TITLE: The Night Man vol. 1, Issue #1
YEAR: October 1993
COMPANY: Ultraverse/Malibu Comics
Writer: Steve Englehart
Penciller: Darick Robertson
Inker: Andrew Pepoy
Letterer: Dave Lanphear
Color Design: Paul Mounts
Interior Colorists: FOODHAMMER!
Editors: Ulm & Kanalz
With the events that transpired in “The Strangers” issue #1, “The Strangers” which is set in San Francisco and in June 1993, a cable car full with people is struck by a lightning bolt and crashes into car driven by musician Johnny Domino.
As numerous people in the cable car became part of the hero group known as “The Strangers” and others became heroes or villains, Johnny Domino had a piece of shrapnel stuck in his head and it’s too deep for surgery, but if anything he survived the accident.
While his eyes became permanently dilated because of the accident, he has to wear sunglasses during the day.
But Johnny quickly learned that he can also hear the evil thoughts of people and when he hears a man planning to kill a woman, Johnny decides to follow the mysterious man.
Unfortunately, when someone shoots a bullet through his window, Johnny decides to become the Night Man and see if he can use his martial arts skills to stop those who are planning to commit evil acts.
The first issue shows us how Johnny Domino created his first costume as Night Man and the challenges he went through to test his fighting skills on thugs.
He eventually goes to meet the woman, Ginger Robinson, who was visited by the mysterious fan and she happens to be a fan of Johnny’s jazz music and tries to ask her out the night she is going out with the mysterious man, but to no avail. Meanwhile, another woman is sitting at the restaurant watching him.
We are introduced to Johnny’s father, a security guard named Johnny Domingo who is a security guard at Playland-at-the-Beach amusement park in San Francisco, considered a landmark and wanting to be purchased for its property for a West Coast Estate.
Perhaps the most memorable moment is when Johnny, who has finalized his Night Man costume, goes to meet with Ginger before she meets with the mysterious man. But when he goes to confront her, he finds out that the woman is not Ginger, but the mysterious man who goes by Death Mask, a serial killer who cuts off the faces of his victims and wears it.
I can easily remember when I got to the page when Johnny finds out that Death Mask cut off Ginger’s face and also the face of the man he was pretending to be earlier. It was no doubt dark and eery but it laid the foundation of what kind of comic book to expect from Night Man and that was a dark, violent but yet riveting storyline by Steve Englehart.
Of all Ultraverse characters that had success post-Marvel’s purchase of Malibu Comics, the Night Man would receive a loosely-based, live TV series adaptation developed by Glen Larson (Creator of “Battlestar Galactica”, “Knight Rider”, “The Fall Guy”, “Magnum P.I.”, to name a few) and was syndicated from Sept. 1997 through May 1999 and a total of 44 episodes produced.
If anything, “Firearm” and “The Night Man” were my favorite Ultraverse series because of the strong writing and if you have the chance to pick them up, definitely give those titles a try!