Nightcrawler, Volume 1: The Devil Inside

Nightcrawler (2004)

by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Writer), Darick Robertson (Artist)

The X-Man known as Nightcrawler is a man with a foot in two worlds - one the daylight world of super heroes and super-villains; the other a netherworld of demons and angels, ghosts and monsters... human and otherwise. With the looks of a devil and the soul of a kind, ordinary man, Nightcrawler is used to being pulled in both directions. Now, he might be asked to go where the other X-Men won't - into the shadows that have always called to him Does he have what it takes to get to the bottom of the strange deaths of thirteen children - and more importantly, is he strong enough to take on the sinister forces behind it once he does?

Collecting: Nightcrawler 1-6

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, X Men, Superheroes, Comic Book, Horror

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 22, 2005

About the author

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is an American playwright, screenwriter, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for the television series Glee, Big Love, Riverdale, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. He is Chief Creative Officer of Archie Comics.
Aguirre-Sacasa grew up liking comic books, recalling in 2003, "My mom would take us out to the 7-Eleven on River Road during the summer, and we would get Slurpees and buy comics off the spinning rack. I would read them all over and over again, and draw my own pictures and stuff."
He began writing for Marvel Comics, he explained, when "Marvel hired an editor to find new writers, and they hired her from a theatrical agency. So she started calling theaters and asking if they knew any playwrights who might be good for comic books. A couple of different theaters said she should look at me. So she called me, I sent her a couple of my plays and she said 'Great, would you like to pitch on a couple of comic books in the works?'"
His first submissions were "not what [they were] interested in for the character[s]" but eventually he was assigned an 11-page Fantastic Four story, "The True Meaning of...," for the Marvel Holiday Special 2004. He went on to write Fantastic Four stories in Marvel Knights 4, a spinoff of that superhero team's long-running title; and stories for Nightcrawler vol. 3; The Sensational Spider-Man vol. 2; and Dead of Night featuring Man-Thing.
In May 2008 Aguirre-Sacasa returned to the Fantastic Four with a miniseries tie-in to the company-wide "Secret Invasion" storyline concerning a years-long infiltration of Earth by the shape-shifting alien race, the Skrulls,and an Angel Revelations miniseries with artists Barry Kitson and Adam Polina, respectively. He adapted for comics the Stephen King novel The Stand.

In 2013, he created Afterlife with Archie, depicting Archie Andrews in the midst of a zombie apocalypse; the book's success led to Aguirre-Sacasa being named Archie Comics' chief creative officer.

Reviews

[Adam Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not much of a fan of comics about magic, particularly when the X-Men are involved. I might be feeling generous with stars after suffering through the end of the Claremont, Morrison, and Austen runs, all of which ended in excruciating fashion. But the two stories in this collection were straight-forward with well-written dialogue and the sense that the writer cared more about the characters he was writing than having a series of nonsensical reveals.

While Kurt Wagner (aka Nightcrawler) is obviously the focus of the book, the spare use of Storm, Wolverine, Beast, Night Nurse, and Amanda Sefton to flesh out Nightcrawler's personality, coming out of the awful Austen run, make for a compelling story about the X-Men as a family.

The overall plot is a bit tropey, and the art makes it obvious from the get-go who the villains are, but Aguirre-Sacasa's writing makes this a great read for any fans of Nightcrawler or X-books in general.

[Random · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Nightcrawler is my fav comic character, and these tales were just okay. I was looking forward to these but I guess I need to find the issues where the mystery of his parentage is solved and how he copes with that. These 2 stories were X-Files-ish but could have been about ANY X-Man. I really wanted to read something about him, not just that he needs his teleportation powers to escape all the women who chase him

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a surprising fashion, this comic can actually act as a stand-alone. Although there are some romantic ties kept open and loose by the end of this volume, you can read this comic without feeling you need to purchase or find the next million volumes.

