Broken Frontier

David Hahn’s All Nighter has had something of a rough start, originally scheduled to be published under DC’s MINX line, the book was scrapped after that line fell through. Like Brian Wood’s New York Four sequel, New York Five, All Nighter also gets to see print this year, albeit now with Image instead of being shuffled to Vertigo as New York Five was. Hahn tells the story of twenty-something-year-old Kit Bradley, a young art student dealing with the temptations of stealing, a sometimes-ex-boyfriend, and having murdered her mother. It’s an interesting ride, though maybe a bit uneven at times.

David Hahn is most famous for his work with Howard Chaykin and David Tischman on Bite Club. The art in All Nighter is similar to his pencils on said title, though it should be noted that this book has no colorist, and as such is in black and white. Hahn’s art is sharp, with plenty of little visual details and references ranging from band shirts on characters to a crowd in a diner actually looking alive. It seems strange to comment on, but it’s not often that a crowd in a comic book panel looks like they’re characters themselves, not extras in a film. In a diner scene, we see a plethora of interesting-looking people that all look like they have their own stories.

Kit Bradley serves as a decent main character, a troubled art student with a past we haven’t yet fully discovered. Why and how did she kill her mother? It’s this plot point that keeps All Nighter from being just a coming-of-age story about an art student who has troubles with the opposite sex. While at times the dialogue is quick and natural, there are some lines where it does start to drag a bit. You start to wonder if Kit is a good character, or just an annoying almost-teenager.

It’s not that all of the dialogue is bad, though. In fact, some of it is pretty strong, and there are some interesting plot points and mysteries being built for future issues here that will make you come back.

Overall, Hahn’s first issue of All Nighter is a solid outing, but not a perfect one. It’s definitely got legs to stand on, however. With solid art and some interesting plot points, it sets itself apart from other books it will be inevitably lumped together with, and I’m interested to see where it goes from here.