DC Comics 11/2/21 – Batman #116, Dark Knights of Steel #1
Dark Knights of Steel #1
Here’s a shocker. Tom Taylor (DCeased) wrote a DC book that should immediately join your pull list/box/first grab on your weekly trip to the comic book store.
For anyone following Taylor’s DC career it’s probably not that surprising Dark Knights of Steel’s first issue is intriguing and captivating right away. If there’s any surprise it’s how easily Taylor seems to create worlds and define familiar characters with new twists so impressively.
In Dark Knights, Jor-El and Lara have enough time to travel to Earth upon Krypton’s destruction. They crash land in a medieval period and eventually establish a monarchy. Fast forward nearly two decades and the dawn of a new age of heroes has arrived. Kal-El is a nearly invulnerable prince with his only weakness is magic.
At this period, magic is a major concern so Bruce Wayne and his robin knights are on guard for any threats specifically stemming from the kingdom of King Jefferson, who has some form of control over the lightning.
Taylor seems to have a fondness for Black Lightning as he tends to include him in many of his event stories. This is appreciated as Taylor simply puts Black Lightning at the A-list level of other heroes. Taylor even finds a sensible way to include Harley Quinn without making her an obnoxious character. Other heroes do show up although their allegiance might be surprising.
Yasmine Putri’s artwork and color is amazing. Putri brings a classic storytelling presentation with exceptionally clean linework, detailed backgrounds and highly expressive characters. Wes Abbot’s lettering in a title with medieval themes is important and aids in the tone and overall presentation.
Dark Knights is 31 pages and still doesn’t feel like enough especially after the shocking cliffhanger. Taylor is DC’s top writer these days and anything he’s associated with is high quality. With Putri’s stellar artwork, this is going to be DC’s event to read heading into 2022.
Rating: 10 out of 10