Midnight Nation (12 issue maxi-series) (Top Cow/2000)

After the success of Babylon 5 (one of my favourite all-tie science fiction TV shows) Michael J Strazczinsky turned his attention to the world of comic books and produced two major series for Top Cow Studios (part of Image Comics) with Rising Stars which was a super-hero epic with a difference and lasted for 24 issues and Midnight Nation a 12* issue maxi-series. There was also a graphic novel about fairies which I never got around to reading.

With art by Gary Frank this is a great story which starts with a murder (don't they all!) which Police Detective David Grey into a world that the rest of us don't see. In this case literally. A scared witness is found later with his body torn apart in his apartment with the head in the fridge. Each part placed to make a word.

But where are the eyes?

Then the Detective follows a lead about the men who may be behind this and heads to arrest Arlan Jaeker who already has a warrant out on him. Here he faces ghosts with scarred faces and ends up in hospital where the Detective slips through the folds of reality and meets Laurel.

They are in the "place inbetween".

The Detective discovers that people who others ignore literally slip into this world and live apart from the rest of humanity but are menaced by The Walkers, who incidentally have stolen his soul and if he doesn't get it back will become one of them within the year.

Laurel will walk with him to New York (they can't use any form of transport it turns out) to help him in his quest and assist in his adjustment to this new way of living. They are far from alone and Layrel has made this journey many times.

And they always failed.

This really is a road journey into the unknown and answers will be forthcoming eventually. There will be hope and misery for all and there will be a choice to be made. Will the Detective make the right choice when the time comes or will he take up Laurel's off to end this for him before journey's end?

Like a lot of stories this does benefit from a complete reading rather than in the monthly instalments which originally came my way and this is the second and probably final time I will do so as I make my way through my collection. 

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* There was also a 1/2 issue published in conjuctionwith Wizard magazine. This is apparently included in the collected edition but I've not read it.