Nocterra is a series by Scott Snyder and Tony S. Daniel about a world without light. In Nocterra, they call it the big PM, when the world is launched into a never ending night. Without light, all living creatures become monsters called Shades. So the remaining humans fight to stay alive without turning into Shades themselves. Despite the darkness, Nocterra is full of colorful characters on a mission to bring back daytime.
In the Blacktop Bill Special, we follow the main villain from the Nocterra series. Blacktop Bill has been especially creepy, managing to make himself as black as asphalt, so he can walk amongst the Shades. But who was Blacktop Bill before?
Before the big PM, Bill thought people were too self involved; they couldn’t see past their own interests. This is coming from a psychopath of sorts. You see, Bill was a hitman, but he wasn’t just any hitman. Bill was a hitman of other hitmen. As if that weren’t enough, Bill also had passion kills on the side. Bill went after people who had survived life threatening situations. For instance, if people were involved in a deadly plane crash and survived, Bill sought them out. He would make it look like an accident, as if death had come to find them once more. Does anyone else get Final Destination vibes here?
The Blacktop Bill Special was the perfect one shot to get back into the world of Nocterra before the next issue is released. Nocterra #7 will be available on February 2nd, 2022. Nocterra is an interesting and easy world to get immersed in, and I would recommend trying it out. If you want to get caught up, Nocterra Volume 1 is available now, collecting the first six issues of the Image Comics series.