In this graphic novel, our favorite BAMF'ing, blue, German, X-Man is tasked by Ororo, Storm, to investigate the bloody and horrific murders of twelve children in a New York City hospital. Only one boy has survived the occasion, and he refuses to talk. Despite stating that he is no detective, Kurt Wagner, aka Nightcrawler, decides to investigate.

The artwork and flow of the comic, as usual, is impressive and well thought out. The story moves quickly and easily. A great volume for any Nightcrawler fan or anyone trying to get to know him.

[Derrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this. Who doesn't love Nightcrawler? And the artwork is stunning. But "Nightcrawler, Paranormal Detective" doesn't do it for me. He frequently acts out of character, especially where religion and the supernatural are concerned. Plus, he has beautiful, big-boobed, tightly-clothed women throwing themselves at him left and right. It's lovely to look at, but it doesn't feel true to the character. Finally, the 70's satanic exploitation plot about murdering children to release demons is more over the top than creepy.

I will read volume 2 because of the art. But this series has been a disappointment so far.

[MrColdStream · Rating 3 out of 5]

Issues #1 - #4: The Devil Inside

A simple supernatural mystery centres on Nightcrawler, but not dependent on him (❌). A well-spoken Kurt and simple art get the point across well (✅). The demonic atmosphere first the character well (✅) but the predictability of the storyline and the forgettable villains drag it down a bit (❌). The game-changing cliffhanger at the end is pretty cool (✅).

Issues #5 - #6: Ghosts on the Tracks:

Like the previous story, this one makes Kurt a mutant version of Sherlock Holmes, this time dealing with ghosts. It ties nicely with the first story (✅) but isn't overly engaging (❌).

[Scott Waldie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Involving Nightcrawler in supernatural tales seems like a good fit, but I wasn't terribly impressed with those in this first volume, they seemed a little too straightforward and obvious and the art was pretty average. The 'attractive' female characters seemed interchangeable in both personality and appearance (different shades of hair and skin, that's about it), and the other X-Men seem to appear only as window dressing, rattling off a few cliche lines and BAMF. All the folks involved with this have much better work out there, but I'll probably check out the following volume anyway.

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Continuing the x-read of 2017....

This just seemed odd. Not really a fitting tale for Kurt. The underlying plot was okay but seemed to go nowhere. I suppose that's typical of limited series, but...

[Ondra Král · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cením pokus o superhrdinský horor, ale nefunguje to. Práce s atmosférou je téměř nulová a příběhy ubíjí mraky vysvětlování.

[Lillian Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great couple of Nightcrawler stories. And the art is excellent.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wooboy, this was boring. Nightcrawler isn't John Constantine and setting him up solo against demons and ghosts just doesn't work. At least, not when done in such a self-serious and dull way.

[Odo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5+

[Lindsey.parks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mature Nightcrawler story.

[Liz Arista Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has Nightcrawler and spooky shit 10/10

Why is Christine there tho isn’t she busy not marrying Doctor Strange?

[Artur Coelho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confesso que sempre tive um fraquinho por esta personagem dos X-Men. Menos poderoso do que os restantes, com um aspecto deveras bizarro, ar de diabo mas com o azul a desfazer a demonologia, especialista em agilidade e teleportação a curta distância. Os seus poderes não são devastadores, mas a sua argúcia é imbatível, algo que tempera com um forte sentido de espectáculo e um bom-humor imparável.

Nesta sua série individual, Aguirre-Sacasa puxa a um lado sobrenatural que nos comics da série X-Men não era aparente. Nightcrawler, com este ar de demónio azulado, vai-se ver envolvido em mistérios que cruzam o criminal com o sobrenatural. Num, investiga a morte violenta de crianças num infantário, descobrindo que são vítimas de uma cabala de elementos da alta sociedade que, liderados pelo psicólogo do infantário, usam as crianças com elementos em rituais para aprisionar demónios. Coisa que qualquer leitor de terror sabe que nunca acaba bem. Noutro, estranhas aparições no metro nova-iorquino levam Nightcrawler a descobrir a história esquecida de trabalhadores dos primeiros tempos da sua construção, mortos num acidente, e esquecidos pela memória institucional.

