F.M. :: FRANK GARY

Midnight Nation 6 page 14 by Gary Frank & Jonathan Sibal

Artists: Gary Frank (Penciller) , Jonathan Sibal (Inker)

10 Comments - 477 Views - 8 Likes

Midnight Nation 6 page 14 by Gary Frank & Jonathan Sibal Comic Art

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SABRETOOTH SPECIAL #1 PAGE 2 SPLASH By Gary Frank

Artwork Details

Title:	Midnight Nation 6 page 14 by Gary Frank & Jonathan Sibal
Artist:	Gary Frank (Penciller)
Artist:	Jonathan Sibal (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	477
Likes on CAF:	8 9
Favorited on CAF:	1
Comments:	10
Added to Site:	6/5/2022
Comic Art Archive:

Description

I've had this page for a very long time and it goes back to my early years of collecting. I picked it off ebay from Sterlingclass, Gary's art rep.

Midnight Nation was a great mini series from the fertile mind of J. Michael Straczynski and like MANY of his works, a sequel was anounced but never materialized (but at least he finished it ^^).

Hot on the heels of his Hulk run, Gary Frank was already a very good artist and storyteller, commanding to be followed up on any project sight unseen, who has since evolved into being one of the very best of his generation.

I humbly consider this page to be the best of the series or at the very least the creepiest one. I'm talking the Exorcist, In the Mouth of Madness, REC or the Omen level.

One of the specter-like villain (sorry I forgot the plot points), is toying with a heroine addict squatter.

The first three panels serve to establish this game of psychological torture.

The rubbish in panel one, the raw material from which the clawy hand constructs a super creepy head doll on a stick he will lend his voice to.

The fourth shows us the dichotomy between the creature enjoying the effect he is getting from his prey and her expression of pure horror. My only (small) reserve with the page is that while she is obviously not in good physical and mental health, Gary managed to still make her look pretty/sexy whereas she should have been in a worse state. That being said, what counts is that her sheer terror is truly palpable here.

(Kevin Maguire is often the first artist cited when one speaks about the ability to portray emotions on a page but while I agree that it would be true for humorous subjects, NOBODY draws terror, rage or viciousness (negative emotions) like Gary does imho).

Then the money shot. Like clowns, dolls have this childish ability to be chilling and disturbing when used right and the missing hair and eyes surely help in that sense here. A still expression of an irregular face. The tilted head of the specter eerily grinning is pitch perfect to entice the intended emotion from the reader/the prey. The open borders of that panel also subtly suggests that the horror is too big to be contained.

Let's also mention the GREAT character design of the villain.

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	F M Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	May 2005
Last Login:	September 2025
Country:	BELGIUM
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James S
Member Since 2017

2 - Posted on 6/5/2022

Thanks for the early morning nightmare fuel!

It's creepy dolls and clowns that get to me.

Andr� .
Member Since 2015

1 - Posted on 6/5/2022

James S wrote:

Thanks for the early morning nightmare fuel!��

It's creepy dolls and clowns that get to me.

Right. What a way to start the day. Lol.
But great stuff here by Frank.

Ruben DaCollector
Member Since 2008

1 - Posted on 6/5/2022

Creepy, Darth Maul looking villain, holding up a broken creepy doll on a stick? Now THAT'S my jam! NICE!

Jason Hussa
Member Since 2017

1 - Posted on 6/5/2022

Beautiful write-up, FM, for this REALLY creepy (_beautifully_ creepy) page. Such amazing storytelling mechanics at play here, humming like a finely-tuned machine... I love the solid black backgrounds in the top tier, which serve to isolate those objects (and the readers' focus on them) while instilling them with a creep factor and tension that is amped up in each subsequent panel. Panel 4 finally shows us "the situation" and sets up the physical "layout" beyween antagonist and victim... and all of a sudden we see for the first time that the doll is missing hair - showing those creepy pinholes, and amping it up even more... And panel 5 is the brilliant payoff, not only revealing to us the creepy doll's head straight-on for the first time, but doing so by setting the viewer up squarely in the victim's POV. "Hiding" the villain's head behind the doll's head simultaneously accents both things. The incredible detail invested into the strands of the doll's hair makes its absence over half the head that much more noticeable. Fantastic page, F M! A chilling stunner!

Marcus Wai
Member Since 2005

1 - Posted on 6/6/2022

It was much more than what was expected from the superhero heavy Image imprint. Midnight Nation had supernatural fantasy with horror and religion much like Preacher, but was all part of a redemption arc for a man to face down his past sins. This page taps into psychological torture and creepiness made more sinister with an irresistible smile. It's effectiveness is a credit to the creative team and their dedication to go all in on this story.

Michael McIsaac
Member Since 2020

1 - Posted on 6/6/2022

Probably the best thing JMS ever did in comics, helped tremendously by the top level art that Gary Frank provided.

J H
Member Since 2019

1 - Posted on 6/6/2022

I'm not sure which she is more horrified by...Doll heads are so damn creepy! As you said, what an excellent baddie design. Gary Frank really just kept improving throughout his entire career, which is pretty amazing. If there are better pages, they must be pretty incredible. Belated congrats!

John C
Member Since 2014

1 - Posted on 6/9/2022

And I was finally getting over the creepy spider doll from Toy Story. Back to sleeping with the lights on again.

E DLS
Member Since 2005

1 - Posted on 6/11/2022

You're right, those last two panels are about as creepy as it gets. Great page! And yes, Phil is great to deal with.

Bo Roberts
Member Since 2004

1 - Posted on 9/12/2024

Not sure how I missed this. Incredible page! I recall sterlingclass selling Midnight Nation pages/covers many years ago as well.

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