Tag Archives: night people

Preview: Night People #2

Night People #2

(W) Barry Gifford, Chris Condon (A) Alexandre Tefenkgi (CA) Jason Alexander
In Shops: Apr 10, 2024
SRP: $4.99

FOR SOME PEOPLE, IT’S ALWAYS MIDNIGHT . . .

From the minds of neo-noir icon Barry Gifford (Lost Highway), acclaimed writer Chris Condon (That Texas Blood), and Eisner Award-winning artist Alexandre Tefenkgi (The Good Asian) comes a stiletto-sharp tale of desperation, fanaticism, and murder in the American South . . .

On an otherwise quiet street in New Orleans, the battle over abortion is fought between brother and sister evangelical preachers in an ever-escalating rivalry between their neighboring ministries: the Church on the One Hand and the Church on the Other Hand. As the long-secret origin of Brother Dallas Salt and Sister Dilys Salt’s rift threatens to erupt into scandal, a fanatical female assassin quietly plans to settle their differences once and for all with a furious display of violence aimed right at the heart of a national debate that couldn’t be any more personal.

Night People #2

Night People #1 is getting a second printing

Due to the overwhelming success of writer Chris Condon and artist Brian Level‘s smash hit Night People #1, Oni Press has announced that Night People #1 is now sold out at the distributor level and will return with the Night People #1 2nd Printing Variant by illustrator Tom Ralston. This brand-new second printing will hit FOC on March 11th, 2024, and will arrive in stores on April 10th, 2024.

Adapted from Gifford’s acclaimed novel by breakout writer Chris Condon and a rotating cast of stunning artistic talents, follow an uneasy company of wanted criminals, cartel killers, and lost souls through four interlocking tales as they travel a path of intoxication, lust, and spontaneous violence from New Orleans to Egypt City, Florida, and back again.

In our first tale of desperation, fanaticism, and murder, drawn by Brian Level, two ex-convicts–a pair of inseparable lovers named Big Betty Stalcup and Miss Cutie Early–are out on parole using their newfound freedom to purify the world of men’s evil influence.

You can read our review of the debut issue.

Night People #1

Night People #1 is a fever dream of a crime story

Night People #1

Night People #1 is a fever dream of a crime story. Honestly, you’re better off just sitting back and enjoying the ride instead of trying to piece together every plot detail and character relationship. It’s definitely fitting that this comic is an adaptation of a 1992 collection of short stories by Barry Gifford, who wrote the novel that the David Lynch film Wild at Heart is based on as well as penning the screenplay for Lost Highway. Writer/adapter Chris Condon, artist Brian Level, and colorist Ronda Pattison bring the blood, guts, and surreality of two religiously motivated man-killing women named Betty and Cutie painting New Orleans red as well as the hapless men, who get in their way and even try to stop them. Some of the side stories like dogs mauling each other in the woods don’t connect to the main narrative except to dose up the violence, but there are some really beautiful moments of poetic justice and violence.

Level’s art and Pattison’s colors capture the small moments that end up exploding into bigger moments of violence in Night People #1. It starts on page one when we see Betty and Cutie’s first victims with Brian Level using the banality of a janitor scratching his hands on a broom before he and the police see some beheaded corpses that end up haunting Douglas’ dreams as he’s hunting down the murderers for some reason or another. This continues later to the more prominent character Rollo Lamar, a lawyer, who crosses paths with Betty and Cutie and rubs what looks like a surgery scar on his chest. This shows vulnerability, but maybe also that he’s a good person as he gets a favorable life insurance settlement for a young woman and her child. However, in this kind of story, this woman has “murderer” written all over her.

From a bird’s eye view, Night People #1 explores the noir fiction trope of femme fatale with more of an emphasis on the fatale and not the femme so much. There’s not a lot of seduction just a lot of guns being pulled and woman on man violence like when Douglas gets smothered in a sexual encounter after a frankly weird day of having hallucinations about headless corpses and weird conversations about now and urination. Honestly, he’s a good riddance as a character because he came across like a Wish.com version of Matthew McConaughey’s character in True Detective and adds to the male victim/female killer through-line of the issue as Betty and Cutie get off scot-free in a literally explosive finale.

