In what I hope will become a regular feature, this week I’m looking at 2021’s Dark Knights of Steel, which a friend just gave to me last month because he was appalled I’d never read it.
The simplest way to explain it is that it’s all the DC superheroes but reimagined for medieval times. But one of the things I love about it is that it’s not just a one-to-one version of our favorite heroes, now in medieval armor. No, whole backstories have been changed, power sets are different, some characters have even been merged together. Whenever a familiar face shows up you get to say “oh, I know you, and wow that’s a new twist.”
I love how the story handles a few romantic elements too, I won’t say who, but there are some lovely moments between characters that I wasn’t expecting.
But if I’m being honest, what I really love about the series is the art, which is freaking gorgeous. Yasmine Putri does phenomenal work, not just with faces and anatomy and motion, but with the design of everything. The costumes, the jewelry, the weapons, the superpowers, the jewelry (can you tell I liked the jewelry?) There’s so much to linger over in every panel.
If I had one quibble it’s that, when they’re not in armor, every once in a while I had trouble telling if I was looking at Superman or Batman, their faces were pretty similar (good looking, chisled jaw, brooding expression). But I didn’t really mind, because they were both drawn so well. Putri does a fantastic job with expressions, on every one of the characters.
Bengal and Nathan Gooden took over the art in a couple issues, and they also did fine work, but somehow I’d never followed Putri’s work before, and you better believe I’m doing it now.
