Night Force: Marv Wolfman, Tom Mandrake, Wes Hartman, Wes Abbott, Leonardo Manco

So, we’re coming up on the final act of the miniseries, and still it feels like nothing’s happened. Not only that, but there’s also no mystery to this whole thing. We know who the bad guys are - or, more specifically, we’ve seen the faces behind it all - and we know most of what they’re trying to do. We just don’t know the why. So there’s no real sense of “who’s doing this?” And “who’s orchestrating it all?” That’s really frustrating.

I guess I’m upset because I’ve invested in this series. I bought all 5 issues so far in the hope that I would get something specific out of it. Well, not specific, I guess…but at least something other than what I’m actually getting: nothing.

Baron Winters is trapped in 1648 London, and that just proves his uselessness throughout this whole series so far. I honestly think he can do nothing at all. He doesn’t have or use magic, and his cheetah thing is just as powerless. So what does he do? Why is he important? Because he’s a baron? Pssh. He ends up beating a bone against a wood door to get it open. So he’s also not even smart. And…where did that door come from? That room was sealed up with bricks, which are probably still drying, and can be knocked down. Well, maybe that’s what happened and he’s now trying to get through the door back to Wintersgate…in which case, he’s better off using a brick to beat the door down. God, do I have to do everything?

And so much for horror. This book couldn’t be less scary. It’s even stopped being creepy! Well, I take that back. This issue had those Nurses in the animal costumes at that fair? How they just carried off Annabeth like that is pretty scary. But in a “real life situation” way, not an “occult monster baby breeding” way.

This issue was probably the most ineffectual of them all so far. We see that other Generation 9s are having trouble producing healthy 10 babies, and that Zoe and Brian Greene continue to be the only ones who’ve done it. And that’s when we learn that these weirdos are trying to get to Generation 12! I don’t know about you guys, but I am not waiting around that long.

There have been far too many questions raised, especially in the character motivation department, without any semblance of an answer provided. Even hinted at! Yeah, that’s right, this whole time? The purpose of these harvesters isn’t even SUGGESTED. Sure, they want to get a guy elected as President. Possibly then he’ll be able to influence people into whatever. …WHO CARES?!

It isn’t interesting! It isn’t scary! And, so far, with the incredible incompetence of Winters and Duffy, it looks like they’re going to succeed! Why should I worry? It’s not like anyone’s coming to save the day! And this issue suddenly became politically charged, as if to mirror our current society’s concerns or whatever, what with the presidential race happening right now. I about threw the book across the room, that made me so mad.

The art? Hh. I’m just not impressed anymore. There was, what, one or two issues where I thought it was really polished and looked good? The coloring is good, so nice job to Wes. Beyond that, I’m just not feeling it.

Night Force #5 of 7, the verdict: Wow, I just got really mad at this title. This issue pushed me over the edge, I think. I only wanted a great, spooky story. I didn’t care what it was about, really. I was looking for a story that was faithful to the title of “Night Force.” A person, or group of persons, who used their skills to put a stop to something unspecified that typically operates at night. Not too much to ask, right? You want the problem? The main problem with this book? The good guys aren’t moving against the bad guys. They aren’t moving at all toward any kind of goal or solution. The bad guys, though, they’re at least acting. They’re making decisions that further their goals. Unfortunately, we aren’t told what those are…so even their action feels stagnant.

(Photo Source: DC Collectors)