Review — ‘The Midnight Show’ #2 Continues To Terrify And Delight

Welcome to the table,

I would rather watch a classic movie I like in theaters than some sparkly new blockbuster. Maybe it’s COVID. Maybe it’s people not knowing how to act in public, or maybe I have just turned into an old man way before I thought I would. But when I see a trailer for a new movie, 99% of the time I’m the first to say “That will be cool when we see it on <insert streaming service>.”

Classic movies though?  I will travel across multiple cities to see things like Alien, The Wolfman, and Ghostbusters. If given enough lead time, the prospect of seeing monsters, and the close proximity of somewhere with really good food will make me travel across multiple states to see something rad in theaters.

The Midnight Show is one of those comics that I love. It harkens to that golden age of monster movies, while still feeling fresh and new. It does not hurt that my real life friends Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt are the writer and artist on this title, but if they were anything less than spectacular I would have said so already.

Issue #2 picks up with a vampire unleashing its full mystical might on a crowd of theater patrons who were seeing a showing of Basil Saxon’s God of Monsters. What I adore about this book is how classic the monsters are while staying firmly rooted in the modern world the story is playing out in. Brian Hurtt has a way of creating art that is nothing short of timeless.

Cullen reaches into the the spiritual halls of Hammer and Universal. He draws out a story where mummies, wolfmen, creatures who clearly came from lagoons, humanoids cobbled together from the bodies of the dead, and more clash in the streets, with the humans around them being, at best, things running and screaming into the night, and at worst a quick snack before they move on to fight the other monsters.

The monsters are so cool looking and really showcase Brian’s attention to the shape language and character design. Bill Crabtree‘s color work is also astounding. It helps to breath life into the whole production. The Midnight Show pays homage to the classic horror monsters who filled my childhood with nightmarish wonder, while showcasing these icons in a way that’s as grounded and new as a freshly dug grave.

While I’m often hesitant to suggest that a comic should make the leap to another form of media, The Midnight Show would work exceptionally well as a Netflix series in the vein of The House of Usher or even a feature film. This for sure would get me into a theater on opening night.

Until next time, Doctor Morbid makes me happy