With the recent release of “The Dark Knight Rises” and the re-issues of all the “Knightfall” books in the Batman comic series, I should have known what was coming in a graphic novel entitled “Batman: The Dark Knight Volume 1 – Knight Terrors.” How could the geniuses at DC pass up the opportunity to make reference to and use the return of the very character who serves as the main bad guy in the last chapter of Christopher Nolan’s hit trilogy of films about the Caped Crusader? After all, the timing is perfect since it’s the eve of the release of the movie on Blu-ray and DVD.
“Batman: The Dark Knight Volume 1 – Knight Terrors” has our hero facing off against his usual enemies under unusual circumstances. They’ve all become muscle-bound super-villains without a sense of fear. Batman finds himself hot on the trail of one arch-nemesis with mind-controlling powers and another deadly adversary who almost put an end to the Dark Knight’s crime fighting the last time they faced off. Can Batman defeat these two maniacs in their combined effort to destroy Gotham and bring an end to him?
All four of the writers credited for penning this book did a wonderful job working together to bring an entertaining story to readers. It should come as no surprise to anyone who is familiar with the works of David Finch, Paul Jenkins, Judd Winick, or Joe Harris. They do a wonderful job giving a certain bulky character a triumphant return to Gotham City. They also know when to let the art speak for itself and not get too wordy.
Writer David Finch also provides most of the illustrations for this collection. Ed Benes assists him in bringing “Knight Terrors” to the printed page. His artwork is noticeably different from Finch’s, but not enough to distract readers. Both Finch and Benes create images that jump out of the panels at you thanks to the coloring by Alex Sinclair, Jeromy Cox, and Sonia Oback.
As an added bonus, the graphic novel edition includes original and uncolored pencil work by David Finch. These serve as an example of one step in the process of putting together a comic book. It’s interesting to see the pages before they’re cleaned up, complete with pencil strokes and labeled borders around the edges of the paper.
“Batman: The Dark Knight Volume 1 – Knight Terrors” does a great job bringing together several super-villains to take on Batman in a monumental war worthy of being labeled an “event.” It does a great job re-introducing us to one of the Caped Crusaders most formidable foes as well. You don’t feel like they forced the character into a storyline just to use the opportunity to promote his appearance in a certain blockbuster film about to hit Blu-ray and DVD in a couple of weeks.
For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:
Four Batman Graphic Novels You Need to Read
Four Batman Graphic Novels to Devour While Waiting for “The Dark Knight Rises” to Hit Blu-ray / DVD
Blu-ray Review: “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1”
