Issue Date: December 2001

Story Title: Ikkyu's Skull part 1 - Hostile Takeover

Staff:
Robert Weinberg (writer), Tom Derenick (artist), Avalon Studios (coloring), Jon Babcock (lettering), Pete Franco (assistant editor), Mark Powers (editor), Joe Quesada (editor in chief), Bill Jemas (president)

Brief Description:
The bodies of New York City's crime bosses have been turning up of late, each killed in different ways. Sydney Taine, co-owner of Nightside Detective Agency along with Ape Largo, arrives on the scene of the latest murder and chats with Detective Monahan. The body is Jelly the Belly's, and he has been found without a trace of blood left inside his huge frame. Sydney decides to visit another crime boss, Simon Benedict to find out what he knows. Benedict is welcoming, but his bodyguard isn't, especially when Sydney accuses his boss of murder. He attacks Sydney, though she takes him down quickly and easily. Benedict lets slip that Jelly's body was found in the river, a fact Sydney hasn't yet revealed. Later, in the limo, she admits to Ape that Benedict might know something but he isn't a criminal mastermind. Someone else is behind this. Meanwhile, two assassins named Nomura and Osatu, the murderers of the three crime bosses, visit the office of Arkady Dread, their employer. He hires them to kill Sydney and Ape, knowing full well that they might get too close for comfort. As Sydney retires for the night, the assassins hire several Were-Tigers to kill them and they break into Sydney's apartment whilst she sleeps.

Full Synopsis:
(intro)
Nightside isn’t a person or a place. Nightside is a world inhabited by demons, vampires, werewolves, and a whole array of people who are more than human. Nightside is a secretive place; a secret that those living in it intend to keep from normal humans for all eternity. It has existed since the dawn of human civilization. Those who live Nightside are the ones who haunt people’s nightmares, and perpetuate the myths that have become lore.

These ghoulish residents call themselves the Others. They are each a unique specimen, with powers and abilities different from all those around them, and they live according to rules passed down through the generations. Should humans, or Daysiders as we are referred to, discover their world, there would be bloodshed the likes of which humanity has never witnessed. It is in their best interests to keep their existence from others. So, what happens when this ‘utopia’ is threatened by a few greedy, ambitious souls?

The main character of the comic book Nightside, which ran for four issues in 2002, is Sydney Taine. She is a strikingly beautiful woman; athletic, confident, quick-witted and above all, determined. She is the co-owner of the Nightside Detective Agency, a role she shares with her confidant, Ape Largo. Her job allows her to cross the line between the Dayside and the Nightside. There is clearly more to this woman than we are being allowed to know. How does she know about the Nightside? Is she herself some form of ghoul, or has she stumbled across their secret in some fortuitous manner? Maybe we’ll never know. Sydney crosses the boundaries, and this series delves into her investigations into several mysterious deaths in the Nightside community.

Sydney Taine, though we don’t discover this until the final issue, is being employed by her former Japanese master to recover the three ‘Lost Treasures of Tao.’ They are powerful, ancient artefacts that are extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. They were stolen from Japanese shrines a hundred years ago, and Sydney’s former master wants them back.

The first of these treasures is Ikkyu’s Skull. This is known as the Skull of Truth. The second is the Sword of Suzuki Shosan, also known as the Sword of Justice. Suzuki was a famous samurai who later in life became a Zen monk. He advised his students to study death to understand life. The third treasure is the Mask of P’u-Hua, also referred to as the Mask of Truth.

We pick the story up in...

(New York City)
It’s night time and a large body is being fished out of the river. On the scene is Detective Monahan who asks Lieutenant Ferguson what the score is. He explains that a night watchman heard a dump truck pull up to the river and a big splash followed. This made him suspicious. A patrol car was sent and tyre tracks were found. So, they sent in a diver and they found the body on the bottom of the river, held down by iron weights. Monahan looks at the crane being used to fish out the body and asks what that’s all about. Ferguson tells him that the body is huge. The only way to retrieve the body was to borrow a crane from auto theft. “A corpse the size of a piano,” quips Monahan, “Ain’t that just grand.” He heads off for a coffee to wait for the coroner.

