Nights is one of the strongest creator-owned books currently publishing. A zany, mad-cap adventure grounded around a found-family in a weird, often dark world, it’s an utter delight. Writer Wyatt Kennedy and artist Luigi Formisano have combined a wide palette of influences to make something wonderful and utterly unique, and it’s a testament to how joyous and interesting indie comics can be.
We at The Beat sat down with Formisano at Thought Bubble Comics Art Festival 2025 to discuss his experience working on the book, his artistic aspirations and inspirations, and creating a uniquely modern comic.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Jared Bird: The second volume of Nights came out in March 2025 from Image Comics. To those unfamiliar, how would you explain the book?
Luigi Formisano: I wouldn’t, because it’s so hard to explain. We struggle to describe the book. The premise is the easiest to explain, because it’s about a group of friends who become like a family, living together and building great relationships in a world full of monsters. If you read Nights, you know it’s not just that, so we really struggle to describe it. The vibe is so fucked up, and it’s fun stuff!
Bird: There’s a lot going on at any given time.
Formisano: So much going on! We didn’t want to tell a story in a conventional way. The plot itself is pretty straightforward, but the way we tell the story isn’t. We wanted the story to reflect the characters and their inner struggles.
Bird: What led to you working on the project?
Formisano: I got an email from Wyatt Kennedy that he was so inspired by my Instagram account, that he felt I’d be perfect for a project. He had a couple of premises to pitch to Image Comics, and we worked on those, and Eric Stephenson thought Nights was perfect.
Bird: What has it been like to work with Image Comics?
Formisano: It’s great. I don’t know what it would be like working on another book, but in this case it’s a character that’s mine, a creator-owned project, so it works great. We have 100% creative freedom to do whatever we want.
Eric is the first Nights fan ever, even before us. He told us “I love this stuff, you do you.” Even if he wanted to direct us in any way, he understood that there was no point, and to make this project thrive it needed no limitations.
Bird: That must feel so empowering as a young comics creator, to be able to have support without any conditions.
Formisano: They would have been totally fair as well. He could’ve asked to work together on it with us, just as a safety net for him and for us, but instead he’s given us so much trust.
Bird: What’s it been like to work with Wyatt Kennedy?
Formisano: It’s a lot! I talk to him every day, and have since 2021. I didn’t have white hair before! Jokes aside, it’s been great. He’s my brother from another mother, it’s been great.
We spent the first six months talking every day, not even about comics, but about movies and music. He’s a really big music expert, and he gives me shit every day for my taste! Every time I tell him I like a new song, he’s judging me from afar, from Portland. When you have a relationship that’s on your same wavelength, you don’t even have to say certain stuff, they know it already.
Bird: One of the biggest strengths of the book is that it feels like the two of you are always trying to push the other further.
Formisano: Absolutely, 100%. We not only are trying to make something fun for us, but something that we would’ve found cool twenty years ago. 10 year old Luigi and Wyatt would’ve thought “oh man, that’s cool.” That’s a zombie cyborg, that’s so cool!
Bird: Across the series, you’ve blended genres, including horror, fantasy, crime and slice of life. How did you go about creating the series’ visual style??
Formisano: I always start from the concept. If you gave me a blank page and told me to do whatever I want, I find that harder. If I have a concept, it’s easier to build everything on top of that. We started with talks and chats about worldbuilding and characters, and everything comes from that. We wanted a bunch of cats for an issue, and I didn’t want them to be everyday, realistic cats. Cyborg Kuro-Chan was one of my main inspirations. They need to be over-the-top, but still in a plausible way, so everyone’s different. Everything comes from the concept. That’s my safety net, if you give me a blank page, I’m stuck.
Bird: What was the main challenge when coming up with the core character designs?
Formisano: That’s a good question. I won’t give you a specific instance, but trying to always deliver something new. Inside the premise of the book, and the aesthetic, it can be challenging to make something new and fresh not only for me but for the readers as well. It’s fun to flex those muscles though. You never want to do more of the same.
Bird: Out of the cast, who’s your favorite character to draw?
Formisano: There are two choices. First place is Matt, and second place is Ivory. I love Ivory. I see myself in him. I remember having a two-day long talk with Wyatt about Ivory’s trauma and struggles in life in general, even stuff that you’ll never read in the book. Just stuff we keep in mind when telling his story. I almost got choked up at one point, I really see myself in him. He’s only second place because I love skeletons so much. If he dies and becomes a skeleton, then he’s going to be first place.
Bird: Something I’ve found interesting about Nights as a comic in the age of social media is the way your team has created its own merch. What led to the decision to do that?
Formisano: It’s a blend of two really dangerous potions. The first potion is Wyatt, who always says we should do this and that and this and that, and I always agree. The second is that I love doing different stuff.
Working every day on a comic page, it can be repetitive. You want to do a cover every once in a while, or concept art. I love to make stickers and illustrations for posters. In the future, I know I want to make a line of toys. Imagine something like Small Soldiers, the movie. Something like that, with two different sides. Why not? That’s two really powerful potions to blend together!
Bird: What are the creative influences you always return to for inspiration?
Formisano: Saturday morning cartoons from when I was a kid. That’s the vibe I always want to go for when it comes to Nights, in this case. Artist wise, it’s always Chris Samnee, Gigi Cavenago, Mike Mignola, these gods. Jack Kirby.
I know it sounds like a boring answer, but they got to be who they are because of their craft, because they are so influential. You see them in everyone. You can see a bit of Kirby in everyone working in comics because he was that powerful. I’m sure I’m forgetting some more, like Stuart Immonen or Olivier Coipel. That guy should be illegal. His work is too good. That period of Marvel Comics, those two reshaped the visual tapestry of mainstream comics. So incredible.
Bird: You guys have recently moved to Patreon. I was wondering if you could discuss why, and how that has helped the book?
Formisano: It’s basically to support us making Nights. It’s been an incredible journey, just for the trust that our patrons give us every month. The only thing they want is consistency, apart from that they just want us to be ourselves. I love to do different stuff, so it’s been great doing shirt designs or print designs. Mini-comics, like NightBite. It’s been great, and it’s what allows us to keep doing what we love.
Bird: What do you see in your foreseeable future as an up-and-coming artist?
Formisano: I don’t think I’m in the position to choose my path yet. I can diverge my trajectory a little bit and control that, but our job is like show business. There’s so many factors you can’t predict. Tomorrow, you can be done. The next day, the right person says the right thing, and you’ve made it. It’s so fucked up that it’s so unpredictable. The only thing you can do is have fun, try to control what’s within your control, and believe in what you think is your best.
