August 3, 2022
Mythical Roots
Very minor spoilers follow.
Demon Wars: Iron Samurai #1 refers to itself as “the Marvel Universe like you’ve never seen it before.” So far this connection is tenuous with the sole link being the character Mariko Yashida, a love interest of Wolverine’s who first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #118. Beyond that Demon Wars: Iron Samurai #1 features all new characters in a new environment in a new story. The Mariko Yashida we’re introduced to in Demon Wars: Iron Samurai #1 is the daughter of an oni, a Japanese demon, and the granddaughter of a sorceress. When the issue begins, she is “seeing weird stuff.”
Demon Wars: Iron Samurai #1 is rooted in Japanese history and myth. Students of these topics may recognize the ikai (spirit world; the next world), yokai (a class of supernatural entities or spirits), yoroi (Samurai armor), and the Yamato clan. Peach Momoko and Zack Davisson use these concepts as a base from which to launch into a brand new story, a kind of myth all its own.
Unsurprisingly, much of Demon Wars: Iron Samurai #1 is concerned with exposition and world building. And even then, part of that world building is through implication as the writers don’t go fully in depth with all of the Japanese concepts at work here. There is not too much character development beyond answering some basic questions about Mariko (her heritage, both real and mythical, makes up the bulk of that).
Ultimately it is the world building that proves to be the most captivating. As the issue unfolds we’re led down a rabbit hole meant to appeal to our curiosity. The point of the first half of Demon Wars: Iron Samurai #1 isn’t to introduce the plot (though that is already being built in small pieces leading to a back half of the issue that is plot heavy) but to surround us with a world that feels rich and expansive despite our only seeing the smallest pieces of it now. This is wildly successful, owing in no small part to the fact that Mariko herself is new to this world and we’re being introduced to it through her eyes.
The basic plot laid out here takes the form of a classic quest. Mariko, by virtue of her ancient mythical heritage, is the one character that can put both the ikai and real world to rights. To do that, she must find an item (in this case the severed second head of a creature called Kigandoshi). And while quest stories can sometimes fall victim to an imbalance between the strength of the character and the plot (an inability to raise stakes because at a certain point outcomes become a foregone conclusion), the separation of the real and mythical worlds and how Mariko relates to them is already evident–she seems to have abilities in one that she does not necessarily have in the other and vice versa–and open the possibilities for how she might resolve any conflicts along the way.
Bright Spirits
Peach Momoko’s art is often soft and ethereal. There’s also a kind of love embedded in it in an inexplicable way. Those qualities are present in Demon Wars: Iron Samurai #1, but they are used in contrast in a way that significantly contributes to world building.
The first issue takes place in two worlds: the real and mythical. The real world is very soft, but it is also quite drab. Momoko keeps to washed out purples and pinks except with Mariko herself who, in contrast, has plain white skin. She also feels softer and more delicate than the world she inhabits. Even as she tells us of her heritage from her mother and grandmother, it’s hard to believe she would follow in their footsteps in any way.
This disbelief goes completely out the window when Mariko enters the ikai. That world is radiant with seemingly every color under the sun. Mariko’s clothes have changed, both in fashion and color. Mariko herself is no longer white. The yokai are varied in appearance with no two the same, and the colors Momoko chooses for each one tell us a little bit about them. The ikai, ironically, is not ethereal. But of the two worlds, it is the one that has that subtext of love.
Final Thoughts
It is very difficult to find a failing in Demon Wars: Iron Samurai #1. If there is one, it is reliance on Japanese concepts that aren’t fully explained. If you’ve read this full review you’ve gotten a very limited primer on some of them. But approaching the issue cold, a reader might be faced with the need to look these things up (as I was). I don’t necessarily consider this a flaw, though, because inviting a reader to seek out knowledge can be a wonderful consequence of fiction. Momoko and Davission want you to feel immersed in this world, and part of that is satisfying your curiosity to learn more about it.
Visually the book is beautiful. It is 100% in the style of Peach Momoko so readers who don’t find the style appealing may be put off no matter how intriguing they find the story. This of course is not a flaw–simply something I wanted to point out.
There are few comics I will recommend unequivocally. Demon Wars: Iron Samurai #1 is one of them.
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