‘Nocterra’ #9 Advance Review: A Dark World Gets Darker With Blacktop Bill Along For The Ride

There are often times in a Scott Snyder written series, I have noticed, when there is a pause of action in favour of exploring characters and relationships and Nocterra #9 is one such issue. With Blacktop Bill wanting to offer his services to Val and her convoy, Snyder and Tony S Daniel’s give over this issue to a more dialogue-heavy issue with moments of break out action sequences that inject the requisite amount of energy comic books of this nature need. In creating such an issue it also allows for some philosophising too. Particularly on Bill’s part as he contemplates whether a world saved from darkness would be a better world or not?

By now fans of this series should recognise the set up at the start of each issue. A flashback that, in this case, is just two pages long and gives us a hint at the lives of our band of brothers and sisters before the darkness engulfed the globe. But, this sombre, nostalgic look back by this story-arc’s narrator, Piper, is a great set up for the page turn and the all-out action sequence Daniel’s depicts over a double page in bold, badass panels full of fiery colours, in total contrast with the opening pages and its more subdues, pastel-coloured scenes of tranquility and everyday life. Marcello Maiolo is the colourist on this issue and he certainly knows how to make an already big opening even bigger with radiant reds, oranges and yellow as our team of truckers let loose with the firepower on the mutated menaces they meet.

What I am intrigued about in this issue, and for a good while yet I expect, is the part Blacktop Bill will play. Will be become the Negan of this series, or stick to his guns and remain an asshole? I suspect the latter given what we know about his past from this series and the recent Nocterra Special: Blacktop Bill one-shot. 

The series continues to trunk on down the road, literally and figuratively, and while it’s still early days I’m enjoying the change in perspective Piper offers. And while Val takes a backseat in this issue – and in this story arc thus far – one is reminded that the title of the series doe not necessarily equate with an on individual. It’ll be interesting to see where this series goes next now the proverbial cat is amongst the pigeons which has immediately established a more unnerving tone than that of the first story-arc.

Nocterra #9 is out Wednesday 13th April from Image Comics/Best Jackett