Nights is certainly my friend, but it ain’t always an easy friendship.
When issue #16 dropped back in late October, I welcomed a dear old friend after some six months away. And the resulting issue felt like a warm embrace, as we saw a thoughtful, sentimental slice of island life with Tsukumari, Erik, and Gray.
But now, just a few months later, issue #17 roars back not with a firm hug but a set of giant, snarling teeth that takes a massive chunk out of each and every one of us.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
Because the trio’s time on Thule hasn’t just been about making friends and picking berries. It’s been a chance for Erik to study with the leader, Issac, and for Tsukumari to observe the last remaining magic users to ensure nothing most heinous is afoot. And without spoiling too much, such acts are, indeed, afoot.
What I can say is that what originally started as Issac trying to save his people suddenly becomes something so much worse, and in turn that 1) helps us readers better understand the incredibly complicated but compelling scope of magic in this universe and 2) it also gets the trio off their feet and into some very important battles. And, from a visual standpoint, this “speed” is optimal for Nights as the art team (artist Luigi Formisano, colorists Francesco Segala and Gloria Martinelli, and letterer Maria Letizia Mirabella) really excel at expertly paced battle sequences that show off the diverse (albeit manga-forward) influences at the heart of this book.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
There’s a certain power and honesty expressed when, say, an arm is being ripped off, or we see Tsukumari on death’s door after he’s taken one of the most heinous blows I’ve ever seen in a comic book. Nights indulges your relationship with gore and violence — but always with a larger purpose and while maintaining proper aesthetic alignment, and you know that everything feels earned as the best kind of pay off. I talk a lot about Nights’ level of emotionality, and how the story gives each character a chance to shine with real hopes and problems. (That was truly the value of issue #16.) But Nights’ power also comes in grabbing us by the eyeballs and showing us things that both elate and disarm its readers, leaving us in a place to feel every gory twist as this story becomes ever more real and intense in its scope.
But as heavy as the blows land, Nights also is an expert in small but mighty gestures (often thanks to the exceptional structuring by writer Wyatt Kennedy). It’s a reveal of a certain person’s first name; even more insight into Gray’s background (she continues to be an intriguing puzzle); a little tease to some interesting stuff with Vince and Gray in the future; and even just moments that’ll break your heart (like with Issac and his wife, Lea). It’d be easy to miss some of these when you’re blood drunk on the bulk of this issue, but then maybe that’s the point.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
Because Nights wants to give you a proper story, but it’s going to do so to test your commitment and overall engagement. It’s going to alternate between the precision of body strikes and an axe to the face in order to get you playing ball with genuine love and interest. The fight stuff may be flashy, or like eating a palm full of extra sugary candy, but these smaller moments or reveals feel like they cut the deepest and are more satisfying for having made you put in all that work. They’re moments that in some ways augment the grace and speed of this issue with something that pulls the air out of the room, and your “workload” always feels as if it’s balanced for optimal engagement. Nights is your buddy, duh, but this friendship has layers that you must work through, and it’s always, always worth it.
There’s so much more to this issue that I can’t even get into in earnest. What I will say, though, is that it’s even more to do in establishing this prequel as a proper addition of the larger Nights story. There’s been some lingering feelings on my end that this “chapter” would be important, but that maybe it would take a lighter touch to feel more like a “break.” But what happens with Thule (and even the Gray “reveal”) is larger proof that not only is this issue more confrontational than 100 Mortal Kombats, but that this is just as real of a season as any other arc, and that we have to take it deadly serious because the creators are never going to pull their punches.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
In fact, one of the most devastating emotional developments of this book happens near its conclusion. I’m not spoiling that either, but it very much changes how we see Gray and Tsukumari and also how they see each other. Rather than just being an inherently good or bad thing, it’s heaps more complicated. It’s the kind of development that breaks your heart, stirs your interest into a proper fever pitch, and shows that this story will never stop nibbling at your throat. And why should it: Nights knows how and when to hit that high gear, and whether it pops the knife in real gentle like, or cuts you in half at 500 MPH, you’re going to feel it in a major way. Because at the end of the day, good storytelling isn’t about gore or big reveals but rather how it lands in your heart.
And in the case of Nights, there’s still more to absorb as we finish this arc with February’s issue #18. I can only imagine the savagery and heartache waiting for us then, and I’m just glad we don’t have to wait literal months for the next dagger to be plunged into our necks.
Because, yes, I sometimes get a touch “in my feelings” about beating the Nights drum as long and as loud as I have. However, issue #17 just proves that this story is more lethal, charming, engaging, thoughtful, and downright bloody than so many other comics going today. If you like your friendships to feel a little like unarmed combat, get on board pronto.
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