So engrossed in The Night Mother was I that it took reaching the end to remember this was only the first volume. A relief. A disappointment. The art is stunning and enthralled me from the moment I opened the ebook. The cover – though beautiful – does not do the interior justice. And combined with a perfect first line – ‘Barnabas Tock has a clock that doesn’t tell time’ – I was lost to its world. 

Its initial atmosphere of isolation and ostracisation is fantastic and it establishes Madeline and her dad’s relationship really well. It’s such a shame that collapses when Madeline goes into town. Even so, I’m not terribly saddened by this. The villagers are one of the elements I’m most excited to read about in the next volume. I can’t wait to find out what exactly happened. 

The Night Mother herself is truly a wonderful villain. One to loathe, but also one you can’t help but feel some sympathy for even as the ways she’s grown twisted are terrible. It builds up her arrival like rolling thunder and she can be frightening to behold. The intensity of her stare. The way her presence drains the colour out of the world. The nightmares she gives Madeline are illustrated exquisitively. The colours and textures are breathtaking. 

The Night Mother is one of the best comics I’ve read this year. Its relationships are so full of promise. Madeline and her dad are shown to be so close so quickly and it’s genuinely heartbreaking what happens to them. The moon is so eerie and alien and I can’t wait to see more of it and learn more about its people and what they’ve endured. But I especially am eager to see what The Night Mother will do.