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Nocturnals #omnibus
Nocturnals Omnibus Volume 2
Dan Brereton’s Eisner-nominated lush, innovative, and action-packed stories of supernatural menace and gritty heroics are collected in this second volume omnibus edition, featuring weird tales of horror and crime.
The Nocturnals revolves around the mysterious quest of underworld enforcer and occult figure, Doc Horror; his supernaturally-gifted daughter Evening (aka Halloween Girl) who carries a pumpkin full of haunted toys; the Gunwitch, a silent, two-gun revenant with an itch to kill monsters; the lissome wraith Polychrome, and a host of hard-boiled inhuman players battling hidden evils lurking on the outskirts of human knowledge.
Collects the previously published Nocturnals The Dark Forever , Outskirts of Doom , Spectres , and A Nocturnal Alphabet .
The Nocturnals revolves around the mysterious quest of underworld enforcer and occult figure, Doc Horror; his supernaturally-gifted daughter Evening (aka Halloween Girl) who carries a pumpkin full of haunted toys; the Gunwitch, a silent, two-gun revenant with an itch to kill monsters; the lissome wraith Polychrome, and a host of hard-boiled inhuman players battling hidden evils lurking on the outskirts of human knowledge.
Collects the previously published Nocturnals The Dark Forever , Outskirts of Doom , Spectres , and A Nocturnal Alphabet .
432 pages, Hardcover
Published July 12, 2022
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About the author
Dan Brereton
179 books35 followersDaniel Alan "Dan" Brereton is a Comic book storyteller, 5-time Eisner not-winner. Responsible for The Nocturnals and a lot of comics.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 31, 2022
Not as much of an overreaching story to this one as the last volume I read.
But still decent. Especially the art, which is the actual star of this show.
It seems like a lot of the different character's backstory is sort of inferred. And at the end, there are stories and diary entries and whatnot by Eve and a few of the others, and a dossier on the group by the police/FBI that gives a bit of background to each major character. But I wish Brereton had just written those stories. It's not as interesting to just read stuff about them that way.
Still.
There's something about this world that Brereton has created. I can't put my finger on it, but I'm just intrigued.
Is there more?
But still decent. Especially the art, which is the actual star of this show.
It seems like a lot of the different character's backstory is sort of inferred. And at the end, there are stories and diary entries and whatnot by Eve and a few of the others, and a dossier on the group by the police/FBI that gives a bit of background to each major character. But I wish Brereton had just written those stories. It's not as interesting to just read stuff about them that way.
Still.
There's something about this world that Brereton has created. I can't put my finger on it, but I'm just intrigued.
Is there more?
October 15, 2022
This is going to be a quick one. There are only three stories in comic form in this. The rest of the book, a couple hundred pages is pinups or pinups accompanied with text pieces. However, it's a super gorgeous book and The Dark Forever, a Lovecraftian horror tale, is my favorite of all Nocturnals stories.
November 8, 2023
So here we get three comic stories. The Dark Forever, The Gunwitch: Outskirts of Doom ( a black and white comic with a different artist) and Spectres. All of these were solid with The Dark Forever being my favorite. Gotta love Brereton’s painted art style. Then the entire back half of this book stops being a comic. It’s more like reading Eve or Halloween Girl’s diary. She just talks about her upbringing, what happened to her mom and the other characters in the Nocturnals group. Plus some interviews where Eve asks the others questions and vice versa. Also add some excerpts of things that happened in the past. This is all accompanied by pin up art from Brereton. This was cool I guess but I would have liked Dan to give us this in comic form instead. So that did bring the score down some. However I do really like these characters and this world Brereton created. I would read more of this stuff. Even bring in another writer and let Dan do the art. Hell, I’d even watch a show or movie with these guys.
September 23, 2023
(Zero spoiler review)
I kinda knew that whatever hopes I had for this series, the promise and potential it so clearly had would amount to little more than a hill of beans on Halloween. This is one time when I would have been more than happy to be wrong. Alas, I was bang on the money. Shucks, I made myself sad.
Nocturnals was an exceptional premise, gifted with a number of interesting and alluring characters and filled to the brim with potential. Not to mention Brereton's wonderful art, which was the main draw for me, and probably many others, when it came to checking out this book. Sadly though, the visuals were writing checks that the stories just couldn't cash, and things just kept getting worse here.
Whilst a thicker book than volume one, there is only half as much actual story here, and none of it is as good as we got in volume one. The final two hundred pages is compromised of nothing more than Brereton's stunning art work, the majority of which is pin ups of Polychrome and Starfish, which quite frankly, is about the only reason you're not looking at 2 stars here. I'll never re-read these stories again. A more appealing prospect would be to rip up the book and frame the best portraits of said characters. It's the only reason I've given it 3 stars and not 2, such was my disappointment. If Brereton's writing matched his art, things would be very, very different, but they're not. And like I sad, that makes me sad.
