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The Dusk
Not yet published
Expected 1 Jan 50The Dusk is a reimagining of the superhero vigilante from a grounded, socially conscious perspective. Morally complex and humorous, the series features a flawed Jaime Nuñez, who fights a never-ending battle for the soul of Blackstone City.
Down below the abandoned skyscrapers and crumbling colonial architecture, beneath the buzzing lights and ragged billboards, is a fading, floundering city propped up by vice, extortion, and fear. This is BLACKSTONE —a dark, mirror image of Boston or Philadelphia. A city whose history dates back to the earliest days of our nation.
A once-mighty industrial titan—now teetering on the edge of oblivion. A city that used to mean something.
Blackstone public defender Jaime Nuñez —former baseball hero, now a divorced dad to a precocious teen—is always trying to do his best. But the criminal justice system is not without limits. When Jaime comes into an unexpected fortune and some surprising, super heroic tools, he discovers there might be another, more direct way to do some actual good in the world.
But can the masked man known only as The Dusk push back against decades of entrenched corruption without compromising his commitment to social justice...
Down below the abandoned skyscrapers and crumbling colonial architecture, beneath the buzzing lights and ragged billboards, is a fading, floundering city propped up by vice, extortion, and fear. This is BLACKSTONE —a dark, mirror image of Boston or Philadelphia. A city whose history dates back to the earliest days of our nation.
A once-mighty industrial titan—now teetering on the edge of oblivion. A city that used to mean something.
Blackstone public defender Jaime Nuñez —former baseball hero, now a divorced dad to a precocious teen—is always trying to do his best. But the criminal justice system is not without limits. When Jaime comes into an unexpected fortune and some surprising, super heroic tools, he discovers there might be another, more direct way to do some actual good in the world.
But can the masked man known only as The Dusk push back against decades of entrenched corruption without compromising his commitment to social justice...
148 pages, Paperback
Expected publication January 1, 2050
About the author
Alex Segura
310 books591 followersAlex Segura is the bestselling and award-winning author of Secret Identity, which The New York Times called “wittily original” and named an Editor’s Choice. NPR described the novel as “masterful” and The L.A. Times called it “a magnetic read.”
Secret Identity received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist, was listed as one of the Best Mysteries of the Year by NPR, Kirkus, Booklist, LitReactor, Gizmodo, BOLO Books, and the South Florida Sun Sentinel, was nominated for the Anthony Award for Best Hardcover, the Lefty and Barry Awards for Best Novel, the Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel, and won the LA Times Book Prize in the Mystery/Thriller category.
His upcoming work includes the YA superhero adventure Araña/Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow, the follow-up to Secret Identity, Alter Ego, and the sci-fi/espionage thriller, Dark Space (with Rob Hart). Alex is also the author of Star Wars Poe Dameron: Free Fall, the Anthony Award-nominated Pete Fernandez Miami Mystery series, and a number of comic books – including The Mysterious Micro-Face (in partnership with NPR), The Black Ghost, The Archies, The Dusk, The Awakened, Mara Llave – Keeper of Time, Blood Oath, stories featuring Marvel heroes the Avengers, Sunspot, White Tiger, Spider-Man and DC’s Superman, Sinestro, and The Question, to name a few.
His short story, “90 Miles” was included in The Best American Mystery and Suspense Stories for 2021 and won the Anthony Award for Best Short Story. Another short story,“Red Zone,” won the 2020 Anthony Award for Best Short Story.
Alex is also the co-creator of the Lethal Lit podcast, named one of the best fiction podcasts of 2018 by The New York Times.
A Miami native, he lives in New York with his wife and children.
Secret Identity received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist, was listed as one of the Best Mysteries of the Year by NPR, Kirkus, Booklist, LitReactor, Gizmodo, BOLO Books, and the South Florida Sun Sentinel, was nominated for the Anthony Award for Best Hardcover, the Lefty and Barry Awards for Best Novel, the Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel, and won the LA Times Book Prize in the Mystery/Thriller category.
His upcoming work includes the YA superhero adventure Araña/Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow, the follow-up to Secret Identity, Alter Ego, and the sci-fi/espionage thriller, Dark Space (with Rob Hart). Alex is also the author of Star Wars Poe Dameron: Free Fall, the Anthony Award-nominated Pete Fernandez Miami Mystery series, and a number of comic books – including The Mysterious Micro-Face (in partnership with NPR), The Black Ghost, The Archies, The Dusk, The Awakened, Mara Llave – Keeper of Time, Blood Oath, stories featuring Marvel heroes the Avengers, Sunspot, White Tiger, Spider-Man and DC’s Superman, Sinestro, and The Question, to name a few.
His short story, “90 Miles” was included in The Best American Mystery and Suspense Stories for 2021 and won the Anthony Award for Best Short Story. Another short story,“Red Zone,” won the 2020 Anthony Award for Best Short Story.
Alex is also the co-creator of the Lethal Lit podcast, named one of the best fiction podcasts of 2018 by The New York Times.
A Miami native, he lives in New York with his wife and children.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 4, 2024
I have read other people's reviews and, from my perspective, there is a stated point that I feel is missed and may be missed by many. This story is aimed at showing the trials and tribulations of being unwillingly advantaged in a world with problems, and people with even more problems, to a target audience not quite blighted enough themselves to something more realistic. Yet.
Some would suggest that this style of comic belongs, and owes, more to the golden age of comics. I would suggest that this is given to the golden age of youth with the rest of us allowed along for the ride. This does mean that there are tropes used and similarities enough to be able to draw many parallels (which, perhaps ironically, aren't parallel with each other).
