Single Issue Showcase: Midnighter #1 - “Midnighter”

The cover to Midnighter #1 by Aco and Romulo Fajaro, Jr.

I know the (admittedly loose) rules I established last year for the Single Issue Showcase stipulate that I highlight gay content in a series that does not typically feature any, but I decided to change things up for the first one of the new year. Besides, it’s my blog, my rules, and only one person is reading this anyway. (Hi, Gavin!) Also, Midnighter is a series that deserves more recognition, all the more so because it is up for cancellation as DC makes way for yet another massive reboot with its “Rebirth.” Other issues of this series have been singled out before for what they have contributed to the series itself and the comics medium as a whole, but I decided to start at the beginning. Why not?

 Midnighter first appeared in February 1998 in Stormwatch (vol. 2) #4 published by WildStorm, which eventually became part of DC comics. He was created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, and has remained relatively popular ever since. His latest series began in June 2015 as a spinoff of the book Grayson, and became the first DC comic featuring a gay male superhero. He is the only leading gay male superhero at either of the Big Two. For these reasons, it should be a heralded book. Thankfully, it is also one of the best mainstream superhero books I’ve read in a long time. It’s disappointing for many reasons that it is ending.

The first issue of this series provides everything fans of the character would want, while allowing new readers a chance to learn why they would enjoy this book. Writer Steve Orlando does an excellent job of making the character his own instead of playing up reductive aspects of Midnighter or providing little more than fan service. This issue is violent, touching, and very funny, sometimes all at the same time. The art by Aco (with inks by Hugo Petrus) is excellent, and perfectly matches the tones of the book. Frenetic but never confusing, the violence is shocking and in service to the story, detailed nicely with the use of micro-panels and x-ray depictions of the consequences of Midnighter’s actions. The colors by Romulo Fajardo, Jr. make excellent use of yellows and blues to contrast the main character’s personal and professional life.

Midnighter was on several Best of Comics 2015 lists after only a handful of issues. It was nominated for an “Outstanding Comic Book” GLAAD Media Award in January. The first six issues have been collected into a trade paperback. The individual issues can still be found anywhere. DC: Rebirth begins May 25 and will not include Midnighter. I’m not sure when the series ends, but get it while it lasts.