The Night Club survived their first brush with real crime, but the would-be superhero vampires have bigger problems, much closer to home. Your Major Spoilers review of Night Club 2 #2 from Dark Horse Comics awaits!
NIGHT CLUB 2 #2
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Juanan Ramirez
Colorist: Fabiana Mascolo
Letterer: Clem Robins
Editor: Daniel Chabon
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 25, 2024
Previously in Night Club 2: Sam was the sweet, chubby best friend at school. Now that he’s a vampire, he’s become the biggest jock in his senior year and hammering win after win on the basketball court. The girls love him, and so do the bullies… but his friends are getting very concerned.
A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
After the revelation that Danny and Amy are dating, Sam officially left the Night Club. Danny/Starguard and Amy/Yellowbird are still out punching evil with their vampire powers, but Sam has refocused his attention on playing basketball and getting rich before he turns 21. He’s sleeping with the hottest girl in school, and the kid who used to bully him owes him a favor after Sam cleared his debts with the local drug dealer. Unfortunately, what he really wants is for Amy to love him, something that becomes clear isn’t going to happen after he calls her and confesses his feelings. That leads him to the stupidest decision of his life, as he returns to cheerleader Kendra’s home and admits the truth, not just about Thundercloud, but the source of his powers AND the fact that they’re transferrable.
As dumb as that may be, Sam makes things even worse when he agrees to bite her and live forever as undead creatures in love.
MATTERS OF SCALE
Aside from the general discomfort level of this issue’s extended nude scene (the issue makes it clear that Sam and Kendra are 18, but not for several pages AFTER gleefully exposing her body) and the hamfisted obviousness of the cliffhanger ending, the entire issue is strangely paced. Everything feels like a sprint, from Sam busting a drug den to a heart-to-heart with his grandpa to his declaration of love to sleeping with Kendra and on and on. It’s really weird, and has the effect of making it all feel like little more than a series of plot points. I’ve had this problem with several recent Millarworld projects, but this one feels particularly acute, especially given that the last place that the Night Club appeared before issue number one was their brutal murder by Nemesis in the pages of Big Game. (I’ll admit that seeing that bigger picture makes it more difficult for me as a reader to immerse myself in high school dynamics again, but that’s an external problem, not a flaw with this series or specific issue.) There are a number of phenomenally well-done pages in this issue (Amy’s exit after Sam’s revelation is stellar, as is the splash of Thundercloud appearing to Kendra), but the speed with which the script ticks off its events makes even that hard to enjoy.
BOTTOM LINE: STILL NOT QUITE GELLING
I may seem like a glutton for punishment after swearing off the original Night Club mini more than once, then coming back, but Night Club 2 #2 still feels like Millar created the characters and the pitch, outlined the important plot points and character beats but didn’t really take the time to put it all together in a way that would create satisfying individual issues, leaving Ramirez to do the heavy lifting with creative layouts and displays of vampire power, making for a disappointing 2.5 out of 5 stars overall. I think if I decide to come back to Night Club 2, I’ll wait for the trade paperback (or maybe the Netflix adaptation).
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NIGHT CLUB 2 #2
The protagonists feel like thumbnail sketches in a plot that rushes from big moment to big moment without letting them stand, making for a muddled issue that even the lovely art can't balance out.
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Writing1
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Art8
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Coloring6
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