Night People is nothing like its former hardboiled Oni Press comrade-in-arms Stumptown with Chris Condon, Brian Level, and Ronda Pattison serving up a more askew crime story with fucked up gender politics, colorful nonsequitur dialogue (Comparing Betty and Cutie to anthropomorphic beings from Greek mythology, a radio news bulletin about frozen kangaroo tails), and big-time carnage. I’m not 100% sold on the series, but wouldn’t mind picking up issue 2 and seeing Lamar’s character development after his near-death experience, or seeing what religious motivation those two freaks Betty and Cutie have for their next misandric killing spree.

Story: Chris Condon Art: Brian Level 
Colors: Ronda Pattison Letters: Shawn Lee
Story: 7.0 Art: 8.3 Overall: 7.6 Recommendation: Read

Oni Press provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Preview: Night People #1

Night People #1

WRITTEN BY BARRY GIFFORD & CHRIS CONDON
ART BY BRIAN LEVEL
COVER A BY J.H. WILLIAMS III
COVER B BY JOËLLE JONES
COVER C BY JACOB PHILLIPS
COVER D BY BRIAN LEVEL
FULL ART VARIANT (1:20) BY JOËLLE JONES
B&W VARIANT (1:30) BY J.H. WILLIAMS III
ON SALE MARCH 6TH, 2024 | $4.99 | 32 pgs. | FC

From literary icon Barry Gifford—internationally renowned creator of Wild At Heart and cowriter of David Lynch’s neo-noir masterpiece Lost Highway—Night People is a pulsating roadmap of the American subconscious, where neon-lit Southern nights give way to lipstick, sweat, and blood, and the odd, innocent, and evil are all fellow travelers down an interstate of dark, elusive dreams.

Adapted from Gifford’s acclaimed novel by breakout writer Chris Condon (That Texas Blood, The Enfield Gang Massacre) and a rotating cast of stunning artistic talents, follow an uneasy company of wanted criminals, cartel killers, and lost souls through four interlocking tales as they travel a path of intoxication, lust, and spontaneous violence from New Orleans to Egypt City, Florida, and back again. In our first tale of desperation, fanaticism, and murder, drawn by Brian Level (Poison Ivy), two ex-convicts—a pair of inseparable lovers named Big Betty Stalcup and Miss Cutie Early—are out on parole using their newfound freedom to purify the world of men’s evil influence.

Night People #1

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

The Gulf

Wednesdays (and Tuesdays) are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in

Each week our contributors choose what they can’t wait to read this week or just sounds interesting. In other words, this is what we’re looking forward to and think you should be taking a look at!

Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this week.

The Bat-Man: First Knight #1 (DC Comics/DC Black Label) – Dan Jurgens and Mike Perkins take us to Batman’s earliest days for a retelling of one of his most infamous cases through a modern lense.

Beyond Real #2 (Vault Comics) – The first issue was solid with a Matrix like concept that feels perfect for our AI world.

Dark Souls: The Willow King #2 (Titan Comics) – The first issue was some solid dark fantasy with beautiful art and a great introduction to the characters. We’re excited to explore more of the world.

The Devil That Wears My Face #5 (Mad Cave Studios) – The series has been fun with its over the top moments and embracing its concept of Face/Off meets The Exorcist.

The Fog #1 (Sumerian) – The classic John Carpenter film returns in a new comic. Check out our interview with writer Steve Ekstrom!

The Gulf (Tundra Books) – The cover for this caught our eye and the story of four kids tring to find their place in the world sounds interesting to us.

Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace #1 (Marvel) – It’s the next chapter of Ms. Marvel as she learns what it means to be a mutant and X-Man!

Night People #1 (Oni Press) – A pulsating roadmap of the American subconscious, where neon-lit Southern nights give way to lipstick, sweat, and blood, and the odd, the innocent, and the evil are all fellow travelers down an interstate of dark, elusive dreams. Yeah, we’re sold with that description.

Spectacular Spider-Men #1 (Marvel) – Peter Parker and Miles Morales team up in a new series!

