Night Drive

by Richard Sala, Dana Marie Andra (editor), Daniel Clowes (designer)

When Richard Sala passed away in 2020, he left behind a uniquely eldritch body of graphic novels and illustrations, fueled by macabre whimsy and a love of dark mysteries and vintage monsters. Like David Lynch, Sala was a painter who turned to a storytelling medium that allowed him to create inventive narratives inspired by such disparate influences as French crime fiction, the grim humor of Charles Addams, the surreal poetry of Jorge Luis Borges, and his own penchant for all things gleefully ghoulish and sinister.Originally self-published in an edition of 500 copies in 1984, Night Drive collects several short stories inspired directly by pulp magazines, film noir, and Andre Breton — sinister and creepy pieces heavy on the atmosphere and signaling the creative emergence of a singular talent finding his footing with the surety of an artist equipped with the innate mastery of his craft and vision. Night Drive directly led to Sala contributing to Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly's Raw and the adaptation of Night Drive's “Invisible Hands” for MTV’s Liquid Television, sparking an almost 40-year career as one of comics' finest creators and idiosyncratic creators.Edited by longtime Sala friend Dana Marie Andra (Web of Horror) and designed by Sala’s friend and fellow cartoonist Daniel Clowes (Monica, Ghost World), who also contributes the Afterword, this graphic novella is rounded out with rare artwork, interviews with Sala about the book, and an essay by Andra.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Comix, Fiction, Art

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Richard Sala grew up with a fascination for musty old museums, dusty old libraries, cluttered antique shops, narrow alleyways, hidden truths, double meanings, sinister secrets and spooky old houses. He has written and drawn a number of unusual graphic novels which often combine elements of classic mystery and horror stories and which have been known to cause readers to emit chuckles as well as gasps. Although most of his books are written with teens and older readers in mind, his book, CAT BURGLAR BLACK, can be enjoyed by younger readers as well.

To view current art and activity, please visit: http://richardsala.tumblr.com

Note: I am new to GoodReads ~ and I am happy to have a place dedicated to sharing my love of books with other book lovers. Please be patient with me if I seem rather slow and clumsy! Thanks to all my readers over the years!

Reviews

[kit · Rating 1 out of 5]

a little more than confused

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Richard Sala's first book. It does feel like it too, but has a lot of the tropes and styling that Sala is well known for. Fans only for sure.

[Bill Hsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have the 28-page paperback self-published by Sala in 1984, not the new 64-page hardback edition with the extra materials. I ordered it from Sala in '85, and still have his signed handwritten note from our correspondence! (I see people asking big bucks for this online, whoa.)

Sala's style already seems fully formed with this first book. The drawing style is instantly recognizable, as well as his quirky take on neo-noir tropes. The text and storytelling is occasionally more disjointed, with some interesting ruptures. There are also some full-page panels with almost abstract, scattered captions. I like these pieces more than his later work, after he more or less settled into his routine.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful tribute to a beloved, beautiful artist.

[Nick LeBlanc · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded down.

Very representative of a particular type of backward looking hyper-referential weirdo art we see a lot from the 80s into the early 90s. Almost all of the really good shit dipped its toes into this approach: Ren & Stimpy, Clowes, Lynch, etc. Sala’s stuff is sketchy and cool, unconcerned with developing a solid narrative, relying instead on implication, implicit cultural knowledge, familiarity with television reruns, and so forth to leave the reader with an impression.

Time has exposed some of the weaknesses to this approach. There’s a reason why the artists who fully commit to a narrative have a longer and more impactful legacy. Sala takes the approach of letting the pretense stand in place of story or theme. That’s okay. After all, it’s ART, man…Anyway, regardless of how it’s aged, there are a few brilliant shorties in here. A worthy addition to the canon.

Read on a hardcover Fantagraphics book from the library at the suggestion of an arty and occasionally pretentious friend.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A debut comic from Richard Sala, re-released posthumously after having been out-of-print for years. Though Night Drive is one of Sala's more raw works, the emphasis on film noir set amidst surrealist settings are very much present - an arduous balance between mature and otherworldly or fantastical storytelling. First published in 1984, Sala was a fair bit critical of his early works, though the building blocks for what Sala's cartooning career would become are very much apparent here. In the years that followed, Sala delivered longer form stories, but in Night Drive, we follow shorter pieces that remain somewhat disconnected despite some attempt at a connecting narrative. More gallery pieces or demos, Night Drive serves as an intriguing showcase of the artist's influences and sensibilities.

Despite the brevity in the pieces here, the narratives are winding and often inconclusive. Instead, Sala shows off his ability to craft atmosphere, tone and style, all of which is heavily steeped across the various short comics here. Fans of Sala will appreciate the foundation that works like this brought forth, but those expecting this to be a good jumping on point for Richard Sala's works may find this quite disorientating and unsatisfactory.

[Ricky Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't go wrong with Richard Sala. Because this is a collection of short stories some work more than others but overall it's great. Sala requires you to really pour over the pages in order to fully get what's going on. His writing is so engaging so I'd gladly do it.

[Alican Kunta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have no idea what night drive is about but I respect it.

[Dair · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well made book with interesting extra material. The actual Sala material is often baffling to me but interesting to look at. Invisible Hands is really the only narrative and it works well. Some of the other pieces fall flat though. Glad I read it and may look at his later material.

[Joshua Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

mostly inconsequential outtakes and bsides, should have just been tacked on to a larger volume as bonus content

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-release by Fantagraphics Press (2025) of the 1984 publication of the recently departed (2020) Richard Sala, who thought of it years later as "juvenalia," though it was published when he was 29, his first book. Expressionist style, influenced by French crime works, Charles Addams, mystery with angular faces, off kilter. Lots of short short pieces, ephemera, but interesting stuff. Beautiful production for Sala fans mainly, designed and with an afterword by his friend Daniel Clowes.

[Matt Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Sala's INVISIBLE HANDS - reinterpreted as an animated series for MTVs Liquid Television - captured imaginations and influenced people all over the country with its psychotronic, contemporary take on classic pulp serials. Sala's self-published NIGHT DRIVE is where it all started. Newly released in a hardcover edition with additional artwork and contextual writing from Dana Marie Andrea, Dan Clowes, and Sala himself. Essential stuff!

[Clint · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Cryptically spooky, with an odd humor lingering about. Sala’s illustration is distinctive even in these early black and white comics, and makes me want to check out his later less busy watercolored work.

“I keep trying to think I’m someone else but I’m always myself.”

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one should be considered only for Richard Sala completists. It's short, only 28 pages expanded with interviews and forewords. It's Sala's first work and feels like it. It does have Invisible Hands in it, which was later turned into a serial on Liquid Television.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great edition for Sala's first self published comic. The extra features provide an interesting context and the outtakes are fascinating as well. Pure Sala.

[Michael Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

love LOVE the illustration style

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

a good book to read at 2am instead of sleeping. I should be sleeping, but now I want to make comics. I always want to make comics, but Richard Sala makes me want to make comics even more.

[rndgmoat · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting artifact, this is a surrealistic reimagining of so.many movie tropes about detectives, killers, spies and so forth.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A love letter to the lost.