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30 Days of Night

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Cover to the 30 Days of Night trade paperback by Ben Templesmith.
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Cover to the 30 Days of Night trade paperback by Ben Templesmith.

30 Days of Night was initially a miniseries of horror comics written by Steve Niles, illustrated by Ben Templesmith and published by IDW Publishing in 2002. All three parties co-own the property. The series takes place in Barrow, Alaska, which is so far north that during the winter the sun does not rise for 30 days. The premise of the series is that vampires (who are harmed by the sun) move to Barrow and terrorize the area. The series was a break out success story for Steve Niles, whose previous works had received relatively little attention. It was also the first major length work co-creator Ben Templesmith who found the property to be career defining moment. 30 Days of Night is accredited by some as the cause of an increase in the popularity of vampire comics, though Steve Niles denies these claims, stating that the only groundbreaking aspect of his comic books is his passion for the horror genre.#redirect Niles' critics have noted similarities between 30 Days of Night and Vampirella Strikes issue 6 written by Mark Millar, as well as an episode of The Twilight Zone. The extent of the similarities remain debatable, however, all involve the basic elements of Vampires in Alaska.#redirect

Contents

History

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

30 Days of Night was a three issue mini-series that jump-started the careers of writer Steve Niles and artist Ben Templesmith in which vampires flock to a small town in Alaska where the sun sets for 30 days, allowing them to feed without the burden of sleep to avoid lethal sunlight. When the vampire elder Vicente learns of this plan, he travels to Barrow to end the feeding, in order to preserve the secrecy of vampires. Because of the cold, the vampires' senses are weakened and a few of the town's residents are able to hide. One such resident is sheriff Eben Olemaun, who saves the town by injecting vampire blood into his veins. He uses his enhanced strength to fight Vicente, saving the lives of the few remaining townspeople, including his wife Stella. Suffering the same weakness as all vampires, Eben dies with the sunrise.

Dark Days was the follow-up to 30 Days of Night, featuring the original creative team. Beginning in June of 2003, this series featured the exploits of Stella Olemaun after surviving the attack on Barrow in the original series. After publishing an account of the attack, Stella draws the attention of the Los Angeles vampire population, as well as the lover of Vicente, the head vampire from the original series. Learning that there may be a way to bring back her former husband Eben, Stella strikes a deal with vampire Dane, who seeks revenge for the murder of his mentor by Vicente. The two form a brief romantic relationship. Stella exchanges proof of the existence of vampires for her husband's remains, in the hope of bringing him back from the dead. This series also serves as an introduction to the vampiric FBI agent, Norris.

Annual 2004 was a 48 page one-shot released in January 2004 by regular 30 Days of Night publisher IDW. The issue features four short stories, each written by Steve Niles but featuring different illustrators. The first, "The Book Club," is illustrated by regular 30 Days of Night artist Ben Templesmith. It involves a suburban book club's discussion of Stella Olemaun's book (also titled 30 Days of Night). This arouses suspicion about a shut-in neighbor, leading to his murder by the unruly book club. The second story, "The Hand That Feeds" is illustrated by Szymon Kudranski and features Dane seeking a hand transplant from an eccentric doctor. "Agent Norris: MIA" features the pencils of Brandon Hovet, and depicts agent Norris' transformation from a "scout" or "bug eater" to a full-blown vampire. The final tale, "The Trapper," is illustrated by Josh Medors. This story introduces John Ikos, a Barrow resident turned vampire hunter (and a main character in later series).

30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow is another sequel to the original series by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith. Return to Barrow features Brian Kitka, the brother of a victim of the attack on Barrow in the original mini-series. Kitka becomes Barrow's new sheriff after moving there with his son to investigate his brother's demise. Kitka's skepticism about the claims of a vampire attack disappears when he discovers his deceased brother's journal, which includes a full account of the attack. He finds himself protecting the town along with John Ikos. This story features the return of several characters from the previous series.

30 Days of Night: Bloodsucker Tales marked the first time a writer other than Niles would work on the series. Throughout the eight issues of Bloodsucker Tales, two stories were told. The first, Dead Billy Dead was written by Steve Niles and illustrated by Kody Chamberlain. This serialized story featured a young man named Billy who was bitten by, and turned into a vampire and later kidnapped, along with his girlfriend Maggie by a vampire-obsessed scientist. Meanwhile Goodis, a police officer whom Maggie had called when approached by the vampiric Billy, discovers Stella Olemaun's book. The second story, Juarez or Lex Nova & The Case of the 400 Dead Mexican Girls, was written by Matt Fraction and illustrated by 30 Days of Night veteran Ben Templesmith. This story depicted Lex Nova's investigation of the disappearance of hundreds of girls in Juarez, Mexico. A group of vampires called the Zero Family Circus arrives in Mexico at the same time, believing the deaths to be caused by an estranged vampire.

Annual 2005 was a 48 page single issue of 30 Days of Night released in December 2005 by IDW. It tells the story of John Ikos leaving Barrow and going to Los Angeles in search of Agent Norris. While in Los Angeles, John Ikos meets Billy (from the "Dead Billy Dead" story in Bloodsucker Tales) and Dale, and does battle with a gang of vampires going by the name The Night Crew lead by a vampire called Santana.

Dead Space Information Coming Soon

Other media

A film adaptation of the original 30 Days of Night miniseries is being produced by Columbia Pictures and ghost house productions. The most recent screenplay is being written by Stuart Beattie. The film is to be directed by David Slade and star actor Josh Hartnett. It is scheduled for release on October 19, 2007 [link]. A series of 30 Days of Night prose novels are in production from IDW Publishing and Pocket Books. The first book, Rumors of the Undead by Steve Niles and Jeff Mariotte was released in February, 2006. Additional novels are also expected to be collaborative works between Niles and Mariotte.

Comicbook Credits

Writers:

Illustrators:

Collections

30 Days of Night was originally published as several miniseries of 22 page comic books from IDW Publishing. These single issues are now collected in several trade paperbacks, as well as hardcover collections.

Awards

30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow garnered Steve Niles's and Ben Templesmith's first Eisner Award nominations in 2005. These included:

References

Hahn, Joel (2005). ["2005 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards"]. Retrieved Dec. 31, 2005.

Weiland, Jonah (2003). ["Niles Talks Horror Comics and Film"]. Retrieved Jan. 1, 2006.

External links

 

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