Torpedo 1972 #1 (Ablaze Publishing) – In the 1930s, Lucas Torelli, known as “Torpedo”, was a legend of the suburbs of New York. A tough, trigger-happy Sicilian who only knew how to make friends-anyone else is no longer here to say otherwise. Nearly forty years later, the Big Apple has changed quite a bit. Torpedo, not so much. As a persistent journalist prepares to write an article about the Caputo family, the demons of Torpedo’s past resurface, along with his dirty old habits… We’re suckers from crime stories.

Ultimate X-Men #1 (Marvel) – The Ultimate line has been excellent so far. We’re excited to see not just how this series differs than the X-Men we know but what it brings to the new Ultimate U.

Void Rivals #7 (Skybound) – Beyond guest appearances, we really want to know how this series ties into the greater Energon Universe.

Weapon X-Men #1 (Marvel) – This universal spanning series of one-shots debuted with a so-so start but we’re intrigued by the overall concept.

What If.. Aliens #1 (Marvel) – What if Carter Burke had lived? Dude was a corporate weasel. He got what he deserved.

Preview: Night People #1

Night People #1

WRITTEN BY BARRY GIFFORD & CHRIS CONDON
ART BY BRIAN LEVEL
COVER A BY J.H. WILLIAMS III
COVER B BY JOËLLE JONES
COVER C BY JACOB PHILLIPS
COVER D BY BRIAN LEVEL
FULL ART VARIANT (1:20) BY JOËLLE JONES
B&W VARIANT (1:30) BY J.H. WILLIAMS III
ON SALE MARCH 6TH, 2024 | $4.99 | 32 pgs. | FC

From literary icon Barry Gifford—internationally renowned creator of Wild At Heart and cowriter of David Lynch’s neo-noir masterpiece Lost Highway—Night People is a pulsating roadmap of the American subconscious, where neon-lit Southern nights give way to lipstick, sweat, and blood, and the odd, innocent, and evil are all fellow travelers down an interstate of dark, elusive dreams.

Adapted from Gifford’s acclaimed novel by breakout writer Chris Condon (That Texas Blood, The Enfield Gang Massacre) and a rotating cast of stunning artistic talents, follow an uneasy company of wanted criminals, cartel killers, and lost souls through four interlocking tales as they travel a path of intoxication, lust, and spontaneous violence from New Orleans to Egypt City, Florida, and back again. In our first tale of desperation, fanaticism, and murder, drawn by Brian Level (Poison Ivy), two ex-convicts—a pair of inseparable lovers named Big Betty Stalcup and Miss Cutie Early—are out on parole using their newfound freedom to purify the world of men’s evil influence.

Night People #1

Exclusive Reveal: Noir bleeds neon in Barry Gifford’s Night People and we have the second issue covers!

Coming in March is the debut issue of Night People, the violent and volatile new series from literary icon Barry Gifford! Published by Oni Press, the series features four interlocking tales and will be adapted by writer Chris Condon and feature the art of Brian Level, Alexandre Tefenkgi, Artyom Topilin, and Marco Finnegan.

Gifford is the internationally renowned creator of Wild At Heart and co-writer of David Lynch’s neo-noir masterpiece Lost Highway.

While you wait for the release of the first issue, we have the exclusive first look at the covers for Night People #2! Cover A is by Jason Shawn Alexander and cover B is by Jacob Phillips.

Noir Bleeds Neon in Barry Gifford’s Night People #1 – Debuting in March with Chris Condon and Brian Level

FOR SOME OF US, IT’S ALWAYS MIDNIGHT. Oni Press has released a first look at Night People #1 (of 4) – the first issue of the violent and volatile new series from literary icon Barry Gifford

Adapted from Gifford’s acclaimed novel by breakout writer Chris Condon with 30 pages of story in each deluxe, ad-free issue, Night People is a pulsating roadmap of the American subconscious that follows an uneasy company of wanted criminals, cartel killers, and lost souls as illustrated by a chorus of visually provocative artistic talents – Brian Level, Eisner Award winner Alexandre TefenkgiArtyom Topilin, and Marco Finnegan – through four interlocking tales punctuated by lipstick, sweat, and blood.

