“Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #3”
Writers: Jay Kristoff, Tom Taylor
Artists: Tirso, Riccardo Federici
Color Artists: Arif Prianto
Letterers: Wes Abbott
Review by Adam Ray
We have another stunning installment of the DC Universe set to a quaint, high fantasy flavor in Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #3. The same two stories are rolling on with the same high speed, and stunning artwork as before. We get the thrilling crossover of a new take on a familiar character in the first story, whilst the political tension reaches a fever pitch in the second. We’re well into these epic fantasy tales now.
The Deathstroke: Chapter Three
The call backs to stories and characters new and familiar are all at their best here in Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #3. Slade is trying what he can to balance the tension of being a ruthless killer whilst caring for a magical child. There’s a fair amount of this trope going around in a lot of the media I’m seeing, but it’s being played very well here.
DC fans as entrenched as I am will be very welcome to hear the call backs of some of the real names of the Justice League Dark members. Sometimes the voice of the green is the same between worlds. The take on how the Bat on the cover is portrayed is deeply interesting, but one that makes a great deal of sense. I look forward to seeing how it develops in future chapters.
The richness of the water colors is played with even further in this issue. We get to see that Slade’s early life did once have color in it and that the color is all coming back. It’s a slow process, but in grim fantasy settings, the slow return of magic makes for a trope that takes the length of the story to develop, and here, we get to play with the comic book medium to show magic come back in both the story and the art.
Heir to the Sea: Chapter Three
Much like with the third chapter of the Deathstroke story, Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #3 has been giving us welcome surprises and fun plays on who we can expect to see. Stories like this can take the known conventions and truly turn them on their head. The stories that come from shuffling the characters are fun plays on the form that leave us really curious to see more.
The detail in the artwork is rich and vibrant. Every moment feels lived in, but the earthy nature of the colors used somehow makes the story feel of the time. Based on how this story started, and despite the now obvious foreshadowing from this story’s title and how chapter two ended, I should have really seen this plot line coming, but I appreciate being kept surprised by an ambitious new take on the DC Universe.
Conclusion
Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #3 has taken characters and the wider DC Universe we know, flipped it on its head by sending it back to the magical middle ages, then flipped the script again by changing the power sets and origin stories of our favorites in ways that are utterly new, but still feel very in keeping to the stories as we know them. With choices this ambitious, handled this well, and with artwork as varied and stunning as these, I can count on this story to continue to bring magic and intrigue!
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment