Howard Chaykin, the man who has brought us Black Kiss and Satellite Sam, has a new comic called Midnight of the Soul. The comic focuses on Joel Breakstone, former GI, who helped to liberate Auschwitz. As a result of witnessing the horrors of war Joel is sent home where he has created a sheltered life for himself. He struggles to write and constantly drinks. Eventually Joel discovers that his wife Patricia has been involved with other men in return for money and as a result sets out to put an end to it. This begins the longest ride that Joel will face as he attempts to right the wrongs and take back his life.
The Good:
The comic’s concept is brilliant as it utilizes a chain reaction of cause and effect within the main character. In particular, this is done with Joel’s drinking, which is due to the horrors he experienced when he helped to liberate Auschwitz. Furthermore, the chain reaction continues due to his drinking which leads to a vicious cycle of writing struggles and more drinking. Due to his lack of writing, it puts a financial stress on his relationship with Patricia. Thus prompting her to turn to prostitution, effectively ending their relationship. Thus this style is utilized well in this comic as each action build upon one another, which leads to a big story pay off. Furthermore, in starting with the first cause and going through it slowly it allows the reader to relate to Joel and understand and sympathize with everything that is occurring. Also since the comic outlines all the causes and effects it provides an idea of justification, which gives the reader Joel’s point of view on the situation as well as a readers point of view. Thus a reader can view the comic from different angles. As a result of Howard Chaykin’s planning of the comic it reflects real life as one action always effects another action, as is the case with Joel’s actions.
The Bad:
The problem: there is no entry point to the comic besides the 1st issue. This limits the introduction of new fans into the series. The second problem the comic has is it is aimed at an older and more open demographic due to Howard Chaykin’s previous work. As a result the comic targets a niche rather than a general audience.
The Verdict:
As a comic fan you can never go wrong with Howard Chaykin as you always know what you are getting. In particular, with Midnight of the Soul, you are exposed to a comic that utilizes a chain reaction of cause and effect that all stem from one point. These reactions are slowly increasing in magnitude as they build upon each other, which creates a unique and thought provoking read. Without a doubt, as a comic fan, you have to read at least one book by Howard Chaykin. Midnight of the Soul might be a good place to start.
