It follows the supernatural exploits of Doc Horror and his daughter Eve in Pacific City, a fictional California town which seems to have more than its fair share of paranormal activity.

Joining the Horror family is a group of societal outcasts who shun the light of day and avoid mainstream society: spectral apparition, Polychrome; amphibious spitfire, Starfish; pyrokinetic swordsman, Firelion; reptilian, Komodo; streetwise animal-human chimera, Raccoon; and the silent undead gunslinger, Gunwitch.

They live in or frequent Doc Horror's underground sanctuary called the Tomb, both home and fortress to the group, as they battle the criminal underworld and various supernatural threats which often rear up in nearby Pacific City.

Doc Horror's chief nemeses are the Crim, a parasitic species of extradimensional conquerors who ravaged his home world before he and Eve escaped to Earth.

They have aligned themselves with the insidious Narn K Corporation, a powerful bioengineering firm specializing in controversial experimentation and covert weapons development, and have been busy producing animal-human hybrids and synthetic soldiers for use in warfare and ultimately global invasion.

Aside from the Narn K and the Crim, Horror and his crew have encountered everything from wish-granting demon lanterns and vampire street gangs to hillbilly swamp witches and robotic mobster hitmen.

The hallmark of the Eisner-Award nominated, Nocturnals: Black Planet miniseries is Brereton's moody, gothic style realized by hand painted art in every panel.

In 2003 "Nocturnals: A Midnight Companion" was published by Green Ronin as a sourcebook and guide, which won three gaming industry awards (ENnies) for that year.

Although he appears human, Doc Horror is actually a native of a parallel world referred to as the "Black Planet" that was overrun by the nefarious Crim following a great global war.

Once on Earth, Horror used his knowledge of advanced technology and the occult to gather resources to find Eve, travel the world, earn the loyalty of fellow paranormal outcasts, and eventually falling in with the Zampa crime family.

In the final issue of the Black Planet miniseries, Doc Horror uses magically enhanced bullets that can send pieces of the target into other dimensions for a truly devastating effect.

Horror also appears to have a much stronger constitution than normal humans, taking bullets "like they were bee stings" and has no problem going toe-to-toe with vicious monsters and demons.

Doc Horror theorizes that Eve's toys became this way when she made the voyage from their native world to Earth; lost souls and wandering spirits looking for a friendly face and a listening ear found her in the transdimensional ether and offer their protection in return for someone to talk to.

She acts as a maternal figure to the Horror crew and an older sister to Eve, as well as a pacifistic influence in a gang that has a tendency to draw pistols before asking questions.

Apparently during one of Doc Horror's earlier missions to rescue imprisoned animal-human hybrids he and Polychome discovered that nothing of an ectoplasmic nature can function in that area, almost leading to her total dissipation.

In his first appearance in the Black Planet miniseries, he lays waste to an entire building full of synthetic mob hitmen assigned to guard a captured Doc Horror.

Procyon Cleanhands, also known as the Raccoon and the Bandit, is an escapee of the Narn K Monster Shop with enhanced strength, senses, and claws, and the personality of a dyed-in-the-wool gangster.

He worked as a hired gun for the Zampa crime family before leading his own group called the Freelynchers and eventually joining up with Doc Horror and his crew.

Being a corpse, Gunwitch can take an unspecified amount of damage with no ill effects; one of the few times we ever see him be affected by an enemy attack is when Eve is kidnapped in Nocturnals: The Witching Hour.

Tiny forest sprites dust him with a magic powder that puts him to sleep, and when he is revived by Starfish and the Raccoon he appears to have taken it personally, much to the chagrin of those he discovers kidnapped Eve.

He is the main character in his own miniseries called The Gunwitch: Outskirts of Doom, where he and Eve come upon a town that is torn between warring vampire gangs vying for control.

He is in charge of the Narn K's bizarre and disturbing experiments in the dark recesses of the Monster Shop, and endlessly seeks to end the lives of Horror and his cohorts.

Fane managed to follow Doc Horror to Earth through the transdimensional gateway, quietly using the contacts he acquired within the Narn K to establish a Crim stronghold and slowly spread their influence.

Apparently his exposure to the Crim had made him into a Crim-like monster himself, forcing him to hide his true nature behind a weakling facade in order to pass as human on Earth.

Its two main "products" are robotic soldiers, known as Synthetics, and "Hybrids", creatures created using human and animal DNA and raised within the Monster Shop located deep below the Narn K grounds.

Synthetics are robotic foot soldiers produced by the Narn K. They are identical to humans except for their unnatural-looking skin, and appear to have at least a similacrum of (if not actual) personality and emotion.

When he was exhumed by Doc Horror, the bite of the Crim beast actually brought Tony back into a form of temporary half-life that allowed him to have one last conversation with his old rival.

During a stakeout they actually witness the emergence of Crim and the vicious gunfight involving Doc Horror, several Narn K synthetics, the Gunwitch, and a monstrous Fane.

She "interviews" Doc Horror for his insights into "the criminal mind" before he is rescued by his crew, candidly indulges Detectives Goodis and Willeford when they investigate the Zampa family, and even goes on a date with the Raccoon.

The various stories have been collected in a number of volumes: Nocturnals: A Midnight Companion is a sourcebook to integrate the characters with Mutants & Masterminds (Green Ronin Publishing, May 2004, ISBN 1-932442-02-2).