Review — Knight Terrors: Action Comics #1 — The Haunting of Krypton

Knight Terrors: Action Comics #1 variant cover, via DC Comics.

Knight Terrors: Action Comics #1 — Leah Williams, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Writers; Vasco Georgiev, Mico Suayan/Fico Ossio, Artists; Alex Guimaraes, Romulo Fajardo Jr, Colorists

Ray — 9/10

Ray: The Superman family book is keeping its traditional vibe for this oversized two-part mini, with two different stories focusing on members of the Super-family — both wanted and not.

First up is a Power Girl tale, with Paige (formerly Karen Starr) going through a series of her worst anxieties — and oh, boy does she have a lot of them. Bridging the gap between her backup and her upcoming miniseries, this full-length story finds Paige back on Krypton, where she deals with an abusive boyfriend and neglectful, abandoning parents. Her fear of abandonment continues into a segment dealing with Kal-L, as her foster father responds to her losing control of her powers by apparently trading her in for a better model. From there, she wakes up, reunites with Omen and Streaky — only to discover that she’s still in the dream and Omen has some nasty surprises for her. This issue has a very dark sense of humor, with all of Paige’s fears being deeply relatable. After all, is there anything scarier than a friend with sinister intentions and a big performance you’re not prepared for?

Long Gone. Via DC Comics.
The second story, by regular main series writer Johnson, is a clever take on horror movie homages combined with a follow-up to the recent Cyborg Superman arc. Conner, Natasha, and Kenan are babysitting the super-twins and they’re watching a horror movie, but Osul is plagued with fears about Henshaw returning from the Phantom Zone. After the movie is stopped and everyone goes to bed, Osul is rudely awakened by Henshaw crawling out of TVs a la Freddy Krueger — now possessing one of the family and looking to jump to more. Johnson’s writing has always been nicely creepy and filled with dark visuals — just read his “The Last God” creator-owned series — and it works surprisingly well for a Superman story. After all, the world of Superman is pretty scary, and to a child it would be flat-out terrifying. This part of the issue is one of the best overall Knight Terrors tales.

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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.