Later, with a steaming hot drink in his hand, he asks the coroner, Cavendish, about the victim. Cavendish informs him that he is a male Caucasian, around thirty years old, six feet five inches tall and weighing around eight-hundred pounds. Monahan wonders how the hell the guy walked. Cavendish reckons he did it without much trouble. He was extremely muscular. “Sumo wrestler?” asks Monahan. The coroner has no idea. That’s Monahan’s job, not his. “Cause of death?” enquires Monahan. Cavendish says it was a lack of blood. There wasn’t a drop left in him.

Ferguson says that the corpse is clean. They’re waiting for the wagon to take him to the morgue. Maybe dental records might reveal his identity. Monahan isn’t so sure. This makes three unusual corpses already this week. Only one element is missing from tonight’s drama. Cavendish asks what that might be. Monahan turns and introduces Ms. Sydney Taine who appears wearing a long black dress and white overcoat. She’s quite striking.

Sydney says hi and asks if he’s out on a fishing excursion. The lieutenant replies that she’s late. She’s usually there before the good doctor. She tells him that she was busy, over at the mayor’s reception at the Metropolitan. “That the body?” Monahan asks if she’d like to take a look. Sydney finds his weight very interesting and asks for the cause of death. Cavendish tells her he bled to death, though he’s yet to find a wound.

Sydney finds it interesting that there's no blood on the body. Monahan remarks that the river wouldn't have washed it way, and Sydney agrees. Not even the Hudson's that toxic. Monahan asks if she knows the bozo, but Sydney replies that she's never seen him before in her life. Sydney's partner, Ape Largo, is waiting beside their limo for her, so she bids them farewell, explaining that she has a dinner engagement. She hopes they find their killer. As she departs, Cavendish comments that she's a beautiful woman, but she's lying of course. Monahan knows that, and bets that she's off to see the victim's best friend or the killer. Cavendish asks why he doesn't have her followed. Monahan admits that he's tried to once or twice, but her limo disappears in traffic. It's spooky, almost supernatural. He reckons Ms. Taine is a devil or an angel. He's just not sure which.

Once she's inside the limo, she sits in the rear with Ape Largo in the driver's seat. Ape likes to brag that he's the ugliest man alive. He's the son of a carnival strongman and possesses amazing strength. Not quite so obvious is that he's also remarkably intelligent, holding degrees in anthropology, sociology and ancient religion. Along with Sydney, he's the co-owner of the Nightside Detective Agency. Sydney informs him that the deceased was Jelly. His body was drained of blood so she wants to head over to the Nightmare House - Simon Benedict's headquarters.

They pull up to see a queue which has formed outside and a large, blond, muscular doorman named Bruno carrying a baseball bat. The place look's busy, and Ape asks Sydney if she really wants to go in. Sydney replies that they promised their client results. Besides, she adds, Benedict may be mean, but she's meaner. Ape advises her to focus on Benedict's bodyguards, Karis and Risso, and if anything happens... Sydney cuts in. "I know... just whistle."

Sydney gets out of the limo and heads past the queue. She attracts attention wherever she goes and has looks to die for. Several have. She says good evening to Bruno and asks if his boss is in. "Yes Ms. Sydney," he replies, "Mr. B's inside. You wanna talk to him?" Sydney says that she would, and tells him it's nice to see him again. He reciprocates the gesture, and it's clear they're on good terms. "Door's open." As Sydney enters, a couple at the front of the queue complain that they've been waiting for hours, yet she just strolls in! What's she got that they don't? Bruno growls at them and points his baseball bat towards them. He informs them that Sydney's got class. They don't. Do they have a problem with that? He doesn't think so. He warns them to shut it before he kicks them to the end of the line.

