REVIEW: Dark Knights Of Steel #10

Dark Knights of Steel #10, “The Green Man’ is upon us and is a welcomed calm before a major storm. A lot of answers are revealed but the surprising twists and turns of this story are far from over. 

The covers also continue to be absolutely amazing, so let’s take a look at all three available. Dan Mora’s standard cover is fashioned after a playing card. Representing the King of Diamonds is The Batman on the upper half mirrored by this world’s Joker on the bottom. Mora’s art is superb as always and this is a fun, playful way to depict these characters. There’s also something reminiscent of the covers for the Emperor Joker storyline of 2000 in this layout.

The variant by Ejikure is a great tease for the story inside. This elegant cover is as multi-faceted as it is gorgeous. The dove is typically known as a symbol of peace and it’s being released by representatives of the warring kingdoms. It’s also fitting to have Diana and Zala as the ones releasing it since doves are also symbols of love. Regardless, the joy on their faces is contagious adding to the emotional warmth of the piece.

Jorge Molina’s variant is just spectacular. There’s something about Batman and dragons that exudes coolness. That being said, change Batman into any generic knight and this cover is still exceptional. The dreary, snowy scenery is cut by the undaunted pose of Batman wielding an arrow adorned shield and the piercing red eyes of Beast Boy in dragon form. The realistic art is something you’d see out of a fantasy magazine or on the cover of novel. A great piece for this genre merging title.

Artist Yasmine Putri and colorist Arif Prianto continue their stunning interior visuals. This is a highly expressive issue in the sense of characters realizing just how badly they’ve been manipulated to this point in the story. The fury of Diana, the shame of Constantine, and Queen Anissa’s shock are all on visual display.

The body language of the weary troops of all three armies is also a nice touch to show just how devastating this conflict has been for everyone involved. Although brief, we also get treated with a glimpse of Earth-118’s Mars before its demise. All in all, Putri and Prianto have been the perfect art team for the majority of this series and this issue goes far to prove that.

Writer Tom Taylor, lettered by Wes Abbott, gives us an issue full of answers in Dark Knights of Steel #10.  The War of Three Kingdoms came to a shocking halt in issue #9 and this one begins by picking up the pieces. With Constanine’s prophecy fulfilled, the leaders of Earth-118 unite to assess the true threat of the series. Through the telling of J’onn J’onzz’s origin we relive the horrors of his backstory and depths of villainy of the White Martians. 

With all the manipulations of the Three Kingdoms laid bare it would seem Taylor would be wrapping up the twists of this story, but we’re given yet another one on the last few panels. Even though this was a more exposition issue, it was absolutely necessary to make previous events make sense and set up for the upcoming finale. There are two more issues left and I’m sure there will be more unexpected awesomeness before it’s through.

Star Rating: ★★★★★/★★★★★