Haunted Knight of Gotham

Batman Haunted Knight

By Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

The Adventure Geeks bring you another summary on an anthology of short stories in the Batman universe with Haunted Knight. Each of the three short stories are reprinted one shot Halloween specials from the previous 3 years (1993,1994,1995). The volume includes “Choices” (1993), “Madness” (1994), and “Ghosts” (1995).

The story “Choices” follows Batman hunting down Scarecrow in Gotham. The highlight of this story is the panels where Batman chases Scarecrow through a maze filled with poisoned thorns and ends up nearly dying of fear.

The story “Madness” follows Barbara Gordon as she is one of the many kids in Gotham kidnapped by the Mad Hatter. Some kids begin going mad and are forced into a twisted tea party with the Hatter. The highlight of this story is the tension growing between Jim Gordon and Batman as the possibility of losing Barbara for good increases.

The story “Ghosts” is a play on “A Christmas Carol” and mostly focuses on the ghosts that tells the past, present and future. In the Batman iteration, Thomas Wayne takes the place of Jacob Marley, Poison Ivy replaces Christmas past, Joker replaces Christmas Present and the Grim Reaper acts as Christmas to Come. The highlight of this story is the overall theme which is Bruce should not let Batman consume his life otherwise he’s doomed for misery.

Overall, this is a great Halloween read and a superb introduction into Tim Sale and Jeph Loeb’s storytelling. It plays as a compliment to both “The Long Halloween” and “Dark Victory”.

3.6/5⭐️

Author: Eric Fagan