It’s an unfair comparison, but probably an unavoidable one: How does Crossing Midnight, Mike Carey’s new book, stack up to Lucifer, his old one? They’re both Vertigo, they’re both fantasies about mortals ensnared in the plans of the gods… it’s only natural to compare. Carey is even revisiting Japanese mythology, an area he explored nicely in Children and Monsters and came back to for a final look in Evensong.
But Midnight does have its own identity – as much as a series can have one after three issues – and a different approach. And I’d go so far as to say that if you enjoyed Lucifer, you should at least try the first few issues of Crossing Midnight. But other than that, we shall speak no more of Lucifer, and look at the new book on its own merits.
The book is, in brief, about a pair of twins whose lives are tied up in supernatural forces. After praying to his grandmother’s shrine, a father is gifted with a second, surprise child, born minutes – on the other side of midnight – after the first. And while the slightly older Kai grows up fairly normal, Toshi seems oddly protected from certain dangers. Things come to a head when the Lord Aratsu, a spiritual figure of some sort with a thing for blades, arrives to demand the teenage Toshi accompany him as part of her father’s bargain. Naturally, she’d rather not go with the strange man.
In the opening three-issue arc, Carey sets up the basic setting and characters, and at least some of the themes that will run the series. There’s even a mini-resolution to the opening arc, though it’s obviously one with a great bit “To Be Continued…” sign at the end. The two leads, Toshi and Kai, don’t have much in the way of personality just yet: Kai is the sensible one, while Toshi is the rebel in the family. Mom is sensitive and caring, while Dad is overworked and possibly involved in something shady. There’s an all-knowing police detective with an odd assistant, the mean guy with all the flying knives, and an unhappy dragon samurai.
There’s much more of a real world emphasis here than in Lucifer (I know I said I wouldn’t bring that up, but whatever): The twins’ family life is important, and not all of their magical problems will have magical solutions. Indeed, it’s hard to say where one begins and the other ends, as the police detective seems to know more than he’s letting on.
Art comes courtesy of Jim Fern and Mark Pennington, who have some definite strengths and weaknesses. Their character work is very nice, offering visuals that are clean and realistic, but not overly so. And they do some excellent work on some of the spookier, darker scenes, aided ably by ace colourist Jose Villarrubia. There’s also a great flashback/fairy tale sequence done in a more traditional Japanese style that I hope returns in future issues. But some of the bigger, magical scenes just don’t pop like they should: Aratsu’s grand entrance, with knives swirling about him, seems fairly underwhelming. It’s a fairly subjective complaint, I suppose, but a significant one: While Crossing Midnight may be grounded in the real world, it needs that added oomph when some of the big, fantastic moments happen. (It’s probably unfair at this point to mention the lovely covers by J.H. Williams III, or to fantasize about him drawing the entire series. Alas.)
Crossing Midnight has yet to really wow me, but it’s only been three issues. Nonetheless, Carey has created a setup with great potential, established some mystery without being overly vague convoluted, and introduced intrigue, with multiple parties taking an interest in Toshi and Kai’s fate. As is Carey’s strength, he’s building a strong supporting cast with an array of distinctive motivations and voices. While the first issue didn’t immediately grab me, there’s a definite improvement over the first three, as things begin to build and the suspense and mystery tighten. I’m doing it again, but what the hell: The book is showing many of the strengths that made Lucifer one of my favourite reads, and I’ve got some very high hopes for it. I’ve got faith that Mike Carey won’t let me down.