Dampyr #105 (2008) pages 48-49: Hostile witness

At his trial, Caleb Lost calls a monstrous witness to provide mitigating evidence: “So, are these the events cited in the preliminary inquest? I ask for your patience. I want to bring this particular moment to the court's attention…”

(Caleb summons a picture of a monster, from which he summons the monster himself.) “I am Thorke!”

(Onlooker) “Very impressive!”

(Onlooker) “Strange creature…”

(Iblis, prince of Hell, plays dumb.) “So, Caleb Lost, this is the adversary that you and your protégé faced? Interesting… He hasn't been presented to us so vividly until now. Don't hesitate to enlist him in my ranks! What was his name again?”

(The angel Regent Uriel) “You know him well, Prince Iblis. He calls himself Thorke.”

(Anyel Zant, Caleb's defense counsel) “And he doesn't originally belong to the plane of reality where my client works. It is therefore my intention to demonstrate that, contrary to the allegations, Caleb did not violate the Law of Balance by confronting Thorke. Rather, he strengthened it. Thorke, as an external and unaligned agent, could have harmed both the party of Light and the party of Hell.”

(Duke Nergal, prosecutor) “Objection!”

Thorke is a Lovecraftian demon from the Black Dimension. He's appeared in eight other issues, including some of the series' most emotionally charged stories. We'll get to some of those in good time.