Sydney slinks her way into the club. It's dark and the layout is unusual. Everyone is very well turned out in suits and dresses, and they appear to be having a good time. The people in there call themselves the Others. No one knows much about them as they guard their secrets well. Most of their own don't know how they came to exist. It's ancient history, little of it recorded and all open to question. They look like us, act like us, but they're different.

The Others possess powers no human has. They have thirsts, desires and passions that are absolutely alien. Some of them crave blood, whilst others can change their shape. The Others fill mankind's dreams, in which they are called Vampires, Werewolves, Ghouls and Ghasts. They are Lichs and Demons. However, they are not so easily categorized. Each of them is different, just as every human is unique in his or her own way. They prefer big cities because they're less noticable in large crowds. They desire to socialize with their own, so, they gather in locations meant just for them and no one else. Most of them sleep by day and party by night. They call our world - the world of sunshine and endeavor and hope, 'Dayside.' Their world, the time of shadows and darkness and terrors unseen, they call the 'Nightside.'

Sydney makes her way to a room where Simon Benedict can be found seated behind a desk, flanked by his bodyguards, Karis and Risso. Several attractive women decorate the room. Benedict sits on a kind of throne with a serpent motif. He grins as she walks in and greets her. Sydney wastes no time in informing him that Jelly's dead. He replies that it's a terrible tragedy, but what's it to him? Sydney reminds him that New York's Nightside is divided into five territories, each with its own boss. In the past week, three of those bosses have been killed. Karis asks her why she cares. She's not one of them. She's a miserable human. Sydney replies that for him, talking is a bad habit, before telling Benedict that the Council has hired her to learn who is behind the killings. They fear a gang war would put 'The Secret' in jeapordy.

Karis asks who cares what the elders think. Benedict then asks why blame him? His rival, Herr Cyrus, has made no secret of his desire to rule the entire city. Sydney informs him that she'll be visiting Arlen Cyrus too, but she stopped there first for the obvious reason. Jelly was found drained of blood, and everyone knows Benedict's particular sin. The accusation infuriates Karis and he leaps at Sydney, fangs bared, as Benedict asks how she dare accuse him. Sydney knows that the Others are hard to kill. They can take a lot more punishment than any mortal. However, despite legends to the contrary, they are vulnerable to cold steel and heavy artillery. A wooden stake through the heart will kill them, but so will eight slugs from a .45 automatic.

Karis makes a grab for Sydney but she thwacks him on the head with her cane. She then whacks him on the spine, somersaults over him and uses the rounded orb on the end of her cane to snap both of his hands. He screams in pain and falls unconscious. Benedict tries to threaten her but she cuts him off, pulls a sword out from inside her cane and points it at his ample neck. She tells him that she's always heard that vampires bleed black blood. Is that true? Should they find out together?

Benedict asks her to wait. There's no reason to get upset over a misunderstanding. As Karis' body is carried away through the club, Benedict notices that she now has a pistol pointed at him and he asks if she can't aim it elsewhere. "What," replies Sydney, "And not have you sweat, thinking about the hole a Glock would carve in your chest? Sorry, I don't think so." Benedict asks what she wants from him. Sydney tells him she just wants the truth, and then he can go back to techno-industrical-goth music and his blood bimbos. "Enough jabbering," he replies. "Ask."

(flashback)
Sydney explains that Little Bertha was the first. She was approached by two suited Japanese businessmen named Nomura and Osatu who offered her double what her club was worth to buy it. Bertha wouldn't sell and she had them thrown out instead. Police later found her body in St. John's cemetery, her body crushed to a pulp. The cops got a tip from an anonymous caller. She's been told the voice sounded Asian. "Crushed?" says Benedict. "That sounds like Gorgeous George's work." Sydney informs him that George was next on the list. He was given the same offer by Nomura and Osatu. He said he'd think about it, but he was found having swallowed enough poison to kill half of Manhattan. It was mixed in with his salad dressing that night, and even his digestive system couldn't handle that much arsenic.

