Writer: Joshua Williamson
Art: Guillem Marsh, Tomeu Morey, David LaFuente, Rex Lokus, and Troy Peteri
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: July 4th, 2023
Ever since becoming Batman, Bruce Wayne has been a creature of the night. He transformed himself into a symbol that gave the criminals of Gotham nightmares. But now, trapped in the Nightmare Realm, Bruce is stalked by the horror he’s created! Can he escape before his own nightmares pull him deeper into the darkness? Let’s dive into Knight Terrors: Batman #1 by Joshua Williamson and find out!
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THE DISPATCH
So, what exactly is this Knight Terrors Summer Event? Well, Williamson kind of sheds a little bit of light on that for readers while providing fans with an overly confident Batman stuck in a nightmare as Knight Terrors: Batman #1 begins to unfold. However, don’t be shocked as fans discover extremely forced dialogue as well as narrative hand-holding while Williamson unravels his backstory for this event.
Readers will discover that Knight Terrors: Batman #1 is a bit out of order BUT Williamson does a great job filling in the gaps of the overall event. A blurb is given at the beginning of the story to summarize the event as well as a panel dedicated to how Batman is in the situation he’s found himself stuck in. Nevertheless, the forced dialogue mixed with the summary might not be enough to save this issue.
As fans read through Knight Terrors: Batman #1, they discover that Insomnia’s a bit perplexing as a character/ villain. We get little background in this issue about the character as well as a means as to how these nightmares actually work. Moreover, Bruce’s arrogance is out of control which drove this reviewer insane. Not only is this Batman nothing like we’ve seen from Chip Zdarsky, but he’s also nothing like we’ve seen from any of the recent Batman writers making this story hard to comb through.
Additionally, the story instantly flip-flops to Damian Wayne and doesn’t fit within the confines of this narrative at all. Damian enters the story without rhyme or reason. And, it just ends there. Why is Damian now involved? What was the point? And why did we stop following Batman’s nightmare? Ultimately, I think it was just the equivalent of a backup. Nevertheless, the only transition given was a new art team. No other trigger was given to provide readers with this transition making the story even more unnecessarily perplexing.
ART
Guillem Marsh and Tomeu Morey do a fine job promoting nightmarish scenes for The Dark Knight by ushering in dark reds and blacks making for an almost childlike Crow version of Bruce Wayne. Couple the coloring with some overly abstract and cerebral displays and readers will discover the best aspect of Knight Terrors: Batman #1… the art team! Contrast this art style with the Damian Wayne story, and readers will see to drastically different tones and styles embedded into this story.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Knight Terrors: Batman #1 is too dang choppy and cluttered with uncharacteristic dialogue from Batman. It felt like Williamson has never written the character before. Secondly, how many times do we have to see Bruce deal with his parent’s death? Granted, Williamson tries to push it off as Bruce tells readers he’s overcome this before. Nevertheless, the storyline was still tiring.
That said, Williamson does an excellent job allowing fans to jump into Knight Terrors: Batman #1 without having to read any of the other Knight Terrors stories. Yet, he doesn’t really provide much purpose or direction along the way. So, if you’re a Zdarsky Batman fan looking for any type of continuation of HIS story… you won’t find it. Knight Terrors: Batman #1 is mainly for the fan interested in the event to see what’s happening with Batman. Therefore, if you’re looking to save some money this summer, take a month off (if not two) and come back when Zdarsky restarts his story again. But I wouldn’t recommend this comic and don’t know where I stand on the overall event quite yet. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless!