''Midnight Nation'' is a religious-themed twelve-issue

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

limited series created by

J. Michael Straczynski Joseph Michael Straczynski, known as J. Michael Straczynski (; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is known as the creator of the science fiction televi ...

and published from 2000 to 2002 by Top Cow Productions under their Joe's Comics imprint. It is about a man who is killed, in a sense, and is on a journey to save his soul.

Synopsis

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

police officer Lieutenant David Grey encounters a brutal murder. When he tracks down a possible lead he encounters strange,

goblin A goblin is a small, grotesque, monster, monstrous humanoid creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearan ...

-like men who attack him. When he awakes, Grey finds himself in a hospital, and those around him have become translucent and can no longer see him. It is explained to him by his mysterious guide Laurel that he has lost his

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and he has now been plunged into a shadow world that runs parallel to our own, filled with people who were forgotten by the world and "fell through the cracks". David is told that without his

he will slowly become like "the Walkers", the monstrous people he encountered who attacked him. David must travel on foot to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where "The Other Guy" (devil) holds his soul. Laurel has guided many others on the same journey before, but none have survived the trip. Along the way David encounters various tests, such as fighting these Walkers, meeting his future self, slowly losing his mind and his sense of self, and finally falling in love with Laurel, who is not in fact human. He also saves his ex-wife (who had walked out on him years earlier due to his unwavering dedication to his job as a police officer) from the Walkers. He also encounters an enigmatic old man who seems immune to the Walkers attacks and has no fear of them, and is able to drive them away in terror. It is later revealed that he is Lazarus who has been waiting for the return of Jesus Christ since Jesus Christ told him to do so. He is currently watched over by an

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

wielding a flaming sword. When David finally reaches New York, the Other Guy begins to lecture him on things such as life, hope, God, and humanity. He tells him that hope is a lie and that he intends to increase misery around the world until all of humanity becomes like the abandoned and forgotten people he met on his trip through the parallel world. When that is done, he can recreate the world as he sees fit. He then forces David to feel all the suffering humanity has felt over its existence, which causes him to go insane and run through the streets as one of the Walkers. He sees a

mannequin A mannequin (sometimes spelled as manikin and also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off dif ...

that resembles Laurel in a shop window, and returns to the citadel, finding Laurel being nailed to a circular wooden board. The Other Guy tells him that Laurel was lying to him about his soul: if he recovers it he will become one of the Walkers; if he does not, he will cease to belong to either world. The Other Guy also informs him that if he gives his soul to Laurel, she will cease to be an agent of God (for that is what she truly is), she will be reborn as a human. David pushes his soul into Laurel, and is drawn back into the real world, where he is transported to a hospital and eventually reunited with his estranged wife. He discovers he has the ability to still perceive people who have fallen through the cracks, and eventually is taken by Lazarus to the meeting with his past self, and then to a meeting with the reborn Laurel, now a happy teenage girl.

Collected editions

The comic ran for 12 issues, along with one one-shot story (a ''Wizard'' #1/2 edition), and was collected as a softcover trade paperback in 2003 (). A deluxe, oversized hardcover edition was released in 2009. It includes'' Midnight Nation'' #1-12, the'' Wizard'' #1/2 issue, a cover gallery, and extras such as a script, layout page, and super-gloss poster ().

TV adaptation

In July 2016,

Bleeding Cool ''Bleeding Cool'' is an Internet news site, focusing on comics, television, film, board games, and video games. Owned by Avatar Press, it was launched by Rich Johnston in 2009. Avatar Press also publishes an associated magazine, also called ''B ...

reported that Straczynski was producing a TV series with Gale Anne Hurd and was writing the pilot script.

References

External links

* * {{J. Michael Straczynski 2000 comics debuts Image Comics limited series Comics by J. Michael Straczynski Fantasy comics Top Cow titles

Synopsis

Collected editions

TV adaptation

See also

References

External links