The best thing about DC’s new Midnighter series is that it doesn’t shy away from the gay hero’s personal life, exploring facets of the gay lifestyle that are rarely touched on in superhero comics. Writer Steve Orlando has fully embraced Midnighter’s homosexuality in his scripts, and moments like the hero going on a date with someone he met on Grindr or battling homophobia in Russia make this title stand out. It’s quickly become one of the highlights of the DC YOU campaign thanks to its fine balance of introspective character work and the pulse-pounding superhero action Midnighter is known for, and this week’s issue #3 continues to offer both as the hero faces off against the villainous Multiplex after hitting a nightclub with a few friends.
Midnighter #3 features the return of artist ACO and after last month’s exceptional fill-in art from Alec Morgan, and this preview highlights the crisp detail and bold layouts that ACO (with ink assists by Hugo Petrus) brings to the title. The opening page is appropriately hectic as it sets up a fight between Midnighter and a villain that can duplicate himself to create an entire gang, and the flurry of small panels around Midnighter establishes just how outnumbered he is in this brawl. The layouts open up when the hero is at the club, creating a much more relaxed atmosphere when combined with Romulo Fajardo, Jr.’s pink and purple color palette, but by the final page of the preview, those busier layout return when Midnighter uses his superpowers to absorb the details in a house as he looks for a missing girl. (For more on Midnighter, read last month’s Big Issues on the second issue.)