DC Comics
Marv Wolfman, writer
Brent Anderson, Eduardo Barreto, Sharon Martinbrough, Matt Smith and Sergio Cariello, artists
When Marv Wolfman brought his Night Force concept back to comic book shelves in 1996-97, he did a lot of things right. For instance, this was not a reboot, but truly a continuation. The unique nature of the series -- a central figure directing the actions of various agents in the pursuit of various goals -- means that the series could come back after almost 15 years and just pick up where it left off. Maybe there were other "missions" in the intervening time and maybe there weren't, but this is clearly the same Baron Winters. Even a few of the other characters from the first series make a return here. Their history with Winters remains intact and is sometimes referenced, but in such a way as not to limit the understanding of new readers unfamiliar with the first volume of the series.
This new Night Force also had some strikes against it. Gene Colan was unable to return due to health problems. While several other artists took over the art chores an arc at a time, none of these other artists could capture the same dark moody atmosphere a Colon illustration provides. And once again, the title struggled to find an audience, this time being cancelled after just 12 issues.
The first story arc of the late '90s Night Force is the best of the bunch, IMHO. Reflecting the times, this series is somewhat darker in tone than the previous incarnation. There are still demons and supernatural forces to contend with here, but there are also many much-more "human" monsters in these issues. The balance between and nature of God and the devil are also frequent themes from this volume. Despite some bright moments here and there, however, this Night Force left me a little underwhelmed just like the first volume.
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