30 Days of Night

Last updated
30 Days of Night
30daysofnightcover.jpg
Cover to 30 Days of Night trade paperback (art by Ben Templesmith)
Publication information
Publisher IDW Publishing
ScheduleMonthly
Format Mini-series
Genre
Publication dateAugust – October 2002
No. of issues3
Creative team
Created bySteve Niles
Ben Templesmith
Written by Steve Niles
Matt Fraction [1]
Dan Wickline [2] [3]
Kelly Sue DeConnick [4]
Ben Templesmith [5]
Artist(s)Ben Templesmith
Szymon Kudranski [6]
Brandon Hovet [6]
Josh Medors [6]
Kody Chamberlain [7]
Nat Jones [8]
Milx [2]
Alex Sanchez [3]
Justin Randall [4]
Bill Sienkiewicz [9]
Collected editions
30 Days of Night ISBN   0-9719775-5-0

30 Days of Night is a three-issue vampire comic book miniseries written by Steve Niles, illustrated by Ben Templesmith, and published by American company IDW Publishing in 2002. All three parties co-own the property.

Contents

The series takes place in Barrow, Alaska, so far north that during the winter, the sun does not rise for 30 days. In the series, vampires, being vulnerable to sunlight, take advantage of the prolonged darkness to openly kill the townspeople and feed at will.

Initially an unsuccessful film pitch, [10] the series became a breakout success story for Steve Niles, whose previous works had received relatively little attention. It was also the first full-length work by co-creator Ben Templesmith. The series has been followed by numerous sequel series, and in 2007, was adapted into a film of the same name.

Plot summary

Vampires flock to Barrow, Alaska, where the sun sets for about 30 days, allowing them to feed without the burden of sleep to avoid lethal sunlight. When the vampire elder Vicente learns of this plan, he travels to Barrow to end the feeding, to preserve the secrecy of vampires. Because of the cold, the vampires' senses are weakened and a few of the town's residents are able to hide. One such resident is Sheriff Eben Olemaun, who saves the town by injecting vampire blood into his veins. He uses his enhanced strength to fight Vicente, saving the lives of the few remaining townspeople, including his wife Stella. Suffering the same weakness as all vampires, Eben allows himself to die and turns to ash when the sun rises.

Characters

Humans

Vampires

The Nosferatu were once ruled by a "Council of Elders" led by Vicente. When the council decided to make themselves known to the human race, humanity rebelled and persecuted most of their race. After a millennium, only a handful survived, led by Vicente.

In the series, vampirism is portrayed as a virus, one that can be spread through scratches, bites, and contact with vampire blood. The disease turns humans who contract it undead and gives them a mouthful of shark-like fangs and black eyes, as well as superhuman strength and speed, an aversion to sunlight, and superhumanly acute senses of sight, smell, and hearing. However, these senses can be weakened by extreme cold. Also, some vampires possess additional powers, such as teleportation, telepathy, and the ability to disguise oneself. Vampires in the series differ in many ways from their mythological counterparts: impaling them with a wooden stake will not, on its own, kill them; neither will exposing them to garlic or even fire. They are extremely resilient, capable of withstanding grenades going off on their bodies, or surviving after losing half of their faces to explosions. The only way to kill them is to behead them, or expose them to the vitamins generated in direct sunlight, which sets them on fire, and burns them to ash rapidly. Also, large amounts of ultraviolet light burns them and probably can kill them, but they can never stay dead for long; if blood hits their ashes, they will regenerate.

Collected editions

30 Days of Night was originally published as several miniseries of 22-page comic books from IDW Publishing. These single issues are now collected in several trade paperbacks, as well as hardcover collections.

Awards

30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow garnered Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith's first Eisner Award nominations in 2005. [21] These included:

Adaptations

Audio

Audible produced a full-cast audio dramatization released in 2017.

