The All-Nighter

The All-Nighter #1-5

by Chip Zdarsky, Jason Loo (Illustrator)

Welcome to The All-Nighter, the only diner in town where you can get coffee and a meal from sunset to sunrise! The staff are friendly (kind of) and happy to serve you (sometimes), and it would never cross their minds to drink their customers' blood...

Alex is bored--flipping burgers for strangers all night is no way for a vampire to live. But he and his fellow vampires Joy, Cynthia, and Ian have agreed to blend into human society. Inspired by superhero movies, one of few passions in his un-life, Alex decides to don a cape and start fighting bad guys. But his decision will have bigger consequences than he realizes—for himself and for everyone he wants to protect.

From CHIP ZDARSKY and JASON LOO, the Eisner-winning team behind AFTERLIFT, THE ALL-NIGHTER is a story about found family and a new twist on superheroes!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Vampires, Superheroes, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics

136 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 15, 2022

About the author

Chip Zdarsky is a Canadian comic book artist and journalist. He was born Steve Murray but is known by his fan base as Chip Zdarsky, and occasionally Todd Diamond. He writes and illustrates an advice column called Extremely Bad Advice for the Canadian national newspaper National Post's The Ampersand, their pop culture section's online edition. He is also the creator of Prison Funnies and Monster Cops.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A freebie for Prime members that I decided to check out.
I grabbed the first issue and ended up reading everything that was available, which at the time of this review was 5 issues.



Not sure that I would say this is a must-read, but Zdarsky did a good job keeping me interested in these vampires-turned-superheroes.
The characters were interesting and will be potentially likable. Nothing about it wowed me, but there was a definite charm to the storytelling and I wasn't bored.



If you have access to an Amazon Prime account, check this one out.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A neat premise that needed more pages to flesh out. This is about a vampire who is inspired to become a superhero. Once word gets out, other supernatural creatures become villains, using it as a loophole to appear in public without exposing monsterkind. This definitely has potential and it's clear that Zdarsky plans to continue this so we'll see if it ever reaches its potential.

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 3 out of 5]

A found family of vampires runs a diner that's only open at night. This is a world were all kinds of Universal monsters have found a new way to exist without stirring trouble.

Two of the vamps start to dress like superheroes, to use their vampy powers for good. It's fine, but it all feels kind of derivative (made me think of Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark), and then there's the big bad which is supposed to be funny, I think, but is just kind of crap.

(Thanks to Dark Horse Books for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)

[TAP · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining take on the vampire mythos.

[Kadi P · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

From the creative team behind Afterlift comes a new ComiXology Original that sadly failed to replicate the magic of their previous collaborative work.

The problem with this comic lay in its overindulgence of fantasy elements and resulting lack of clarity regarding said elements.

Zdarsky tried to stuff so many things into this comic; there were vampires and werewolves and Frankenstein’s monster and a random boogeyman and more vampires and vampires posing as superheroes and vampires posing as humans. It was just too much and the focus was all over the place. Which led directly into the second problem: a lack of explanation regarding all of these fantasy elements. It was never explained who or what the ‘Takers’ were despite their integral role throughout the comic. Everything surrounding Frankenstein’s monster was inadequately explained and at times very confusing. The one half-baked explanation that was supplied regarding how the many supernatural creatures came into being was wishy-washy and a sell-out answer.

The pacing was off. The plot spent the majority of the time attempting to reveal who the main characters were, yet by the time the antagonists made their way onto the page very late into the storyline some of the main characters still remained a mystery. It's always hard to root for characters you know nothing about and what was shown of certain main characters was vague, ineffective and sometimes even confusing.

The antagonists were more of an afterthought. The most featured one was a weird clown/boogeyman hybrid being by the name of “Doctor Buttons”. As one of the main characters put it, he was a “cartoon goof” and a poor excuse for an antagonist. There were flaws in the story before his appearance, but after it it was impossible to take the story seriously anymore. The whole debacle was disappointing.

The colouring in a lot of the action scenes was cool but the coloured highlights often looked strange and out of place. Distinctly less effective than the colouring showcased in Afterlift.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting premise that's not quite given enough time to stew and flesh itself out properly. The characters and art are both fine, presenting nothing overly special nor overly bad, settling instead for middle of the road. A potential to turn into something great, but currently sitting in the fun but forgettable category.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Horror archetypes like vampires, werewolves, and Frankenstein's monster keep their presence on the down-low in Marstoke -- a city name that is appropriately a portmanteau of Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker -- so as to not violate the rule of secrecy imposed by a fascistic and draconian supernatural cabal. But one of the creatures of the night, suffering from immortal ennui and looking for something to stave off boredom, thinks he has found a loophole, using his paranormal abilities to pose as a superhero. And it works fine until copycats that go bump in the night take the game to the next level. Bloodshed ensues.

