The Night Owls is a twice weekly webcomic by cartoonists Peter and Bobby Timony which appears every Tuesday and Thursday on DC ComicsZudaimprint. It was selected as Zuda's Instant Winner in December 2007. The Timony brothers have been based out of New Providence, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City. Set in 1920s New York City, the strip follows the adventures of a group of detectives who solve supernatural crimes. The strip alternates between single gags and longer story arcs, though each episode is designed to stand on its own. Although it often deals with bizarre and disturbing themes, the strip maintains a light-hearted tone that is generally suited for all ages. Each strip is usually six to eight panels long, has an art deco banner across the top and is colored in warm sepia hues.
Characters
Professor Ernest Baxter is a bookwormish and kind of shy fellow who uses his vast knowledge of the supernatural world to try to help people.
Mindy Markus is a feisty flapper with a modern "liberated" outlook on life who is not afraid to get into a scrap with the forces of evil.
Roscoe the Gargoyle is a gargoyle from Coney Island with an insatiable appetite; he provides additional comic relief with his flippant and lighthearted approach to things.
Detective Bill McRory is an honest cop who occasionally seeks help from the Night Owls on cases involving the supernatural.
Mr. You is a faceless man who steals the faces of others.
Mable the Gargoyle is Roscoe's sister who, when first introduced, looks inexplicably like a gorgeous blonde human.
Filthy the Rat is The Professor's underworld informant. Filthy is a rat who is a "Were-Human": by the light of the full moon, he turns into a tiny human.
Helaku is an Apache girl who met Professor Baxter when he was younger. Baxter helped the tribe defeat a giant monster named Big Owl.
Ikshu is Helaku's older brother. He went to prison for bootlegging where he met Mr. You, who stole his face and escaped.
Print
In November 2008, DC announced that other Zuda titles Bayou and High Moon will be the first two Zuda titles to be published as graphic novels, in June and October 2009, respectively. "Night Owls" was the third title to be released from the imprint and was released on March 30, 2010.
Awards
Night Owls was nominated for three 2009 Harvey Awards, for Best New Series, Best Online Work, and Best New Talent for artist Bobby Timony.
Night Owls' character Mindy Markus was nominated for the 2010 Lulu Awards for BEST FEMALE CHARACTER 'For a lead female character from an ongoing or limited comic book series or comic strip, original graphic novel or novella. Whether in print or online'
Night Owls was nominated as a finalist in the 2010 Cybil Awards for its achievements as one of the 'best children's and young adult titles' of the year.
