demaid-81866-ei7-full DEMAIDdemaid-81866-ei7-face-closeup
(please note that these stories are from Epic Illustrated, part of a more mature line and may not be appropriate for everyone)

Real Name: Unrevealed, if any

Identity/Class: Alternate reality (Earth-81866) carnivorous mer-woman

Occupation: Predator

Group Membership: None known

Affiliations: None known

Enemies: Cephala, Llehs (notably Anir and Mali)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    formerly a cave within the ocean depths a relatively short distance off the American coast (unclear whether it was the Atlantic or the Pacific coast)

First Appearance: Epic Illustrated I#7 "The Llehs" (August, 1981)demaid-81866-ei15-topview

Powers/Abilities: A monstrous mermaid type creature, the Demaid had a humanoid/mammalian upper body (including pendulous breasts) and a piscine lower body.

    Her long lower body and tail (flat and widened at its end) provides strength, speed, and navigation for her swimming, with her arms aiding in navigation and speed.

    Her four fingers and thumb are connected by webbing to enhance her swimming abilities, and each digit ends in a sharp talon, which, combined with her strength and speed, allow her to tear smaller, flesh and bone creatures completely in half with a slash.

    Her teeth are more human in appearance, so presumably she tears food into smaller pieces with her hands that she can more easily chew.

    She has a pair of horns, perhaps 4-6" long extending straight up from the top of her forehead. Although her claws were her primary weapons, she could certainly use these in a close-range struggle. demaid-81866-ei7-face-surprise

    She can smell blood in the water.

    Accustomed to living perhaps several dozen feet below the ocean's surface, her body is adapted to the relative cold, pressure, and darkness. Her eyes are likely adapted to see more in the blue-green spectrum.

    A predatory, carnivorous, primitive-minded creature, she is drawn instinctually to motion and blood (which she can smell in the water). The smell of blood drives her into a mindless, instinctual feeding frenzy, and she will attack the source, even if it is herself.

    She presumably breathes via gill-like structures.

    Cephala referred to the Demaid as a "disgusting amphibian," which would seem to indicate that she could either breathe both in air and underwater, or that she spent a portion of her life cycle able to breathe air.

Height/length: Unrevealed (approximately 8'; see comments)
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 200 lbs.)
Eyes: Dark (dark green to black)
Hair: Light blue to green
Other Distinguishing Features: The Demaid has two fin-like structures each on either side of what would be her hips.
    These may or may not assist in any stabilization of her body when swimming.

History:demaid-81866-ei7-attacking
(Epic Illustrated I#7 (fb) - BTS) - Of unrevealed origins, the Demaid dwelled within a cave in the ocean depths, feeding on creatures that ventured there.

(Epic Illustrated I#7 (fb) - BTS) - Generations of Lleh, a race of tiny amphibious humanoids, frightned their children with stories of the Demaid that lived in the dark depths.

(Epic Illustrated I#7 - BTS) - Bored with life in the docile community of the Llehs, Anir led her sister, Mali, to go hunting in the depths; none of the other Llehs took up the challenge to accompany them. When Mali mentioned her concerns about the Demaid, Anir dismissed them as silly, telling her that Demaids did not exist. Regardless, it was more fun in the depths than hanging around with the kids.

    Atop their sea horse steeds and armed only with a spear each, they  proceeded into the dark waters and hunted skeletal, fluorescent fish creatures that dwelled there.

(Epic Illustrated I#7) - As Anir and Mali pursued their prey deeper and deeper, the shockwaves of the chase were felt by the Demaid in her hidden cave, awakening her from her fitful sleep. Slithering to the cave entrance, the Demaid felt hunger rumble in her stomach as her eyes fixed on the chase taking place. With one powerful wave of her tail, the Demaid exited her cave, hunting the hunters.

    Mali and Anir were shocked to see the relatively immense face of the Demaid approach them, and they fled. The Demaid pursued the girls as they fled on their steeds; as the girls spotted some of their friends, they warned them of the Demaid; unable to understand the words, the other Llehs appreciated that something was chasing them, and they hid as the Demaid swam over them.

    Closing in on the girls, the Demaid reached out and slashed at Mali, tearing her sea horse's tail end off and slashing Mali's back. A strong undercurrent swept Anir off of her mount and to the surface, her sister's screams echoing in her ears. demaid-81866-ei15-slashed

(Epic Illustrated I#7 - BTS) - As Anir reached the surface, she was propelled by a huge swell of water to the the shoreline, where she was subsequently crushed to death by a soda can tossed into the air by a pair of boys target-shooting.

(Epic Illustrated I#15) - As the Demaid tore apart the sea horse steeds, Mali fled further into the depths.