Chip Zdarsky serves up a Mark Millar special: add enough action and familiar tropes to make it a viable movie pitch but not so much detail that it actually needs to make much sense. It all seems sort of original and yet is entirely too familiar.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

What if the Universal monsters decided to become superheroes? Chip Zdarsky takes that goofy concept and turns it into a goofy comic that doesn't quite fit in the horror or superhero genres and ultimately becomes forgettable.

A group of vampires run an all-night diner; one breaks up a fight after watching the latest Batman-style movie and thinks, "Huh, maybe I could do this on the reg." Zdarsky hints at some kind of monster monitoring body ("The Takers") who will snatch you up if you make humans aware of your presence, but the whole idea never really comes to fruition. Instead, a silly boogeyman takes the opposite tack of the vampires and attacks city hall as a supervillain. The boogeyman has a Pennywise the clown vibe that makes the big battle scene easily the goofiest part of this goofy tale.

There are other hints at a larger world (vampire covens have been disbanded by a new king vampire and one of the diner owners is a very famous vampire), but that's all to be explored in the future, I guess. The All-Nighter is a decent read, pacey with fine art, but it's ultimately a bland dish.

[Jenbebookish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read 04/17/2024

When I saw Chip Zdarsky’s name I knew I had to read this. My first foray into the comixology originals arena was with Jeff Lemire’s “Snow Angels” and I was very disappointed by it so I was really hoping Zdarsky would have something better for me.

And he did! This was probably closer to a 4.5 for me. I absolutely loved the artwork. The storyline was just a tiny bit confusing, particularly the ending, but I still loved every minute of this. I’ll def be continuing onto the 2nd season.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars. I was a bit hesitant with this one since this was the same creative team behind Afterlift, which I thought was just okay. I was pleasantly surprised when this one hooked me right away and had me enjoying every panel of this story! Beyond the awesome lore and little world that was built here, there’s beautiful character work in this with the challenging of what really makes a clan or a family. I liked this a lot!

[Alex Sarll]

You can definitely guess the ingredients which went into this stew; a fractious nest of vampires try not to make too much noise in a modern American city, a la What We Do In The Shadows with more common sense, only for one of them to risk what is definitely not called the Masquerade for copyright reasons when his enthusiasm for superhero films, and his annoyance at not being able to use his vampire powers, see him decide to become a masked vigilante. Complicating matters further, this is a Department Of Truth-style world in which vampires exist because people think they do, meaning there are consequences even beyond the obvious now one of them has started trading as Nightshock. Granted, much of the exposition is delivered by Frankenstein (and it's nice that Zdarsky is getting some more mileage out of his classic joke about the creature not objecting to being called that), who is clearly a bit of a dick, but I still bridled on behalf of Margaret Cavendish and Cyrano when the book from which he sprang was described as the first science fiction novel, and as for his claim that the world can accept a wealthy, eccentric man but not a wealthy, eccentric woman...yeah, that'll be why everyone respects Bezos so much more than Dolly Parton, then. Such quibbles aside, the notion of immortal superhumans forced to work in an all-night diner to get by is wonderfully horrible – much like the notion of humans having to work to survive, which I suspect is the point – and if the notion of a vampire posing as a superhero is far from new, I'm not sure I've ever seen it merged with the 'real world superhero' subgenre quite like this before. Despite which, I'm left with that same itch I often get from Comixology Originals - the sense that whatever my general feelings about the talent they hire, absolutely nobody seems to do their best work here.

[Zedsdead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bored vampires don spandex and set out to fight crime. Intrigued by the idea, other mythical monsters follow suit, using performative supervillainy to come out of the shadows without their true existence becoming known.

See, this just sounds fun. Vampires as masked crimefighters? Yes please.

But somehow Zdarsky biffs it. The vamps are dull and wimpy, strangely impotent against everyday goons with guns. The origin of all monsters (they're created by stories about them) would have the world overrun with nonhuman creatures, but it isn't. The big twist at the end of the volume--vampire Ian is really Dracula!--is utterly unconvincing, as zero groundwork for this plot point has been laid. And the defeat of the Big Bad is easy, quick, and devoid of suspense.

