Dustin Gebel
Image announces the next collaboration between superstar crime noir duo writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips. Taking a break from their series of Reckless graphic novels, which includes the recently released Follow Me Down, the duo along with colorist Jacob Phillips, will release Night Fever in June 2023. The graphic novel is described as a “Jekyll-and-Hyde story of a man facing the darkness inside himself” as it follows a man with insomnia wandering the streets of a European city while on a business trip.
“Night Fever is a story that’s been scratching at the back of my skull for a long time now and man, is this a weird one,” said Brubaker. “Inspired partly by old Black Lizard noir novels and weird and sexy European comics from the 70s, this book is a dark trip into what being alive right now feels like, but hopefully a thrilling one for our readers, too. I know it’s the best art of Sean’s entire career, which feels almost unbelievable. But it’s true.”
Night Fever is the first non-Reckless original graphic novel from this creative team since 2020’s Pulp and Cruel Summer. Since then, the trio have released five installments of the Reckless series. The team is also providing a new story for their Criminal series in Image! #9 set for release in December 2022.
“One of my great pleasures over the last decade has been watching Ed and Sean produce story after amazing story—from Fatale in January 2012 right up to last month’s Reckless graphic novel, Follow Me Down—so what better way to start kick off the next 10 years than with yet another astonishing entry into their illustrious canon with Night Fever,” said Eric Stephenson, Publisher at Image Comics. “If you’ve enjoyed Ed and Sean’s previous collaborations, as well as Ed’s work with Steve Epting on Velvet and Marcos Martín on Friday—trust me, you are in for a treat.”
Image has provided a more detailed synopsis for the upcoming graphic novel, along with a look at [Sean] Phillips’s cover:
In Europe on a business trip, Jonathan Webb can’t sleep. Instead, he finds himself wandering the night in a strange foreign city, with his new friend, the mysterious and violent Rainer as his guide. Rainer shows Jonathan the hidden world of the night, a world without rules or limits. But when the fun turns dangerous, Jonathan may find himself trapped in the dark… And the question is, what will he do to get home?