Films

A film adaptation of the original 30 Days of Night miniseries was produced by Columbia Pictures and Ghost House Pictures. The screenplay went through several versions and writers, among them Steve Niles and Stuart Beattie. The film was directed by David Slade and stars Hollywood actors Josh Hartnett and Melissa George. It was released on October 19, 2007, [22] and was filmed at Henderson Valley Studios in Auckland, New Zealand. A sequel to the film was released in October 2010. 30 Days of Night: Dark Days was directed by Ben Ketai and stars Kiele Sanchez as Stella Oleson. [23]

Novels

Related Research Articles

<i>Fallen Angel</i> (comics)

Fallen Angel is an American fictional comic book heroine, created and owned by writer Peter David and artist David López, who appeared in her own self-titled monthly series. It was originally published by DC Comics from July 2003 until it was canceled with issue #20 in May 2005 due to low sales. A second series, published through IDW Publishing, began in December 2005 and ran for 33 issues. It was followed by two mini-series, Fallen Angel: Reborn and Fallen Angel: Return of the Son, also published by IDW Publishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IDW Publishing</span> American comic book publishing company

IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW) and is recognized as the fifth-largest comic book publisher in the United States, behind Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Image Comics, ahead of other comic book publishers such as Archie, Boom!, Dynamite, Valiant, and Oni Press. The company is known for its licensed comic book adaptations of films, television shows, video games, and cartoons.

Jeff Mariotte is an American author who lives in Arizona. As well as his own original work, he is best known for writing novels and comic books based on licensed properties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Niles</span> American comic book author and novelist (born 1965)

Steve Niles is an American comic book author and novelist, known for works such as 30 Days of Night, Criminal Macabre: A Cal McDonald Mystery, Simon Dark, Mystery Society, Batman: Gotham County Line, Kick-Ass – The New Girl, and Kick-Ass vs Hit-Girl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Templesmith</span> Australian comic book artist and author

Ben Templesmith is an Australian comic book artist best known for his work in the American comic book industry, most notably the Image Comics series Fell, with writer Warren Ellis, and IDW's 30 Days of Night with writer Steve Niles, which was adapted into a motion picture of the same name. He has also created book covers, movie posters, trading cards, and concept work for film.

The CSI comics are comic book tie-ins with the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami and CSI: NY television shows. They have been published from 2003 to 2009. The majority have been released by IDW Publishing and have been written by a range of notable authors including Jeff Mariotte, Max Allan Collins, and Steven Grant. The latest was a manga-style story written by Sekou Hamilton and published by Tokyopop.

Kody Chamberlain is an American comic book artist. He was born in Thibodaux, Louisiana and relocated to Lafayette, Louisiana in 1993.

<i>30 Days of Night</i> (film) 2007 horror film by David Slade

30 Days of Night is a 2007 American vampire film based on the comic book miniseries of the same name. The film was directed by David Slade and stars Josh Hartnett and Melissa George. The story focuses on an Alaskan town beset by vampires as it enters into a 30-day-long polar night.

<i>Desperadoes</i> (comics) Comic book series

Desperadoes is a Weird West comic book series written by Jeff Mariotte, first published by Homage Comics and then by IDW Publishing.

<i>Criminal Macabre: A Cal McDonald Mystery</i> Comic book series

Criminal Macabre: A Cal McDonald Mystery is a comic book series starring Cal McDonald, an antihero American comic book character created in 1990 by writer Steve Niles. The character's adventures have been published by Dark Horse Comics and later IDW Publishing.

Dan Wickline is a published writer and photographer.

<i>Silent Hill</i> (comics)

Silent Hill comics are a series of comic books additions to the Silent Hill franchise.

<i>Remains</i> (comics)

Remains is a five-issue comic book limited series published by IDW Publishing in 2004. The story is written by Steve Niles and has art by Kieron Dwyer.

<i>The X-Files</i> (comics) Comics

The X-Files was a spin-off from the television series of the same name, originally published by Topps Comics and, most recently, DC Comics imprint Wildstorm.

