Knight Terrors: Detective Comics #1 is the scariest and most surprising tie-in so far. What makes it so intense is just how unpredictable it is. Read Full Review

Gotham lends itself quite well to nightmare themed tales. And as one of the city's most grizzled residents, a man that's "seen it all, Jim Gordon would experience one of the darkest nightmares. Part horror, part old-school detective story, Knight Terrors: Action Comics #1 is what both Action Comics and the Knight Terrors series are all about. Read Full Review

Things get creepy and kooky as James Gordon finds himself pulled into the nightmares plaguing the DC Universe as ‘Detective Comics' takes a leap into the ‘Knight Terrors.' A fantastic surreal horror story fits perfectly within the space of Gordon and Gotham, with the art setting the tone and leading the way from the word go. Read Full Review

This is probably the scariest of all the Knight Terrors minis, just because it allows us to be lost in the horror that a normal man is experiencing in all of thisin a city that's already terrifying in the best of times. Read Full Review

Readers of Detective Comics will appreciate a story focused on Jim Gordon that brings all the anxiety and horror of being one of the few good cops in Gotham and the impacts of Batman. Knight Terrors Detective Comics #1 is worth checking out, but reader beware, it is not for the faint of heart. Read Full Review

Federici delivers some fantastic art throughout the issue. The visuals are dark, scary and beautifully detailed. Read Full Review

Knight Terrors: Detective Comics #1, like most Knight Terrors tie-ins, has almost nothing to do with the Knight Terrors plot, but this first issue is an excellent horror comic and surpasses the main Knight Terrors story in terms of art quality and intrigue. If you're not into Knight Terrors, get this issue anyway. You'll be glad you did. Read Full Review

I couldn't help but be scared and unnerved by Knight Terrors: Detective Comics #1. It's truly a horror story by all accounts, which isn't always the case with all of the tie-ins so far. If you're up for a late-night peering at the darkness in the corner of your bedroom, pickup Knight Terrors: Detective Comics #1. Read Full Review

As interesting as it all is, it doesnt really engage with the deeper themes that its presenting. That being said, this issue really does give a very interesting perspective into the psyche of Jim Gordon. If anything, its nice to see a deeper connection with a character who tends to be a little bit more marginal. So often, the perspective of those in the shadow of super-humans and their enemies goes largely unnoticed. Its fascinating to see this sort of character focused on with this kind of detail. And its a pity that this sort of thing doesnt happen more often. Read Full Review

Knight Terrors: Detective Comics is my favorite of the Knight Terrors tales so far. The way it gradually pulls the reader and Jim into the nightmare story is engaging, and believable. It also chooses to focus on something less obvious than what a reader might guess for Jim's nightmare to be, and instead looks at how fractured and shaken a person can be from years of dealing with Gotham. If you want to read an interesting character study that is paced well, and has gorgeous art I highly suggest picking up this title. Read Full Review

Knight Terrors: Detective Comics #1 is a spooky fever dream that has some great moments. I'm excited to see where they take this unsettling tale of Jim Gordon battling beasts of the dark! Images Courtesy Of DC Entertainment Read Full Review

Dan Watters turns in a deeply unsettling work in which quite a bit happens, taking full advantage of the oversized page count to really dive into Jim Gordon's psyche. Hopefully he and Riccardo Federici provide a high quality finale to match their strong beginning to this nightmare! Read Full Review

While Batman is trapped in his own tie-in nightmare and his body has been possessed by Deadman in the event’s main series, KNIGHT TERRORS DETECTIVE COMICS #1 has readers following Jim Gordon in a story by Dan Watters, with art by Riccardo Federici, colors by Brad Anderson, and lettering by Steve Wands.

The first part of the book focuses on Gordon reflecting on how much he’s given himself to the people of Gotham in the multitude of positions he’s held, including a short stint as Batman, and how it’s all taken a toll on his relationships with his family. Instead of focusing the nightmare on his familial failures, we pivot to a look at what it means for Gordon to keep Gotham safe. He stumbles upon a trio of cult members who successfully summon a demonic version of Batman. Gordon tracks the Batman across as it unleashes a brutal assault on the city but realizes he’s beginning to physically break apart, piece by piece. It’s a nice way to keep the emotional trauma that was set up earlier as a thread throughout the book — instead of breaking mentally, his body is now deteriorating. Gordon ends up on the run looking for a clue to figure out what’s happening but more things go awry and ends up he coming face-to-face with a big bad who is scary enough to give readers actual nightmares!

Watters’ slow-build approach to revealing how much weight Gordon carries on his shoulders after being a detective, a commissioner, and Batman, while having a son who was a serial killer, is very impactful. Even when he’s ready to throw in the towel, his instinct to save others kicks in the moment something threatens Gotham. With his body now denying him the ability to do what he does best, how will Gordon respond? I’m very interested to see where Watters takes this story.

I loved the Federici’s art in this story. It felt like a Norman Rockwell painting morphed with a Guillermo del Toro film and came to life. Realistic and nostalgic, yet full of horror and creepiness. The demonic Batman is beautiful, the evil creatures are terrifying, and the depiction of Gordon’s body breaking apart gave me goosebumps. Anderson’s choices for colors were muted, yet effective. They let the designs shine through, yet popped of the page when they needed to.

KNIGHT TERRORS DETECTIVE COMICS #1 is one of the more natural horror stories to come out of the Knight Terrors event and it was refreshing to see the actual Batman character not show up here. I hope that stays the same in the second issue because this examination of Gordon’s psyche is really thrilling.

Rating: 8.5/10 more

Dan Watters brings us probably the best "Knight Terrors" issue so far. Presenting a cosmic terror - mistery story starring Jim Gordon (with Clive Barker's Hellraiser feelings), Detective Comics it's the "Knight Terrors" comic book that better understand what the word "horror" means.