Reviews

Batman Vol. 10: Knightmares by Tom King

krakow54's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

kiarrasayshi's review against another edition

3.0

Not a lot going on here story wrist, but it still somehow manages to be a great story, if a little drawn out.

rbreade's review

King is one of those writers who relishes a challenge, especially when it comes to ways you shouldn't tell a story and approaches that shouldn't be used. Of course, as my fellow Queenies from that school's MFA program know, per Fred Leebron, the only rule in writing is that there are no rules. There are guidelines, approaches you should undertake carefully, one of which is beginning a story with a dream. Or, as here and even more to be undertaken with caution, a multi-issue story that takes place in the protagonist's mind--Batman's of course, as he struggles to free himself from a nested series of nightmares, victim of Scarecrow's fear gas, though we don't find that out until we're a few issues into this multi-issue arc.

Surprise! King pulls it off, with style and depth, and the reader gets the satisfaction of slowly realizing none of this is real, yet all of it is potentially deadly, and we see Bat's famous intellect and will summoning his own phantasms as a way to help him navigate the perilous terrain: John Constantine, the Question, who are there-not-there in the role of oneiric sherpas.

Through all of this, what continues to haunt the Bat is how close he came to happiness with the Cat, only for her to be a no-show on the wedding day. "I wrote a note," Cat says deep into the nightmare. "Read the note." He replies, of course, "I read the note.

"Why?"

Cue the song, "Some of These Days" and the inevitably sad ending.

kevinowenkelly's review against another edition

3.0

Read in single issue format.

This arc got a lot of hate when it was released, and I can see why: there's no overt connective tissue. It feels like a lull, like the story was treading water. And if you were reading it as it came out, there was a two-break in the middle (not present in this collection) to spinoff of King's other ongoing project, Heroes in Crisis, just further adding to the sense or delay.

But read in sequence, in issues available at the same time, definitely improves the overall experience. The connective tissue appears. The individual issues can be enjoyed on their own wildly different merits, and, truly, some of them are pretty great. There's a really trippy, gore-filled issue that harkens to King's Mister Miracle run. An oddly contemplative stealth sequel to his acclaimed Looney Tunes Batman/Elmer Fudd one-off. Even a really great follow-up on his two issues of Bruce, Clark, Selina, and Lois hanging out that's a ton of fun.

But even then, there are problems. Yes, the connective tissue is there, but it's mostly thematic, and is backloaded; there's very little propulsivity between the issues. The wild fluctuations in tone and art also feel like they weaken this as a collection, even if the individual issues themselves are pretty good. And ultimately, there's the question of whether this really needed to be six issues; each certainly touched on different topics, and had worthwhile ideas in them, but the overall concept seemed to edge a bit close to what Morrison did in Final Crisis/Batman RIP: The Missing Chapters, and Morrison did that in just two issues.

There's a darkness that creeps in toward the second half that I wish had been a bit more present in the earlier issues, which isn't to say that the issues themselves aren't dark. But a particular glimpse behind the scenes in a later issue is utterly chilling, and ushered in a feeling I wish had been laced a little more thoroughly throughout.

sailorgold_'s review

3.0

FUUUUUUUUUUCK THAT

jonwesleyhuff's review against another edition

3.0

Reading this arc in singles was a real nightmare. Because they stuck a crossover in the middle of an already confusing dream narrative. Thankfully TPB readers are spared that extra bit of confusion, and are left only with the confusion of being thrown in the nightmare deep end and having to wade through and out of it. It's kind of a mixed bag in this experimental volume. Some of the match-ups of artist and story work wonders, some are perhaps less so. This is an exercise in delaying action for character exploration. This is both equal parts frustrating and rewarding. But, there's enough interesting stuff here that it feels worthwhile.

clockworkp's review against another edition

3.0

2.8
Ideas interesantes intercaladas en medio de una escusa onírica medio rellenista de probar diferentes estilos y tonos con los que seguir sacando provecho de la desperdiciada idea de la relación BatCat en general y la boda en particular.

joshgauthier's review against another edition

4.0

This volume took some settling into in order to get the hang of what it was doing. It's intentionally choppy and a little surreal, and the rotating art helps build this effect. But at its core, Knightmares continues King's dive into the core of Batman's character, examining his motivations and fears amidst a situations that continue to grow beyond his control. King is building toward something bold with this series, and I'm excited to see what he does with it.

all4spite's review

challenging dark medium-paced

2.0

Life could be a dream, but instead this run seems intent on it being a nightmare. That's an issue for me.

I liked the Clark and Lois additions as always (just wish that they were real) and it was cool to see Constantine pop up (just wish it was in a better storyline)

georgezakka's review against another edition

3.0

It’s good.