Gotham by Midnight 1

Some clarification may be in order - this volume only contains issues 1 through 5. Vol. 2 is advertised as carrying issues 7 through 12, but features the cover from issue 6 and has a larger page count - so it may be that everything works out fine for anyone who wants to read and collect the entire series, which closes with issue 12.Having said so, this series is just astounding - so well written and drawn. I come to it with no previous knowledge of Ray Fawkes or Ben Templesmith, but they seem perfectly suited to this story with these characters.I don't recall seeing another comic artist like Templesmith, except maybe, vaguely, Kelley Jones or Sam Kieth - his work is cartoonish and exaggerated, but somehow also serious and severe. His lines are free and wild and perfectly suited to such a macabre story.I had no interest when I first saw the book on the comic-shop shelf and only picked it up one day near the end of its run after reading a blurb somewhere about the changes it presents in the life of Jim Corrigan. I guess this is what's meant by "overlooked classic." I'm so glad I can catch up with it now.

unique story that is very different than the typical DC/Marvel superhero stuff. very spooky and unsettling at times and the art really enhances it. shipping was kind of rough on the book itself. edges and corners damaged.

Great creppy stories with an art that fits perfectly. I really like seeing Corrigan with a team instead of being the lonely "oh, poor me" character.

The art style agrees with the tone of the book. Feels a bit like Wytches by Snyder only with detectives

Noice

Gotham By Midnight sounds like Playboy After Dark (you have to be old to remember that show) but they don't have much in common. No bunnies are lurking in Gotham. This is the Gotham City version of X-Files. The main character is Jim Corrigan. If you are a student of DC history or just really old, you know that the original version of Jim Corrigan was a dead cop who returned to life (more or less) as The Spectre. There have been other Jim Corrigans in DC lore over the years but this seems to be the return of the original. The Spectre sort of oozes out of him and he doesn't have much say about it.The other primary characters are working with Corrigan in a special unit that investigates paranormal crime. An Internal Affairs guy is trying to shut them down, for reasons that are never quite made clear.One of the spook hunters is a screamer. One is a regular cop who sports a fashionable goatee. One of the team's consultants is a forensic scientist who walks around in a lab coat and doesn't do much of anything that's useful. The other consultant is a nun who, given the paranormal story, turns out to be more useful than the scientist, albeit in an unexpected way. The Batman makes only a couple of cameos.The paranormal team investigates some kids who are speaking in tongues ... or at least they're saying things nobody understands. I used to do that when I was a kid and nobody thought it was weird. Parents these days ... can't take joke.Some of the scenes draw upon cheap horror movies (and, in a couple of cases, good horror movies). Although the story is a little muddy, the writing is quite good.The art is really ... artsy. It's unconventional. I kind of like it. I don't think it would be appropriate in most comics -- I wouldn't want to see the artist turned loose in a regular Batman title -- but Gotham By Midnight is so off-the-wall that the odd art kind of suits it.

The art is funky. The story focuses upon regular types who are in the police force and have seen the supernatural (well, most of them are "regular").Batman barely shows up in this installment so don't look for him.This is "regular" detectives seeing the supernatural and fighting it because no one else can.

As a fan of Batman Eternal, I decided to give Gotham by Midnight, by Ray Fawkes, a read. It was a pretty cool book. Vol. 1: We Do Not Sleep details Det. Jim Corrigan, aka The Spectre, and a small group of investigators (including a nun, a female detective with a mysterious power, a forensic investigator, and the Lt. in charge) as they take on the supernatural cases that arise in Gotham. This Midnight Squad (as they are known) begins with an investigation into a couple of missing girls. With an Internal Affairs sergeant riding along, we slowly begin to see a new side of Gotham. Following this thread, they discover a threat that reaches back to the very origins of the city of Gotham.The art, by Ben Templesmith, is hard to describe, but it perfectly suits the eerie tone of the book. Nothing is quite straight and easily interpreted. Additionally, the colors, which almost seem washed out, add to the feeling of creepiness surrounding the cases.This is a very new take on Gotham, and I enjoyed it. It leans towards horror, but stays grounded in who the characters are, particularly the Spectre. With brief cameos from Batman, the story also kept itself in the general continuity of Batman Eternal's world. I recommend Gotham by Midnight Vol. 1, by Ray Fawkes, to fans of the spooky side of Batman.I received a preview copy of this book from DC Comics and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

If I follow my own rules of what I like and what I don’t – I really should not like or recommend this title.It has vague, muddy, stylised simplistic artwork, mysterious to the point of confounding dialogue and fluid ambiguous storylines forcing the reader to work quite hard to get the most out of these issues.This is most unlike a DC comic, it reads and looks like an independent horror title but this is based in Gotham and has got the most supernatural version of the Spectre ever produced.This is incredibly engaging however, it pulls you in and holds your attention and interest despite the unconventional trappings.More than a Constantine-police procedural blend if this is the future of mainstream comics – it’s highly recommended.

First thing to know when looking at this series is that Batman appear in like 3 pages. This is the story of Jim Corrigan, the host of The Spectre, and the Midnight Shift. Commissioner Gordon puts together a group of cops and civilians who have links to the supernatural world in order to fight an evil in Gotham that has been lurking beneath the shadows for years.In terms of story, the writing is fantastical and dark in places, making for an interesting series of questions regarding the nature of the population in Gotham. Are they beyond hope? Are they inherently bad people? Can they be saved? The truth is, Corrigan and co. doesn't really care to answer those questions, they prefer to get their boots on the ground and tackle the darkness head first, and it's that attitude that brings in an Internal Affairs investigator to blow the whole thing wide open.The art of the book is what makes it truly stand out from most though, Ben Templesmith "draws" in a way that can only be described as pure watercolour aesthetic. The interiors are not the most detailed but they draw on the idea of the dirty work that is done by the Midnight Shift as they go about their work, things look messy and untidy but it really looks quite excellent. In terms of colours, again we return to the watercolour idea, with saturated and washed out colours that give out a creepy vibe to some interiors and the city itself, and the green and blue hues that accompany the supernatural elements such as The Spectre himself really give it an eerie glow you don't see in other works.If you love horror based stories with a moody setting and characters, you will love this book.

ceratinly a different take, not your usual DC chars, but great books