Captain Midnight has been a part of Dark Horse Comics’ Project Black Sky line of tales. It is a new commitment by the company to bring more superheroes to their lineup of titles. The nice touch to the commitment has been Dark Horse’s use of old Golden Age characters within the public domain. With the Captain, writer Joshua Williamson and artist Eduardo Francisco have created a Jim Albright that has retained his original swagger and style, but they have created it with a modern edge. And, they have rocked it with the first six issues of this story. These issues have continued to keep my interest and do unexpected things that make Captain Midnight a character of today, even though his original heyday was over seventy years ago. He is relevant again. Issue seven begins with the Captain in a pretty tight jam. A monster of a man called Hollow has Midnight dead to rights and things are looking pretty bleak for our hero set as he is getting beaten in the backdrop of the World War II Memorial no less (nice touch guys), with television crews rolling to capture the carnage . The original target of Hollow’s attack, Agent Jones who is Captain Midnight’s handler, has mysteriously disappeared during the scrap and he is elsewhere as the fight wears on. From there, let’s just say that a whole lot of action and drama occur that should give hungry readers of this title lots to ponder (and enjoy) as the power of Black Sky, as well as much of the technology created through the work of the Captain is being exploited more than originally thought.
Williamson writes with the flow of a serial action story, but he adds an additional element of deeper human emotion that seals the deal for this story. It is really fun to read this issue and watching Midnight ponder not only Hollow’s possible weaknesses (which isn’t much), but also his contemplation of certain events and inventions of his creation. It makes for a nice three-dimensional look on an old character and makes him have quite a bit of substance to him. Jim Albright may have an amazing mind and amazing ability, but he really is just a man who has the same issues as the rest of us…Well he may have a little more betrayal in his life than the rest of us, but he is just a regular guy underneath the costume. We also get to see how far Albright will push it to succeed in his tasks during this issue.
Francisco’s artwork has placed Captain Midnight and all the others for that matter, in the position of looking strong and powerful. He is a true talent and his renderings are very respectful of someone who is handling the retooling of an old character the right way. I also have been real impressed with the coloring of Stefani Renee. The entire issue is bright and very appealing making this oldie a true goody. Captain Midnight is not only getting a respectful treatment, but he is coming out in a new and powerful light.
Things are changing and sacrifices are being made as the title works to come to a reckoning in the future. The pacing of the entire series has been excellent and I highly recommend Captain Midnight as a good one to pull every month to anyone who likes a good superhero tale. Dark Horse has done this one right.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Joshua Williamson Artist: Eduardo Francisco Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 1/22/14