Dois contos sólidos de terror, puxando pouco aos elementos de comic de super-heróis que se esperaria de um personagem deste, desenvolvidos ao longo da série de edições coligidas neste livro.

[Kelsey˚☽˚｡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason Goodreads doesn’t have all the volumes, so I’m just putting my review on the first one.

I’ve never really read comics before, and I was sorta afraid that there would be a bunch of lore I wouldn’t understand, but this was pretty simple for me, who has really only see X-Men movies and shows. I liked the plot, the focus around biblical demons was pretty cool. I really like Kurt as a character, but I felt like in this comic his personality was very different then in tv media. I’m not sure if this is his actual personality in the comics, or it’s just exclusive to this one. Here he’s really serious and mature, it’s almost like they gave him the Batman treatment lowkey. I don’t think he smiles once in this entire run, which is so odd after coming from the tv adaptations. He was still written well though, he was just very different.

[Andre · Rating 2 out of 5]

Is Marvel actually capable of writing a good Nightcrawler series? So far I doubt it as there were only single issues that managed to be decent and this series here is no exception.

This series is pretty damn formulaic and have a strong element of "because the plot says so."
Of course you also have fan service: Sexy nurse with huge breasts (that get even bigger) and a mini-skirt.

And that Dr. Childs has black, combed hair with some receding hair line, sharp eyebrows, thin mustache and a goatee... Why didn't they just write "bad guy" on his giant forehead while they were at it? You would not even need his statements that clearly indicate him wanting to hinder the investigations (or a guy burning to death in front of his house). With the kid Seth it is the other way around; to highlight his innocence they have him be pale, blue-eyed and bright blond.
Then again such stupidity is pretty consistent here, I mean Kurt did not anticipate that his look would frighten the kid? That is really dumb writing.
Furthermore, I know that lots of stuff is running around in the Marvel universe, but when you have it that the only survivor of the massacre is scared of Kurt and then you find hoof-prints burned into the roof, it is pretty clear that you are dealing with demons.
Also it took Kurt some time to call his sister/lover for this obviously magical crime. And speaking of his family, now the kids Kurt's brother killed were demons? Wasn't the point of that story in the 1980s that they were simply frightening looking and actually harmless? It would really be great if these writers could decide on the story they want to have for Nightcrawler.
Then again, they do not even know Catholicism apparently, as Kurt has no idea what "the Morning Star" refers to.
I mean sure, the story is ok, but the writer is seriously lacking in knowledge of the topic. But even the "ok" is only barely, after all, who would not be able to see where the 14th demon is?
In fact if this would be a better written story I would say that Childs' protection spell will do nothing for him as Kurt has a powerful sister and friends who could easily get in... Alas, this is not a well written story.
And when we get to the demons, they look ridiculous; especially the oh so frightening Pazuzu.
And sure, Kurt had the X-Men and Amanda as back-up, but the reason it all worked is because Seth is such a McGuffin that his clay statues happened to be suitable vessels for the demons. That is dumb.

But that was only the first story; the next one wasn't any better either. After all, that one guy was glowing white and wearing really old clothes. What would make anyone think he is not a ghost?
And holy shit was this stupid how they have problems believing in ghosts. They are in the Marvel universe, ghosts are an established fact!!"
Too bad that the writer cannot actually integrate this ghost story into the Marvel Universe because it does have a good premise. And what does it say about me and the writers/artists, that I could get the time and place right that these ghosts show but they always mess up all of Germany? And probably all other countries.
In its premise this "acknowledge the past" story was good, but it did lack in execution and also, it reminds me how many stories from the US's past are to this very day ignore, stories way more important if you ask me.

