NIGHTFALL: MICHAEL’S AWAKENING #1 & #2 – An Honest Review

In NIGHTFALL: MICHAEL’S AWAKENING #1 & #2, available from Animation Comics & Entertainment on June 27th, 2018, Michael is your average High School quarterback and all-around good kid, until his 18th birthday when he learns he comes from a long line of werewolves involved in a secret civil war.

Update: The review was updated with preview images from the most recent version of the digital release by request from the creator.

The Details

• Written By: Dwayne Robinson Jr.
• Art By: Dwayne Robinson Jr.
• Colors By: John Cruz
• Letters By: Dwayne Robinson Jr.
• Cover Art By: Dwayne Robinson Jr.
• Cover Price: $5.99
• Release Date: June 27, 2018

Was It Good?

The art is fairly good, certainly above average for an indie project almost entirely created by a single person. The story concept has a lot of good ideas and potential for larger stories. There’s oodles of potential in the setup, and who doesn’t love werewolves and witches.

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That said, it’s a tough read. The primary flaw in the story lies in the combination of the dialog scripting and the lettering.

The lettering is compact with all caps and frequently not aligned well with the word balloons. Balloon placement is good, but lettering placement in the balloons is not, so you wind up with odd white space issues and large block paragraphs that are sometimes hard to read. The reader’s eye needs to flow smoothly through the letters, and this lettering is visually unpleasant.

The dialog is clunky. Frequently, characters talking with each other felt like they were talking at each other. It’s the difference between an actor acting from a script and an actor reading a script out loud. There’s no emotion in the delivery, and most of the story (delivered through dialog exposition) comes across as flat and clinical.

This is one case where it would have greatly helped to have a few friends run through the story and dialog as though rehearsing for a play. The lack of emotion or energy would have been more apparent, and therefore, adjustable.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

Author’s note: Since we received issues #1 and #2, we’ll address each separately.

Issue #1

Michael Vash is your typical High School football star who works hard, keeps himself humble, and takes care of his Mom. After the last football game of the season, Michael parties a little with his friends, his sister Victoria, and his love interest, Melissa.

The dynamics of Michael’s relationships playout for the vast majority of the first issue. The book is entirely in Black and White until the “inciting incident” near the end, and nothing much of consequence happens until we’re introduced to Michael’s mother and a secret she’s been hiding. It’s all character building.

Michael’s mother has a reputation for being crazy after an incident that happened years ago. She keeps her “episodes” in check with medication (or at least she tells Michael she’s taking her medication), and Michael dotes over her to make sure she stays out of trouble.

The night of Michael’s 18th birthday, Michael’s mother pulls him aside to tell him he’s going to turn into a werewolf and he needs to be prepared for the change. Of course, he thinks she’s nuts. And of course, she isn’t and he begins to change while attending a party with his girlfriend.

When the change comes over him, the book fades from Black and White into a color book. It’s a nice creative touch to use coloring to imply Michael’s life has taken on new meaning and “color” when the werewolf side of him is awakened.

Before Michael’s change is noticed, Victoria appears casting spells, mind control, and portals to keep Michael’s awakening away from prying eyes. In very rapid order (perhaps too rapid), we learn Michael’s mother is a werewolf, Michael comes from a sort of werewolf royal family, and Victoria is a witch who uses her power to protect Michael and his family, even when he didn’t know it. All of this information is relayed in great delay in just the last three pages.

Overall, the art is good, the transition from B&W to color is a neat creative choice, and you get a lot of character building. However, the aforementioned dialog and lettering problems stick out like a sore thumb, and the overall story probably could have benefited from shortening the first half to give more breathing room to Michael’s awakening and the werewolf world-building.

Issue #2

We pick up immediately after the events of issue #1 with Michael, his Mother, and Victoria discussing the hidden world of werewolves and witches. Michael’s estranged grandfather, Lucius, is the king of the werewolves and a corrupt one at that. His lust for power led to the death of Michael’s father, and now that Michael has awakened, Lucius will send his people after him.

A short time later, Michael meets Melissa for a date. He wants to tell her what’s happened but thinks the better of it. On the way home from Melissa’s house, Michael is attacked by men with magical weapons, but before they can do any harm, they’re killed by a woman wearing armor and wielding a sword. Michael has just met his long-lost aunt Vivian, werewolf warrior and protector.

Realizing that their situation has become more unsafe, Vivian, Michael, his Mother, and Victoria leave for several months to train and prepare Michael for the battles to come.

Meanwhile, we’re introduced to Lucius Vash. He’s a powerful CEO, cutthroat businessman, and a dangerous werewolf. Receiving the news that Michael and his family have escaped his attackers, Lucius agrees to let his son go after them.

One day as Michael and Vivian are training in the woods, Vivian goes to an extreme measure to get Michael to transform into his full werewolf form, a form he’s been unable to achieve up to this point. Sensing Michael is almost ready, Vivian and Michael return to their cabin to deliver the good news when they find out something is terribly wrong.

Overall, issue #2 is much better than issue #1. The art is above average for an indie book. The lettering is much better and the plot pacing is more balanced. There’s still a lot of exposition-heavy dialogs to get through, but it’s a significant improvement over the first issue.

How Does It End?

Michael and Vivian find a mess. Bloody notes are never a good sign. Michael has the eye of the tiger… err, wolf.

Final Thoughts

NIGHTFALL: MICHAEL’S AWAKENING #1 & #2, available from Animation Comics & Entertainment on June 27th, 2018, takes the concept of bloodlines and merges it with werewolf lore to create a family drama with an interesting mix of horror. Despite some serious problems with pacing, dialog, and lettering in the first issue, the arc finds some solid footing in issue #2.

Score: 7/10