Knight Terrors: Batman #1 // Review
As a child, Bruce Wayne’s parents were brutally murdered in Crime Alley. He was powerless to stop the murder, which haunted him with nightmares that caused him to become a critter of the night, committing aggressively brutal acts of justice in the interest of keeping Gotham City from falling into the darkness completely. Bruce faces the inner darkness that made him what he is in Knight Terrors: Batman #1. Writer Joshua Williamson dives into the psyche of a guy that has already been pretty thoroughly mapped over the decades. Joining him in his journey are artist Guillem March and colorist Tomeu Morey.
It was a sensory deprivation tank. But since Bruce Wayne is fond of spending ridiculous amounts of money on such things, it was a really high-tech sensory deprivation tank. He wanted to explore the depths of his own nightmares. Figured it would be a tool he could use to help him deal with psychological terror from various twisted villains. He asked Alfred to pull him out in 24 hours. That time passed by in just a couple of pages. Didn't last long for him either. However, he did learn a little bit of something about himself. And that's what he's going to need to get through the realm of his own nightmares.
Williamson is exploring aspects of Batman's past. It's kind of hard to gain any new insight into this. For someone who is as deeply rooted in gritty street-level action as Batman is, there's a tremendous amount of exploration into his psyche and what it is that makes him tick. So it's very difficult to gain any insight into a character that has already been explored from a number of different angles. Williamson does his best. And in the process, he tells a pretty good story.
March gives the darkness of Batman's nightmare a scattered depth. There’s some great work with perspective and shadow in March’s work that lends an echoey resonance to the nightmares of Bruce Wayne. Morey does some rather brilliant work with the coloring...occasionally draining much of the color on page and panel in favor of a few splashes of something garish. It’s a technique that has been used a lot. However, Morey’s choice in color and tone are distinct. And they make for a really fun visual trip through the dreamscape of Batman.
One might have hoped for something with a little more novelty to it. However, it's very difficult to find anything in the mind of Bruce Wayne that would be truly new. He's been so many different things in so many different ways for the better part of the last 100 years. It would be really hard to find anything new in his personality. However, there is a solidly entertaining story that comes in through the script and the visuals that make it worth reading. It may not be a terribly original idea, but it is a solidly-executed version of it.
