Team Members

The Nocturnals are a horror/superhero group that operates in Pacific City. The group consists of the following main characters:

• Doc Horror - a man of science and magic and the father of Eve
• Halloween Girl - Evening "Eve" Horror is a precocious pre-teen heroine and the main protagonist
• The Gunwitch - an undead scarecrow gunfighter
• The Raccoon - Procyon Cleanhands is a genetically engineered human/animal
• Polychrome - a beautiful undead wraith with a heart of gold
• Starfish - a teenage fish girl with a quick gun hand
• Firelion - Phestus Gold is a cop raised from the dead and placed into the body of an android where he uses his fire powers
• Komodo - a genetically engineered cold-blooded 'Dragon Boy'

Creation

The Nocturnals first appeared in a 1995 self-titled miniseries by Dan Brereton

Major Story Arcs

Black Planet

Doc Horror was kidnapped by Antonio Zampa, the heir to Narn K, who wanted to wipe out The Nocturnals from messing with their operation. His team tracked him down to a Zampa safehouse and broke him out. It was easier thanks to Zampa being taken out by a former ally of the Nocturnals, Raccoon, who had dreams of becoming a gangster. He had killed Zampa to replace him in the criminal organization. While disposing of the body, Raccoon found a strange red octopus stuck under Zampa’s armpit. This information concerned Doc Horror, who believed the Crim had followed him to Earth. Doc was originally from a different planet, where he refused to share his wormhole technology with the parasitic Crim, who wanted to use it to take over more worlds.

To confirm his suspicions, he brought a few of his Nocturnals to the cemetery to dig up Zampa’s body. Once confirmed, he told the story of his journey to Earth to his fellow Nocturnals, who all committed to taking the Crim out. Before they could plan their next move, Doc and Eve needed to see Don Zampa. Unfortunately, it was a trap set by Fane, a Crim loyalist from Doc’s homeworld, who bonded a Crim to Don Zampa. Gunwitch had already been hiding in the house and came to their rescue. They managed to free Don Zampa from the Crim and reveal Fane’s own Crim-like mutations. They were interrupted by a pair of detectives on a stakeout responding to the noise, so Doc and his family made their escape.

After that close call, Eve was instructed to stay home by her father. Instead, she convinced Komodo that Doc wanted the two of them to find a new way into the monster shop so they could free more of the test subjects. Unfortunately, they were caught by facility security in the tunnels underneath it and needed rescue. Doc and Starfish sought out Raccoon to use as a guide. They found him under attack by his own people, who were flipped by Fane. Helping him with the attackers helped convince him to help The Nocturnals in exchange. For help with his attackers, Raccoon agreed.

The Nocturnals teleported into the tunnels where Komodo and Eve were surrounded by Crims. They were able to kill the Crims thanks to the advanced ammunition Doc created, mixing it with his portal technology, sending chunks of the Crims back to their homeworld. Fane tried to run off with Eve, but Raccoon and Komodo managed to break all the hybrids out while the Crims were busy with the other Nocturnals. Together, they overwhelmed Fane, freeing Eve and ending the Crim’s world takeover.

The Dark Forever

For the last year, a few Nocturnals have been separated. Komodo and Starfish sneaked onto a boat to see the world, while Eve was sent to a school for peculiar children. Raccoon went back to his criminal network, and Firelion went looking for a fellow burner rumored to be in Nebula City. On this particular Thanksgiving, they were drawn back together by the holidays and an emerging zombie plague. In addition, Doc was preoccupied with an archaeological dig he started under the Tomb. It led to a mysterious door, hiding ancient architecture, which he explored with The Devil Lantern, a sentient lantern known for faustian bargains that he liberated from a bridge troll.

Starfish and Firelion joined Raccoon’s independent investigation of all the wiseguys turning zombies, while Poly, Eva, and Gunwitch tried to open Doc’s mystery doors. When the magic of the door affected Poly, causing an ectoplasmic explosion, which trapped Eve and Gunwitch on the other side of the door. Eve and Gunny explored further, eventually finding Poly being cared for by the ghosts of fish-people. Soon after, they were reunited with Doc, who was accompanied by very alive fish-people, called Skerrl, as well as a young girl who had been trapped for 70 years, kept young but mutated by the Skerrl. While the girl told her story, the ghosts of the fish-people told Eve that she allied with the Skerrl and sicced them on her own parents. When Eve called her out, she had the Skerrl attack the Nocturnals, who narrowly escaped using a portal.

Meanwhile, Raccoon’s investigation led them to a lighthouse of inhuman origin. They found a trap door, leading to underground halls where they found cultural artifacts depicting the history of the Skerrls. This overwhelmed Star, who ran off. She ran into some ghost fish-people who believed she was the last of their kind. As such, they granted her a pendant called the star-stone and returned her to the beach. Raccoon and Firelion eventually caught up with her, as did the rest of the Nocturnals who teleported to their location.

Poly, who had absorbed the spirits that powered the Skerrl magic, released them to the afterlife in a big lightshow. Unfortunately, the Skerrl had already sent a message to a leviathan, which had finally made it to shore. The Nocturnals were ready to run, but since Starfish is the last of the fish-people from before the Skerrl moved in, she was able to control the monster and send it back to the depths.