Even for those who know the basic premise of “30 Days of Night” from Steve Niles’ earlier work on this series, the tale of horror in Barrow, Alaska remains very foreboding. Niles crafts his story slowly, only ever showing the supernatural elements just before they lead to brutal violence. With the focus on the bizarre happenings in the town the day before the eponymous month-long night, Niles keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, worried about what is coming next, but unable to look away. Even those who know the reason for some of the strange actions of the townspeople will likely be unable to stop from turning the page, as if looking at a train wreck about to ensue.Piotr Kowalski is no stranger to horror himself, with multiple unnerving books on his bibliography, and it definitely shows. As if to demonstrate Stella Olemaun’s emotional fragility, he purposefully hides her face from view during her work, only allowing her time to show it when she is able to let her guard down in private. The man at the Ikos Diner is also given a facial focus, but in this case, rather than hide it, the art focuses in on it, showing him to be a rather crazed individual in the very least.Brad Simpson also is more than up to the challenge of this story, with splashes of red in violent scenes as a color wash to show how horrific the murderous beings really are. The use of shadow, especially in the parts with the creatures, helps to add to their foreboding nature, but the muted colors really showcase how inhuman they really are, as if they do not fit in with the rest of the story, and thus their reality.Together, the creative team is continuing to craft this horror, but it’s admittedly slow. That said, it definitely works to the narrative’s favor, and is one of its strongest points as of yet.
