We have Ray Bradbury’s The Halloween Tree, John Carpenter’s Halloween, Bobby Pickett’s The Monster Mash, and to round it all out, Dan Brereton’s Nocturnals. Just as the aforementioned Halloween staples, Nocturnals should be in everyone’s bag o’ treats when the air gets extra crisp and the ghouls step out of the shadows. A pulpy, autumn-hued mix of Horror and Noir, there is absolutely no better way to spend a dark and gloomy night than wrapped around Brereton’s beautifully hand-painted pages and colorful cast of monstrous heroes.
First appearing in Malibu Comics in 1994, the eponymous team, which actually feels more like a family in Brereton’s loving words and strokes, consists of leader Doc Horror, a scientist and occult expert who lives in the fictional Pacific City with his daughter Eve (also known as Halloween Girl). Eve, though young and still developing her powers, can see and communicate with spirits, who in turn reside in plush toys and protect her whenever the need arises. Always close to Doc and Eve is The Gunwitch, a mean-looking, stitch-mouthed cowboy with a witch hat and, you guessed it, guns to spare.
Rounding out the group is Polychrome, a powerful light-wielding specter; Firelion, a walking flamethrower; and Starfish, an amphibious queen who much prefers the creatures of the ocean than the humans on land. The Raccoon, a sort of private investigator who makes plenty of dealings with shady people, works with the Nocturnals though remains on the outside to his own devices.
The art and atmosphere very much dictate the kind of stories the Nocturnals comics revel in. This is pure pulp, where mobsters and gangs make shady deals with supernatural creatures and mad scientists. Though for all its hardboiled stylings and Lovecraftian horror, there is a genuine warmth to these otherworldly tales that turns them into more than simple supernatural/noir romps. Like filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, Brereton shows a special love for his monsters, crafting thrilling and intimate stories of outsiders finding their own place in a dark world.
Though renowned for his work on the Batman Elseworlds classic “Thrillkiller” with Howard Chaykin and stunning artbooks (his upcoming Nocturnals: Halloween Noir book looks gorgeous), the Nocturnals series is Brereton’s true artistic statement. So grab one of the many collections or issues and get sucked into a world of monsters, mobsters, and madmen that not even your wildest, Halloween-obsessed dreams (and nightmares) could conjure.
English (US) · 