The Midnight, global Synthwave sensation, has handed the reins over to talented writer Zack Kaplan, who sits down with Interviews Editor, Andrew Irvin, to discuss their graphic novel, The Midnight: Shadows, available through Dark Horse.
COMIC BOOK YETI: Welcome back to the Yeti Cave, Zack! Not every graphic novel comes with its own soundtrack. Based upon the track “Shadows” off the album, Nocturnal from 2017, can you tell me a bit about your first encounter with The Midnight’s music, meeting with Tim and Tyler from the band, and how this project was initially conceived?
ZACK KAPLAN: I actually was friends with Tyler Lyle before The Midnight came into existence with Tim McEwan. It was only by coincidence that Tyler started one of my absolute favorite bands. I watched with excitement as they grew to be one of the biggest synthwave bands in the world, sold out shows and millions of fans. And the community the band was building, it was devoted, deep, and hungry for more experiences beyond the music. And it was only through the occasional back and forth chat between Tyler and I that we realized there was an opportunity with my experience as a comic creator to make a graphic novel for The Midnight. It wasn’t hard creatively. The music was already rooted in such profound themes and moving emotions, and the aesthetic was so crystal clear and dynamic. We took the landscape of 80s nostalgia and video game culture, and the topics of escapism and fantasy and growing up, and we had it.
CBY: That is a wonderful point of synchronicity, and we all benefit from the coincidence with this comic. So you’ve worked with a number of different publishers – how did Shadows find its home at Dark Horse? What were they able to offer that set them apart from the other publishers involved in talks around this title (if any)?
ZK: The Midnight has such an enthusiastic and dedicated following of fans that we knew getting the graphic novel into their hands would not be hard. But we wanted the chance to share this experience with comic readers out there that may not have been aware of the Midnight, lovers of cyberpunk and sci-fi movies like TRON or BLADE RUNNER. And Dark Horse was a publisher I had just had an amazing experience with on my comic series BREAK OUT, a publisher well known for carrying sci-fi licenses. And when we shared our vision for the graphic novel with Dark Horse, they were so supportive and they just got it – this was an opportunity to transform the music into a comic experience. Whenever you are looking for the right partner in publishing, if they share your passion and vision for the project, that’s the most important thing.
CBY: A huge part of the synth/vaporwave aesthetic is very reliant on color palette. You’ve partnered up with Thiago Rocha who does a lot of heavy lifting as colorist alongside DC Hopkins as letterer to provide a unified look to line art by Stephen Thompson, Jahnoy Lindsay, and Elisabetta D’Amico. With a brilliant cover by Raymond Swanland, can you tell us a bit about how everyone got involved and what the rest of the editorial team brought to the equation to get this title out to the public?
ZK: We were quite meticulous in the assembly of this team because, like you said, the aesthetic was so very important. We brought on two amazing artists to create two very different looks, because the story takes place in two worlds. Stephen Thompson has such an impressive ability to world-build, whether it’s a sci-fi city or a post-apocalyptic wasteland, every detail leaps out. And Jahnoy Lindsay has a natural character poise to his work which veers more animation style, and together, they created a really unique contrast that supported how different these two story worlds are. And Elisabetta D’Amico is a fantastic inker who helped us at the end get across the finish line and get this book ready on time. But yes, you are right to highlight Thiago Rocha, who is a star of the book with his synthwave colors and cinematic story-telling. It’s so dynamic and subtle all at the same time. And he colors both worlds, both art styles. And DC Hopkins on lettering naturally helps to direct our eye through this very detailed, immersive series. And for the cover, we knew we wanted something picturesque and beautiful, and I had seen Raymond’s work and was in awe. And he helped create such an amazing cover that just draws you in. I could not be more proud and appreciative of this creative team.
CBY: It certainly came together beautifully. You’ve been able to cleverly nest a bunch of references to The Midnight’s catalogue of songs and lyrics within the plot of the story (I won’t get into specifics to avoid spoilers). With five full-length albums in under a decade, do you have any specific favorite tracks you can pick out of the mix? How does music normally factor into your creative process, and what do you want our comic reading audience to know about The Midnight’s music and how that connection came into play during the drafting of this graphic novel?
ZK: I’m sorry, but I don’t really have any favorite tracks. After listening to the entire catalogue, a thousand times, year over year, I just appreciate the entire thing. For this project, I listened to the music as I wrote, and so it wasn’t hard to drop in little pieces here or there. No scene or beat was written to be an Easter egg, but whenever it felt inherent to the story, we planted some seeds. For Midnight fans, you’ll find them and you’ll love them. For those who don’t know the Midnight, no worries. But I think more than that, I was trying to create a reading experience that matched the experience of listening to the music. And so far, the best compliment we’ve gotten is that the book feels exactly like The Midnight.
CBY: The entire catalogue definitely feels fully encompassed in tone, so it makes sense that you wouldn’t be able to narrow it down. I don’t know if this is enough of a spoiler to merit redacting, but there’s a line within the plot about The Midnight – the era when daytime dies in eternal darkness – and I was wondering where this definition came from. What sort of contributions did the band make towards these elements, and how does it differ from the explanation they may have shared around the initial reason and intent behind naming the band?
