The only certainties in life are death, taxes, and summer DC Comics events. Knight Terrors continues that truth. We got a taste of the event back on FCBD, but it officially starts with Knight Terrors: First Blood out this week, along with a slew of tie-ins. If you’re interested in this event, you need to start here, as it lays out what’s going on before heroes and villains drop into their worst nightmares.
This is a pretty impressive opening salvo to the event. As writer Joshua Williamson pointed out, the Trinity is an inherent part of this event, and all three are present here. The book opens with a terrible moment for Dr. Destiny, which leads to him going to the Hall of Justice and a mysterious figure demanding the nightmare stone. Cut to Boston, aka Deadman doing his weird schtick at a cemetery, which leads us to Trinity’s part in all of this.
The narrative has an element of mystery from the word go, which continues with Deadman trying to piece together what is happening as the Trinity meets in the Hall of Justice due to an alarm going off. Unable to communicate with them because he is on another plane of existence, he rushes into Batman to give them key details. Ultimately the disconnect between different realms of reality prevents the heroes from getting on the same page fast enough.
Underneath the setup of why heroes and villains are sent to their worst nightmares, this issue also shows that the nightmare and dream realm is an untapped corner of the DC universe worth building upon. This element is present, promising more to be learned and possibly developed. That adds a certain level of world-building that some events tend to miss. Instead of this being a big fight event, there are stakes in play to grow a corner of the DC universe interestingly.
Get this man some help!
Credit: DC Comics
Possibly the weakest element of this issue is how it doesn’t set up why we need to read all the tie-in stories. It’s probable that DC doesn’t expect you to read them all — they are likely self-contained — and they’re each meant for the fan of those characters. But that said, without an obvious lead-in for these tie-ins, there’s the missing ingredient that the event is a catalyst to explore nightmares rather than tell a story with key chapters. Based on this issue, for all I know, you only need to read the opening and ending chapters to understand the larger story set up here.
Being a horror event, there are certainly creepy and unnerving things to soak up in this issue. Howard Porter’s art is extra chaotic and sketchy, giving the book a grimy feel. Horror visuals are present, like a character being tortured or Batman vomiting up Deadman in a gross way. I’ve said this before, but Porter’s rendition of Batman is my favorite since Kelley Jones revolutionized the character. The way the cape is jagged and pointy but also flowing is quite cool. It’s like the cape creates a shadow for Batman to hide inside.
Brad Anderson’s colors are also great in this issue, with flowy transitions leaning on colors to do much of the work. One example is Superman helping a child in the rain, with the streaking puddles transitioning from one panel to the next. Purples, reds, and pinks are used well to capture the magical nature of things, an important aspect of nightmare powers affecting things.
Knight Terrors: First Blood #1 is a strong contender for the best first issue of an event in the last five years. It introduces the villain, captures the horror atmosphere well, and sets up the exciting idea that the dream and nightmare realms have some development that’ll change things forever. Knight Terrors is on the right track, as this opening salvo fully understands and utilizes the horror aesthetic with big superhero ramifications.
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