Demo

A comic series by Brian Wood (writing) and Becky Cloonan (art).

Each issue is a stand-alone story that follows a single person, dealing with their lives, relationships and emotions. Originally the concept focused on the supernatural: the protagonists discovering powers or abilities, or dealing with ones they already had, and while this is still present in many issues, over time it was slowly de-emphasized.

Originally published by Ait / Planet Lar (Vol. 1). A total of 18 issues were published between November, 2003 to November, 2004. DC's Vertigo imprint published (Vol. 2) as a 6-issue mini-series. It run from April to September, 2010.

Provides examples of:

 * And Now for Someone Completely Different: Kinda... Except, that's the point, so it's not really unexpected.
 * Central Theme: Each issue has one, and many have several. As a whole Demo says quite a lot about the human condition, and the juxtaposition of the mundane and the mystical (or at least offbeat).
 * Compelling Voice
 * Decompressed Comic
 * Empathic Shapeshifter
 * How Do I Shot Web?: Deconstructed.
 * Immortality: Type I
 * Involuntary Shapeshifting: "Girl You Want"
 * Irony:
 * Power Incontinence: Why YES.
 * Psychic Powers: Several
 * The Empath / Psychic Link:
 * Telekinesis
 * Something for Everyone: "Girl You Want" again
 * Time Travel
 * Water Is Air
 * Writing Around Trademarks: A coffee place is referred to as Starbucks in "Girl You Want", but a text bubble is conveniently obscuring the store name when we get exterior shots of it.