ZK: I mean, the band is called The Midnight. It conveys a lot of things. But Midnight is this interesting moment in between two days, it’s the dark between light. Midnight is when the day dies. It’s a transition. It’s a moment people usually feel a sense of escape or fantasy. I think what we did in the storytelling is try to amplify some of those things. The story is about a world in perpetual darkness – that’s Midnight. The Midnight sings about fantasy and escapism – that’s what Midnight is all about (if you find yourself out and about and up at that time). So many of the band’s contributions were simply lifted from the music. But then, the band and I spent a lot of time talking about the story, the themes, and the best way to articulate these elements, trying to ensure that the root perspective that goes into the music was also the foundation for the graphic novel’s story. I find The Midnight to be a band and a music about duality. And that’s something we made this book all about as well.
CBY: The brand of The Midnight is definitely based around tapping into nostalgia for an irretrievable sensation that has passed. The band introduces their music on their Bandcamp page with the following text; “There is a Japanese term: Mono no aware. It means basically, the sad beauty of seeing time pass – the aching awareness of impermanence. These are the days that we will return to one day in the future only in memories.” Going beyond the intent behind your work on Shadows, where time and reflection on actions of the past are relevant story elements – where do you see the dividing line between nostalgia as a way for our minds to either tap into, or trap us in, the past?
ZK: Well, like anything in life, it’s about balance. Too much nostalgia traps us in escapism and fantasy, prevents us from facing the future and moving forward. The very nature of growing up requires us to let go of the past and accept the reality at hand. So I think the story is definitely a warning about the dangers of escapism and nostalgia, and the merits of growing up. There’s a lot of power in letting go of childish ideas that we must escape conflict or do things all by ourselves. And we cannot always defeat our shadows, but we can confront them. But I also think a little nostalgia is important, because it puts into perspective where we’ve come from, it differentiates that and where we are now, and sometimes, it reminds us of things that are important to us, or just maybe, a better version of who we can be tomorrow.
CBY: …and to ensure I don’t leave your other work unacknowledged, you’ve recently completed Beyond Real, the Vault Comics release we spoke about during our first interview last year. The complete series collection is available now through Simon & Schuster, but it started with a free-to-retailers #1 launch promo. Can you tell us a bit about how the rest of the run played out and lessons learned from the unique approach you and the Vault team took towards its publication?
ZK: We’re very excited to have the completed graphic novel out for Beyond Real. It’s a book out now in stores everywhere, and it’s a book I’m very proud of. It’s a sci-fi adventure about simulation theory, about what it means to be an artist, and it’s absolutely breath-taking. It features some amazing artists, I mean; Fabiana Mascolo, Jordie Bellaire, Toni Fejzula, Vincenzo Riccardi, Dennis Menheere, Jorge Corona, Mattia Iacono, Liana Kangas, Luana Vecchio, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, John J. Pearson. It’s an amazing creative team. And yes, it was a really exciting initiative to give the first issue to retailers for free. It came at a time when the direct market was really suffering, and this was a book that perhaps wasn’t the most likely to be picked up by every superhero reader. And so I was thrilled to get the chance to give the first issue to 110,000 readers. And to do it freely to retailers, hopefully to make it a little easier to get subscribers for the series. I’m not sure what is to be learned from the strategy – but I truly appreciate the big swing and the chance to share our amazing story.
CBY: You’ve also teamed up with Dark Horse on another title, Kill All Immortals, which debuted in July this year, also working with Thiago Rocha on colors. It’s a very different story involving Vikings and violence, but you’ve managed to swing it through Dark Horse as well. Can you tell us a bit about the scope of this title, how many issues you’ve got planned, and what goes into hitting the sweet spot with the Dark Horse publishing team in a way that gets projects greenlit across the genre spectrum?
ZK: Kill All Immortals is very different, it’s my most action-packed violent series yet, and for those of you who don’t know it: It’s about immortal Vikings living present day in a billionaire empire. And the only daughter wants out. It’s Succession meets Jon Wick. And yes, Thiago Rocha does a completely different aesthetic for us, along some amazing art from Fico Ossio, letters from Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. I love Dark Horse. They’re an amazing publisher, my editors Spencer Cushing and Konner Knudsen there are incredible, and I plan to make books there for a long time. And yes, Kill All Immortals will be an ongoing series in 5-issue arcs.
I think that if you put stories forward that stand out, but at the same time give readers a thrilling experience, that can be both high-concept, but also authentic and character-driven, that’s a good start.
CBY: We’ve just covered some of your other releases beyond The Midnight: Shadows, which go to show how busy you stay as a writer. Looking forward from all the work you’ve got underway, what sort of stories can we expect from you in the future? Anything that’s making its way towards completion you can share with our readers?
ZK: Science Fiction, sir. Science Fiction. Nothing else to report a this time.
CBY: Sci-fi is my mainstay, so I can relate. So obviously The Midnight’s music has been of key inspiration for Shadows. What unrelated comics, movies, music, and other media have been catching your attention entirely separately from your own work?
ZK: I’m enjoying The Penguin. Haven’t written a gangster story yet, but I love a good gangster story.
CBY: My wife has been suggesting it, so I’ll take that as a sign to queue it up! Zack, thanks for sharing more insight into your various projects. For our audience at home, can you share any portfolio, publication, and social media links to keep folks up-to-date on your latest work?
ZK: Zackkaps on social media, and Zackkaplan.com online.
And you can order the Midnight graphic novel on their website:
