A barista by day, a spectral detective by night, the titular hero of Tales of the Night Watchman steps back in time to join forces with fellow Brooklynite, the Red Hook! We have an exclusive look at the alternate covers, including one by Simon Fraser that will support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Plus, The Beat has an exclusive, seven-page preview of the crossover.
Of note, Fraser’s cover will feature three titans from what’s considered the golden age of comics: Jack Cole (creator of Plastic Man), Tarpé Mills (creator of Miss Fury), and Bill Finger (co-creator of Batman).
Night Watchman co-creator and So What? Press publisher Dave Kelly tells The Beat, “I selected them because Plastic Man, Miss Fury, and Batman represent the spirit of the three heroes in our story.” At the time of writing, this is believed to be the first and only time Bill Finger has been featured on a cover!
Kelly explains, “They also represent the trials and tribulations of making comics in that era. Cole was an early cartoonist for Playboy, which turned heads at the time. Mills took on the pseudonymous first name ‘Tarpé’ to disguise the fact that she was a woman. Also, some of her Miss Fury strips were rejected by newspaper censors for their brow-raising content. Finger, of course, was arguably erased from the history of Batman by co-creator Bob Kane. Time has been kind to them, but they’re still unknown outside of comic circles that appreciate the old stuff.”
With this crossover, So What? Press joins forces with Emmy Award-winning creator Dean Haspiel to create a unique tale of heroes, thieves, and secrets. Haspiel’s The Red Hook, Vol. 2: War Cry hits shelves this October from Image Comics. Additionally, Tales of the Night Watchman: The Final Kill is a two-part installment that comes out October and November 2019 from So What? Press / It’s Alive!
The Tales of the Night Watchmen / The Red Hook: The Untold Legend of Luna crossover event will be a 48-page one-shot with art by Brett Hobson, colors by Sonia Liao, and lettering by DC Hopkins. Fraser’s cover variant will be a limited printing of 500 units, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to CBLDF. Published by Diamond, the issue will hit stores on December 4th, 2019. Check out the full synopsis and an exclusive preview below.
Tales of the Night Watchman / The Red Hook: The Untold Legend of Luna #1
48 pages / color / $7.99Writers: Dean Haspiel & Dave Kelly
Artist: Brett Hobson
Colorist: Sonia Liao
Letterer: DC Hopkins
Cover A: Dean Haspiel
Cover B: Emily Pearson
Cover C: Simon Fraser (Limited to 500 units, 100% of the proceeds assigned to CBLDF)A crossover event three centuries in the making! Super-thief meets superhero as Image Comics’ Red Hook teams up with the Night Watchman to travel back in time to save Brooklyn’s first superhero, a woman of mystery named Luna, who has been erased from history by a male supervillain harboring an unhealthy obsession for her. Come smash the patriarchy with us in this loving and epic tribute to comics’ Golden Age.