‘Nocterra #1’ (review)

Written by Scott Snyder
Art by Tony S. Daniel
Published by Image Comics

What’s the point of reading post-apocalyptic fantasy fiction in a time that has felt apocalyptic as hell already?

I guess it could be worse than plague, catastrophic snowstorms, gigantic wildfires, economic ruin and white nationalist terrorism led by the former president of the United States.

The sun could be blotted out, and the sky gone all black, forever!

That’s where Nocterra, the latest work from Scott Snyder and Tony S. Daniel, begins.

But unlike the sun being extinguished in DC’s 1996 crossover The Final Night, presumably the sun is still working and there’s no ecological collapse of the planet.

But here, it’s always a starless night, and the darkness infects all living things and turns them into murderous monsters.

Sounds like a Scott Snyder story to me!

We meet Valentina “Val” Riggs, a skilled ferryman who transports people and goods along deadly unlit roads with her heavily illuminated eighteen-wheeler. Any world where long-haul truckers are the last line of defense is a fine story indeed. Quickly the story gets into the monsters, the horror-heavy danger and gore, and the personal and familial dynamics that keep Val going.

In this world, people stay survive only by staying close to light – fire, halogens, incandescent bulbs, chromium blasts, sun lamps, anything combustible. People kit their clothes and protective helmets out in portable LEDs, looking like ravers at all times. No apocalypse can be that bad when everyone is prepared for the bass to drop?

Credit to Tony S. Daniel for building a thorough-looking world. He’s not quite my cup of tea as an artist when inking himself – lines of different thickness would be helpful. Also, far too many cinematic widescreen panels, which really harshes sequential art’s potential. However, there’s enough grit and sensationalism mixed together to keep me interested.

Val is offered a job with a payoff too big to turn down, and I’m not talking cash – though she’ll take that, too. And we also meet a literal man in black who immediately calls our story into question. If you trust him, that is.

They refer to the sky going black as “the PM,” which I’m guessing stands for permanent midnight.

That makes me think of Permanent Midnight, the autobiography and 1998 Ben Stiller indie movie by screenwriter Jerry Stahl, who suffered through heroin addiction while also writing for 1980s TV hits ALF, Moonlighting and thirtysomething. And that Ben Stiller played Stahl in a 1998 movie based on the book.

Nocterra has in common with Stahl the dark days, existential angst and doomed planet, for sure.