Even if you’re a casual comics fan and you have perused the shelves of your LCBS (and if you don’t know what that stands for, ‘casual’ may be a gross understatement!), you may look at the various books on display and think to yourself, “Hey, this Scott Snyder chap… does the man ever sleep?!” Prolific is a word you could use, between BATMAN: DARK NIGHTS, AMERICAN VAMPIRE, THE WAKE, UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY and the rest, it’s safe to say that Snyder is a bloke that likes to keep himself busy.
During the time of lockdown, however, it appears that the creator-owned bug that Snyder caught with UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY (co-written with Charles Soule, art by Guiseppe Camuncoli and Matt Wilson, published by Image Comics) is something that’s grown and evolved in this rarefied time, leading to the creation of a new imprint to handle his own stories, BEST JACKETT PRESS, ultimately to be published by Image, also.
Kicking off the endeavour is new title NOCTERNAL (yes, the mis-spelling is intentional, bear with us…), a high concept horror-slash-adventure-slash-feminist drama which sees the world plunged into eternal darkness (…ahh, there it is!), occupied by a turned population of ‘shades’ of themselves, with the surviving humans clinging to havens of artificial light and with drivers called ‘ferrymen’, shuttling them and their belongings in eighteen-wheelers. Think PITCH BLACK meets THE WALKING DEAD meets MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, all filtered through the bounding imaginations of Snyder and his NOCTERNAL artist partner-in-crime, John S. Daniel.
The twist to the launch is that, instead of heading straight to the release of the book, Snyder is funding the setting of the imprint and the publishing of a high-quality behind-the-scenes ‘Director’s Cut’ edition of the first issue, straight out of the gate, via that 2020 evergreen manner for creators to connect with their audience (and that audience’s wallets): crowdfunding, with NOCTERNAL COLLECTOR’S EDITION now up for grabs on Kickstarter.
This 72-page COLLECTOR’S EDITION will bring together a full printing of Snyder’s script for the first issue – the first time that a Snyder script can be found – printed alongside Daniel’s original linework to give dedicated fans, and scholars of the comic-making process, the opportunity to see this story in its formative state, ahead of the launch of the comic proper at Image Comics, early next year.
A more cynical voice would feel that a forty grand (£30.538) target might be a manner for Scott to offset any risks in the setting up of the imprint, as well as banking some of that tidy, tidy tidy coin in the time waiting for the book to come out, but as we said at the very top of this post, Snyder is not exactly someone who bet against when it comes to the quality of his output; on top of that, Tony S. Daniel is a phenomenal artist with a stunning back catalogue, a creator whose contribution will only make NOCTERNAL a massive hit. (EDIT: considering that the campaign has been opened for literally a few hours and it’s already sitting at $27.7k, it’s safe to say hundreds of fans agree with us – that initial target could even possibly be blown straight clean by, by the time I hit ‘Publish’ on this puppy.)
Follow and, indeed, throw some shekels into the pot for NOCTERNAL at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scottsnyder/scott-snyder-and-tony-daniels-nocternal-1-collectors-edition
Bestselling Comic Book Creators Scott Snyder and Tony S. Daniel Present NOCTERNAL COLLECTOR’S EDITION on Kickstarter
An Exclusive, Behind-the-Scenes Edition Of the Making of the Upcoming Created-Owned Series – Get An Inside Look at The First Release from Scott Snyder’s Best Jackett Press Label, an All New Series about Humanity Trying to Survive in Everlasting Darkness
Imagine that tomorrow the sun simply doesn’t rise. You wait. And you wait, but night just continues…
You can still feel the sun’s warmth – it must be there – but for some reason, light no longer reaches the earth. There’s only darkness. But this new darkness, there’s something strange about it, something terrifying. Because anything – or anyone – that stays in it too long starts to change…
Bestselling comic book writer Scott Snyder, acclaimed artist Tony S. Daniel, colorist Tomeu Morey, letterer Deron Bennett, and editor Will Dennis are collaborating on NOCTERNAL — a new creator-owned comic book series about humanity trying to survive in everlasting darkness — and launching a Kickstarter campaign for NOCTERNAL COLLECTOR’S EDITION, an exclusive, behind-the-scenes edition of the series’debut issue.
