All Nighter #5

by David Hahn

All Nighter has been a difficult series to pin down.  My first take on it was that it was a slacker comic, in the vein of books like Scott Pilgrim and Pounded, but then David Hahn kept introducing other elements to the story that, while they worked, kept causing me to reassess what this comic was supposed to be about.

For a while, it seemed like a romance story, as Kit became ever closer to her housemates boyfriend, and spurned her previous relationship with Dwayne, who is a thief.  Then it seemed like the comic was more about Kit's relationship with Marta, the mousy new housemate who seemed to be fixating on her.  Then, with the fourth issue, Martha disappeared, and suddenly, the series finished with the group of friends searching for her.

This last issue is easily the strongest in the series, as Hahn does some interesting things, both with the plot and the art.  I love how three pages use a parallel format to explain just how Martha's case went from being a media story to a hipster trend.  Later, as the characters track her down, the story takes a final, tragic turn that was, while not unexpected, still pretty emotionally powerful.

Hahn is a very talented artist, and I'd be happy to read another comic he writes and draws on his own.  This series will make a nice trade - check it out.

All Nighter #4

by David Hahn

Hahn's slackerish college life drama series keeps taking some unexpected turns.  Where before, things were mostly about Kat, a girl who sometimes steals, feels responsible for her mother's death and is secretly seeing her housemate's boyfriend, now the comic is just as much about Martha, the mousy new housemate who we know very little about.

In this issue, Martha and Kat share a moment on the rough of the All Nighter diner, as Kat finally talks about how her mother died, and how she feels like it's her fault.  After that, Martha disappears.  Previously, she's claimed  be Kat's guardian angel, and was shown doing something that looks a lot like casting a love spell on her.

I've been enjoying this book.  Sure, it keeps defying my expectations, which is always a good thing, but it's also just a very well-drawn series with strong and consistent characterizations.  It's worth checking out.

All Nighter #3

by David Hahn

The more I read of this series, the more I like it and the characters that populate it.

In this issue, Kit gets closer to Martha, her new house-mate who has claimed to be her guardian angel, and is generally a little creepy, and also gets a lot closer to Jim Magirl, the boyfriend of one of her other housemates.  To be fair, they had a connection before he started to date Donna, but both of them know that it's wrong.  There are other things going on too - Kit has an argument with her friend and final housemate Sally-O, but we learn nothing more about how Kit's mother died.

Basically, this is just more of the usual slacker late teen/early 20s genre, but it's a genre I enjoy.  Hahn's art is always great, but this issue looks a little looser than I remember the other issues looking.  I'd have to dig out the first two to be sure, but I find that this light style works very well with this material.

I'm definitely interested to see what happens next, especially with Martha, the oddball girl.

All Nighter #2

by David Hahn

Hahn's little mini-series about late teen/early twentysomethings is moving along at a slow but enjoyable pace.  This issue explains how main character Kit knows her roommates new boyfriend, and introduces Martha, their mousey new housemate.  The crew goes to a party, and that's about it.  Except, of course, for the introduction of a strange little story element right at the end.

There's nothing too new about All Nighter, but that doesn't take away from my enjoyment of it.  Sure, anyone who's read New York Four, Wet Moon, Scott Pilgrim, the second series of Demo, and Pounded might find themselves on familiar territory.  Actually, what this most reminds me of right now is Ethan Rilley's Pope Hat, which needs to continue, but I digress.

I am starting to like the characters in this series, and am still very curious to learn about just how Kit caused her mother's death.  It's been mentioned in each issue so far, but nothing has been explained.  I do like these kinds of comics, and am happy to see that Hahn is working on his own book, especially since Murderland was so disappointing.

All Nighter #1

by David Hahn

I picked this up on the strength of David Hahn's name, and found it to be just about exactly what I expected.  All Nighter fits in the college kid slacker genre of indie comics, alongside books like Wet Moon, New York Four, and Forgetless, among others.

The series starts Kit, a girl about to enter art school who is living on her own (with friends) for the first time, and is looking to dump her long-time on again off again boyfriend Dwayne.  They hang out at a diner locally known as the All Nighter, and Dwayne convinces her to help him on a break-in job, which is something they used to do frequently.

Most of the issue is spent introducing us to Kit, her best friend Sally-O, her family, and other roommate.  Hahn sets up a few plot elements that will provide direction going forward, such as introducing a potential roommate, and having Kit refer a few times to how she is responsible for her mother's death.  This book is interesting, and Hahn's artwork is always nice to look at, but there's not much about it that makes it stand out yet.  I'm curious enough to stick around though, and I hope it does more to differentiate itself moving forward.