World Famous Comics: Nocturnals Volume 1: Black Planet (v. 1)
Nocturnals Volume 1: Black Planet (v. 1)
By: Dan Brereton By: Dan Brereton Publisher: Oni Press Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Format: Illustrated Label: Oni Press Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 184 Publication Date: December 15, 1998
Product Description: Doc Horror knows there are sinister forces at work trying to bring the downfall of the human race. They have already ravaged his home planet, and now he has traveled to Earth to try and stop them once and for all. Once here, however, he finds that this world's inhabitants aren't all sweetness and light themselves. Some of them are busy creating freakish mutations out of their fellow man, and others are helping the invaders in their quest for domination. An outcast, Doc Horror is forced to live by the dark of night, and there he finds compatriots who must also shun the light of day. Polychrome, The Gunwitch, Starfish, Firelion, Komodo, and The Raccoon have all their share of knocks from humanity, but they want to save their homeworld anyway, and they don't care how many monsters stand in their way.
Exellent art I was pleasently surprised that the story line is fairly unique and interesting. I expected it to be a bit cheesy and bought it as a guilty pleasure but the characters and story stand up quite well.....it's no Alan Moore.....but definately enjoyable
Pretty good.... Good story, outstanding art....I wish the characters had been explored in a bit more depth but of course this is the first collection of comic books in this line so perhaps future comics will take care of that...Anyone who's into goth or horror will appreciate the themes and artwork in this book although the cross between "gangster" crime mob action and the supernatural in the storyline seems a bit awkward at times (admittedly that sort of thing would be difficult to pull off to begin with though)... I guess I compare any graphic novel I read to the all time greats in that genre (Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke, Sandman, Preacher, Kingdom Come, et cetera ) - in comparison this book is pretty good but not on the level of the other titles I just mentioned.
Excellent Story & Great Look I had bought The Dark Forever after reading Nocturnals: A Midnight Companion for the Mutants & Masterminds RPG, but I did not actually read it until after I finished reading this graphic novel. I figured I wanted to read the first one first, and I was not disappointed.
A combination of science fiction, horror, pulp and Lovecraftian Mythos, the story goes every which way - and works. The character development centers on Doc Horror and Evening, but the dialogue through the story helps build up the background of the other characters as well. The story is fantastic and leaves you at a point at the end where you cannot be sure if the antagonists are ultimately defeated in the end or not.
The artwork is stunning. It both flows and comes together at angles. The painting definitely gives the book a different feel, but it is a feel I would not give up. It definitely compliments the story. Dark and different.
I would recommend this graphic novel to anyone who is looking for a comic that is a bit different. Being a Lovecraft fan, I would definitely point people who like the work in his vein this way as well.
The start of a Weird and Wonderful adventure I bought this trade paperback to go along with a sourcebook for Mutants and Masterminds. The series intrigued me, B Movie Horror with elements of Lovecraft and Film Noir? These are not really what you would call "Super Heroes" Doc Horror and crew have more in common with the Punisher than Captain America. They are however a motley crew of monsters that live in a nocturnal world in which Halloween never truly ends. It is a dark world and while the Nocturnals fight and bleed for humanity they ask for no recognition and must shun the sun. For those that enjoy dark heroes this one is worth picking up.
Fun, violent, creepy horror graphic novel "Nocturnals: Black Planet" was my first exposure to the Nocturnals, and I'd recommend it as a good place to start the series (in fact this book collects the first six issues of the Nocturnals).
The Nocturnals are essentially a bunch of misfits and freaks (I won't spoil any of their origins or specific abilities here, that's part of the fun in reading Black Planet) who have run-ins with both the mob and a strange alien menace. Outcasts from society, they band together and seem to form a real family, even though they are what most would consider to be "monsters." The action, pacing, and violence are all intense, and the main characters are truly well-conceived and have some neat abilities. The book is plotted pretty tightly and flowed nicely; I found myself having to reread the beginning a bit just to make sure I understood what was going on and who the characters all were, but that wasn't a big deal.
The book isn't illustrated in a traditional "comic book" fashion. Instead, each panel in the book is essentially a painting, and most are extremely well done. I don't know a lot about art, but I'd kind of describe them as looking a little like watercolors, as there's a lot of color blending and few sharp edges. They look very nice. In addition to the six issues collected in this book, there is a pin-up gallery in the back that has all the covers as well as full-page color art by a variety of artists inspired by the series.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys horror comics, gunplay and mobster violence, pulpy action (of the more the violent persuasion, like the Spider), and Lovecraftian critters and weirdnesses. I definitely plan on picking up the other Nocturnals graphic novels.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
