Tales of the Night Watchman is an ongoing horror comic book series created by Dave Kelly and Lara Antal.
Press, as a serialized newspaper strip in the Park Slope Reader, and in various titles published by Image Comics.
It revolves around a trio of slapdash coffee shop employees who get caught up in a never-ending onslaught of supernatural occurrences around New York City.
The series features the work of several artists, including ' Simon Fraser and Dean Haspiel and has received six Ringo Award nominations to date: Two for Best Single Issue or Story ("The Steam Banshee" [2020] and "Under the Surface" [2022]); Best Cover Artist - Simon Fraser (2018); Best Inker - Brett Hobson (2021); and two for Best Letterer - DC Hopkins (2021 and 2022); as well as a win by association for Best Anthology (2018) for Mine!, in which a short story from the series appeared.
[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The three main characters, Nora, her roommate Charlie (who is also the Night Watchman), and the tent-dwelling vagrant, Serena, work at Think Coffee's Union Square location in New York City and live in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg, both of which are prominent fixtures.
It follows the life of Nora Cashin, professional barista and amateur writer, and her roommate, Charlie Maxwell, who happens to be possessed, in the nicest way possible, by a spectral detective who calls himself the Night Watchman.
He came into possession of something called "the fragment", thanks to an arcane witch named Mama Shadow, which promised to give him greater political advantage.
Chasing her into the tunnels below Brooklyn, she is captured by the dwellers, an underground race of mutated youths, and prepped for sacrifice to their ruler, Big Bogie.
"The Poison Garden" is a slice of life story that shows the tragic events leading up to Jenny and Trish's deaths at the hands of Jack the Gripper, the killer in "The Long Fall".
They take place in various parts of the city and are also homages to some of Dave Kelly's favorite golden age horror films.
The Mad Mind of Anton Sebaum After Nora discovers that counterfeit twenty-dollar bills are passing through the coffee shop's register, she makes Charlie and Serena check every single one used in transactions.
In this follow up to one of the series' most popular tales, Brooklyn's most toxic monster is after a couple of thugs responsible for the death of a young boy.
They banish Carissa for arguing that Scooter is the rightful successor to their leader, that the legacy of leadership should remain with a male Night Collector.
The other vampires disagree, and it leads to a divisive showdown after their fellow clanswoman, Valeria, befriends a group of mysterious sisters who also live in the forest.
Press became an imprint of fellow Brooklyn publisher It's Alive!, until that time known mostly for its reprints of Silver Age war comics.
began to distribute Tales of the Night Watchman through Diamond Comic Distributors from Fall 2019 onward beginning with the two-part mini-series "The Final Kill" and a one-shot crossover with Dean Haspiel's WEBTOON / Image Comics property, The Red Hook, entitled "The Untold Legend of Luna."
The art team on all three issues was Brett Hobson (artist), Sonia Liao (colorist), and DC Hopkins (letterer), with covers by Tim Hamilton, Emily Pearson, Simon Fraser, and Haspiel.
[18][19][20][21][22] The Ghost Train A comic strip version of the series has run in local Brooklyn newspaper the Park Slope Reader since 2018.
As with "The Steam Banshee", it was drawn by Brett Hobson, colored by Clare DeZutti, and lettered by DC Hopkins, but written solely by Dave Kelly.
received an Eisner Award nomination in the best short story category for "Ethel Byrne" by Cecil Castellucci and Scott Chantler, but lost to "A Life in Comics: The Graphic Adventures of Karen Green" by Nick Sousanis at that year's San Diego Comic-Con.
Running in issues 259-261, it involved the Mannequin, the antagonist in "The Untold Legend of Luna", conscripting Red Hook to steal Dragon's blood to help him bring the woman of his dreams to life.
Nora, Charlie, and Serena make a background cameo appearance with Spencer Dales from Excellence and Mirta del Mar, a.k.a.
called it a "simple, yet effective, modern day pulp tale", noting: "It mixes mystery, horror, and comedy in a totally unique way.
Jorge Solis of Villain Media noted, "[The series] captures New York with such diversity...[Kelly's] social commentary strikes as the Night Watchman protects the helpless middle class and the unwanted underdogs.
"[53] The series has also been featured in Rue Morgue (magazine) and the book Blood in Four Colours: A Graphic History of Horror Comics by Pedro Cabezuelo.