Cracking Up For The Ones You Love — Reviewing ‘Knight Terrors: Detective Comics’ #2

Dreams, particularly nightmares, often do not make sense. At least, not in the moment that we are going through them. Once conscious, we might be able to discern the meaning of them, what caused them, but maybe not.

Perhaps, sometimes, they are just cruel things born out of fears deep inside us that we cannot explain. Just ask Jim Gordon.

DC Comics’ Knight Terrors event is a bit of a mix of story types. Some of them are hitting the nightmare/dream elements solidly, while others are missing the mark a bit. Detective Comics has been a series for the last year or so that has done really out-there stuff. So, it was no surprise that its Knight Terrors tie-in issues would do the same.

Dan Watters, Ricardo Federici, Mike Perkins, Stefano Raffaele, Brad Anderson, Mike Spicer, Lee Loughridge, and Steve Wands close out Gordon’s nightmarish chapter in a really satisfying way.

Bringing in a variety of artists to any story can be a tough thing. Sometimes their styles play together perfectly while other times there are jarring differences. To be fair, there are times when those jarring differences can make things work. In the case of this issue, the styles are very different in appearance but flow together well because they are part of a strange nightmare situation.

Each of the artists’ styles has a very deep detailed feeling to them. All the characters and spaces are fully rendered and have weight to them. Emotions are clear and can be felt radiating off the work. It’s all presented in a way that emphasizes the strangeness, the darkness, and the hopelessness that comes with such a staggering nightmare. It feels real but also clearly is not real at the same time, no matter the fact that Gordon doesn’t realize his situation.

Color palette-wise, they all are sticking with one that is heavier on the shadows and toned down in many respects. A few elements and spaces have a bit of vibrancy to them, playing into the otherworldly aspect, but overall, it’s very hazy and dark. Which also plays into the snowy nightmare situation that we’re presented with. Just like the rest of the art the colors have quite a heaviness to them.

A heavier hand provides that sense of an overwhelming power pulling the character, and the readers, down at all times.

Wands brings much of that sensibility into the lettering as well. Giving the fifth-dimensional beings their own almost lyrical font and black bubbles is as eerie as their appearance. Everyone else gets font and bubbles that are slightly more ‘normal,’ while also being somewhat unique for everyone. We can feel their emotions and personalities dripping from every single word. Even the caption boxes tap into the ominous aspects of the story while also playing with detective/noir aspects.

Watters is just such an interesting writer. Anything that might be seen as somewhat weird is seemingly right in his wheelhouse. Yet, he can take that weird and ground it in a way that makes it feel completely realistic. Here that comes from just Gordon’s presence but also his love for his daughter and his conflicted feelings about his son.

Dancing in the shadows of someone else’s story in a meaningful way isn’t an easy dance. Unless, like Watters, it apparently is very easy. Various elements here are directly from the main Detective Comics story that Ram V is telling, such as Sorrow, but one doesn’t have to read that story to get this one. It also doesn’t step on the main story’s toes in any way. Essentially this is a chapter of Gordon’s life disconnected from Batman’s story, and those types of moments are very necessary.

Knight Terrors: Detective Comics #2 is now available from DC Comics.