Knight Terrors: Black Adam #1 – Jeremy Haun, Writer/Artist; Nick Filardi, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: This series has an odd place in continuity, given that it’s coming only a few weeks after Priest’s Black Adam maxiseries ended, leaving Adam in a… very uncertain place. It’s never clear just how in-continuity Priest’s minis are, so this tie-in picks up with Adam back in power in Khandaq and ruling the skies as its God-kind. When the issue opens, he’s dealing with a fairly routine day in the African country—battling an army of skull-faced cultists—when he’s suddenly overcome by Insomnia’s wave of nightmares. He wakes up in an alternate version of Khandaq, one that seems to exist out of time and is populated by even deadlier creatures. He gets back to work, tearing them apart, but with every attack on him he seems to grow weaker until the power of Shazam leaves him entirely—leaving him stranded in the body of his much-younger self, at the mercy of his nightmares.
Jeremy Haun hasn’t done much DC work before, being much more associated with his elaborate indie catalog, but he’s a good choice for the character. He gives Adam a wearied, brutish appearance, which makes his youthful vulnerability all the more stark when it shows up. He’s doing double-duty here as writer-artist, and he knows his stuff—referencing the traumatic events of Adam’s life way back in 52 in vivid detail. This issue has a strong horror vibe, but it also has a fantastical energy in a way that most of the others don’t. The appearance of a talking cat calling itself Bast, who becomes Adam’s guide through the fantasy Khandaq of Adam’s nightmares, is a welcome addition that lightens the tone. This Adam seems more like the wild card of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths rather than a villain, and the cliffhanger nicely positions him as a key player in the coming battle.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
