Knight Terrors #3 Review

    

   

Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Stefano Nesi, Caspar Wijngaard
Colors by: Frank Martin, Caspar Wijngaard
Letters by: Troy Peteri
Cover art by: Ivan Reis, Danny Miki, Brad Anderson
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: August 9, 2023

Knight Terrors #3 sends Damian Wayne and Deadman (in Batman's body) into the space between the waking and dreaming worlds. Will they find what Insominia hopes to possess?
Is It Good?

The more you read the Knight Terrors story and the deeper you get into the plot, the more you realize the only way Joshua Williamson can make the story work is to constantly keep changing the rules as you go. Knight Terrors #3 doesn't change one rule, but it changes at least two or three to get to a resolution you won't see coming because it never would have been possible with the original premise. Oy!

[Helpful tip: Despite Joshua Williamson writing both Knight Terrors and Knight Terrors: Batman, this issue should have come out before Knight Terrors: Batman #2, which came out last week. The two titles were released out of order. It's shocking, I know.]

We begin with Zombie Sandman and Deadman (in Batman's body) fighting off the Sleepless Knights when Damian Wayne swoops in for the rescue. The trio escapes to a waiting Bat-plane to work up a plan. Deadman connects with Insomnia's mind again to learn Insomnia's human form wrestled with some tragedy he blames the Justice League for creating, and so far, Insomnia hasn't found the Nightmare Stone.

Watch our Knight Terrors #3 Video Review

 

With extreme assumptions and leaps in logic, Zombie Sandman concludes the Nightmare Stone isn't in a hero's nightmares, so it must be in The Hollow - the realm between the waking and dreaming realms. Using a special sleep gas Sandman created when he was alive, Zombie Sandman sends Deadman and Damian Wayne into The Hollow where the Nightmare Stone is waiting for them in what Deadman dubs the House of Horror. When the Zombie Sandman fights off the Sleepless Knights long enough for Deadman and Damian to return to the waking world with the Nightmare Stone.

See what I mean? First, the Nightmare Stone was in the nightmare realm in a hero's nightmare. Then Insomnia checks heroes and villains when he couldn't find it. Now, the Nightmare Stone isn't in the realm of nightmares, it's in The Hollow, and it's not in a person but in a house that nobody knew existed until now.

At this point, why even bother keeping track? Just skip to the last issue to find out how it ends because nothing that came before matters anyway. Oy!

How's the art? It's great. There's a small squad of artists in this book, so it's hard to know who to credit for what, but the nightmare imagery looks good, the action is energetic, and the characters look great. There's no issue with the art, as long as you don't put any effort into tracking the story.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces:

Knight Terrors #3 may be the most problematic issue in this event because it moves the plot forward to acquiring the Nightmare Stone by effectively ignoring every bit of information that came before and rewriting the rules as it goes. It's hard to tell what Williamson was thinking when he drafted this event, but why should the readers invest in making sense of a story when the creator won't?

5/10