Starting at 72 pages, NOCTERNAL COLLECTOR’S EDITION is a one-of-a-kind reading experience, with Scott Snyder’s script displayed alongside Tony S. Daniel’s linework to provide a rare look at the process of making comics. If funded on Kickstarter, NOCTERNAL COLLECTOR’S EDITION will be released to backers ahead of Image Comics’ release of issue 1 this winter and would mark the first time that one of Snyder’s scripts has been published in its entirety.
NOCTERNAL takes place ten years after the world is plunged into an everlasting night that turns all living creatures into monstrous “shades.”Enter Valentina “Val” Riggs, a skilled “ferryman” who transports people and goods along deadly unlit roads with her heavily illuminated eighteen-wheeler. When an old man promising sanctuary offers Val a job to drive him and his granddaughter up through the Rocky Mountains, she takes it, hoping there might be some truth to his claim. What she finds in the end, though, is something much more horrifying than any shade…
“2020 has put a lot of things into perspective, for comics fans, pros, and businesses–and for me,” said Scott Snyder. “With everything going on right now, I wanted to return to creator-owned work in an even more dedicated way. NOCTERNAL is the first release under my new Best Jackett Press label and will be released by Image Comics as a monthly series, starting early next year. But with conventions shut down for the foreseeable future, the creative team and I wanted to find a direct way to build meaningful relationships with our fans before issue one drops to give them a unique experience.
We decided to create a behind-the-scenes collector’s edition of the first issue that provides a different reading process, looks at how a comic like this gets made and highlights Tony’s phenomenal linework.”
To showcase Daniel’s line art in all its detailed glory, the creators are printing the collector’s edition in black and white, available in two formats: an unsigned softcover and a hardcover signed by Snyder and Daniel. Both editions will only be available to Kickstarter backers. The funding goal of $37K will cover the book printing, rewards production, and fees from Kickstarter, Stripe, and BackerKit. Any funds that are raised beyond the funding goal will help cover production costs for the first story arc, up until issue #6. Additional pledge tiers include a limited edition lithograph, a sketch by Daniel, a master class with Snyder, and more.
“I really don’t think anyone’s ever released anything like this before, ahead of a series debut,” said artist Tony S. Daniel. “Publishers release ashcans at conventions, but we’re excited to share a rare look at how the comic gets made, especially since Scott’s scripts are almost never seen by comic fans.”
“Creator-owned books are about connection,” said Snyder. “Instead of asking you to trust us with company-owned characters you already love, they ask you to follow us into worlds unknown. They’re about taking a leap of faith–together. So with this, we wanted to offer you something that’s personal and collectible that also allows us to connect with you and show you how a book like this gets made.”
For updates, follow Best Jackett Press on Twitter (@bestjackett) and Facebook (BestJackettPress)
To support the campaign, visit Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scottsnyder/823774553.
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
Scott Snyder has been writing comics for over a decade. He is most known for various Batman titles, including the most recent Dark Nights: DeathMetal, Swamp Thing, and creator-owned works like American Vampire, Wytches, and The Wake.
Tony S. Daniel is a comic book writer and artist known for his work on various books for DC Comics, including Teen Titans, Deathstroke, and Batman. His work on Detective Comics earned him a spot as a New York Times Best Selling Writer. He’s also worked on creator-owned titles released by Image Comics such as The Tenth, Adrenalynn, F5 and Silke.
Tomeu Morey is an illustrator, cartoonist, designer and colorist with over20 years of experience creating book covers, illustrations, designs and layouts, as well as sequential art. For the past 10 years, he has been working as a colorist for DC Comics on prominent titles such as Batman, Detective Comics, Justice League, Superman, and Action Comics.
Deron Bennett is the owner and lead designer of the comic book lettering and production studio AndWorld Design. His extensive list of clients includes DC Comics, Image, Dark Horse, Vault, IDW, BOOM!, Oni Press, and AHOY Comics. A jack-of-all-trades, Deron does cover design and illustration as well. His talents have been recognized with two Harvey nominations and an Eisner nod for his work on Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand. Deron’s own written stories can be found in The Goo
