Advance Review - The Midnight: Shadows
Advance Review - The Midnight: Shadows
From Dark Horse Comics
Out this week from Dark Horse Comics combining music, video games and science fiction in The Midnight: Shadows.
Join THE MIDNIGHT, one of the world’s top synthwave bands, comprised of Tyler Lyle and Tim McEwan, on an electrifying and original sci-fi adventure inspired by the poetic storytelling and the neon-soaked aesthetics of their music.
Jason has spent his life running from his problems, but now he and his childhood sweetheart are on the precipice of parenthood, and he’s struggling with the loss of his adolescence. Then he re-discovers his favorite old video game, THE MIDNIGHT, a nostalgic 1980s fantasy adventure about a helmeted hero who travels to a cyberpunk world to save the people from eternal darkness. Seeking to repair his broken game, Jason ends up at a mysterious arcade in an abandoned 1980s mall, where he plays the old arcade game of The Midnight and suddenly he’s transported to…
…a post-apocalyptic Neverland in the year 2085. A world of perpetual night where time stands still. A final bastion of humanity in a glistening futuristic city. And a shocking reveal – they know him as the hero who once vanquished the shadow monsters, and they believe he’s returned to his true reality to do it again. More surprising, his wife is here, but only with a memory of Jason as this world’s hero. As this lost boy tries to embrace his new hero powers, with the help of his true love and her cyberpunk warriors, he must face the responsibility of protecting an entire world from danger and discover which world he truly belongs to.
Writer: Zack Kaplan, Artist: Stephen Thompson, Jahnoy Lindsay, Elisabetta D'Amico, Colorist: Thiago Rocha, Letterer: DC Hopkins, and Cover Artist: Raymond Swanland
I was excited to read this from the information provided and the artwork within. Kicking off with the introduction to this story it looks like a standard dystopian science fiction, but the follow-up quickly mixes things up.
At first, I had the feeling of Tron - that may be the computer game aspect and all the neon, but this story is more than that. Quickly setting up the threat involved - the shadow - and what they can do, you are drawn into the action and the world we now find us in.
It’s not all action and adventure though, there is some very clever moments in the terms of the relationships in this story. In both the ‘real’ world and the world of The Midnight, Jason has some difficulties with his relationships. Even so these are really well done and dealt with within the story.
I really enjoyed the action in this story. High flying and fast moving, there are some excellent parts. In the city and out in the darkness the fight against the shadow has a real threat feeling to it all. The nature of the shadow (and the rest) is scary and builds into the feel of the book.
I loved the artwork and colouring throughout the story, with the dusty tones of the ‘real’ world, and the family aspects. Then onto The Midnight, where the dark and neon still work with the attack of the shadow.
The story reaches an excellent crescendo and is full of action and heart. That, combined with the epilogue makes this a brilliant ending.
A fantastic fast-paced story.