<i>G.I. Joe</i> (IDW Publishing)

G.I. Joe is a comic book series by IDW Publishing, based upon Hasbro's G.I. Joe characters and toy line.

<i>30 Days of Night: Dark Days</i> 2010 American film

30 Days of Night: Dark Days is a 2010 American horror film based on the comic book miniseries of the same name. It was directed by and written by Ben Ketai, alongside co-writer Steve Niles. It is the fourth installment of the 30 Days of Night franchise, and serves as the sequel to the 2007 film. Set chronologically after the first film, it also takes place after the two miniseries Blood Trails and Dust to Dust as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nat Jones</span>

Nat Jones is an American artist working primarily in comic books and film. Jones is best known for his work on Frank Frazetta's Death Dealer.

<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> (IDW Publishing) Comic book series by IDW Publishing

Dungeons & Dragons is a series of comic books published by IDW Publishing, under the license from Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast, based on the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. From 2010 to 2024, IDW Publishing released two Dungeons & Dragons ongoing series, fifteen Dungeons & Dragons limited series, three crossover series, two annuals and a graphic novel.

<i>30 Days of Night</i> (franchise) American horror media franchise

The 30 Days of Night franchise consists of American horror installments including a theatrical film, a prequel miniseries, a sequel limited series, and a direct-to-home video sequel movie. Based on the comic series of the same name created by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith, the plot centers around an unsuspecting Alaskan town in the US that is overtaken by a swarm of vampires during a thirty-day polar night period of time. Throughout the franchise, townspeople fight through the events to defeat the mystical creatures with all their resources to survive.

References

  1. ↑ "Juarez"30 Days of Night: Bloodsucker Tales,no. 1–8(October 2004 – June 2005).
  2. 1 2 30 Days of Night: Dead Space,no. 1–3(Jan. – March 2006).
  3. 1 2 30 Days of Night: Spreading the Disease,no. 1–5(December 2006 – April 2007).
  4. 1 2 30 Days of Night: Eben and Stella,no. 1–4(May – August 2007).
  5. ↑ 30 Days of Night: Red Snow,no. 1–3(August – October 2007).
  6. 1 2 3 40 Days and 40 Nights Annual #1 (2004)
  7. ↑ "Dead Billy Dead"30 Days of Night: Bloodsucker Tales,no. 1–8(October 2004 – June 2005).
  8. ↑ 30 Days of Night Annual #2 (2005)
  9. ↑ 30 Days of Night: Beyond Barrow,no. 1–3(September 2007 – February 2008).
  10. ↑ "30 Days of Steve Niles". IGN . October 18, 2007. Archived from the original on December 8, 2007.
  11. ↑ "30 Days of Night". IDW Publishing.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
  12. ↑ "30 Days of Night: Dark Days". IDW Publishing.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
  13. ↑ "30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow". IDW Publishing.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
  14. ↑ "30 Days of Night: Bloodsucker Tales". IDW Publishing.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
  15. ↑ "30 Days of Night: Three Tales". IDW Publishing.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-31. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
  16. ↑ "30 Days of Night: Spreading the Disease". IDW Publishing.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-19. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
  17. ↑ "30 Days of Night: Eben and Stella". IDW Publishing.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
  18. ↑ "30 Days of Night: Red Snow". IDW Publishing.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-22. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
  19. ↑ "30 Days of Night: Beyond Barrow". IDW Publishing.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
  20. ↑ "30 Days of Night: 30 Days 'Til Death". IDW Publishing.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-23. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
  21. ↑ Hahn, Joel. "2005 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards". Archived from the original on 2006-01-12. Retrieved 2005-12-31.
  22. ↑ "30 Days of Night". ComingSoon.net. October 19, 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
  23. ↑ "30 Days of Night: Dark Days". IMDb .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.