(Epic Illustrated I#15 - BTS) - Mali encountered the octopus-woman Cephala, who sympathized with her pain and recognized the scratches on her back as being from the vile Demaid: "Your wound has all the rough artistry of her very basic talents."

(Epic Illustrated I#15) - When Cephala's soothing touch progressed to molestation, Mali prepared to depart, but a short distance above, the Demaid growled hungrily, having smelled Mali's blood. Mali realized she was trapped, but Cephala advised her on how to end the Demaid's threat.demaid-81866-ei15--selfmutilate

    Following Cephala's instructions, Mali, wielding a razor-sharp coral knife, swam through the seaweed underneath the Demaid and then swam upward rapidly, curving an arc, and at its apex, her knife slashed her foe's soft belly.

    Mali swiftly retreated into an inky-black cloud provided by Cephala. Blinded by the rising black cloud, the Demaid's primitive mind sensed the source of the blood as a source of food, and she impulsively tore at the source.

    Fatally wounded by her own greed and primordial instincts, the deceased Demaid sank to the ocean floor, her life blood mixing with Cepahala's ink-like fluid.

Comments: Created by John Bolton and Graham Marks.

    John Bolton is specifically credited with creating the characters and the concept, and Graham Marks apparently developed the plot.

    As recounted in Epic Illustrated I#15, the Llehs had their beginning one summer day when John Bolton was sitting on a beach, playing with scallop seashell. Spelling shell backwards and pronouncing it "Laze," John visualized the shell as a hairdo and began to speculate about what kind of creatures would have such hair.  Then he pictured small beings who lived beneath the waves, and in his mind's eye could almost sea them creeping up the beach. Excited by the possibilities for stories about a people whose lives were defined by the shell motif and whose world, which began at "the edge" (where our world left off), and could go on forever, into depths filled with wonders, fancies and frights, John took the concept to Graham Marks, and the tales of the Llehs took shape.

    She is referred to as "the Demaid," which would presumably indicate that there was only one of her, rather than a race or family. However, we know pretty much nothing about her origins.
    Anir did specifically say "Demaids don't exist," which could mean that there were more than one, but she had no firsthand knowledge of the Demaid and didn't even believe in her/them.
    While it seems quite unlikely that we would ever see another story about the Llehs, I would like to believe that there were indeed other Demaids out there...or perhaps the one Demaid was a human woman or even one of the Llehs cursed into that form by...whoever might curse such a being on this world...we don't know that there were gods, but there could have been...ditto for any other sorcerer, etc.
    Who knows what else exists in the world of the Llehs?

    Anir's form under the soda can that crushed her looked to be about the same height as the can, so around 5" tall. Based on a size comparison to the Llehs, I would estimate the Demaid as having a roughly human-sized upper body, and then her lower body/tail looks to extend 2-3' beyond where I would expect human legs to end.

    This profile was completed 03/23/2024, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Demaid should be distinguished from:

cave

demaid-81866-ei7-cave (Epic Illustrated I#7 (fb) - BTS) - Of unrevealed origins, the Demaid dwelled within a cave in the ocean depths, feeding on creatures that ventured there.

(Epic Illustrated I#7) - As Anir and Mali pursued their prey deeper and deeper, the shockwaves of the chase were felt by the Demaid in her hidden cave, awakening her from her fitful sleep.

     Slithering to the cave entrance, the Demaid felt hunger rumble in her stomach as her eyes fixed on the chase taking place.

     With one powerful wave of her tail, the Demaid exited her cave, hunting the hunters.

--Epic Illustrated I#7 "The Llehs"
images: (without ads)
Epic Illustrated I#7 "The Llehs," pg. 5, panel 1 (in cave);
          panel 3 (face, close-up);
          panel 4 (full, view from below);
       pg. 6, panel 1 (face, full, confronting Anir & Mali);
       pg. 7, panel 3 (slashing Mali and tearing her sea horse in half);
Epic Illustrated I#15: "The Llehs II: Mali's Revenge," pg. 4, panel 4 (belly slashed by Mali);
       pg. 5, panel 1 (tear at own wound)

Appearances:
Epic Illustrated I#7 "The Llehs" (August, 1981) - John Bolton (art, co-plotter), Graham Marks (co-plotter), Stan Lee (editor/publisher), Archie Goodwin (editorial director), Jo Duffy (associated editor), James Shooter (consulting editor)
Epic Illustrated I#15: "The Llehs II: Mali's Revenge" (December, 1982) - John Bolton (art, co-plotter), Graham Marks (co-plotter), Stan Lee (editor/publisher), Archie Goodwin (editorial director), James Shooter (consulting editor)

First posted: 09/10/2026
Last updated: 03/23/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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