In our first tale of desperation, fanaticism, and murder, as told by Gifford, Condon, and Level, two ex-convicts—a pair of inseparable lovers named Big Betty Stalcup and Miss Cutie Early—are out on parole using their newfound freedom to purify the world of men’s evil influence . . . and leave a trail of mutilated bodies in their wake. As the psychotic dimensions of their star-crossed romance—and the twisting paths that first led them to their fateful meeting at the Fort Sumatra Detention Center for Wayward Women—come into full view, their experiment in righteousness culminates in the kidnapping of Rollo Lamar, a kindly attorney whom Betty and Cutie abduct just to see if they can reeducate at least one man on the planet before the demise of civilization.

Featuring a stunning line-up for covers from a murderer’s row of visionary talents – including J.H. Williams IIIJoëlle JonesJacob Phillips, and Brian Level – travel down the interstate of dark, elusive dreams from New Orleans to Egypt City, Florida, and back again when Night People #1 debuts in comic shops everywhere on March 6, 2024. 

NYCC 2023: Oni reveals a first wave of five new series

Oni Press has revealed ONI 2024—a high-intensity first wave of five propulsive new monthly comic series from a wide-ranging cast of award-winning creators and fast-rising stars that will fully embrace the potential of the comics medium to invert, collide, and reinvent the foundational genres of horror, science fiction, crime, fantasy, and beyond throughout the new year . . . 

INVASIVE

Written by CULLEN BUNN
Art by JESÚS HERVÁS
Covers by JESÚS HERVÁS, LUANA VECCHIO, BRIAN LEVEL, JAE LEE & MORE

Beyond excess, beyond ethics, beyond science . . . Enter a terrifying new experiment in pain from Eisner Award nominee Cullen Bunn (The Sixth Gun, Basilisk) and acclaimed illustrator Jesús Hervás (The Empty Man, Cyberpunk 2077)!

Dr. Carrie Reynolds was a veteran trauma surgeon with a godlike mastery of muscle and bone. But outside the operating room, her rigidly ordered life spiraled into chaos when her daughter, Heather—a recovering plastic surgery addict—suddenly disappeared, only to mysteriously reemerge in a catatonic state, her vocal cords removed . . . the latest in a series of victims scarred by a battery of brazenly cruel medical procedures that have baffled police and left an alarming number of once-ordinary citizens maimed, mutilated, or dead on arrival.

Deep beneath the streets of Carrie’s city, a new kind of underground hospital has opened its doors . . . and, once inside, there are no rules, no oaths, and no taboos too deep to not to be broken. Together, a new class of surgeon has sworn to pierce the final threshold of accepted medical orthodoxy one incision at a time.

The scalpel is their tool. The alleys are their operating theater. Murder is their medicine. And only Carrie can stop what they’re planning next . . .

FOUR ISSUES | BEGINNING DECEMBER 2023

INVASIVE

JILL AND THE KILLERS

Written by OLIVIA CUARTERO-BRIGGS
Art by ROBERTA INGRANATA
Covers by SANYA ANWAR, MARGUERITE SAUVAGE, ALISON SAMPSON & MORE

A DOUBLE-SIZED AND DANGEROUS 48-PAGE DEBUT! Rising stars Olivia Cuartero-Briggs (Mary Shelley Monster Hunter) and Roberta Ingranata (Witchblade, Doctor Who) present a new kind of game where even murder is much more than it seems . . .

Returning to school after the unsolved disappearance of her mother, teenager Jill Estrada can’t wait for things to return to normal . . . even as her friends become compulsively obsessed with Box Killers, a true-crime subscription game where each month’s “unsolved case” is custom-tailored to the life of its player. There’s only one catch: Jill’s game seems to be all too real . . . and when her clues begin to connect to a series of disappearances in her town, Jill and her friends must uncover the truth behind these mysterious crimes before one of their own becomes the next victim.

FOUR ISSUES | BEGINNING JANUARY 2024

JILL AND THE KILLERS

CEMETERY KIDS DON’T DIE

Written by ZAC THOMPSON
Art by DANIEL IRIZARRI
Covers by DANIEL IRIZARRI, DUSTIN WEAVER & MORE

YOU’RE ONLY ALIVE IF YOU’RE ONLINE . . . Experience 2024’s most exhilarating, terrifying adventure downloading from critically acclaimed writer Zac Thompson (Hunt for the Skinwalker, The Dregs) and blockbuster artist Daniel Irizarri (XINO, Judge Dredd)!

