“Magilla Gorilla lied to me!”
The Night Man #9
Malibu Comics/Ultraverse (June, 1994)
“Solitary!”
WRITER: Steve Englehart
ARTIST: Kyle Hotz
COLORING: Mickey Rose & Foodhammer!
LETTERER: Susan Dome
EDITOR: Roland Mann
While the Night Man failed to find Rhiannon, or even confirm she’s alive, Johnny does get to spend time with his father. Meanwhile, JD and Guy have their own bonding experience, using the Teknight robot to attempt to break Nikolai out of jail, where protestors are demanding the Ultra be imprisoned elsewhere. The Night Man tries to fight the robot but it’s prepared for all his weapons. A masked man uses a fast-drying adhesive missile to immobilize Nikolai and Teknight, the latter tearing itself apart as Guy fails to break it out. While this leads to a falling out with the Hunts, the Dominios (Domingo, since “Johnny Domino” is a stage name) bond grows stronger because it was Johnny’s dad behind the mask, and he’s known his son has been the Night Man this whole time.
What they got right: As The Night Man says, it’s nice that he’s not alone anymore. I’m a proud supporter of civilian help (one of my favorite things about Solitaire is that he has a whole network of aids), especially family. Teknight is a good threat for the story, and it contrasts the Hunts and the Domino/Domingo family.
What they got wrong: There doesn’t seem to be any kind of unified idea about JD Hunt’s personality in the Ultraverse. He’s a lot more violent here, both with Teknight and with his son. In other titles he’s a bit more calm. Personal gripe, not critical one: “Teknight” is too cool a name to use on a remote control robot owned by the bad guys. It’s a name I’ve wanted to use myself for a hero.
What else is there: There’s an ad for the Ultraverse in the scans celebrating the writers they have on board. I wonder if that’s supposed to set it apart from Image, who seems more interested in the art side of things, whatever you may think of the 90s comic art style, and you know I’m not a fan. I also caught that the restaurant was named “Englehart’s” after the writer, but I don’t know if that’s his self nod or the artist having some fun with him. Someone’s also going to ask how Eddie got the missile launcher and the adhesive missile, but it’s one of those things we don’t ask about in superhero comics. It’s just cool that he has it to save his superhero son.
What I think overall: I have my issues with the 90s style, but within that frame this is becoming one of my favorite comics. Looking forward to the next issue.
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