Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Knight and Squire #1 of 6
DC Comics
Cornell & Broxton
The spin-off mini series about the Grant Morrison resurrected Silver Age characters starts off with a solid issue. Coming into the series there was enough information out there that pointed towards this being a fun book, complete with a British to American slang mapping in the back of the issue. After reading the first issue I think it is safe to say this is not only a fun read but it is also one with unique charm that brings together two distinct super hero cultures.
Over the years in American comics we've seen plenty of writers from Great Britain put their spin on American heroes. Once in a while we have a writer from Great Britain writing a comic taking place in their native land. This is one of those cases. Cornell doesn't try to Americanize this comic book one bit. Sure some of the dialogue ranges towards American English, but for the most part the voices stay decidedly un-American. And it works.
While both Knight and Squire have had some moments in the sun since Grant Morrison brought them back from Silver Age obscurity with the Club of Heroes arc in Batman, they have a new standard to follow with Cornell at the helm. Knight is a slightly snobbier, more uptight version of Batman while Squire is a quick-witted, experienced sidekick covering an arena that none of the Robins ever quite covered.
Without spoiling too much of the issue I will only give the basic set up. Basically, on pub night, the heroes and villains come together for a moment of peace just to hang out. Through this device we get plenty of new and fresh characters with many of them being grounded in famous British characters, some real and some fictitious.
Cornell doesn't forget that the issue is rooted in American comic books, mainly Batman, as he adds an American hero to the mix. This provides some hysterical interactions and reactions to the American who doesn't seem to fit with all of the British heroes and/or villains.
Broxton brings life to this story in ways I couldn't have imagined. He plays up the personalities for Knight and Squire that Cornell builds in the issue. Squire could have easily been portrayed as a bouncy teen but Broxton gives her a smart, controlled look that only ever gives a small smirk when she's got someone outsmarted. The collection of characters in the bar is nothing short of amazing. Broxton essentially creates a corner of the spandex community that was a blank slate and blows it out of the water. This was a terrific artistic effort.
This issue launches an interesting story that has a wide array of characters to explore in the next five issues. This issue is a good introduction to those who haven't picked up the Club of Heroes and it is a good expansion for those that are familiar with the characters. This is a great creative team working on a fresh super hero angle. This is definitely worth picking up for those looking at something different.
4 out of 5 Geek Goggles
