What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

The Midnight Son
This topic is about The Midnight Son
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SOLVED: Children's/YA > SOLVED. Metaphysical graphic novel from 70s/80s, journey underground [s]

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message 1: by Arthur (new)

Arthur (polishq) | 8 comments I've been searching for this graphic novel for years! I first checked it out from my local public library in Maryland sometime around 1990, give or take a few years. I could be wrong, but I remember it being hardcover and in black and white.

The plot centered around an archetypal hero character as he journeys into an underground cave system. He is on some kind of metaphysical quest. Along the way, he encounters various manifestations of a worm/snake character - first as a sort of cute cartoon character (with glasses?), then as a large dragon/monster as he crosses an underground river, and finally as sort of a shadow twin of the main character. The two have a final confrontation on a narrow bridge over a gaping abyss, and both end up falling into the chasm. As they fall, things get pretty trippy and the two characters sort of merge into one another. All along he has been facing aspects of himself.

My best guess is that this is by a European author. I would say Moebius but I have scoured his works to no avail. Most likely it was published in the 70s or 80s. Any help is appreciated!!


message 2: by stormhawk (new)

stormhawk | 183 comments Sounds like something from Heavy Metal Magazine, but I can't imagine a library carrying any of that. Black and white or color illustrations?


message 3: by Arthur (new)

Arthur (polishq) | 8 comments Pretty sure it was black and white. Heavy Metal or a Heavy Metal-related artist seems like a good bet, but I haven't been able to narrow it down any further.


message 4: by Diana (last edited Jul 04, 2012 07:13PM) (new)

Diana Welsch | 530 comments Is it Bloodstar? Published in 1979, it is considered to be the first graphic novel that calls itself that. There is a worm monster and it is based on a short story called The Valley of the Worm

Bloodstar


message 5: by Arthur (new)

Arthur (polishq) | 8 comments Richard Corben is a possibility, but nope, it's not Bloodstar. Thanks though!


message 6: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) I wonder if checking out the Creepy & Eerie contributors would help. They were sort of like Heavy Metal, but just B&W, all short stories, and had a lot of top writers & artists.


message 7: by Lobstergirl, au gratin (new)

Lobstergirl | 44923 comments Mod
Arthur, are you still looking for this book?


message 8: by Arthur (new)

Arthur (polishq) | 8 comments I am!


message 9: by Ann aka Iftcan (new)

Ann aka Iftcan (iftcan) | 6917 comments Mod
Arthur--if you bump your thread up every 30 to 60 days, you'll greatly improve your chance of finding it.


Justanotherbiblophile | 1814 comments Well, since Lobstergirl isn't accepting messages, I guess I'll ask here.

Are you guys (well, gals, mostly?) sending these people direct messages when you bump their requests which appear to be unattended (ie: when you send messages like: 'Are you still searching for this?'). Not everyone has their notifications turned on. And yes, doing that does bump it to the top of the pile so it does get at least a couple more fresh eyeballs on it.

But I assume the end-game of those messages, is for an admin at some point to go, "Nope, this person didn't respond to this, so let's move it out of unsolved into the abandoned category."


message 11: by Ann aka Iftcan (new)

Ann aka Iftcan (iftcan) | 6917 comments Mod
I've sent out PM's to them. Most replied, any that didn't, if it had been 2 years since THEY wrote anything in their thread, I've moved it down to Abandoned. At least 1/3 of the people who I've messaged and heard back from either didn't notice the original message from GR itself, or figure it went to their spam box and was deleted without them seeing it.


Justanotherbiblophile | 1814 comments Cool. I was just checking. Yeah, I'm aware that spam-filtering has been almost as bad as spam itself in destroying the utility of email.

Btw, has someone updated the intro piece to notify people that eventually their requests will be marked as abandoned if they don't reply/keep it bumped every once in awhile?


message 13: by Arthur (new)

Arthur (polishq) | 8 comments Man, with all these new comments I thought someone had a suggestion for me!


message 14: by Serendi (new)

Serendi I just Googled "European graphic novels" and there are quite a few resources. The story *isn't* this but my associative mind started thinking of a variant on A Wizard of Earthsea. Same kind of metaphysical journey.


message 15: by Lobstergirl, au gratin (new)

Lobstergirl | 44923 comments Mod
Could it be Journey Outside? I don't know if that's a graphic novel or not.


message 16: by Kris (last edited Mar 29, 2014 07:40AM) (new)

Kris | 54930 comments Mod
Arthur, is the hero a human or a fantasy creature like an elf/etc.?
Is the worm/snake-like creature a guide that helps him?
Is it similar to Dante's Inferno (Divine Comedy) with a journey to hell (underworld) to seek redemption or entry into heaven? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_...


message 17: by Tab (new)

Tab (tabbrown) | 5084 comments This is a stretch, but it is a metaphysical graphic novel. Poem Strip

You may also want to checkout the "Readers also enjoyed" section on Poem Strip's page. There may be something there that triggers a memory.


message 18: by Lobstergirl, au gratin (new)

Lobstergirl | 44923 comments Mod
Still looking?


message 19: by Arthur (new)

Arthur (polishq) | 8 comments Four years later and I still haven't found this. I've been on a kick this week, though, as happens occasionally. Scouring Google Images, looking through blogs that cover obscure european comics from the 70s/80s... so far, no dice. Perhaps by bumping this, someone else may have a new suggestion?

One thing I can offer is that I remember the final "falling into the abyss" sequence as looking somewhat similar to this: http://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/1970sgraphi...

It definitely had the character repeated several times within the same panel to show the falling movement, as above.

Also, as the "adversary" falls, he morphs through the various forms he's taken throughout the story; small worm (?), giant serpent, humanoid.


message 20: by Lobstergirl, au gratin (new)

Lobstergirl | 44923 comments Mod
So you ruled out the suggestions @15 and @17?


message 21: by Arthur (new)

Arthur (polishq) | 8 comments Yeah, ruled those out. @15 is not a comic book and @17 isn't it.

The story seems like something Jodorowsky would write; it's his brand of spiritual and weird, but more likely it's by a more obscure writer/artist.


message 22: by Arthur (new)

Arthur (polishq) | 8 comments FINALLY SOLVED!!!! It was The Midnight Son by Steve Miller: The Midnight Son


message 23: by Michele (new) - added it

Michele | 2488 comments Yay! I must say, that does look intriguing.


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