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Carpe Noctem: The Complete Collection
Released by: Hashtag Comics
Released on: August 26th, 2015.
Writer: Martin Dunn
Artist: Derrick Fish
Set in Las Vegas, this series, written by Martin Dunn and illustrated by Derrick Fish, introduces us to a man named Jace Rivera. When we meet him, he watches casually as a body is tossed off of a balcony stories above him. The woman who tossed the body out the window is his ex, a high stroung lass named Ashley who conveniently forgot to tell Jace that she was a hooker. When he calls her on this, she freaks out, turns into a werewolf, and throws a couch at him.
Jace and his brother Dante own a popular nightclub together, The Carpe Noctem. Jace is frustrated that his brother can't show up on time and he deals with his frustrations by letting two foxy ladies into the club early… so that he can drink their blood.
From here we learn of the Rivera brothers' past. A would be novelist named Chelsea Nobles shows up late to a boxing match she's been asked to write up. She doesn't care about this but she's got to pay the bills like the rest of us. At this same match, Dante Rivera has bet a lot of money against a big time high roller named Isaac Bottwin and when he loses, Dante flips out, turns into his true self, and slaughters the referee and a few others. Jace sees this play out on TV and is not happy.
When the supernatural gets out of control, the old gods send in the Auditors. Bottwin tells Dante that the Auditors are already here and that he's doomed all of Las Vegas in the eyes of the Council. And those Auditors, they show up, but not for Dante, no… for the chosen scribe - Chelsea. The goddess Mynoghra, daughter of Cthulhu, has chosen Chelsea to chronicle the deeds of the Rivera Brothers whether she likes it or not.
Bottwin calls a meeting of the Council. Something must be done with Dante but when Mynoghra herself shows up and tells him Dante has immunity, his plans are thwarted then and there. Chelsea wakes up in Dante's home. Jace shows up, he's pissed, and they have a pretty massive brawl but just as Jace is about to kill his brother, Dante tells him they have a scribe. This changes things. Bottwin isn't just taking all of this lying down though. He makes a phone call and before you know it a horde of punk rock zombies launch an all-out assault on the club, complete with silver knives specially designed to deal with vampires. This provides the club's bartender, Jolene, a chance to show off what she can do but when Rot, the zombie leader, gains the upper hand things look dire… until Chelsea steps in.
Mynoghra gets wind of Bottwin's scheming and takes action against him. A connected 'wereshark' named Max Chicago shows up. Chelsea's writing career, not surprisingly, starts to take off thanks to Dante and then we meet Miranda. Bottwin, meanwhile, loses it. Things are getting complicated here as he defies the Council in more ways than one and sets out to do something “seriously stupid.†Oh and Ashley? She's not out of the picture yet either.
And then 'terrorists' take over the Stratosphere. I've you've never been to Las Vegas, then Google it.
This comic is ridiculous. Everything happens on every page at all times and it's so completely over the top, and well aware of that fact, that you can't help but have a good time with it even when you're questioning the logic and the plot points at pretty much every turn. These guys throw in everything but the kitchen sink. The sense of humor behind it all makes it hard to hate on the book though, because it's clearly all being done with a wink and a nod. It makes for a read that is, if not deep, a lot of good, crazy fun. You want vampires? Werewolves? Wheresharks? Goblins? Lovecraftian gods? Zombies? Lesbians who hang out in their underwear? Of course you do! And you get it. Martin Dunn's story keeps things going at an insanely fast pace and while this is very definitely at the cost of actual character development when it's this chaotic and bombastic it's hard to get too worked up over that. This is clearly a series that puts entertainment front and center. Depth is an afterthought, if that. And if you're in the right mood for it, that's more than okay. This doesn't have to be an Anne Rice book, and thankfully it's not.
Derrick Fish's art is pretty cool. The first issue is weaker than what comes later, it looks a little rushed in spots and isn't as detailed as the five issues that come in its wake but there are still some cool character designs here and some impressive splatter. Things improve as the series goes on. Detail gets stronger, characters are better defined, panel layout becomes less important than full on page layout and there are some pretty impressive pieces here. It's all still more than a little cartoony, which is in keeping with the over the top style of the narrative, but it fits.
And of course, the finale doesn't really leave things up for a follow up so much as it basically screams at you that a follow up is inevitable. They could, if they choose, take things in interesting, more high concept directions in a sequel. Subtlety is not a strong point here, but when you're dealing with stuff like this, really just going for it and pumping out a series that isn't afraid to go nuts with genre clichés and insane twists and turns, subtlety doesn't matter in the first place.