I can only imagine this is the sum total of all Nocturnals material out there, as you wouldn't fill 200 pages of additional material into a 400 page book if you had more stories to run. How this is all we've got in a time span of over 2 decades is another massive disappointment, and one that provides stark clarity to another similar, yet far better executed property, The Goon. Both set in a horror-tinged world. Both have stunning artwork. Both the creative property of one individual (as far as I'm aware) yet The Goon has given us far, far more material in a similar-ish time period, with the stories being phenomenally good. Where The Goon is in my top 10 comics of all time, Nocturnals will forever occupy that sad, dusty, cobwebbed corner of 'should have been great, but wasn't'. And like I said, that makes me sad. 3/5
OmniBen.
I kinda knew that whatever hopes I had for this series, the promise and potential it so clearly had would amount to little more than a hill of beans on Halloween. This is one time when I would have been more than happy to be wrong. Alas, I was bang on the money. Shucks, I made myself sad.
Nocturnals was an exceptional premise, gifted with a number of interesting and alluring characters and filled to the brim with potential. Not to mention Brereton's wonderful art, which was the main draw for me, and probably many others, when it came to checking out this book. Sadly though, the visuals were writing checks that the stories just couldn't cash, and things just kept getting worse here.
Whilst a thicker book than volume one, there is only half as much actual story here, and none of it is as good as we got in volume one. The final two hundred pages is compromised of nothing more than Brereton's stunning art work, the majority of which is pin ups of Polychrome and Starfish, which quite frankly, is about the only reason you're not looking at 2 stars here. I'll never re-read these stories again. A more appealing prospect would be to rip up the book and frame the best portraits of said characters. It's the only reason I've given it 3 stars and not 2, such was my disappointment. If Brereton's writing matched his art, things would be very, very different, but they're not. And like I sad, that makes me sad.
I can only imagine this is the sum total of all Nocturnals material out there, as you wouldn't fill 200 pages of additional material into a 400 page book if you had more stories to run. How this is all we've got in a time span of over 2 decades is another massive disappointment, and one that provides stark clarity to another similar, yet far better executed property, The Goon. Both set in a horror-tinged world. Both have stunning artwork. Both the creative property of one individual (as far as I'm aware) yet The Goon has given us far, far more material in a similar-ish time period, with the stories being phenomenally good. Where The Goon is in my top 10 comics of all time, Nocturnals will forever occupy that sad, dusty, cobwebbed corner of 'should have been great, but wasn't'. And like I said, that makes me sad. 3/5
OmniBen.
September 17, 2022
I really enjoyed the comic book parts. (Less than half the book) The rest is mainly prose and loads of larger artwork.
As a comic it was middle of the road. As a collection of his work/art, it’s packed.
As a comic it was middle of the road. As a collection of his work/art, it’s packed.
December 29, 2024
Many Crazy Nights, and It’s Not Eve’s Fault…
As always, the Nocturnals kick serious ass. Anybody who encountered them should know better than to tangle with them. Few ever escaped them. And fights leave behind scars that run deep. The stories were noirish and supernatural, with a little bit of sci-fi tossed in. The artwork by Brereton, and several other artists were excellent. The other writers were added in. This is fun read. Definitely recommended.
As always, the Nocturnals kick serious ass. Anybody who encountered them should know better than to tangle with them. Few ever escaped them. And fights leave behind scars that run deep. The stories were noirish and supernatural, with a little bit of sci-fi tossed in. The artwork by Brereton, and several other artists were excellent. The other writers were added in. This is fun read. Definitely recommended.
September 25, 2025
There's not as many comic stories in this volume, but there are some great ones and the mood, tone, and characters are really what makes these stories. The beautiful art of course too. At it's heart, The Nocturnals is a blend of the best elements of Doom Patrol, Doc Savage, and pulp horror with the aesthetics of The Nightmare Before Christmas. It you like all that stuff, you'll have a blast with this.
April 25, 2023
Half the Book was pinups. I would have loved more story instead.
October 9, 2023
I definitely enjoyed some stories more than others, but I’m very happy I picked this up. I want to hunt for more Nocturnals comics now!
January 1, 2024
great art
January 3, 2024
i love this series. spooky and beautiful
October 25, 2024
Volume 1 was definitely a better read, in my opinion, but I still enjoyed this one a lot and would read more Nocturnals in the future!
January 17, 2024
I love a good Halloween Graphic Novel, the Nocturnals have a bit of a group Avengers type thing going for them. This book has more background for the characters than the first book. I enjoyed it and the artwork is amazing.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews