Batman continues distinguishing dreams vs. reality in this month’s tie-in to the DC event of the summer, KNIGHT TERRORS.
While Deadman has physical control over The Dark Knight, Batman’s mind is elsewhere, returning to that dark alley that was the birth of The Batman. In this issue, the villain Insomnia invades his nightmares, again, to get any sort of clue where this nightmare stone is. Our hero, as expected, has plans that prevent him from getting any information, and ends with an interesting confrontation before setting the stage for what’s to come.
There’s no subtlety here. This is a tie-in issue that is limited in what it can do. So, writer Joshua Williamson (who is the mastermind behind the event overall), confines this issue (and last month’s) to Batman himself, which is what this particular title should be doing. I appreciate the way the writer has constructed this story, and how Batman confronts a younger Bruce.
I just can’t help but feel this is been there, done that…many times. The family aspect that Batman brings to the attention of young Bruce is admired and applauded. I think Williamson does a good job of bringing that light to a dark situation. It’s everything else that just feels a little “meh”. We have seen the Wayne Murders time and time again. We’ve seen young Bruce in that alley. We’ve heard Batman talk about the vow. The new elements here relate to the overall event, which I’m not too into right now as it is.
Guillem March returns again for the art on this issue. Surprising no one, he nails it. We get some good splash pages focused on Batman, Deadman controlling Batman, and some great nightmare visuals. However, and I know I just said “been there, done that”, the Crime Alley visuals were quite stunning. Especially the stairs leading to the light post, hovering over the Waynes. That’s some good work from a great artist.
Overall, not a bad issue by any means. It’s just not necessarily a great one. It’s somewhere in between, and that’s just fine. – Ryan Lower
