An ancient vampire has arrived and given the Night Club a simple choice: Stop punching evil, or their families die horribly. What now? Your Major Spoilers review of Night Club #6 from Image Comics awaits!
NIGHT CLUB #6
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Juanan Ramirez
Colorist: Fabiana Mascolo
Letterer: Clem Robins
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: August 26, 2023
Previously in Night Club: It’s superheroes versus vampires for the fate of Philadelphia… and there will be BLOOD.
Can Nightbird, Thundercloud, and Starguard survive long enough to get killed by Nemesis in the big Millarverse crossover?
MASKS VERSUS FANGS: ROUND TWO
Night Club #6 begins with the sunrise, as Danny Garcia ponders what to do. Should he give up his superhero activities or watch ancient blood-suckers massacre his family, and those of his two best friends? It’s an impossible choice, and one that he immediately rejects in favor of going on the offensive. Masking up, he and his partners, Amy and Sam, walk into the police station and ask the officers on duty if they can have all the C-4 they confiscated from criminals in a previous issue. Not every super-type could have pulled it off, but then again, not everyone has the hypnotic powers of a vampire. Tracking their foes to an abandoned house outside of the city, Starguard and company wire up the house and prepare to blow it all to hell, destroying their enemies while they’re still sleeping through the day. Everything goes swimmingly until the front door opens, and their foes walk out, covered in motorcycle helmets and very unhappy to see them.
MY BAD, HOMIE, I PICKED “C”
This issue is a little difficult to review because the climax of the story does work, but there really are no surprises to be had here. Danny goes one-on-one with the biggest, baddest vampire, while Amy gets locked in the basement of the house to become food for the bad guys’ elder stateswoman, a vampire so old that she predates the English language. Danny and Amy finally act on the “Will they, or won’t they?” that’s been rattling around since issue one, while Sam overcomes his confidence issues to strike the decisive blow. The one moment that doesn’t feel incredibly telegraphed comes on the last page, coming after the montage of our heroes returning to their regular lives and acting as Philadelphia’s protectors, and even that moment (which I’m not gonna spoil for you) is a stock story trope. Still, Juanan Rodriguez’s art makes this much more than just storyboards for the inevitable miniseries, providing a nice balance between realism and superhero action. The storytelling on display during Amy/Yellowbird’s confrontation with Bloody Mary is excellent, and I enjoy the fact that all three of our heroes are clearly, consciously aping Spider-Man poses as they leap across the city.
BOTTOM LINE: STILL PREDICTABLE, BUT IT WORKS
In short, Night Club #6 wraps everything up with a bow, dealing with the villains, leaving our heroes as the only surviving bloodsuckers, and taking the requisite Millar shots at the youth (one of the vampires is obsessed with stalking internet celebrities and trying to get them to kill themselves), providing a wrap-up that satisfies but doesn’t delight, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall. The art elevates it all, but can’t overcome the nagging feeling that Millar is saving the best stuff for the Netflix adaptation.
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NIGHT CLUB #6
Every issue of this book goes exactly the way I expected, but in this case, I expected to wrap up the "Evil Vampires" arc in a satisfying way, and mostly got what I wanted.
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Writing4
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Art8
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Coloring6
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.