Free Comic Book Day 2023: Dawn of DC - Knight Terrors #1
Anthony Bergamini
Recap
Dawn of DC is a yearlong publishing initiative with epic storylines and superstar creative teams that forge the future, one hero at a time. It's an easy entry point for both lifelong readers and those picking up a comic for the first time to dive into the new stories. All year long, DC will celebrate classic characters while also embracing the next generation of new heroes, as we're going to need everyone to help fight against the darkness. Don't miss Dawn of DC #1 Free Comic Book Day Special Edition, featuring an all-new original story plus sneak peeks at upcoming titles!
Review
Knight Terrors starts with a tale featuring everyone’s favorite dynamic duo. DC proves once again that they don’t trust stories to sell without Batman being on everything. That being said, this is more of a Robin story, a character that has been at the forefront of DC’s recent Lazarus events. This is also the first event that we are seeing in the wake of Dawn of DC, which is set to span across most titles, disrupting the release of almost every series coming out right now. All that being said, the free issue is fairly solid, showing off a fun new villain while the art team gets to show off.
Chris Bachalo and Howard Porter take art in this reality bending tale. Even with the extremely limited page count, the art team does a great job of setting up what we can expect throughout the rest of the main Knight Terrors book. Most of the pages are filled with crazy looking eyeballs that are scattered around a shattered glass panel design. This helps reinforce the horror that Robin feels during his nightmare.
Joshua Williamson seems to be at the helm for most of this Dawn of DC initiative so it’ll be interesting to see how Knight Terrors pans out. This free issue is light on the narrative, but it does set up an intriguing plot for the future. Williamson has had some ups and downs with a great start to a new Superman run that serves as a bright light at the end of the Dark Crisis tunnel. On this trajectory, and based on this short introduction, Knight Terrors is looking to be a decently fun summer event.
Final Thoughts
Free Comic Book Day 2023: Dawn of DC - Knight Terrors #1 sets up an interesting story while the art team shines. The story only takes up half the book with the rest being filled with variant covers and design art.
Free Comic Book Day 2023: Dawn of DC – Knight Terrors #1:The Start of Something Scary
- Writing - 8/108/10
- Storyline - 8/108/10
- Art - 9/109/10
- Color - 9/109/10
- Cover Art - 7/107/10
