Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight #3 is written by Jeff Parker and published by DC Comics. Artwork is by Michele Bandini and Trevor Hairsine and colours by Alex Sinclair, letters are by Pat Brosseau. Main cover art (left) is by Dan Mora.
Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight #3 is available now, in print and on digital where all good comics books are sold.
Synopsis
IT’S CHRISTMAS EVIL! The nefarious Krampus unleashes a flock of killer harpies on London and it’s time to call in the big guns! Half the Justice League meets a most unusual elf who takes them to Norway to help Santa do battle, but it appears a diabolical trap is being set…
Review
The penultimate issue of Batman – Santa Claus has arrived. The rapid expansion of Jeff Parker’s storyline continues as most of the Justice League find themselves caught up in Krampus’ rampage. This is our biggest issue yet as the mystery behind what’s really going on continues to dangle in front of us like a carrot tempting a Reindeer.
Now there are Norse bird-like creatures attacking London and it’s up to both Hawkgirl and Green Lantern Jo Mullein to stop them. The opening of issue #3 has Trevor Hairsine returning to the book. Every time I see his art I can’t help but feel like I’m back in DCeased. It’s a cool sequence which quickly raises the stakes to an even more global scale. We’ve gone from Gotham in issue #1, to Blüdhaven in issue #2 and now to the wider world. Those step-changes really work with the weekly release schedule to quicken the pace and keep things moving.
These new creatures pose a real threat. A nice reminder that Batman – Santa Claus is not purely a holiday romp. These huge limited-series stories offer up some incredible opportunities to pair up characters who often don’t get to share the page. Here Hawkgirl and Green Lantern are joined by Wonder Woman. Hairsine has always done an incredible job drawing Diana. Seeing these three women together, fighting for their lives, is fearsome. So it’s equally fascinating to see how Parker then chooses to do something so inherently Diana to resolve the threat.
Handing the visual reigns back over to Michele Bandini, we have another character joining the fray. Blue Beetle. Jaime adds a little more youthful energy to the book. Something we don’t get from Damian. Jaime nicely counterbalances the snark of the young Robin. But he also adds a dash of disbelief and wonder at situation they find themselves in. He feels very much like the voice of the reader, excitedly trying to grasp the idea of Batman teaming up with Santa.
But if you haven’t already found the story to be fantastical (and Christmassy) enough then get ready to meet Peppermint Jon. He’s not an elf. He’s a Huldufolk. But he knows we like to call them elves in our letters. The arrival of Santa’s backup is nice injection of holiday cheer. It lightens the mood slightly right before things get really heavy. A great third act calm-before-the-storm moment. The structure of Parker’s story really doesn’t struggle in the slightest. Every moment feels dutifully connect and well executed. It could so easily have felt like a holiday cash grab but truly never does.
As all great penultimate chapters do, Batman – Santa Claus ends with some huge twists. Things are look pretty bleak for our heroes and a ginormous final confrontation awaits. But there’s still elements on the plot which remain undisclosed. Parker has coolly kept aspects back. There has been teases but now with a compromised Man of Steel and some rampaging Monsterkind, we have one hell of a battle to get to before we open our presents on Christmas morning.
Verdict
An excellent penultimate issue in DC’s four-part, four-week holiday experiment. Batman – Santa Claus is taking over the DCU and at this point it’s going to take an army of elves, sorry Huldufolk, to save the day.
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