This vampire book is ironically bloodless.

[Benji Glaab · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Jenn Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a ton to say about this honestly. It's a cool concept (essentially fantasy creatures living amongst us and a well-meaning vampire uses his powers to become a vigilante/superhero). The art was colorful and action-packed. I did like the characters/dynamics between the main group. At the end of the day however, I'm not sure it's something that's going to stick with me very much.

I couldn't find whether this story is going to continue beyond these five issues. Part of me thinks this works better if you just leave it as is.

Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Nicole (bookwyrm) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable graphic novel about a group of vampires who run a nighttime diner and moonlight as superheroes. (This volume compiles issues 1-5.) I liked the basic plot and the art, but even with the minor cliffhanger at the end it does feel like this story is complete. Perhaps if more issues are written they will have a new mini-arc, and so there will be plenty more story to tell, but as it stands right now I'm satisfied with just the one volume.

Edit: there are more issues that have been written, but I'm not sure if I'm going to pick them up. I'm happy with where this volume ended. Though who knows, if I run across volume 2 at my library I wouldn't be opposed to reading more, either.

[Vail Chester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the strong premise, AND the possibility of stories becoming reality as hinted by Frankenstein, it DOES have a lot of "take thats" to the superhero genre in general, shadow organizations that even the monsters fear, and evil clowns (especially Stephen King's It).
Also, too bad it ends where it does...

[Ian Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Many great, original ideas here but as with some other reviewers I'm waiting for that spark to take it to the next level. I don't have a super strong sense of the characters. It currently feels very surface - which obviously might change if it continues.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess I'm just really in to speculative fiction diners right now.

[Joseph Domingo · Rating 3 out of 5]

[2.5/5]

I think maybe the most mid zdarsky story I’ve read. Not bad, but nothing terribly exciting.

[Eule Luftschloss · Rating 5 out of 5]

trigger warning
child abandonment, gun violence, being taken hostage

He's so tired of his life of laying-low that an urban vampire tries something he always had his eye on: Being a superhero.

I like the idea of a vampire adopting the guise of a superhero to flex his muscles, get some steam off, without telling the humans what he really is - and I like that the author took the idea and explored it. People are guessing he's not a regular mortal, and even other supernatural folk have television, so there are consequences.

This bind-up contains chapters 1-5 and I sincerely hope there will be more. I want to know more about the characters, this world, and if they're able to get themselves out of this current pickle.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huh. I don't know if I knew there was a supernatural element to this comic series before reading this, and as the vampires and other creatures started appearing I wasn't sure what direction this was going to take, but I ended up quite liking this. The characters were interesting, the story was okay - I wasn't really digging the trolls or boogeymen or whatever, but luckily that was kind of short-lived. But I did like the lore, the story of the vampires and how they ran a diner. And the art was great. So if there are any more of this, I'll read it.

[Pat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adequate but disappointing work by this creative team. It felt like nothing new and the more it continued the less involved I felt. Also I have always found the idea of killer clowns a bit ridiculous.

[Joe Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's good and fun!

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The All-Nighter (which is a far better superhero name than "Nightshock," which the main character actually goes with), is a hard book to rate. On the one hand, it tries to tackle some pretty high-concept ideas: classical monsters actually exist, because humans developed such an interest in them, so isn't it only a matter of time before the same thing happens with superheroes? It's a neat idea that's a lot more interesting than the surface-level premise of "a vampire decides to fight crime because he's bored." On the other hand, this potential is hamstrung by a few issues.

First, the art. It isn't terrible, but there are definitely panels where things just look...wrong. The one that stands out is a shot where a character is walking down the street, holding the sword, and not only is the blade comically small compared to how we saw it earlier, but the hilt must be banana-shaped, based on how his hands are drawn. And off-model stuff like this crops up more than once.

Also, things are a bit unclear sometimes, such as when a character shows up with some men in masks, and he removes the bottom part of one of the masks to reveal fangs, and an angry growl from the guy--I thought they were supposed to be feral vampires (he mentions "training" them), but we're told later they were supposed to be werewolves. Nothing in the art conveys this. Or there's a flashback sequence with nothing to indicate that it's in the past, aside from a slightly muted color palette. It clicks after a page or two, but again, unclear at the start.

