Welcome to an all new edition of Parlay Points, the complementary comic book blog to the ODPH podcast! For this entry, we’re looking at the penultimate issue of one of the most creative books on the Comixology Originals line. The All-Nighter #9 by Chip Zdarsky, Jason Loo, Paris Alleyne, and Aditya Bidikar shapes up the story for one amazing conclusion. If or whatever reason haven’t checked the story out yet, the first chapter is available in print form via Dark Horse Comics. Let’s take a closer look at how the second chapter is heading everyone’s favorite diner team into its finale, shall we?
The All-Nighter #9- On Sale August 30th
Creative: Chip Zdarsky, Jason Loo, Paris Alleyne, and Aditya Bidikar
Credit: Comixology Originals
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
Last we saw our vampire group from the Diner, things were looking very bleak. Cynthia has been leading the family since Ian’s disappearance & it has not been an easy road. Joy, the “youngest” of the family took off to reconnect with her real family. That move didn’t go over as good as Joy had hoped. Alex, the “teenage hero” has been trying his best to continue being a super hero, but that has strained much including his relationship with Andrea, a former police officer. Lastly, Ian, who was the leader of this group was imprisoned by Lazaruk, who seeks to take over by posing as “The Justice Angels”, to sneak attack the public on their way to conquer.
This issue picks up with Cynthia working with “Francis” (aka Frankenstein) to free Ian from Lazaruk’s hold. It’s an interesting dynamic but with the stakes this high, alliances are formed to hopefully save the day. Will this duo save Iam beofre it’s too late? Meanwhile, Lazaruk has confronted Joy about joining his regime With the offer of not hiding in shadows as a prize, Joy listens. She is shown Lazaruk’ operation and has many questions. All the while, Alex is investigating Lazaruk as well. Unfortunatly as Alex tries helping someone, Lazaruk and the Justice Angels find him. What will happen now? Can the diner team stop Lazaruk? Will someone not make it until the end? Readers will need to read this issue and find out!
Zdarsky has everything moving very fast heading to the final issue. Lazaruk unveiling his plan and seemingly ready for the opposition was a fun read. From this entire second run, he has been a character making moves but with the end near, Lazaruk has taken his actions up a few notches. The dynamic between Cynthia and Francis was another great element of the story. There is a great moment where the mythos is flipped a bit to show a different side to the character. Every major player had their page-time without feeling rushed or forced. With a finale looming, this should be something special to watch.
Loo continues to design big moments for this final arc. Seeing Francis unleashed as what happened when he tried freeing Ian was out of normal character but illustrated to the reader how high the stakes are for this mission. Seeing the encounter between Lazaruk and Alex was a great introduction to what is coming next issue. Seeing Lazaruk’s plan start to roll will add much more impact for the big closing.
Overall, The All-Nighter #9 sets up the chessboard for a resounding exclamation point for this story. Zdarsky, Loo and company position all the major players for a final confrontation that readers should be counting down the days to read. Make sure to check this out at Comixology this week.
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