PS. Beast has a point, for all the fuzz that is constantly made about Nightcrawler's "horrific" appearance, the guy seems to get more pussy than Cpt. Kirk ever had. In fact, is there a bigger manwhore among the X-Men than Nightcrawler?

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sep. 2020: I loved these even more this time around. Every time I read these I pick up on details and jokes that I didn't the last time, which I really appreciate.

Aug. 2020: This was so well written. I loved Kurt's narration and how well it went with the pace of the story. It had the perfect amount of humor while not being too much when a twist happened.

[Aritra Dasgupta · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was surprisingly good. I loved the spooky occult atmosphere here. Actually, I bought the final two issues of the first two stories long time ago, second hand when I had just started collecting comics. I was obsessed with Kurt right then and there. And I have kept it in the back of my head till now, when I can finally read them again thanks to the internet. This was very fun and nostalgic and every bit as good as I remembered. Well, not the best but nostalgia has improved my view of this.

[Marco · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume collects the first six issues of Nightcrawler's 2004 series by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (who is probably best known for the Riverdale TV show).
Interestingly enough, instead of being a typical superhero book, or dealing with Kurt Wagner's swashbuckling tendencies, this turns out to be a pretty dark supernatural mystery/horror title. Turning Nightcrawler into a paranormal investigator is a bit of a weird choice.
Our title character gets drawn into the events of the story because a teleporter's involvement is suspected in a closed room mystery in which 13 children died horribly. It turns out to be an affair involving human sacrifice and demon summoning instead - and this is where this book loses its four-star rating for me.
I absolutely do not buy Kurt Wagner's reaction to the revelation of who and what these demons are, especially after it had been mentioned that he had once trained to be a Catholic priest. For someone whose deeply held beliefs have always been at the core of his character he is very flippant about the Devil actually existing and his fourteen lieutenants, actual fallen angels of the Lord, being in New York. (The last part of the story also reads like someone thought mixing in some Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist was a good idea...)
Then, instead of the demon story's epilogue that's actually announced on its last page, the remaining third of this volume delivers a ghost story set in the NY subway which has Nightcrawler investigating events from a century ago to lay the spirits to rest.
I was also a bit disappointed by the art. The stories guest-star a few X-Men (as well as Amanda Sefton (during the time when she ruled Magik's Limbo)). Nightcrawler, Storm, and Wolverine tend to be rather visually distinctive, yet the artist never really manages to catch their look here.
So, despite a pretty strong start, just three instead of four stars...

[Leila Anani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collects together Nightcrawler #1-6, "The Devil Inside" and "Ghosts on the Tracks"

This is the best Nightcrawler vehicle I've seen to date. It's really great to see him separate from the X-Men, superhero saving the world kind of milieu. Not that he's not awesome there, but this gives him a chance to shine and not not be overshadowed by larger than life characters such as Wolverine.

In the devil inside Storm sends Kurt out to investigate the suspicious death of 13 orphans. It turns out to be a satanic cult trying to free the 14 demons who fell with Lucifer. Our hero has to get help from his ex girl friend Amanda aka Magik who is now a powerful sorceress residing in Limbo.

The second story has nightcrawler helping 17 ghosts haunting an underground railway. There's some fun relationship threads here - Kurt tries not to lead on hot nurse Christine, there's awkwardness with his ex Amanda, hints at his relationship with Storm, and a fabulous interchange between him and Beast - where Hank, also blue and furry can't understand why Nightcrawler is besieged by female attention. Take one look at the shirtless scenes after his shower at the beginning of the second story and you'll see why Beast!

There are lots of film reference from The Grudge to the Exorcist yup the demon Pazuzu here is the same one that possesses Regan in the Exorcist. Geek thumbs up for knowing its target audience!

As well as two decent supernatural story arcs, perfect for the character, the artwork is gorgeous. Nightcrawler fans are not going to be disappointed.