The other major problem is that sometimes things just...happen. Like, all these various other folkloric/mythological creatures decide they want to take a crack at being superheroes/villains, and that's fine...but where do trolls living under a bridge get costumes and manacles? Or, a villain later on can make illusions, and that's fine--but one of his minions inexplicably has a rocket launcher that seems to be causing very real damage. And that came from...where?

You could argue these are small things to quibble over, when the core premise of this series is that things like vampires and Frankenstein's monster exist, but just because one fantastical element is canon that doesn't mean you can just have whatever happen with no rhyme or reason.

I would have also said there just aren't enough pages to do justice for most of the ideas The All-Nighter is going for, but it turns out there are at least two more volumes out there--nothing on the covers says this is part of a longer series. Not even the spine says "volume 1" or anything, so I picked this up, thinking it was a self-contained story. I'm fine with the fact that it's not, but it still would've been nice to have had some idea up front that there was more than just this one book. I have hope that the series will build upon the thematic elements volume 1 set up, because overall this is a fairly solid start, marred only by some visual and narrative stumbles here and there.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The All-Nighter, Chip Zdarsky
What I thought started out as a geeky vampire family living undercover got me interested by the time Francis ‘Frankenstein’ visits.
#1 – “YOU were the ones who still wanted to interact with humans! To make a new LIFE!” – Ian
#2 – “So he’s BACK. Are you going to explain to the OTHERS how you know FRANKENSTEIN? – Ian. “About FRANKENSTEIN .. Mary wrote the book. Created the characters. The first ‘sci-fi’ novel. It changed the world, imbued it with INDELIBLE MAGIC. And THEN I came to be.” – Francis
#3 – The bridge trolls are on the loose (these characters are a bit lame). “Are you .. HELPING HUMANS?” – Troll. “.. I used to BE ONE. NOSTALGIA!” – Alex
#4 – “It’s okay .. I’ve got this.” – Ian
#5 – “… DRACULA.”

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chip Zdarksy and Jason Loo combine to tell a fun twist on the vampire trope that adds super-heroics to it. A group of friends who run a diner and just happen to be vampires are thrust into the spotlight unexpectedly when one of their crew decides to become a costumed vigilante. Things spiral out of control and its an entertaining read. The world built by Zdarksy is interesting and really could lead anywhere. The book is serious and ridiculous in equal measures. I definitely think the book would have been better served by slowing down somewhat and pacing things out. I assume this series would be better read all at once. Jason Loo's art is fun but I wished his vampires looked more...vampiric. Overall, a good time but it went by too quickly.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alex and his friends run a diner that is only open at night. They are also immortal vampires. Alex is tired of hiding and playing by the rules, so one night he saves some people from some thugs and decides to become a vigilante superhero. The other vampires are not happy because they are afraid that his behavior will attract the attention of The Takers and that they will all be taken away and killed. This doesn't stop Alex because he feels like he is making a difference in the world, but soon other monsters are inspired to come out of the shadows, and they are not being very heroic. #Edelweiss

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly creative concept very well executed, and also doing some interesting world-building. The idea of undercover vampires disguising themselves as super heroes to be able to use their abilities is not something I've ever thought of, and Chip Zdarsky creates some sympathetic characters to throw into the situation. There were a number of unexpected twists, and some good action moments as well. The human characters and the main group of vampires (and their questionable ally Frankenstein) provide a variety of perspectives on the situation, and provide lots of opportunities for further stories. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this series.

[Sean Kottke · Rating 4 out of 5]

The less known about the story before going in the better, as the primary pleasures were experiencing the unfolding of its world and the perspective shift each new reveal offers. Suffice it to say that the cover art showing a late-night diner catering to costumed folks was the hook, and Zdarsky’s penchant for snarky humor was the bait. Like “Sex Criminals,” where it starts and where it ends are worlds apart. There are a lot of one-and-done reveals and references crammed in here that don’t get much exposition shoehorned in, yet the story remains clear and the world coherent. A fun ride that touches on a lot of material and leaves me hungry for more.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The All-Nighter is a fun concept. In a world of supernatural creatures that cannot reveal themselves at the risk of being taken out by a high level organization, one young vampire decides to become a superhero to use his extraordinary abilities without revealing his true nature. I liked the character designs and the villains were fun. The reveal at the end was also cool, and one I did not see coming. However, the art felt inconsistent to me. I do not think it was ever bad, but some pages/panels felt sloppy. This initial volume also felt like it packed too much into it while also not feeling meaty enough. There is definite potential here, and I will certainly check out more.