Brooding Darkness Spreads its Wings: A Potted History of Night Raven

Who remembers Marvel UK’s Night Raven? Well, clearly more people than you might think, given his return to Marvel Comics last year, a welcome return for a character who made his debut in Hulk Weekly back in 1979.

Created by editors Dez Skinn and Richard Burton, the early Night Raven stories were written by Steve Parkhouse, with art by David Lloyd and John Bolton. In these stories, he was a mysterious and never identified but highly trained fighter and marksman who wielded two guns, marking villains he defeated on the forehead with his signature Night Raven brand.

Co-creator Dez Skinn has previously said of the character’s origins: “Chicago has gangsters of every hue and I felt wouldn’t it be great to relive the pulps of the American 1930s where you had The Spider, The Shadow, characters who, in a pre-comics world, would beat the crap out of the bad guys. So, at the end of the 1970s I brought back the pre-comics era of the early 1930s with a character called Night Raven. He had a brand on his hand, and he would brand people on the forehead if they were bad guys… then he would leave them a little note…that would say ‘Where brooding darkness spreads its evil wings, the Night Raven stings!’, because I thought that sounded a bit classical.

“It’s stolen from Milton, from L’Allegro, but it doesn’t matter and it sounds good… but what was interesting the artist I chose to draw Night Raven, a guy called David Lloyd, came up with this really good sort of classical shaped chest emblem, because after all comics characters have to have chest emblems and it was a symbolic looking raven which was basically a V-shape in a circle.”

David would, of course, go on to draw V for Vendetta, most of the story first published in Dez Skinn’s Warrior anthology, written by Alan Moore.

“It was not specifically meant to evoke the raven,” Lloyd once said of the character’s look, “but to be generally bird-like and scary-looking to those who should be scared by it.”

Night Raven quickly became a favourite among MUK fans, his appearance in Hulk Weekly #2 voted “Favourite Single Story” in the British section of the 1980 Eagle Awards. The character was also nominated for British section Eagle Awards in 1980 for “Favourite Character” and “Character Most Worthy of Own Book.” Night Raven was again nominated for favourite British character in the 1981 Eagle Awards.

Night Raven by John Bolton
Night Raven by John Bolton
The opening page of the Night Raven prose story from Marvel Super-heroes no. 382, written and illustrated by Paul Neary
The opening page of the Night Raven prose story from Marvel Super-heroes no. 382, written and illustrated by Paul Neary

Following his initial run, the character resurfaced in a run of text stories beginning in Savage Action by Alan McKenzie, continued in Marvel Super Heroes (#382-386) also by Alan McKenzie, and Paul Neary, and The Daredevils (#6-11) by Alan Moore and Jamie Delano, later switching to Savage Sword of Conan and, finally, Captain Britain Volume Two.

It was in these stories that he was exposed to a chemical toxin by the immortal female crime lord Yi Yang, which made him nearly indestructible, but deformed him and left him in chronic pain. They became longtime foes, their story continued across several decades, up to contemporary times.

The original Night Raven also starred in a graphic novel, reluctantly published under Paul Neary’s watch, the beautifully illustrated Night Raven: House of Cards, written by Jamie Delano, with art by David Lloyd, letters by Jenny O’Connor; its publication a commission made before he became Editorial Director. Paul felt the story out of place in his plans for Marvel UK, and, in my opinion, it didn’t get the marketing support this little known Night Raven story deserved.

More in keeping with Paul’s “Genesis 1992” project was Nocturne, a four-issue miniseries originally commissioned by Marvel UK, but published by Marvel US in 1995, written by Dan Abnett, drawn by Joe Fonteriz, inked by John Stokes, coloured by Steve White and lettered by Pat Prentice.

In what is now regarded as an alternate universe tale, Gray Poldark discovers the hideout of 1930s pulp antihero Night Raven’s hideout, who died, poisoned, in the 1950s, and becomes the crimefighter known as Nocturne.

Night Raven’s appears in a supporting role in the graphic novel Fury/Black Widow: Death Duty, written by Cefn Rideout with art by Charlie Adlard, coloured by Frank Lopez and Steve Whitaker. It is this story, also published in 1995, originally intended to feature in Marvel Comics Presents (as featured here on downthetubes) that confirms his immortality, his bloody one-man war against crime just a pastime. His real obsession is to kill one person, Yi Yang, the woman who made him immortal.

After a long absence, Night Raven appears in cameo in the first issue of Marvel’s The Twelve, published in 2008, written by J. Michael Straczynski, with art by Chris Weston. He is one of many costumed heroes pictured in Berlin in a scene dated 25th April 1945.

Avengers UK 2024 Advent Calendar fan art by Jamie Grey
Avengers UK 2024 Advent Calendar fan art by Jamie Grey

Although a fan favourite, and part of the sprawling, unofficial non-profit Avengers UK saga, official appearances have been few of far between, until fairly recently.

He appears in the one-off publication Marvel Comics #1000 published in 2019, in a prose story (the first new Night Raven prose story in over thirty years), titled “Night Time in the City” written and illustrated by Alan Davis.

More recently, Night Raven returned in the Moon Knight series Phases of the Moon Knight #2, the story also titled “Night Time in the City”, written by Jed MacKay, with art by Jorge Fornés, coloured by Lee Loughridge and lettered by VC’s Cory Petit. The story features in the collection published by Marvel back in May.

There was no hint of it on the cover. “I actually felt a chill when I opened it and read the title,” says longtime MUK contributor and comics archivist, artist Lew Stringer. “I think my favourite scene was a furious Moon Knight screaming at Night Raven ‘you crazy ancient bastard!’

Might we yet see further appearances – or even some TV cameo? Only the Night Raven knows…

Head downthetubes for…

downthetubes: Marvel Curiosities: Night Raven’s first major US appearance, alongside Nick Fury and Black Widow

downthetubes: Retro Review: Retro Review: Night Raven – House of Cards – review by Luke Williams

British Comics Wiki Marvel Comics #1000 Guide

Night Raven: From The Marvel UK Vaults (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)
Collects Night Raven material from Hulk Comic #1-20; Savage Action #1-4, 6, 8, 12-15; Marvel Super-Heroes (UK) #382-386, 389-395; Daredevils #6-11; Mighty World of Marvel #7-17; Savage Sword of Conan (UK) #85-92; Captain Britain (1985) #10-12

Who is Night Raven? Find out in this complete collection of classic tales from the Marvel UK archives. Join the mysterious masked vigilante in his pulp-era war on crime as this lone man of justice stealthily stalks his villainous prey on the streets of New York City — and brands criminals with the mark of the deadly Night Raven! Follow this dark avenger into battle with mob bosses, murderers and miscreants like the Taxman, the Assassin, Dragonfire and more — in rarely seen stories by some of Marvel UK’s finest talents, including David Lloyd.

Phases of The Moon Knight: 1 (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)

Dive into lost lunar lore from Moon Knight’s past, present and future, in this thrilling anthology series. Though he is among the most recent, Marc Spector is far from the first Fist of Khonshu! The true depth of the legacy of the Moon Knight has been shrouded in the mystery of antiquity – until now!

Featuring an all-new sensation from the Marvel Universe’s ancient past: the Moon Knight of the Old Crusades! Another Fist of Khonshu clenches amid a crime-ridden vision of tomorrow – older, grittier and worse for wear than any you’ve seen before! Plus: new stories from Marc Spector’s always-volatile past as Moon Knight – and yet more tales from across the eras!

Collecting: Phases of Moon Knight (2024) 1-4



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