J. Michael Straczynski and Gary Frank: two of my favorite creators in the world. I think JMS has a talent for telling some great stories, and if you’ve been reading this site for any amount of time, you know that Frank is my favorite artist at the moment, and probably my favorite Superman artist of all time. Sadly, I was unaware that a about a decade ago, they collaborated on a book I had a passing interest in reading, a little book put out by Top Cow called “Midnight Nation.”
The book is actually quite different from how it was described, and some of the basic concepts JMS seems to have taken from this book and put them into his upcoming run on the eponymous Superman title. It’s about a guy named David whose soul is stolen, and he must trek from Los Angeles to New York before his soul, and is life, are snuffed out.
Accompanying him is a mysterious guide known to him only as “Laurel.” Laurel is a beautiful if acerbic woman who gives vague answers to his questions, much to his frustration. For most of the series, their walk through America is filled with awkward moments and bickering between our two leads. Peppered throughout are attacks from these mysterious being known as Walkers. Able to travel between our world and the world on the other side of “The Metaphor,” these Walkers are even more dangerous than they are ugly, which is saying a lot, as they have lizard-like green skin and tattoo-like markings all over their body. Their even more mysterious leader carries an interest in our hero David, and he has to fight to get his soul back. Culminating in a great twist that closes up all the plot threads left open, especially regarding Laurel, it was nearly perfect.
If you’ve ever read at JMS book, you know he has skills. And one of his talents is handling the smaller character moments so they have just as much weight as the action scenes, if not more. Half of an entire issue could revolve a campfire and it would not be boring (and it isn’t either!). The characters are fully fleshed out and have clear motivations for everything they do, even if you don’t know it when you first meet them. All in all, it’s as good as anything else he’s ever written.
And then there’s Gary Frank. Gary Frank’s pencils are remarkably clean and polished, as they’ve always been. His work hasn’t changed that much over the year, except now t seems he uses references such as Christopher Reeves. But even though he didn’t, his characters are all real looking enough to look cinematic, with a realistic cast in my head. I was thinking about it while I was reading the book, and it came together really quickly. Look for a Casting article tomorrow!
There really is no going wrong with JMS and Frank, but in case you needed the push, I can tell you it’s absolutely incredible. While the trade is a bit on the expensive side (the hardcover on amazon is fetching about $70.), if you’re lucky, you might find it in single issues like I did for dirt cheap. I was able to get all 12 issues for $10, and Matt was even able to get the entire series for even cheaper at $8. So if you can find it, definitely pick it up. And come back tomorrow for the movie as I see it!
