posted 04-09-2003 01:24 PM               

J. Michael Straczynski re-examines some of his favorite themes in Midnight Nation, but by no means is this a stale rehash of his previous work. Straczynski successfully boils an epic tale of warring spiritual factions into a character-driven drama, with considerable help from Frank’s superb pencil art. The collected edition packages the 12-part series in one complete, well-designed volume, with a bonus short story and an afterword from Straczynski; it’s one of my favorite purchases of the year thus far.

Los Angeles Police Lieutenant David Grey tries to arrest a suspect in a pair of drug-related murders, but instead finds himself at the wrong end of a beating by otherworldly creatures called Walkers. Rather than kill him, the Walkers’ leader takes David’s soul and sends him to The Place In-Between -- the world of the homeless, the out-of-work, the out-of-date, and the out-of-luck, where people and things fade to after they are forgotten or abandoned. David soon meets Laurel, an emissary from the Walkers’ opponent in an ongoing metaphysical conflict, and the two set off on a cross-country walk to New York to confront the Walkers’ leader and reclaim David’s soul before he becomes trapped In-Between forever.

Midnight Nation is a celebration of hope, of the belief that things can be better than they are; not idle hope in the sense of mucking through and waiting for things to change, but hope as a motivation to take risks and work for change in one’s own life and in the world around us. Straczynski hammers that theme home throughout David’s journey; David is almost always ready to seize on even the slightest chance of success, while those he meets are usually resigned to their fates. In the beginning of the story, the contrast is between David and those of the In-Betweeners who insist that there was nothing they could do as their lives slid away from them. But as David gets closer to New York, he discovers that it’s the same resignation and absence of hope that fuels the Walkers’ efforts to wipe out creation and start over.

There are some who might say Straczynski belabors the point, that David’s “I have to do something” statements veer from characterization into polemics. I can’t say for sure, but I think most of the people who would respond this way are at least in some sense hostile to Straczynski’s central tenet; they would argue rather compellingly that hope and determination do not always triumph over circumstances. Outside forces constrain all of us, and often those forces work against us or are downright malevolent; just because I want to fight the good fight doesn’t mean I will win.

As valid as those arguments are, I think they miss Straczynski’s point. This is not a story where the power of hope and love magically vanquishes the villain at the end, nor does everyone come out of it with their problems solved, although it’s certainly an uplifting ending. What Straczynski is arguing is not that we can win ‘em all, but that we can win some of ‘em. That the worst case scenario doesn’t always have to play out, that no matter how constrained we are by circumstances, we always have some leverage, and it’s better to use that leverage than to simply be passive. If Straczynski shouts it from the rooftops, maybe he needs to in order to get past the noise and the screens we set up to block that simple message. And I think the passion with which Straczynski believes in what he’s saying permeates this story, to the point where the reader can’t help but feel it.

The Place In-Between is an interesting setting for the story, but it serves mostly as a backdrop for David’s character arc. Straczynski talks about the contrast between the daylight nation and the midnight nation in his afterword, but he’s not really interested in tackling the why or how of that division; it’s enough for him to observe it and use it as a backdrop and metaphor. There is a lot of room in the setting to explore American economic and social structures, but Midnight Nation never really tries to be that kind of story. On the one hand, it’s a shame to leave that potential untapped, but I think it’s better that Straczynski found a central focus and stuck to it. The emotional payoff from that focus more than justifies it, and probably motivates the reader to consider the questions more on his or her own.

The spiritual side of Straczynski’s metaphor is a bit more fully-developed, but again he leaves plenty of room for interpretation. There is definitely an element of Christian spirituality inherent in the series; Lazarus is a minor character. But Straczynski’s careful not to use familiar names like heaven, hell, Satan, and so on, so there’s room to assume that the Christian elements fit into a larger, more universal metaphysical scheme. There are definitely heroes and villains in the piece, but Straczynski wants to preserve some ambiguity for the good/evil divide. The villains are not randomly destructive - they argue that our codes of morality are merely fictions that keep us from realizing our potential happiness, and that the old order should be demolished so that freedom may ultimately triumph. The Walkers are so destructive that ultimately it’s impossible to sympathize with them, but it is at least understandable why they have set themselves up against the forces of creation.

posted 06-30-2003 09:08 PM               

On another note, I originally sat down to read one issue about about 1:00am, and thought "I'll just read one or two a night." Next thing you know it's 3:30am and I'm closing issue #12. This doesn't happen to me too often. To say Midnight Nation is engrossing is a bit of an understatement.

posted 07-01-2003 04:05 AM               

I get what you're saying about the speaking-personally thing. In my case, I think it's because in my gut I agree with Straczynski, and it's good to get immersed in a story that brings home and reminds me why I believe what I do.

posted 07-03-2003 11:13 PM               

The other thing is that Jeremiah is a European comic, and the medium is much more popular and widespread overseas than it is here. So the original story doesn't need quite the promotion that, say a Midnight Nation does.