Review by Leroy Douresseaux

After Dark, a comic book series from Radical Publishing, is the creation of director Antoine Fuqua (Brooklyn’s Finest,Training Day) and actor Wesley Snipes (Blade).  This science fiction miniseries is written byPeter Milligan (X-Statix) and is set in a post-apocalyptic, near-future that could be our real future.

After Dark #1 introduces an Earth that exists in a state of near-perpetual darkness.  Civilization has largely become confined to domed cities, andSolar City is the most populated city.  Some of the populace lives in a drug-addled stupor, while others are constantly rioting for various causes and reasons or maybe because they’re bored.

The rulers of Solar City decide thatAngel, a messianic figure who hasn’t been seen in decades, can tame the populace.  They enlistOmar, a Bedouin drifter, to guide a team composed of both military and civilians into the wilds outside the city in a search for Angel.  The mission immediately gets off to a bad start.

THE LOWDOWN:  A team composed of squabbling rivals (law officers and criminals), heading into an unknown land – rife with people and things waiting to hurt or destroy them.  It’s The Wizard of Oz or a road movie.  Regardless of the setting, plot, or characters, a scenario like After Dark’s is always about the mission (Red River,Aliens, Platoon, Blade II, etc.).  After Dark is an interesting concept, and while it feels all-too-familiar, what sets it apart is the idea of nature covering the land in an all-consuming darkness – one so near-complete that it plucks are deepest fears.

The execution of the concept, by Peter Milligan via script, is good, because Milligan presents something to read that is always interesting and usually superb, although I wouldn’t call this superb.  The painted art is good, especially the exteriors and shots of the ship.  However, there is something missing in this narrative, and that’s the main action of the story.  Too much of this first issue reads like back story or an extended prologue.  Still, what is here is good enough to tempt readers to try the second issue.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Fans of post-apocalyptic science fiction comic books may want to try After Dark.

B

Click on the image below to go to this article.

Long time comic reviewer Richard Caldwell returns with a look at After Dark #1

the three cents:
Alright, so the director of the street-smart Training Day film Fuqua and the notoriously infamous actor Snipes have created a dark science fiction thriller comic book. If you're like me, then you are not easily swayed by Hollywood types infecting the funny book medium, their names pushing them ahead in the long line of earnest writers and artists who have been slaving for years for a turn at the spotlight. That said, this is actually a sweet read. In this premiere issue, we are introduced to a distant world, an Earth fallen on the hardest of times. It was generations past when assorted natural catastrophes came to a head (and we are here clearly invited to fill in the blanks with our own timely threats of climate change and of the dire need for alternative fuels, etc), and with the science meant for destruction attempting to then right the wrongs, only to make matters even worse. Solar City is the last great refuge of humanity, although with a claustrophobic political landscape igniting increasingly severe rioting, and with little to none natural resources remaining, and with the mass of the Earth enveloped in a total and toxic night...times are grim. The world is falling apart. Shades of Highlander 2, only far more interesting, far more literate.

And that is due entirely to the efforts of ace scribe Milligan. In the early to mid-90's the man was at his creative zenith, before wasting too many years working on stories involving men in tights. He has been making a strong, strong comeback however, and After Dark is a righteous example of nothing less. His dialogue is captivating and hypnotic, every nuance of characterism and mannerism is so well-thought out, so distinct in voice and style. A group of military troopers are teamed with a ragtag number of rebels and criminals on a rescue mission to seek out a near-mythic female revolutionary not seen in over a decade. What a great premise.
It almost saves the art.
 

Yes, Radical has extremely high standards for graphic presentations, but somehow, certain aspects of this story fall a wee bit shy of that. The layouts were often muddled to the point of it just not being very clear as to what the heck was going on. There was a fight scene in particular that was poorly choreographed, poorly drawn, with mismatched limbs and awkwardness in each frame. The landscapes, on a finer note, were breathtaking. The "outside" shots, the city, the vessels, were so imaginative. Enormous machine-buildings that look straight out of the acid-infused mind of the very best sci-fi authors circa the 1960's. Overall, there is potential here, if anything. Although, Leonardo Manco is credited as artist for the next issue in this mini-series, so I have hopes.
 

Final verdict...for a comic created by a pair of Hollywood stars, this ain't half bad. There is a strong enough groundwork laid out here, and certainly Milligan is one of the better and more inventive mainstream comic book writers working today. As dark as the world shown in After Dark is, I have a little faith that this series will be a bright spot on my reading list in months to come.

To check out Richard Caldwell's blog, click the image below

Long time comic reviewer Richard Caldwell returns with a look at After Dark #1

the three cents:
Alright, so the director of the street-smart Training Day film Fuqua and the notoriously infamous actor Snipes have created a dark science fiction thriller comic book. If you're like me, then you are not easily swayed by Hollywood types infecting the funny book medium, their names pushing them ahead in the long line of earnest writers and artists who have been slaving for years for a turn at the spotlight. That said, this is actually a sweet read. In this premiere issue, we are introduced to a distant world, an Earth fallen on the hardest of times. It was generations past when assorted natural catastrophes came to a head (and we are here clearly invited to fill in the blanks with our own timely threats of climate change and of the dire need for alternative fuels, etc), and with the science meant for destruction attempting to then right the wrongs, only to make matters even worse. Solar City is the last great refuge of humanity, although with a claustrophobic political landscape igniting increasingly severe rioting, and with little to none natural resources remaining, and with the mass of the Earth enveloped in a total and toxic night...times are grim. The world is falling apart. Shades of Highlander 2, only far more interesting, far more literate.

And that is due entirely to the efforts of ace scribe Milligan. In the early to mid-90's the man was at his creative zenith, before wasting too many years working on stories involving men in tights. He has been making a strong, strong comeback however, and After Dark is a righteous example of nothing less. His dialogue is captivating and hypnotic, every nuance of characterism and mannerism is so well-thought out, so distinct in voice and style. A group of military troopers are teamed with a ragtag number of rebels and criminals on a rescue mission to seek out a near-mythic female revolutionary not seen in over a decade. What a great premise.
It almost saves the art.
 

Yes, Radical has extremely high standards for graphic presentations, but somehow, certain aspects of this story fall a wee bit shy of that. The layouts were often muddled to the point of it just not being very clear as to what the heck was going on. There was a fight scene in particular that was poorly choreographed, poorly drawn, with mismatched limbs and awkwardness in each frame. The landscapes, on a finer note, were breathtaking. The "outside" shots, the city, the vessels, were so imaginative. Enormous machine-buildings that look straight out of the acid-infused mind of the very best sci-fi authors circa the 1960's. Overall, there is potential here, if anything. Although, Leonardo Manco is credited as artist for the next issue in this mini-series, so I have hopes.
 

Final verdict...for a comic created by a pair of Hollywood stars, this ain't half bad. There is a strong enough groundwork laid out here, and certainly Milligan is one of the better and more inventive mainstream comic book writers working today. As dark as the world shown in After Dark is, I have a little faith that this series will be a bright spot on my reading list in months to come.

To check out Richard Caldwell's blog, click the image below