Knight Terrors: First Blood
Artist: Howard Porter
Color Artist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Troy Peteri
Review by Davydh Tidey
Knight Terrors: First Blood is an absolute nightmare. Usually, this statement could be considered a put-down, but in this case, it’s an absolute compliment.
With the success of the Sandman Netflix show, it was only a matter of time before the DCU touched on the realm of dreams and nightmares again, and here we are with this brand-new event! Our heroes must live out their worst nightmares to succeed against this new threat, but are they up to the challenge?
Nightmares
… You will pay for this… insult…?”
– Doctor Destiny
Doctor Destiny is separated from his Dreamstone and is having nightmares. This was never going to end well, was it?
Following Deadman through the action, the Trinity discovers quickly that something is very wrong in the Hall of Justice, and leaps to action. Are they already too late? Does this new menace already have the foothold into the real world it needs?
Well, it would certainly seem so.
Dreams
What’s a day off?”
– Batman
Knight Terrors: First Blood acts as a prelude to the main event, and quickly sets up the story moving forward. Joshua Williamson does a great job of introducing the main villain, showing how much of a threat he is capable of being, and plunging what’s left of the League into the furthest depths of their nightmares. Williamson has set up what feels like the natural successor to Lazarus Planet succinctly in this book, introducing the scale, throwing us into the action, and not wasting any time.
Deadman is a criminally under-used character, so seeing him in anything just makes me happy. Boston Brand is one of those characters that just adds to whatever he’s in, with the possession angle always adding a sense of otherworldly chicanery while staying fairly grounded.
Not that I would call THIS particular book grounded, but there we go.
Howard Porter and Brad Anderson have added all sorts of otherworldly vibes to Knight Terrors: First Blood. The advance solicits show that Wesley Dodds will be a part of this event, and if Porter and Anderson are doing those issues, then we are in for an absolute treat. With vivid colors and oil-painting-esque attitudes to linework, the art really stands out in this one-shot.
Conclusion
Knight Terrors: First Blood is but only the first chapter of this mad event. There’re a whole lot more spooky shenanigans to come, and while this should have really been released around Halloween time, I think we can all just agree that we should be happy it exists.
Horror is a seldom-explored area for DC Comics to tread, with books like Aquaman: Andromeda, John Constantine: Hellblazer, and The Swamp Thing being notable modern examples, and it’s always nice to see one of the Big Two spread its wings and try something new.
Knight Terrors will be an event to watch!
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment