Fear not, fans of the macabre comic monster slayer: even more adventures of Count Crowley: The Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter are confirmed to be on the way by writer and actor David Dastmalchian. The first volume of the series was just gaining popularity among fans, when it was indefinitely shelved due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Now fans can at least rest easy that a second volume of Dastmalchian's series is coming, and promises an even bigger scare.
The series, set in 1983, follows Jerri Bartman, a once up-and-coming television journalist struggling with alcohol addiction and an unwanted return back to her Midwestern hometown--and an even less wanted job hosting the local nightly Creature Feature. However, Bartman soon learns that her job comes with an additional responsibility: hunting real-life monsters. The titular Count Crowley is her missing predecessor, one of the world's appointed monster hunters. It's the perfect recipe, given how how popular comic book monsters tend to be, and both trade paperbacks and individual issues continued to sell, even during the pandemic.
After Dark Horse previously confirmed Crowley would continue, with Dastmalchian returning alongside artist Lucas Ketner and editor Megan Walker, the Dune and The Suicide Squad star confirms to Screen Rant that he's been just as excited as the fans to reveal what comes next for Jerri Bartman:
Those who have already read the first four issues of Count Crowley or the trade paperback will know that, as our story ends, a nefarious presence has been sent a message with just two words on the page. And those words are "Count Crowley." This is going to summon a force of evil to Beloit that has not stepped foot on those grounds for quite some time, and it's going to pose a challenge for Jerri that is almost, if not equally as challenging as this werewolf that she's been dealing with. When we throw in her battle with alcoholism and depression that she's facing, she's definitely going to have her hands full.
But I'm so, so excited. I actually wrote these scripts quite a while ago, and then the pandemic shut everything down. I was really hoping that we were going into production on this quite a while ago, and then everything just kind of stopped. I didn't know if we would ever get to go back into the journey, so I am thrilled. Of all the incredible things that I'm brimming with gratitude for right now, not least of which is the fact that I'm standing on a beautiful patio looking at the ocean in Malta because I'm here filming a Dracula movie [The Last Voyage of The Demeter], I will say the return of Count Crowley is one of the biggest.
The love the fans have for this comic is responsible for its continued run, as sales in both individual and trade paperback--even without the promise of a volume two--evidently made it a strong enough proposition for Dark Horse. Of course, Dark Horse is no stranger to monster or horror comics, so bringing it back shouldn't have been a hard decision to justify. Dastmalchian's involvement in comic media as both writer and actor certainly makes Count Crowley unique, but the comic also is part of a larger wave of '80s nostalgia that can be seen across pop culture. From Stranger Things to Wonder Woman 84, it's a blooming age for a strong dose of nostalgic genre storytelling.
There is no official release date set for the next release of Count Crowley: the Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter, but Dastmalchian's enthusiasm should reassure fans that it will be worth the wait.
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