Critical response
Upon release, Midnighter issues received widespread acclaim from comics critics. At the review aggregator website Comic Book Roundup, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 10 to reviews from comics critics, the series received an average score of 8.2 based on 158 reviews.[38] Reviewing the first issue, David Pepos from Newsarama gave it a maximum score, saying that "there aren't many books out there that I'd call perfect, but when you can see 10 steps ahead, it's perhaps not surprising that The Midnighter earns that praise. This book looks great, reads great, and is easily one of the best debuts from DC since the soft relaunch of Batgirl. If you've been skeptical about this character - and believe me, I was one of them - get ready for a spectacular change of heart".[39] Keith Dooley of Multiversity Comics opined that "Midnighter is imperfect, has emotional issues, and yet has a hero's heart. Darkness and light concurrently mingle to create such a promising and exciting opening chapter to what has the potential to be something great".[40] Writing for PopMatters, Matthew Fay felt the debut was a "reassuring and faithful reintroduction to the character" that "leaves open a lot of room for exploration".[41]
Critic Jesse Schedeen described Midnighter #3 in IGN positively as "great about exploring [Midnighter's] dichotomies".[43] Jeff Ayers from Fanboys.Inc commended the Midnighter and Grayson pairing in Midnighter #5, writing that "Orlando is still crafting a compelling story of theft and intrigue within Midnighter's world".[44] Matt Santori-Griffith of Comicosity reported Midnighter as "not just the gay hero I always wanted, but it's the comic I've always wanted, period. Plus it's the gay comic I've always wanted, with a world I recognize so deeply and naturally in the place I've been looking for it all my life. It's all of it and more, none subsumed or accelerated over the other, all in perfect harmony. Until it all falls apart and you reduce a forty-year-old homosexual to shock and awe on the floor. Yes, I am a sucker for Midnighter's charms. But admit it, so are you", in his review of the sixth issue.[45]
Writing about Midnighter #8, Comic Vine's Tony 'G-Man' Guerrero believes that "with his attitude and action, [Midnighter is] not always the most likable character but Orlando succeeds in making readers care about it".[46] Jideobi Odunze from Geeked Out Nation commended "the bond Midnighter has shared with others" in his Midnighter #10 review, feeling that "everything about [Midnighter] is right on the surface for the most part".[47]
Midnighter #12, the series' final issue, received very positive reviews, being given maximum score from Josh McCullough at We The Nerdy ("It's been one of the smartest, emotionally hard hitting and action packed series DC have had in a long time"),[48] and Comicosity Mat Santori-Griffith ("Orlando, ACO, Petrus, and Fajardo have concluded this series with as much vigor and sensitivity as they carried throughout the previous 11 issues").[49] Jideobi Odunze at Geeked Out Nation, said that "Midnighter #12 was a marvelous ending to a series you would have to be crazy to have missed. The action, the humor, the everything you got from this series that you don't from all the rest from DC at this time. Not to mention the team-up with Spyral and Suicide Squad. This is how you do comics".[50] Newsarama C.K. Stewart in his review said that "[it] provides all the closure we needed for this stand-out series",[51] and Comic Crusaders commented: "I've not been able to find a flaw with any issue of this one until now, and that flaw is simply...it's the last issue".[52]
Less positive about the series, Jim Werner from Weird Science described it as "good at its best and awful for the rest of the time" in his reviews, calling Orlando's dialogue "close to laughable" and Midnighter "a tough sell as a character".[53][54] Midnighter constant artist changes during its run were also criticised by some critics. The Rainbow Hub's Sam Riedel wrote "it's better in my mind to establish a series' aesthetic before switching up art duties", while Jarrod Jones of Doom Rocket declared that "Midnighter is too good to settle for menial sequentials", and added: "For a book like this, DC would do well to roll out the red carpet for its best and brightest".[55][56]
Accolades
Together with The Omega Men, Midnighter was the most acclaimed DC Comics book of 2015, appearing on more than twenty year-end lists of industry publications. The A.V. Club included it at number fifteen on its list of favorite comic books of 2015, stating that Midnighter has proven to be one of the laugh-out-loud funniest books, as well as one of the more emotionally weighty ones".[57] io9 named it one of 2015's twenty best comic books, and commented that "Midnighter balances its brilliant superhero action with a frank, refreshing, and sex-positive look at its hero's life".[58]
In 2015, Midnighter won a Broken Frontier Award for Best New Series, and was runner-up at the All-Comic Awards in a similar category, losing to We Can Never Go Home.[59][60] The series also received a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding Comic Book, but lost to Lumberjanes.[61]
