The Night of August Third (in French La Nuit du 3 août) is the seventh album of the comic book series XIII. It was published in 1990.
Jones and XIII are on the run, with the whole population of Greenfalls after them. When Judith enters her home, she comes across Jones and XIII, who everybody is looking for in the mountains.
The Night of August 3rd provides examples of:
- Abandoned Mine: Jonathan Fly was killed in one.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Judith confesses she is in love with Dwight Rigby, even if he is a murderer and raped her when she was 14.
- Attempted Rape: When Jones flees in lingerie across the town, three yobs could shoot at her, but they would like to rape her first. Jones fights them back, then she is arrested by the police. Later, the same three yobs want to lynch her in her cell. One of them suggests to rape her beforehand, but another one answers that they do not have enough time.
- Big Damn Heroes: XIII arrives just in time to prevent the yobs from lynching Jones. Lampshaded by Jones who asks why he always intervenes in the last minute.
- But Now I Must Go: In the end, XIII says that he will leave Greenfalls.
- Butt-Monkey: David Rigby tells her Love Interest, Judith, that he knows she slept with XIII. Then Judith refuses to sleep with him and rejects his marriage proposal because she knows she could not be faithful to him. Plus she calls him Pulitzer to mock him. Later, he discovers that his father is a murderer and he gets shot.
- The Cavalry Arrives Late: Amos and Marshall Delaney arrives in Greenfalls only after XIII and Jones have found a way to escape from the town. In the chalet, XIII defeats the Mongoose and Zeke kills Dwight Rigby, just as Amos is approaching.
- Conveniently Timed Attack from Behind:
- Judith hits the Mongoose with a baseball bat when he is about to shoot Jones.
- Zeke shoots Dwight Rigby in the back when he is about to shoot at XIII.
- Damsel in Distress: Jones is in a cell. Three yobs are going to lynch her. XIII has to save her.
- Defiant to the End: Jonathan Fly still insults Dwight Rigby while he has a rope around the neck.
- Disney Death: The Mongoose shoots at XIII. XIII falls and seems to be dead. Of course, he is not: Zeke's notebook stopped the bullet.
- Event Title: The night of August 3rd is the night when Jason Fly's father died.
- Fanservice: Jones wears lingerie when she has to flee from Judith's house, so she is half-naked when she runs across the town and when she is in her cell after being arrested.
- Genre Savvy: Jones says that the crash of the police cars is more beautiful than on TV.
- Groin Attack: Jones delivers one to one of the yobs who wanted to lynch her.
- He Knows Too Much: The Mongoose reveals that Number I wants to kill XIII because he saw his face, so if he recovered from amnesia, he could denounce him.
- Impeded Messenger: David Rigby passes out before he can tell Judith that he was not shot by XIII.
- The Klan: Dwight Rigby was a Klansman. Jonathan Fly was killed by the Klan.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Jonathan Fly's house was burnt to make his death look like an accident.
- Married to the Job: Jonathan Fly is passionate about his job as a journalist and he neglects his son.
- Monochrome Past: The events told in Zeke's notebook are depicted in black and white.
- Mugging the Monster: Three yobs think they can easily capture Jones and even rape her. Jones easily neutralize the three of them.
- My Greatest Second Chance: Zeke Hattaway could not save his friend Jonathan Fly from being killed by Dwight Rigby. He even did not dare to denounce the murderer. This time, he will shoot Dwight Rigby when he is about to kill Jonathan's son Jason.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Thelma and Julian Mountrose, a couple of engineers sentenced to death for being accused of espionage, are based on the real-life Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (Berg means "mount" in German).
- Parental Substitute: Zeke Hattaway is one for Jason Fly, as Jonathan Fly is too passionate about his work.
- Pocket Protector: XIII is shot by the Mongoose, but he survives because the bullet was stopped by Zeke's notebook.
- Posse: Dwight Rigby forms one to chase XIII and Jones in the mountains.
- Previously on…: The Jason Fly Case is summed up in the beginning.
- Put Down Your Gun and Step Away: Dwight Rigby holds Zeke hostage in his chalet and demands XIII to put down his gun.
- Saved for the Sequel: The Mongoose reveals that XIII saw Number I of the conspiracy on his boat before getting amnesiac.
- Small-Town Tyrant: Dwight Rigby controls everything in Greenfalls, including the police.
- Starting a New Life: Jonathan Mac Lane after serving his prison sentence started a new life under the name of Jonathan Fly in Greenfalls.
- Stranger in a Familiar Land: In the end, XIII says explicitly that he does not want to stay in his hometown Greenfalls. This is understandable, given the fact that most inhabitants seem hostile to him.
- U.S. Marshal: Marshal Delaney shows up in the end.
- Whole-Plot Reference: The plot of this episode and The Jason Fly Case has many points in common with The Sons of Katie Elder. A Small-Town Tyrant has killed the hero's father. The hero returns to his hometown, he suspects something is wrong about his father's death and start investigating. Soon the hero and his allies are framed for a murder they did not commit and the corrupt hick, who joins forces with a hired gun, convinces the whole population that the hero is a dangerous criminal. The corrupt hick has a weak son named David/Dave. During his confrontation with the hero, the corrupt hick shoots his own son, who still survives long enough to testify about his father's crimes.
- Witch Hunt: David Rigby says that the Mountroses were sentenced to death during a witch hunt against the communists.
- You Killed My Father: Dwight Rigby killed XIII's father.
