REVIEW: ‘Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1

Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1 is published by DC Comics, written by Jeremy Adams, pencils by Eduardo Pansica, inks by Julio Ferreira, colors by Luis Guerrero and letters by Dave Sharpe. There is a backup story titled “Shards from the Looking Glass Part One,” written by Alex Segura, art by Mario “Fox” Foccillo, colors by Prasad Rao (Pressy) and letters by Sharpe. This is part of the Knight Terrors event. Green Lantern gets taken through his history as Insomnia tries to find his darkest fear.

This issue plays like a montage of Hal Jordan’s most important moments of his life. Opening right where the last chapter of his main series ended, it provides a terrifying glimpse at the consequences of Insomnia’s wave of enforced sleep. Each segment shows pieces of what Hal might be most scared of, before erupting into a bastardised horror show version of that memory. Not content on settling for a particular scene, it’s a great origin story with a twist. Each segment unleashes something slightly different at the end of it, but only one was truly creepy. There is also a clear progression in time, starting from when Hal was a child and reaching the point where he was an experienced Green Lantern. Not only does this chronological approach help with the structure of Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1, but it genuinely does seem like someone is rifling through Hal’s memories bit by bit. Changing the entire setting leads to a fluctuating pace that maintains the excitement throughout the issue. 

Featuring a broad spectrum of Hal’s life and personality, the story provides reasoning for his bravado and cockiness. It starts with the death of his father where in the followup he felt like he had to protect his household and be the man of the house. But Adams also takes note of who Hal has been for so many years. Insomnia is trying to find his fear, but this is a man that has fought the physical embodiment of that, and it is harder to scare him than many others. Maybe that is why you get more dialogue from Insomnia himself, trying less and less to hide himself while in Green Lantern’s mind. It is as if Hal is something special, and thus requires particular treatment. This causes the negative dialogue towards the hero to grow even more extreme.

The art is epic, able to shift and adapt suddenly. The comic can look normal, presenting Hal and those around him with a pleasant design. I loved how powerful and accomplished he looked when he appears as a full Green Lantern, and could almost sense a homage to how he looked in his most significant missions. But then the comic turns, bringing in a sense of horror. These move out of familiarity for Hal, with his most notable points of history for him. Each moment is not the same. At times its a horde of his loved ones turned into monsters. Then it’s a frantic, explosive flight that leads to perhaps the creepiest and most unsettling part of the issue. It only takes a subtle increase of shadows to make the situation darker.

The colors are fascinating. The dark shades and the shadows threaten to overthrow the issue, with purples and reds being dominant for much of the nightmare. But there are very few prominent tones for fighting through the darkness than the light of the Green Lantern ring. It is a beacon of power and triumph against the murkiness of its surroundings. The lettering is consistent and easy to read.

The backup story focuses on Sinestro, also on Earth when the sudden plunge into nightmares occurs. It does a lot to catch Sinestro up after only really being seen in the first issue as a cameo. But for a villain and a master of ear himself, it is intriguing to get this event from his perspective. He is at his lowest, devoid of power. The art is great at making things nervous and creepy because the details are so meticulous. The creatures and faces have tortured flesh parts to them which leads to a skin-crawling feeling when you see them. The final image is fantastically crafted and mesmerising to look at.

Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1 puts up a fight against fear. A comic that actually sits comfortably within the existing story being told, it shows how Insomnia works his power against two Lanterns that have a history with that emotion and being manipulated. It’s not as unnerving or downright terrifying as some of the other tie-ins have been, but Adams and Segura have both made it work within the world of its characters well, with some tremendous art in addition. You can come into this issue with no knowledge of the ongoing series and have no trouble settling in.

Knight Terrors: Green Lantern: #1 is available where comics are sold.