Dylan Dog #26
Dylan Dog #26, 'Dopo mezzanotte' ('After Midnight'), published November 1988, stands as one of the defining issues of Tiziano Sclavi's run on the series: a single-night, picaresque structure transparently reworked from Martin Scorsese's film After Hours that proved Italian fumetti horror could absorb and transform international cinema into something entirely its own. The issue marks the first appearance of Botolo, the stray dog who becomes a recurring fixture in Dylan's world, adding a warmly absurdist note to the title's already surreal texture. Critically, it showcases the Sclavi–Casertano creative partnership at full strength — a collaboration analysts and fans alike regard as one of the pairings that defined the series' golden age — and it tackles drug use, sex work, and the AIDS crisis with frankness that set it apart from contemporary mainstream genre comics anywhere in the world.
In "Dopo mezzanotte," Dylan Dog finds himself stranded outside his home, forced to wander the streets of London after midnight—when the city transforms into a labyrinth of shadows and dread. Written by Tiziano Sclavi and illustrated by Giampiero Casertano, this haunting tale unfolds in a London that feels alien and suffocating, where every step deeper into the night brings the threat of a nightmare that may not end. The cover, by Claudio Villa, captures the eerie stillness of that long, unseen hour.
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Written and plotted by Tiziano Sclavi with interior art by Giampiero Casertano and a cover by Claudio Villa (who handled all covers through issue 41), 'Dopo mezzanotte' went on sale 1 November 1988, arriving directly after the celebrated issue 25 ('Morgana') and cementing what commentators have called the third major Sclavi–Casertano collaboration in the monthly series. Editorial oversight was shared among Sclavi (creative concept), Sergio Bonelli (publisher of record), Decio Canzio (general director), Maria Baitelli (editorial coordination), and Luigi Corteggi (art director). The story's debt to After Hours was noted openly by critics from the earliest collected reprints, and Sclavi's decision to ground a horror-branded comic in mundane urban nightlife — rather than a supernatural set-piece — reflected the series' broader strategy of finding terror in the recognisable human landscape of contemporary London.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published by Sergio Bonelli Editore, on sale 1 November 1988; 96 pages, black-and-white, standard digest format (16×21 cm).
- Written and plotted by Tiziano Sclavi; interior art by Giampiero Casertano; cover by Claudio Villa.
- First appearance of Botolo (Il cane Botolo), the stray dog who becomes a recurring character in the Dylan Dog universe.
- The story's premise and nocturnal, episodic structure directly rework Martin Scorsese's 1985 film After Hours, transposing the concept to late-night London.
- Issue contains a cross-reference to Bree Daniels and to issue #19 ('Memorie dall'invisibile'), reinforcing the loose continuity threading Sclavi's early run.
- Artist Giampiero Casertano appears in a cameo on the final page of the story.
- The issue was selected as one of the seven stories translated into English by Dark Horse Comics for their 1999 miniseries (Dark Horse Dylan Dog #6, August 1999, titled 'After Midnight') and was subsequently collected in The Dylan Dog Case Files omnibus (Dark Horse, 2009); for the US market, the Groucho character's appearance was altered and the name changed to 'Felix' to avoid trademark complications with the Groucho Marx estate.
- Italian reprint history is extensive: Sergio Bonelli Editore reprints in September 1991, July 1993, July 1998 (Collezione Book), and February 2008 (Grande Ristampa); a Mondadori prose/comics anthology (Oscar Narrativa, October 1992); a full-colour Collezione storica a colori edition (April 2013); the prestige 'Il Dylan Dog di Tiziano Sclavi' hardcover series (volume 7, November 2017); a German translation by Carlsen Comics (February 2002, as 'Nach Mitternacht'); a Spanish edition by Aleta Ediciones (2011); and a new oversized cartonato edition by Sergio Bonelli Editore (October/November 2025).
Cast · 7 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
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Rimasto chiuso fuori casa, Dylan vagherà tutta la notte per le strade di Londra. Dopo mezzanotte può accadere di tutto, e la vita di un uomo può diventare un incubo in cui sembra impossibile uscire. Dylan verrà catturato in questo incubo, in una Londra notturna, sconosciuta e claustrofobica.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).