(present)
Benedict says that Jelly the Belly knew more about poison than anyone in the city. Now he's been found in the river with his body drained of blood, so Sydney's come to accuse him of murder! He informs her that he's been at the club all night and he's not a daywalker. She can go find herself another sucker 'cause these murders ain't his doing. Sydney holsters her pistol over her left shoulder and tells him she's leaving, warning him not to let anyone get in her way. She'd hate to break more bones. "Don't push your luck, Taine," replies Benedict. Before she leaves, Sydney asks him if he remembers her partner, Ape Largo. "That freak of nature," replies Benedict. "What about him?" She tells him that Ape thinks he needs a better alarm system on his roof. Benedict wonders what that's supposed to mean, but then he looks up to see the muscular Largo stood on the support beams above them, aiming two large guns in his direction. Ape warns him to watch who he calls a freak. He's not the one who believes ER belongs on the food network.

(meanwhile)
It's evening, and Arkady Dread stands in his spacious office, looking out over New York City's impressive skyline. Marie appears at the door and informs him that Osatu and Nomura have arrived. He asks her to show them in, before taking a seat behind his desk. They enter the room and Arkady thanks them for coming, before telling them that although it's not part of their original agreement, he has another assignment for them. "Another killing?" Osatu asks. Arkady replies that it's two, actually. They are detectives investigating the murders. They could cause his clients problems.

Nomura asks if their deaths would be a problem. Arkady warns them that the detectives have considerable skills, but the assassins take the job anyway. Osatu asks about the payment. Arkady informs them that the owner of Ikkyu's Skull also possesses the Sword of Suzuku Shosan. The assassins know that as being the second of the lost treasures. Can he obtain that for them as well? Dread says that he can. They say his problem is solved and Nomura asks for directions to Sydney Taine's. Mr. Dread explains that Arlen Cyrus is a beast master, part wolf. He controls animals with his mind. A death involving predators would be best. The assassins believe that they have a perfect match, and the job will be completed tonight.

(elsewhere)
Once they're back in the car, Ape asks if she got any information. Sydney replies that she is aware that Benedict knows something. She's just not sure what. She knows this because Benedict knew that George's body was found in the river. She never told him that to begin with. Ape asks if she thinks Benedict is behind the killings. She scoffs. Benedict, a criminal mastermind? She thinks not. He's involved somehow but he's not the chief culprit. They pull into an underground parking lot and Ape asks if she wants him to see her home. She declines his offer, presuming that nobody will be interested in them yet. They sure don't know much of anything. Ape tells her he'll call her in the morning and leaves. "Not before noon," she replies before heading upstairs.

Back in her apartment, she finds her pet cat, Diablo, sitting on the sofa. "Hi Diablo, miss me?" she asks. "I'll take your silence as a yes." She glances over to her welcoming bed but decides to grab a quick shower instead. After that, she puts on her pyjamas and climbs onto her bed, activating the security systems.

As Syndey snoozes, there's activity outside her apartment. Several Were-Tigers clamber up the side of the high-rise building with ease, stopping when they reach Sydney's window. They then use their claws to smash the glass, and they come pouring into the apartment, ripping a wire mesh as if it were paper. Sydney sists up, startled, but remains calm. She tells them that she assumes they realize that this action constitutes illegal breaking and entering, with threat to do bodily harm. So, anything she does to retaliate is within her legal rights as a citizen of New York. As two more Were-Tigers come through her bedroom door and all four close in on her, she wonders what the chances one lone female has against four Were-Tigers. She gives them a chance to surrender. if not, she will not be held responsible for the consequences. "Starting now. Ten, nice, eight, seven, six, five..."

Next: The countdown continues in the next issue of Nightside, as Sydney and Ape Largo search for the meaning of the mysterious Mask of P'u-Hua!

