“We Three Kings”
Writer: Jeff Parker
Artists: Lukas Ketner and Michele Bandini
Color Artist: Marcelo Maiolo
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Review by: Kendra Smart
Batman and Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #3 is out and upon us as the revelations and hits keep coming. The main cover for this issue is done beautifully by Bernard Chang and Marcelo Maiolo. It features a stunning scene of Santa in his workshop preparing the heroes we will get to see featured in Batman and Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #3. The color work is so beautiful and sets of the images in this halo of light, this effect serves to make us feel like we are peeping in on Klaus as he works diligently and passionately.
When last we left things Etrigan had been dealt quite a blow, and things looked pretty bleak all around for our good guys. We rejoin them right in the moment we left them so let’s dive in.
Comet! Blitzen! Roscoe!
After the Knight lands a devastating blow on Jason Blood, Santa and Zatanna leap into positions. Santa takes the Knight on, while Zatanna takes on Jason, trying to save and revive him. During this we see Zee use a preservation spell. But the blows are genuinely relentless as The Flash shows and tries to stand ground during the fight but he too finds himself marked. Santa follows the Knight while Zatanna and Robin learn from “Gentleman” Jim Craddock, charming rogue that he is. Hope may yet still be plentiful.
Meanwhile, eight thousand miles away, the members who have been marked or contained in the Knight’s realm are gearing for a fight. Right on the edge of a battle that most cannot use their powers to fight…or they will perish and waste away, lost to the Knight to use as energy. Nubia, Batman, Superman, Mera, Thunderheart, and the Green Lantern soon find themselves struggling to adapt to all the wrenches being thrown their way. But a familiar face shows up to Superman’s delight.
Calls are being answered and the end is just around the bend.
A Calling to Arms
In Batman and Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #3, this team has genuinely created magic. Jeff Parker has written a fast paced, action filled, enthralling and engaging part to this epic. The art team of Lukas Ketner, Michelle Bandini, Marcelo Maiolo, and Pat Brosseau deliver those same feels, effortlessly. From the cover, it was almost impossible to have a bad time reading. But the art is so perfectly executed to capture all the best of the joy and hope, the happy moments in the book and still execute the dark, scary, dreary moments in that same regard.
Conclusion
With the end in sight, Batman and Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #3 sends our heroes in the right direction it seems. But will they end in a Winter Wonderland? Or will this be a very Silent Night?
Find out with you next time friends!
Images Provided Courtesy of DC Entertainment.