Even amidst the backdrop of COVID-19, the show must go on and new stories must be told. Enter prolific Batman scribe Scott Snyder and renowned artist Tony S. Daniel with a new horror series that provokes shades of Ice Road Truckers mixed with a healthy dose of Pitch Black - Nocternal. Set in a dystopian future where an unknown force has enshrouded the world in a never-ending darkness that is slowly transforming the populace into monsters, the series stars Valentina “Val” Riggs, a “ferryman” whose job it is to transport unaffected people to bunkers where perpetual light staves off the nightmarish transformation.
Snyder and Daniel are currently coming off their work on the acclaimed Dark Nights: Death Metal and Batman crossover Joker War, respectively, and will see this new series printed by Image Comics in 2021. The series takes the duo away from their usual superhero stomping grounds and instead places their story in a dark world mixed with elements of science fiction and dark fantasy in which every moment is a fight for survival. The first arc of Nocternal will feature Val in her duties as a ferryman, which involve driving an incandescent 18-wheeler through a blackened wilderness filled with monsters towards purported sanctuaries dotting the landscape in the midst of eternal night. Her adventure begins when she is hired to ferry an old man and his granddaughter through the benighted Rocky Mountains to find an illuminated sanctuary, only to come across horrors beyond her comprehension. The series will feature colors by Tomeu Morey and lettering by Deron Bennett.
According to a statement on their Kickstarter for the project, the team will be producing the comic for Image, but have launched a public fundraiser to cover costs on their end, which include an exclusive 72-page “Collector’s Edition” only available through their fundraiser featuring the full script. The Collector's Edition will also provide the campaign's supporters with behind-the-scenes notes and black-and-white concept art.
In the statement Snyder assured fans that he will receive no profit from the fundraising and simply wants to make sure that the production costs will be met. The series will be published by Image in conjunction with Snyder’s new company Best Jackett Press, which he says is a portmanteau of the names of his two sons Jack and Emmett. According to Snyder, the goal would be to raise 40 thousand dollars in order to secure the creative team for future story-arcs, of which he hopes there will be three. As of the time of this writing, the campaign has raised more than $91,000.
Find out more about the project, and ways in which you can support it on Kickstarter. Nocternal is set to be released by Image Comics in 2021.
Source: Kickstarter