Advance Review: Night People #1

When it comes to how we appreciate stories, be they vicious gangster stories, sci-fi, magic or drama, there is an interesting relationship between movies, novels and comic books; getting the right medium for your work is vital. Novels could be seem as the most work, with readers having to fill the blanks woven through the tapestry of prose. Movies allow for the viewer to absorb someone else’s interpretation without caring about the original intent of the author in a pseudo voyeuristic manner. Comics then could be seen as the middle ground of sorts, allowing for literary and visual interpretation and of course you don’t need to worry about a special effects budget. This then brings up Night People #1 from Oni Press Inc., which is based on Barry Gifford’s acclaimed book of the same title.

Big Betsy Stalcup and Miss Cutie Early are free as parole birds can be. Having met in Fort Sumatra Detention Centre for Wayward Women, the pair are now trekking across the U.S. looking to solve the worlds problems by mutilating and therefore removing the evil of men. Caught in their psychotic web of a violent road trip is Rollo Lamar, a lawyer of elder years, bearing witness to all that the pair seek to achieve.

Writer Chris Condon takes Gifford’s novel, parring it down through the variety of director like camera angles and character focus. In many ways, the book kind of reminds me of Vertigo books with Condon not shying away from the use of heavy text boxes. Part of this could be the need to help the reader with the elements of darkness that seeps throughout the book, which battles with some of the more fanatical beliefs of the murderesses cause. Condon takes his responsibilities seriously, mining Gifford’s prose which should encourage fans of the original to pick up the comic.

Brian Level delivers a terse art style that borders on caricature in places; curvy girls are necessarily curvy, Lamar oozes southern charm and the physical characteristics of Betsy and Cutie are established well and remains consistent through the book. The other myriad of cast members add to a cacophony of crazy. Level also works hard to establish the various environs the girls “visit” during their spree with details like discarded lifesavers (the candy) lying amongst the debris of others broken dreams. Further adding to the chaotic quest of Betsy and Cutie are the deep, textured colors of Ronda Pattison who mixes a sense of normalcy with heavy use of reds before the darkness of the night and the situations of certain characters settles in. Letters are massively important on a book like this, as it is based on a novel, there is a lot of text. Shawn Lee does a great job of ensuring that the font is easy enough to read, yet doesn’t detract from the storytelling of the art and the vibes generated buy the gorgeous colors. There are a number of variant covers to choose from. buyers choice works for me.

An interesting read that doesn’t hide from its prose / novel origins. As the story goes, there are few likeable characters, each character is bathed in shades of grey, through intent or actions taken. Based on this issue, Night People is going to be an interesting ride.

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars
Letters – 5 Stars

Overall – 4.5 Stars

Based on the novel by; Barry Gifford
Written by; Chris Condon
Art by; Brian Level
Colors by; Ronda Pattison
Letters by; Shawn Lee
Published by; Oni Press Inc.

Night People #1 is due to ship March 6th.

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network