This wasn't aimed at the 50 something me. Maybe my inner child. And, commercially, my pocket perhaps (bills have got to be paid). This was written for children (preteen and older, I would suggest). But with a maturity that enables adults to enjoy it. If you expect some deep assessment of the mental anguishes of heroes and villains akin to that already provided by the likes of Morrison, Moore, Bolland, Mills, Ennis, and so many more then you are going to be disappointed. It would be like reading a Star Wars novel (which I enjoy) and expecting to read astrobiology science fiction (which I also enjoy).
Serious issues are distilled and beautifully presented here. The art is crisp. The colours put to good use. And the lettering always adds, rather than detracts, from the experience. All in all an excellent read.
Some would suggest that this style of comic belongs, and owes, more to the golden age of comics. I would suggest that this is given to the golden age of youth with the rest of us allowed along for the ride. This does mean that there are tropes used and similarities enough to be able to draw many parallels (which, perhaps ironically, aren't parallel with each other).
This wasn't aimed at the 50 something me. Maybe my inner child. And, commercially, my pocket perhaps (bills have got to be paid). This was written for children (preteen and older, I would suggest). But with a maturity that enables adults to enjoy it. If you expect some deep assessment of the mental anguishes of heroes and villains akin to that already provided by the likes of Morrison, Moore, Bolland, Mills, Ennis, and so many more then you are going to be disappointed. It would be like reading a Star Wars novel (which I enjoy) and expecting to read astrobiology science fiction (which I also enjoy).
Serious issues are distilled and beautifully presented here. The art is crisp. The colours put to good use. And the lettering always adds, rather than detracts, from the experience. All in all an excellent read.
May 2, 2024
I backed “The Dusk” on Kickstarter years ago. I was ecstatic when I finally got my copy in the mail, and significantly less ecstatic when I finished read it a few minutes ago.
“The Dusk” is not a terrible comic by any means. It’s more of a “nothing” comic. There’s no reason to read this over many other graphic novels you could be reading instead.
The story is rather dull. It’s about a rich lawyer trying to take down a villain who, unbeknownst to him, he has history with. Pretty generic stuff. Jaime, the protagonist, is a pretty boring character. He inherited a bunch of money and so he puts on a costume and fights crime. Sound like another famous comic book character you know? At the end his daughter even becomes Oracle, which made me chuckle. As if the book hadn’t had enough Batman parallels before that.
Like I said, the story isn’t bad, just terribly generic and dull. If only it had been more exciting—more fast-paced. Some action would have went a long way. The boring court scene at the end was longer than any action sequences, of which there were only a couple. The artwork is great, though, so there’s that.
“The Dusk” is not a terrible comic by any means. It’s more of a “nothing” comic. There’s no reason to read this over many other graphic novels you could be reading instead.
The story is rather dull. It’s about a rich lawyer trying to take down a villain who, unbeknownst to him, he has history with. Pretty generic stuff. Jaime, the protagonist, is a pretty boring character. He inherited a bunch of money and so he puts on a costume and fights crime. Sound like another famous comic book character you know? At the end his daughter even becomes Oracle, which made me chuckle. As if the book hadn’t had enough Batman parallels before that.
Like I said, the story isn’t bad, just terribly generic and dull. If only it had been more exciting—more fast-paced. Some action would have went a long way. The boring court scene at the end was longer than any action sequences, of which there were only a couple. The artwork is great, though, so there’s that.
August 17, 2024
While the introduction* promised something different in superhero comics, THE DUSK is a fairly by-the-numbers all-ages superhero yarn. Rich hero, secret identity, arch villain with connection to hero - nothing really wrinkled the formula in a way that made me want to read more, although nothing about it fell completely wrong either. I will say that my kids (9 & 11) enjoyed it and wouldn't mind more. Worth noting, too, that the art was good.
*I anticipated more moral grey, but it's pretty much hero vs villain. I guess you could say the hero's keeping his identity secret from his family and close friends was a grey area, but I didn't see much fresh in it that hasn't been touched on since at least SMALLVILLE (where Clark's insistence on his secret remaining secret was often the series' greatest evil). The other "grey" was the hero defending a henchman, but... well... misguided kid or not, he did the crime. And (SPOILER) the argument that got him off didn't land with me at all.
I readily acknowledge I might have read this book differently and set my expectations more appropriately if I hadn't read the introduction before first.
*I anticipated more moral grey, but it's pretty much hero vs villain. I guess you could say the hero's keeping his identity secret from his family and close friends was a grey area, but I didn't see much fresh in it that hasn't been touched on since at least SMALLVILLE (where Clark's insistence on his secret remaining secret was often the series' greatest evil). The other "grey" was the hero defending a henchman, but... well... misguided kid or not, he did the crime. And (SPOILER) the argument that got him off didn't land with me at all.
I readily acknowledge I might have read this book differently and set my expectations more appropriately if I hadn't read the introduction before first.
May 14, 2024
The Dusk is everything I love about Batman comics minus everything I don't love about Batman comics. It's exciting and fun. It's also full of vibrant colors and hope. Best of all, it has great characters who ask questions, make mistakes, get back up, and try to find a better way to make the world better. I can't wait for the second volume.
April 29, 2024
This was a lot of fun. I loved the retro style as well as the Law-and-Orderesque approach to seeing the crime all the way through. There are lots of angles to explore and I’m eagerly awaiting volume 2.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews