Customer Reviews

The Nightly News

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am still in shock about what this story did for me. I heard some good things about Nightly News, but nothing prepared me for the unsettling hold it had for the duration of the experience.

To boil it down, it's about a group/cult of people dedicated to change the news by destroying their reporters by any means necessary. If this was all it entailed then I would've just thought it was ok and moved on. He goes for the jugular and exposes why journalism is tainted and shouldn't be trusted anymore. The visual style Mr. Hickman brings to each page makes my graphic designer/creative mind drool with envy. Comics are not done this way for more than a few pages, but he throws the traditional out the door and moves with a palate that is overwhelming and mezmerizing on every page.

I had to slow down and read each chapter to take in all the details wrapped in it. He throws statistics that are great ammunition toward convincing me that tv is no good (not that I didn't know that already, but it reenforces it). I don't want to give too much away, but just flipping through the book demand that I read it. This is a rare breed of work that moves me like Fight Club, Donnie Dark and anything by Daniel Quinn. It makes us look at the world around us and want to change it, while providing an entertaining story. This is a book that I want to buy copies for friends and give out. I want to hand it over and say, "See someone else is thinking like we do."

I cannot give it anymore higher praise and hope others will latch on and love this series like I do.

The Nightly News is a condemnation of the corporate news media in the US which favors profits and ratings over facts, thus leaving lives ruined in the pursuit of stories.

The story follows a terroristic cult as it kills and executes dozens of news people in an effort to force the rest to stick to factual news reporting and not sensationalistic story reporting.

The main drive of the story, however, is a mystery as to who The Voice really is and what his goals are.

Obviously, the author doesn't believe in going out and killing dozens of people is a solution to the problem (and makes it very clear throughout the story), but the story is peppered with facts and figures that make the reader question everything from control of the media, to globalization, to public schools. It is a dense story with a lot of information to take in on every page.

Not enough can be said about the artwork. It is very far from traditional comic art, ignoring traditional panel layouts for a style best described as "graphic design." The pages are laid out as infographics, with even charts and graphs popping up from time to time. There are lots of straight lines (including rectangular word balloons) and solid shapes. Everything is neat and orderly, which makes a huge impression when chaotic violence breaks out. Within these stylized graphics and layouts are realistic figures. This is all topped off with a monochromatic color scheme. It is like nothing else seen in comic books.

The only complaint is that the figures of the very large cast tend to blend together. It is hard to tell the dozen or so characters apart with the heavy inking and limited color pallet. You are reduced to trying to figure out which spiky-haired or glasses-wearing person you are looking at. Part of this is intentional, especially among the interchangeable TV news personalities, but it makes reading difficult.

America, The Present: The first ominous shots ring out and the pedestrians fall to their knees; the news crews arrive with their usual ghoulish precision...and then find themselves targeted. The opening battle in a war prosecuted against a corrupt self-serving media has just been declared by the ominous "Brotherhood Of The Voice": a cult made up of a psychopathically dedicated group of people who have all, in some way or another, had their lives destroyed by a media more concerned with sensationalism and the pursuit of ratings than truth. But who commands the brotherhood? What are their aims? And just far are they prepared to go in their quest?

"The Nightly News" was the world's introduction to the breath-taking talents of Jonathan Hickman, a writer and artist who, with this debut, almost single-handedly redefined the term "graphic novel" itself with his ingenious use of classical graphic design techniques. When I first read this book at the time of its original publication, I felt a frisson of amazement run up my spine as I realized that I was witnessing the arrival of a talent to rival the likes of Will Eisner and Alan Moore.

In terms of the story itself, Hickman's tale manages to combine a relentlessly compulsive thriller (peopled with frighteningly believable, flawed characters) with an astonishingly prescient expose of the corruption and hypocrisy endemic to modern media and governance. As other reviewers have observed, "Network" and "Fight Club" are thematic touchstones - as is Alan J. Pakula's massively underrated seventies conspiracy thriller, "The Parallax View".

"The Nightly News" heralded the arrival of a major talent whose commitment to redefining a medium that had been trapped in evolutionary entropy since the mid-nineties was apparent for all to see; this book, along with Hickman's other creator produced works, Transhuman (a terrifying satire of corporate venture capitalism) and Pax Romana (a time travel tale with a decidedly theological bent) represents some of the finest work ever to grace the comic book medium.

Beg, borrow or buy a copy today if you have any interest in comics.

