Tales of the Night Watchman from So What? Press has been one of the most well done and enjoyable indie series that I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing, and I’m always excited by the arrival of another issue from writer Dave Kelly and artists Lara Antal and Amanda Scurti. Tales of the Night Watchman: Volume 1 #4 continues the book’s “winning streak” with another “double feature”-style issue featuring new chapters for the dual plotlines that expand the dark, mysterious, and mystical world created by Kelly and Antal.
MINOR SPOILERS BELOW
Tales of the Night Watchman: Volume 1 #4 picks up where the last issue left off, continuing both the Night Watchman’s main storyline (‘The Long Fall’) and his search of self-discovery, as well as Kelly’s ‘The Dwellers of Big Bogie’ tale featuring Scurti’s artwork. In part four of ‘The Long Fall,’ Kelly and Antal also use this opportunity to move some new potential threats into the spot light, including a murderous, nightmarish version of The Hulk and a fortune teller who is clearly way more than she seems!
Meanwhile, Kelly and Scurti’s second (and final) chapter of ‘The Dwellers of Big Bogie’ finally reveals the secrets of the sewer dwellers that Nora has encountered, and the finale is ful of creepy creatures that monster lovers out there will lap up. While somewhat short and simplistic, ‘The Dwellers of Big Bogie’ is not limited by its streamlined plot but, in fact, helps widen the world that Kelly, Antal, and Scurti are building. With an almost X-Files-inspired format featuring a backbone of “mythology” or main storyline tales rounded out by solid “monster of the week (issue?)” one offs and short runs, Tales of the Night Watchman continues to be one of the most stable and growing indie comic universes on the scene. For fans of supernatural stories and mythology like myself, it’s absolutely delicious.
When it comes to the artwork present in the two stories, Antal and Scurti both deliver in spades. It’s amazing how both artists have the skill to make their two styles both stand apart dramatically while still feeling like an absolutely cohesive universe. Both artists also easily shrug off the lack of coloring (Tales of the Night Watchman has worn the indie badge of black-and-white artwork from the beginning.), never suffering under what can be a major tripping point for many indie books. Tales of the Night Watchman is one book that fully embraces the black-and-white style and is all the better for it.
FINAL VERDICT: As I urged in my review of the last issue, I cannot recommend the Tales of the Night Watchman series enough! The quality and consistency of this series is top notch, and if you enjoy the mystical and/or supernatural appeal of stories like Hellboy, Constantine, Supernatural, Buffy, of other creepy sagas, then Tales of the Night Watchman belongs in your comic collection!
You can find out more about Tales of the Night Watchman: Volume 1 #4, as well as purchase your copies of previous issues, at the official So What? Press website or on Facebook.
Also, be sure to check out my previous reviews from the Tales of The Night Watchman series:
‘Tales of the Night Watchman #1:‘ Comic Book Review
‘Tales of The Night Watchman Presents: Staycation’ – Comic Book Review (Break Time!)
That’s all for now, comic book sniffers.
’Till the end of the world,
Bryant the Comic Book Slayer
@ComicBookSlayer