Characters:
Sydney Taine
Ape Largo

Jelly the Belly (Crime boss)

Detective Monahan
Doctor Cavendish (Coroner)
Cops
Reporters

Bruno (Nightmare House doorman)
Crowd at the Nightmare House
Simon Benedict (Crime boss, Leader of the vampires)
Karis and Risso (Benedict's bodyguards)
Benedict's girls

Arkady Dread
Marie Dread (Arkady Dread's sister and secretary)
Nomura and Osatu (hitmen

Diablo (Sydney's cat)

Were-Tigers

(in flashback)
Little Bertha (Crime boss, Leader of the Little People)
Nomura and Osatu

Detective Monahan and several cops
Cavendish

Gorgeous George (Crime boss, Leader of the Ogres)

Notes:
According to the Marvel website, the whole series takes place on Earth-1211 making it an alternate universe to the main 616 universe.

A band playing at the Nightmare House are singing the lyrics 'Drink the darkness, devour the night.' I've found no song which uses those particular lyrics.

Sydney's line about the Council hiring her is a complete lie. She is actually working for her former Japanese master, Suzuki Shosan.

Glock is an Austrian weapons manufacturer, creating weapons used commonly by law-enforcement agencies.

Risso is incorrectly spelt Riso in this issue.

ER (Emergency Room) was a long-running medical drama that featured, in it early days, George Clooney as Dr. Ross and Eric La Salle as Dr. Benton.

This is from Robert Weinberg's own site at www.robertweinberg.com (go check it out) about artist Tom Derenick (also the artist on titles such as Wolverine/Captain America, Uncanny X-Men and Bloodstone) -

The art for NIGHTSIDE is by Tom Derenick, who's already attracted a lot of attention for his work on CABLE and other Marvel Comics. Here's how Tom describes his unique style:

It's fully rendered tonal pencils (no inking) much like what we`ve seen through Avalon Studios and Jay Anacleto on Aria, only a bit more exaggerated and dynamic. I`m not as concerned with being completely photorealistic, although it will be much closer than my regular style. The interiors will be computer colored and we`re still deciding what we`re going to do with the cover, but hopefully it will be a step beyond what Marvel fans and most comic book fans are used to seeing. The first promo piece also has some photo manipulation mixed in as well, which is something [series editor] Mark Powers and I are looking into trying with the covers. Overall it should look very cool.

I developed the style while doing pinups online over two years ago. The response to it was tremendous and built me a fan base. Then I started working for Marvel. I did a pin-up for them in this style, but most of my work up to this point has been pen and ink comic book style, which I enjoy doing as well, however I was looking for an opportunity to use this style. Recently I visited the offices after showing the style to the EIC, Joe Quesada through e-mails. He liked it and sent the art around to the editors to see if anyone had something special to use it on. Mark was one of the guys that did. The tone and theme of Nightside is perfectly suited for this look, and after having worked with Bob in the past and reading what I could find of his Cable run as well as what I`ve seen so far of this title I think comic book fans are about to be in for the ride of their life, and I`m glad to be a part of it.

Also from that website, a little more information about a possible sequel -

Sydney Taine, the enigmatic heroine of NIGHTSIDE, was scheduled to return in October 2002 in a second Nightside mini-series from Marvel Comics. Unfortunately that series was cancelled shortly before publication. Instead, Bob continued Sydney's adventures in print as a series of short stories and novelets. The first story in this series was titled "Enter, the Eradicator!" and appeared in the trade paperbound anthology, Path of the Bold, published by Guardians of Order Press. The book was edited by James Lowder and is available in most bookstores, comic book stores, and game stores nationally. In the adventure, Sydney is transported to the world of the Silver Sentinels and must fight a monstrous foe known only as the Eradicator if she wants to return home to her dimension. This story contains a lot of information that would have been included in the second NIGHTSIDE comic book mini-series.

The second short story in the series was titled "Kiss Me Deadly" and appeared in the trade paperbound anthology, Astounding Hero Tales, published by Hero Games in 2007. In it, Sydney and Ape battle voodoo and drug-dealing in Harlem of the 1920's.

The third Taine story has Sydney journeying to a swords-and-sorcery world where she battles an evil cult for the soul of a young boy. Titled "CSI Kimmeria," the adventure is due to be published in summer 2009 in an anthology inspired by the works of Robert E. Howard.

And future Sydney adventures are in the works.