Knight Terrors: Superman #2 review

Superman’s living nightmare has been leavened by the arrival of Supergirl, a woman so strong mentally and emotionally that she can break out of her own nightmare realm cell and into Superman’s. Exit…

… pursued by zombies. Kara Zor-El zombies. Still, being by her cousin’s side is a comfort, and Superman fills her in on how new villain Insomnia sent the world to sleep while they fight off the Kara Corps(e). Soon the scenery shifts from space to Earth, as Superman dreams of a landscape his old foe Terra Man would love. Why does he dream of Westerns?

Something Superman doesn’t know about Metropolis is that meanwhile, in the waking world, he has some rather impressive help.

Of course, things are never that easy – Insomnia has minions. One of whom is very, very icky.

And back in Dreamland, the Super Cousins have found Lois Lane, and she is having the Worst. Nightmare. Ever.

Hey, I’m a newspaper person too. But it’s also a wonderful bad dream in that it’s so entertaining. Writer Joshua Williamson continues Superman’s Knight Terrors micro-series in fine style. Last issue was terrific, this issue is differently terrific. The addition of Supergirl makes me very happy, I’ve always loved team-ups of the Super Cousins, from the Silver Age on. And Kara’s regular use of ‘Cuz’ here – a very Bronze Age touch – delighted me. Supergirl has been a bit of a background character since losing her own mag – again. Over in Action Comics Phillip Kennedy Johnson has given us some great Kara moments, but that book is far too crowded for the Maid of Might to get the spotlight she deserves.

And what a treat to also have some fantastic scenes with Aquaman – another DC star without a comic – and his equally powerful partner Mera. Here Williamson isn’t shy of showing us they can handle a global crisis, with the Aqua Family doing as good a job as would the Supers at keeping the sleeping Surface World safe. And when it comes to fighting a bloodthirsty beast, Arthur has it. Mera, meanwhile, shows an aptitude for science that’s new to me, but not surprising – if DC did Claremontwomen, that’s Mera. Also, I’m very impressed by Williamson’s reasoning as to why the Aqua Family aren’t affected by Insomnia.

And how excellent that the Marilyn Moonlight subplot from the regular Superman series continues to be teased here. So few comics even bother with subplots these days.

Partnering Williamson once again is artist Tom Reilly and his big, bombastic stylings are perfect for a story that simply screams out for the OTT treatment. The heroes look amazing, the villains are scary and the emotion, well, look at that picture of Superman and Lois reunited – the way Lois leans in, how Clark strokes her hair… Reilly has emotional artistic intelligence in spades.

Nathan Fairbairn is one of comics’ top colourists for a reason – amazing colour sense and superb craft in applying it to the page. Reilly and Fairbairn come together especially wonderfully in this panel.

The letters of Arania Maher are rather splendid throughout, with a nice variety of approaches. And I love dem bones on Gleb Melnikov’s creepy cover art.

As with the other Knight Terrors micro-series, the story doesn’t conclude – it can’t conclude – but as an instalment of the overall tale, this comic is a winner. Don’t miss it.