Skriker #0: A Boy and His Beast comes from the brilliant mind of Dani Smith (creator, writer, and artist). Released on May 7, this comic is a prequel to her novel, Black Dog and Rebel Rose. It gives the reader a proper introduction to Skriker, a half-demon with a demon father and human, stripper mother. Skriker, with his skin covered in tattoos and a green, double-spade pointed tail, was raised to fight on the side of good, even if it means battling it out with other demons.

Skriker is a well-developed character who loves only four things: the hunt, cage fights, tattoos, and women. While Skriker is a cocky hero (something that comes out in almost every bit of dialogue and internal thought), he has his softer side, too. The story is an interesting delve into his world, and I loved reading his internal dialogue just as much as watching him in action. While Skriker battles it out with all kinds of paranormal creatures, the thrust of action in this comic involves demons and werewolves. The story, however, more or less revolves around Skriker’s origins, and I really can’t wait to see him in action again in the next comic.

I very much enjoyed the art. Skriker reminds me of a devilish, Billy Idol-haired, pierced, and tatted monster . . . one that I both do and do not ever want to meet. Smith does a great job of bringing him to life in both the story and the art. The action scenes are tantalizing, with Skriker crawling around on all fours, licking at the bloodied knife in his mouth. You can feel the demon inside as he morphs into his true nature. There are side panels of close-ups of Skriker’s face and eyes that just blew me away.

From my first taste of Smith’s work, it’s clear that she has a long, incredible career ahead of her. I can’t wait for the next installment in this series!