There may be too many superhero comics from the big two, but I’d argue there aren’t enough that try new things and explore commentary on supes in general. Enter Knight City, a new series that, in writer and color artist Matt Kindt’s own words, is “this idea of who’s the hero here, Clark Kent or Superman – that idea of what’s the real identity there.” Identity crisis to the point of one stealing the other’s life, Knight City is an intriguing start that looks at the superhero in a new way.
The story opens with a hero known as The Knight floating as high as the top of a skyscraper. Below him is a Central Park-looking green space, and it’s abundantly clear that heroes and villains are fighting. On the very next page, we see a rather ridiculous-looking man in a super suit who goes by Dr. Zero. Captions reveal he’s a bit of a Lex Luthor type, while the hero is very much a Superman type. It’s not until the third page that we realize the character who was so high up wasn’t punched upward, but just punched this villain down into a lake below.
It’s here that we realize the battle is seemingly over; only the hero has had it. He begins to squeeze the villain’s head, with people looking on in shock. Will he finally put this nuisance down, even if it means breaking his code? He stops at the last second, with captions revealing he needs humanity to believe in him for their psychic energy to power him. It’s as if he wanted to kill, but couldn’t because he can’t lose that power.
That super-suit is wild.
Credit: Dark Horse
After a bit of romance, the story shifts to The Knight getting some rest, and once asleep, his other persona wakes up. A bit of a bore, the creative team explores his personality in a smart way, while also raising the alarm that reality itself may be affected by his transformation. It’s something that you can hang a hat on and want to read more about.
Kindt’s watercolors are great, adding dimension and texture to Lapham’s line work. Backgrounds and details in general add realism to the book. Meanwhile, the Knight’s costume is obviously functional, with a smart angle revealed in the captions. Creative ideas like seeing where his sleep chamber is via a cross-section of the Earth, or how the noise dampening in his sleep chamber creates dangerous-looking spikes, add creativity that lifts the story. A particularly standout visual scene features the heartbeat, screams, and general noises of Earth that keep The Knight awake, building toward a massive EKG line and a full-page splash of one of his heartbeats.
Knight City is the kind of superhero comic that reminds you why the genre still matters when creators are willing to interrogate it instead of repeating it. Matt Kindt and David Lapham use familiar archetypes, a Superman-like hero, a Lex-style villain, not as comfort food, but as entry points into a meditation on identity, dependency, and what happens when realism itself becomes questionable. Paired with striking, inventive visuals and a premise that feels both intimate and cosmic, Knight City launches as an ambitious, thoughtful series that earns your curiosity rather than demanding it.
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