Nightveil #3
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeNightveil #3 is a snapshot of AC Comics operating at its most characteristic in the mid-1980s Copper Age — a small publisher keeping pulp-era heroines alive in full color while simultaneously serving as a launching pad for talent headed for much bigger stages. The issue's most enduring historical footnote is the presence of Erik Larsen in its art credits: the future co-founder of Image Comics and creator of Savage Dragon was honing his craft at AC before breaking into Marvel and DC, and this issue is one of his earliest published works in a superhero context. On the narrative side, the issue advances the ongoing Scarlet Scorpion backup serial — pitting the hero against the mob assassin Nirvana — deepening AC's own shared universe of Golden Age-rooted characters at a moment when such continuity-building at independent publishers was still a relative novelty.
In "The Kiss...", Nightveil grapples with the aftermath of defeating the alien N'Shugghoth, drawing on Wendy’s psychic strength to do so. Back on Earth, she’s suddenly targeted by a deranged attacker with an iron dagger—only to absorb him into the shadowy depths of her cape, leaving her haunted by the weight of what she’s become. Written by Steve Ringgenberg and illustrated by Mark Heike, with inks by Doug Hazlewood, colors by Reb Black, and letters by Walt Paisley, this 1985 issue captures a haunting moment in Nightveil’s journey. The cover, penciled by Heike and inked by Hazlewood, mirrors the story’s dark, brooding tone.
In "The Kiss..." from Nightveil #3 (1985), after defeating the otherworldly N'Shugghoth by channeling Wendy’s psychic strength, Nightveil returns to Earth only to face a sudden, violent assault from a deranged man with an iron dagger. When the attacker is consumed by the darkness within her cape, Nightveil is left grappling with a haunting sense of guilt—wondering if she’s become something she never intended to be.
In "Nighttime With Nirvana!" from Nightveil #3 (1985), the Scarlet Scorpion faces off against the deadly mob enforcer Nirvana in a tense showdown to protect a judge. Though he’s overwhelmed in the fight, the judge’s unexpected survival leaves the outcome hauntingly unresolved.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The Nightveil solo series grew directly out of Bill Black's long stewardship of a Phantom Lady-derived character he had developed through his earlier Paragon Publications black-and-white magazines, renaming her through several iterations — Phantom Lady, Nightfall, and finally Nightveil — before settling on the sorceress identity established by the time of this issue. AC (then also publishing as Americomics) launched the color Nightveil series in 1984 to give the character her own spotlight outside of the ensemble Femforce title. The character's Blue Bulleteer identity had been inspired by the Fox Features Syndicate version of Phantom Lady, though DC Comics asserted ownership of the Phantom Lady name, leading AC to sidestep the dispute entirely by leaning into Nightveil's distinct sorcery-based identity rather than contesting the rights.
Trivia · 7 facts
- Contains two stories: lead story 'The Kiss…' (Nightveil battles the demon N'Shugghoth the Unspeakable) and backup story 'Nighttime with Nirvana!' (Scarlet Scorpion vs. mob assassin Nirvana).
- Interior art by Mark Heike, Doug Hazlewood, Rik Levins, Don Hillsman, and Erik Larsen; cover by Mark Heike and Doug Hazlewood; stories written by Steve Ringgenberg and Rik Levins.
- Features very early professional comic art by Erik Larsen, who would go on to co-found Image Comics in 1992 and create the long-running Savage Dragon series — his own CBR interview confirms he 'did some time at AC Comics drawing Sentinels of Justice and Nightveil.'
- The Scarlet Scorpion backup (written and drawn by Rik Levins, inked by Don Hillsman) is part of an ongoing series within the book; Scarlet Scorpion had originated in Americomics #6.
- Character index (per GCD-attributed data) includes Thomas Diskin dying in-issue, The Black Terror appearing in civilian identity as Bob Benton (and in flashback), and The Masquerader appearing unidentified in flashback — all Golden Age-derived AC characters.
- Nightveil (Laura Wright) is AC's adaptation of the Fox Features Syndicate version of Phantom Lady — not the Quality/DC version — with her sorcery powers granted by the interdimensional being Azagoth after a near-fatal injury as the costumed markswoman Blue Bulleteer.
- The character had been previously published under the names Phantom Lady (Captain Paragon #1, 1972), Nightfall (Fun Comics #4, March 1983), and finally Nightveil beginning with Nightveil #1 (1984).
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