Graphic Novel Review: Nights Season One Part One written by Wyatt Kennedy, art by Luigi Formisano

Posted on December 31, 2024 at 6:51 am by Gene Ambaum

Nights Season One Part One written by Wyatt Kennedy, art by Luigi Formisano. Image, 2024. 9781534397743. Publisher’s Rating: M / Mature. Contains Nights #1 – #5.

I was looking at the staff picks shelf in Seattle’s Phoenix Comics & Games, and this was RECOMMENDED BY EVERYONE. Sold.

(This graphic novel takes place in an alternate reality where Florida belongs to Spain, there are 31 states, and supernatural creatures are common.) It opens in 1998 when Vincent moves to Florida after his mother’s death to live with Ivory, his “uncle.” Matt, one of Ivory’s housemates, picks Vincent up at the airport. On the way to their apartment they see a ghost out for a jog and the local vampire — she’s a young-looking German woman named Gray — flying through the air to deliver pizza. (minor spoilers ahead) By the end of the first chapter, it’s clear Ivory kills people for a living, Gray is unemployable but has a great sense of humor, and that Vincent has a huge crush on Gray that will complicate things. Oh and after a leap forward in time between chapters one and two, it’s clear something is up with Matt, too.

This graphic novel is playful and spooky in the best, unexpected ways. There’s a super awkward YA romance at its heart, and it’s not quite clear who the real monsters are. I loved every page!