The 21st century sucks hard, but it’s been made somewhat tolerable by the latest and greatest media innovation to finally unseat the iPhone. Enter the Dreamwave: the first gaming console played entirely while you sleep.

Now the obsession of millions around the globe, it’s also the one point of solace for four friends whose lives have been marred by trauma and dysfunction. Together, this group of ultra-online “Cemetery Kids” spend their nights roaming the open world of the most immersive and brutal horror game ever created: “Nightmare Cemetery.” Together they seek to dethrone an enigmatic humanoid monster known only as the “The King of Sleep.”

Which was fun—until one of them doesn’t wake up . . . and finds their consciousness locked inside a horror game that is anything but imaginary. Now, the three remaining Cemetery Kids must navigate the game’s forbidden landscape to rescue their friend . . . and pray that the secret lurking at its center doesn’t follow them home.

FOUR ISSUES | BEGINNING FEBRUARY 2024

CEMETERY KIDS DON'T DIE

NIGHT PEOPLE

Written by BARRY GIFFORD & CHRIS CONDON
Art by BRIAN LEVEL, ALEXANDRE TEFENKGI, ARTYOM TOPILIN & MORE
Covers by BRIAN LEVEL, JOËLLE JONES, J.H. WILLIAMS III & MORE

From the mind of literary icon Barry Gifford—internationally renowned creator of Wild at Heart and cowriter of David Lynch’s neo-noir masterpiece Lost Highway—Night People is a pulsating roadmap of the American subconscious, where neon-lit Southern nights give way to lipstick, sweat, and blood, and the odd, the innocent, and the evil are all fellow travelers down an interstate of dark, elusive dreams.

Adapted from Gifford’s acclaimed novel by breakout writer Chris Condon (That Texas Blood, The Enfield Gang Massacre) and a rotating cast of stunning artistic talents—including Brian Level (Poison Ivy), Alexandre Tefenkgi (The Good Asian), Artyom Topilin (I Hate This Place), and more—follow an uneasy cast of wanted men, cartel-killers, and lost souls through four interlocking tales as they travel a path of intoxication, lust, and spontaneous violence from New Orleans to Egypt City, Florida, and back again.

In our first tale of desperation, fanaticism, and murder: Two ex-convicts—a pair of inseparable lovers named Big Betty Stalcup and Miss Cutie Early—are out on parole using their newfound freedom to purify the world of men’s evil influence . . . and leaving a trail of mutilated bodies in their wake. As the psychotic dimensions of their star-crossed romance—and the twisting paths that first led them to their fateful meeting at the Fort Sumatra Detention Center for Wayward Women—come into full view, their experiment in righteousness culminates in the kidnapping of Rollo Lamar, a kindly attorney whom Betty and Cutie abduct just to see if they can reeducate at least one man on the planet before the demise of civilization.

FOUR ISSUES | BEGINNING MARCH 2024

NIGHT PEOPLE

AKỌGUN: BRUTALIZER OF GODS

Written by MUREWA AYODELE
Art & Cover by DOTUN AKANDE

In an age thought forgotten . . . when man, monster, and the divine all strode the Earth . . . a lone warrior emerges to test the immortality of the cruel gods who would deal destruction with impunity . . . He is a one-man reckoning that stands in defiance of his divine masters with a sword in hand and a thirst for godblood. His name: AKỌGUN THE BRUTALIZER!

In the tradition of Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Thor, and the best-selling God of War franchise, superstars-in-the-making Murewa Ayodele and Dotun Akande—the creative duo behind I Am Iron Man and Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood—usher in a new epoch of African dark fantasy on the ancient continent of Alkebulan with a mythic cycle of cosmic destiny and unrelenting warfare colliding man against god . . . and blade against blade!

Told across three powerfully oversized chapters, steady your mind and spirit for a glorious new comics milestone revealing the fabled origin and battle-tested fury of . . . Akǫgun: Brutalizer of Gods!

THREE OVERSIZED ISSUES | BEGINNING APRIL 2024

AKỌGUN: BRUTALIZER OF GODS