I'd perhaps liked to have seen a little more swashbuckling and maybe more back story, but otherwise this pretty much ticks all the boxes for what you want from a nightcrawler story.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nightcrawler was one of my favorite characters in the old X-Men arcade game. He was bright blue, quick, and could teleport. His comic character has embellished only a bit on these traits: he's German, he's religious, Mystique's his mom, he likes sword fights. Not the most amount of depth for a character made in the late 70's. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa does a decent job establishing the status quo for what could've been an ongoing series: Storm assigns Nightcrawler some spooky cases to solve, which he does with the help of Night Nurse (a cringe-worthy name Aguirre-Sacasa tries to normalize) and his ex-girlfriend Amanda Sefton, who lives in the Limbo dimension. The episodic pacing feels like a "freak of the week" TV show, though there are only two stories in this volume. Darick Robertson's art is fine, but doesn't have the edge that goes with more cynical books like Transmetropolitan or The Boys.
There aren't many comics starring the X-Men's Nightcrawler, but this is one of them. That's about as high a praise as it deserves.

[K T · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot was so-so. It contained a lot of supernatural elements, and the problem with magic is that it's no fun if it doesn't have to operate within rules and limitations. Perhaps if I was more familiar with the Marvel universe I'd be aware of the fantasy context.

The artwork was also so-so. Generally fairly appealing, but facial features were inconsistent and the women all look the same. It starts out very grim and serious and the mood was completely broken for me when Nightcrawler goes to a hospital to interview a nurse who is dressed in a Sexy Nurse outfit. Real nurses do not actually wear those! I have no problem with spandex bodysuits that perfectly outline every curve, but civilian dresses should not show buttcheeks and tits like that, folds just do not work that way.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh, Greg Land covers.

Now I've gotten that pet peeve out of the way: the art inside is much better. Plays up Nighty's bishie appeal, but we won't complain about that. The writer is obviously a Nightcrawler fan and tries hard to convince the reader of Kurt's appeal - play up his compassionate side with some swashbuckling on the side, some womanizing, and of course the angst. The series has some great moments, but overall has to struggle to be more than "X-files: Nightcrawler edition".

Seriously, the guy's a teleporter, not a detective.

But Nightcrawler gets to sock Azazel in the jaw at one point (in Volume 2 I believe), so I really can't hate this. Good fodder for the fans.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nightcrawler has always been a favorite character of mine and many others. Sadly, his solo adventures have never been very memorable. Here, Storm, inexplicably sends Kurt by himself to investigate multiple homicides. Kurt, is characterized well, but other X-Men, not so much. The inclusion of Amanda Sefton and the occult are a little too expected. Not much of anything of interest happens and the plot is basic. The art is decent but at times, the female characters look too similar. Overall, not much here.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who spilled this BPRD plot all over my X-Men?

I've never been a huge fan of mixing the X-men stuff with the magic stuff, so this book definitely isn't targeted at me. The stories are ok, if not particularly original. But Nightcrawler's charm is severely lacking and all the other X-Men are waaaay out of character. Plus, the very premise--that Nightcrawler is the right guy for this investigation--seems patently ridiculous, a significant nonsense to build everything on.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. Absolutely loved it. Nightcrawler's been one of my favorite comic characters since I was a kid, but I'd never thought about fitting him into a horror/mystery series like this one. It's a great idea, and Aguirre-Sacasa writes it very well. Darick Robertson's art is beautiful, and serves the story well.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the character Nightcrawler, but the writer seemed to focus on vague, uninteresting demon and ghost stories. Darick Robertson's artwork here also just doesn't seem to fit. I've seen him do better.

[Matthew Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two mysteries in this trade; good, fun read, though nothing groundbreaking. Worth checking out from the library.

[bluetyson]

isbn,original

[The Doctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this comic book. I have always been a huge fan of Nightcrawler. I have always found his origin interesting. In general I love the x men.