Demon Knights is a DC Comics

DC Comics

DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...

 title launched as part of its New 52 event in 2011. It is a team title featuring Etrigan, Enchantress

Enchantress (comics)

Enchantress, in comics, may refer to:* Enchantress , a native of Asgard* Enchantress , a former superhero...

, Shining Knight

Shining Knight

Shining Knight is the name of three comic book superheroes that have appeared in books published by DC Comics. The original Shining Knight, Sir Justin, was created by Creig Flessel and first appeared in Adventure Comics #66 .-Sir Justin:...

 and others. It's main difference to other team titles, such as the Justice League

Justice League

The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....

, is that this team is based in the Medieval period of the DC Universe

DC Universe

The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...

 history. It's initial writer is Paul Cornell

Paul Cornell

Paul Cornell is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as Doctor Who fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield....

, with art by Diogenes Neves.

Publication history

In the planning stages of the New 52

The New 52

The New 52 is a 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero books, in which all of its existing titles were cancelled, and 52 new series debuted in September 2011 with new #1 issues. Among the series being renumbered are Action Comics and Detective Comics,...

, Paul Cornell was asked to write an Etrigan title. At his request, this became a team title, set in the medieval times as this was of more interest to him, and a more fitting period for Etrigan, the demon to operate. Cornell also stated that a love of the film, The Magnificent Seven

The Magnificent Seven

The Magnificent Seven is an American Western film directed by John Sturges, and released in 1960. It is a fictional tale of a group of seven American gunmen who are hired to protect a small agricultural village in Mexico from a group of marauding Mexican bandits...

is an influence on the title, and that it is a team title as he is more interested in the interactions between characters, rather than any scene or period.

Characters

• Etrigan - A demon, bonded to a human magician, Jason Blood. Originally created by Jack Kirby
  Jack Kirby
  Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
  
  .
• Madame Xanadu
  Madame Xanadu
  Madame Xanadu is a fictional character, a comic book mystic published by DC Comics. The character is identified with Nimue, the sorceress from Arthurian mythology made popular by Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.-Publication history:...
  
  
• Vandal Savage
  Vandal Savage
  Vandal Savage is a fictional character, a supervillain published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Green Lantern vol. 1 #10 , and was created by Alfred Bester and Martin Nodell....
  
  - An immortal man, and regular villain in the DC Universe.
• Shining Knight
  Shining Knight
  Shining Knight is the name of three comic book superheroes that have appeared in books published by DC Comics. The original Shining Knight, Sir Justin, was created by Creig Flessel and first appeared in Adventure Comics #66 .-Sir Justin:...
  
  
• The Horsewoman
• Al Jabr
• Exoristos

Reception

The series has opened to positive reviews so far, with scores around 8 or 9 from IGN

IGN

IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

's comics section for the first few issues, with writer Erik Norris' entreating readers to read this title, saying, "People, Demon Knights is awesome. Please join the bandwagon and give this fun book a shot if you haven't already. You won't regret it. A series like this needs all the support it can get to keep it from getting the axe". Popmatters compared Paul Cornell's retro-modern style to a DJ, mixing the RZA

RZA

Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...

 and Miles Davis

Miles Davis

Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...

.