KNIGHT WATCHMAN: CREATURES OF THE KNIGHT #1, from Big Bang Comics! on 3/1/23, follows an older, grizzled Knight Watchman investigating an evil attacking Midway City’s homeless.
The Details
- Written by: Chris Ecker
- Art by: Ben Torres
- Colors by: Ben Torres
- Letters by: Ben Torres
- Cover art by: Ben Torres
- Comic Rating: Teen
- Cover price: $4.95
- Release date: March 1, 2023
Is KNIGHT WATCHMAN: CREATURES OF THE KNIGHT #1 Good?
Big Bang’s latest entry in the Knight Watchman series, from Chris Ecker, finds the older hero coming out of a brief retirement to look after Midway City when his successor has to leave town. Ecker homages Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight with crime noir imagery, long shadows, and frightful villains to give readers a taste of things to come for the indie world’s spiritual successor to Batman.
Ecker’s tale centers on Reid Randall coming out of retirement briefly when the current Knight Watchman has to leave town on business. A quiet weekend is anything but when Midway City’s homeless population plummets while the John and Jane Does showing up at the city morgue skyrocket. What’s the toughest of the toughest to do when he encounters the worst of the worst in his investigation?
To be clear, this issue isn’t a copy of The Dark Knight in terms of plot or characters, however, the artistic influences are impossible to avoid. Ben Torres mimics, in the best way, the dramatic impact of Miller’s seminal work, but the reading experience is significantly different.
What’s great about KNIGHT WATCHMAN: CREATURES OF THE KNIGHT #1? For readers hankering for a grittier, harder-hitting Knight Watchman, this is it. Most of the rogues appearing in this issue have gone through one traumatic turn or another to come away nastier, meaner, and more extreme than anything Knight Watchman has faced before, so if you’ve been waiting for Knight Watchman to pull away from his Silver Age-inspired roots, this is as far as it gets.
What’s not so great about KNIGHT WATCHMAN: CREATURES OF THE KNIGHT #1? Knight Watchman’s adventure is grittier, grimier, and harder-hitting, but there’s quite a fair bit of meandering happening. Consistent with most Big Bang titles, the creators try to do a lot, typically too much, in a limited number of pages, so the comic loses focus. It would serve this comic much better to narrow down the collection of characters and focus on one plot.
How’s the art? Again, the homage to The Dark Knight is unmistakable, so kudos to Ben Torres for pulling off one of the best-looking Knight Watchman comics we’ve seen so far. Torres’s use of silhouettes, deep shadows, and high contrast, monochromatic coloring look gorgeous.
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What’s KNIGHT WATCHMAN: CREATURES OF THE KNIGHT #1 About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
By request of the publisher, this review will be spoiler and synopsis-free.
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Final Thoughts
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KNIGHT WATCHMAN: CREATURES OF THE KNIGHT #1 is a gritty, dramatic, crime noir homage to The Dark Knight with nasty villains, brutal fights, and gorgeous art. The overall story suffers from a lack of focus, but the final result is a hard-hitting comic.
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