Review – Night Owl Society TP (IDW Publishing)

Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: James Venhaus
Artwork: Pius Bak
Lettering by: Marshall Dillon
Release Date: 16th August 2017

I reviewed the first issue of Night Owl Society back in April, and I said that it had the potential to become a truly great series. Well, after being able to take a look at the collected first volume, on sale this week, I can happily say that it is definitely on course towards becoming just that.

The series has a straightforward premise – a high school kid gathers a team to take down his crime boss father. We have the usual interplay of characters and secrets that drive the group apart over the course of this first arc, before – spoiler alert – they come back together for the finale.

It’s at this point where the story genuinely took me by surprise and showed that writer James Venhaus has some real guts. I won’t spoil it, but I will say that this is a book that clearly doesn’t stick to the clichés of the genre. The twist spins the story on it head and we find out about the true conflict between father and son. We also learn that we have essentially been reading a prologue for a far grander story to come.

If anything, Night Owl Society has even more potential than I gave it credit for in the first issue review. And, if the creative team plays it right this series is well on its way to becoming a modern classic.

Full disclosure, I am still not a huge fan of Pius Bak’s artistic style but that definitely comes down to more of a personal preference as opposed to it being bad. I can definitely see merit of it for a story like this, especially given how ‘rough around the edges’ the characters are. That said, there’s no denying that the style really work during the frequent action scenes. Plus, after this first volume, I honestly can’t imagine this story being depicted in any other style now.

I am really looking forward to what lies in store for the Night Owl Society, and this new series with all its excitement, drama and creativity is most definitely one to watch.

Rating: 4/5.

PREVIEW ARTWORK
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