Jonathan Hickman is a fresh new voice, and this first compiled work hints that more goodness is yet to come. Pax Romana is off to a good start, as is TransHuman. We'll see if he can keep up his winning streak.

Jonathan Hickman is an absolutely brilliant writer, and Nightly News is an amazing piece of literature that any anti-establishmentarianist should consider an absolute must read. The only downside to this work is that Jonathan Hickman attempted to provide the art, but unfortunately he is not cut out to be a comic book artist.

The writing alone is enough to toss this into the upper echelon of comic book history, but such a simplistic categorization is not sufficient. This is modern fiction at its best. An amazing story set against a brutally honest portrayal of modern America and the big business that has become the nightly news.

"The Nightly News" is one of the most revolutionary comic books to be released within the last decade. While the author claims to not share some of the ideals brought up in the book, it's spoken from his soul. This is just one of those books that gets a 5 star on every level. The art, the characters, the plot, everything.

The plot is detailed in the description, so I'll jump to the art. It flows so well, but at some point, you think to yourself: "Am I really reading a comic book?" Even compared to today's liberal standards, The Nightly News breaks the rules of sequential art taught to hundreds of artists in art school. Inspired by graphic artists rather than other comic books artists, (already a sign of a revolutionary, if you ask me)Jonathan Hickman gets to the point with his OWN detailed back drops of random circles but with realistically drawn characters. Instead of reading from panel to panel, Hickman's comic makes it feel like a constant flow. Not quite cinematic, (though one can relate this to Tony Scott) but definitely not traditional. It's nothing like you've ever seen. The art was the reason I picked up this comic book by random choice. It looked different from everything else on the shelf, and I was burning a whole in my pocket so I grabbed it along with with Warren Ellis' "New Universal."

Well, "New Universal" turned out to be disappointing, but Hickman's comic book turned out to be incredibly deep from the start as well as addicting. I preordered the paperback in April, and made an EXTREMELY hard pact to myself to not read anymore until I received it in the mail. When I finally got it, I considered not going to work. I did go to work, but after reading it when I got back him I realized I would not regret making the other decision. The art never wears off, only because the story is complex yet not preachy. Hickman even stated at the end of each issue that he does NOT associate himself with sides in politics, and is more into the social examination, which I really dig.

Pick this book up, now.

Twisted but insightful post-modern unraveling of mainstream mass media. Or is it all media? Or is it Congress. Nightly News Joins Frank Miller's Return of the Dark Knight and Alan Moore's Watchman as the best graphic interpretation of politics, media, and post-modern culture around.

I would recommend it to anyone interested in challenging their conventional understanding of the relationship between media and power.

DrDigipoldr

Powerful and relevant. This is what a free media transmission looks like. It seems that the only forms of free speech left are via comic books and comedy. Satire is our last sanctuary of creative commentary. Nightly News is crucial reading for every American. It exposes the hipocracy of modern mainstream media and provides crucial statistics and info on the corporate nightmare formerly know as the "Land of the Free". Big ups to Jonathan Hickman for his important contribution. Jonathan Hickman you are now officially a hero of THE GOOD FUTURE. Can't wait to see what you come up with next.

Cementing Jonathan Hickman's place as a visionary for a new era, The Nightly News is one of the most original, powerful, and just plain brilliant works to grace the comic book medium in quite some time. A story involving the effects of the American news media on the populace, The Nightly News revolves around a cult of people compelled by The VOICE to engage in violent, terroristic acts in what appears to be an effort to reveal the real truth. There's more going on in this six part story than meets the naked eye however, as Hickman lays the groundwork for this nihilistic tale thanks to his innovative and unique art and graphic design presentation. It may appear to not be easily accessible (and in reality, it really isn't), but give The Nightly News a chance and you'll definitely walk away with a different feeling than what you may expect. That feeling may be that of having your eyes opened or being just plain horrified, but either way, The Nightly News is a powerful and even rewarding experience. Yes, it is that good, and yes, The Nightly News deserves your full attention. And who knows? Maybe if you do, you really will look at the media and everything drawn from it in an entirely different light. Do yourself a favor, pick this up.

I first read this story in a somewhat battered copy from my library, and it was most likely one of the first comics I ever read. It's an amazing comic, with an engrossing story bolstered by incredible graphic design. It was definitely either this or Daredevil Born Again that pushed me over the edge into a true love of comics.