Review: KNIGHT TERRORS ANGEL BREAKER #1

KNIGHT TERRORS ANGEL BREAKER #1 is an interesting case. On one hand, I thought Tim Seeley’s story about a newer character to the DC universe was unique, well-written, and offered one of the more interesting connections to the main Knight Terrors event. On the other hand, the direction the story went in made it feel less like an event tie-in and more like a standalone story that existed outside the event altogether. Going in I didn’t think I wanted more of this story, but now that I’ve read it I want more of it beyond the context of Knight Terrors.

Seeley uses the first part of the book to catch readers up to speed on who Angel Breaker is (she was only recently introduced during the Shadow War storyline) and why she’s involved in this event. She enlists the help of a begrudging Raptor and the two head out on a heist mission at a Kobra facility in the middle of Ohio. After realizing the mission isn’t exactly what they envision, the tone of the book shifts into a more event-relevant horror theme when a being from Angel Breaker’s childhood nightmares uses Insomnia’s sleep spell to break free into the real world.

One thing that I wasn’t sure about towards the end of the book is when some of these events were taking place. There’s a moment when everyone appears to be impacted by Insomnia’s curse, but then they are all back awake in short order. I’m hoping we found out in the next issue whether or not these characters weren’t fully impacted by Insomnia’s spell or if there was a time jump to after his curse is lifted.

Complementing Seeley’s strong story were similarly strong visuals from the team of Acky Bright (art), Brian Reiber (colors), and Saida Temofonte (lettering). Bright creates a pleasant style that evokes the semblance of a well-crafted animated cartoon and is complemented well by Reiber’s bright color palette. While strong throughout the book, there is one page featuring a plane crash where Temofonte’s lettering skills are on full display.

Angel Breaker isn’t a character I have much association or interest in, so I wasn’t expecting to be as excited for the second issue as I am now. I don’t know if that speaks to an untapped potential for the character or the result of a well-made book by the entire creative team. Perhaps best of all, it was different than any of the other event tie-ins and for that alone it stands out. Either way, I’m looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

Rating: 7/10