In Batman / Santa Claus: Silent Knight #1 from DC Comics, written by Jeff Parker with art by Michele Bandini, Batman teams up with his old mentor, Santa Claus. Seriously.
We reviewed the book on the Stack podcast. But in the interest of highlighting more about the title, here’s a summary of the conversation with our thoughts. And if you prefer the longer audio version, that’s below as well!
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Batman / Santa Claus: Silent Knight #1 Review:
When a new, strange strain of vampires hits Gotham City, it’s up to the Bat-family and Zatanna to figure out what’s happening. Oh, and also Santa Claus, who trained Batman when he was traveling the world.
“I gotta tell you, I was very excited about the idea of this,” host Alex Zalben said, “because it’s such a ludicrous concept. Jeff Parker is so good with this sort of thing. I don’t think it disappointed. Michele Bandini’s art in particular, I was blown away by, it feels right in line with an Ivan Reis or one of those other top tier comics artists. This is very fun. I was very happy.”
Justin Tyler agreed the book is “fun,” and appreciated how “straight-faced” the book presented the concept. “Many versions of this comic would make that the joke,” Tyler said, referring to Santa mentoring Batman. “And this comic refuses.”
Zalben noted it reminded him of Grant Morrison’s Klaus comic from a few years back, with a “very jacked-up Santa Claus,” and mythology that goes back to his Norse origins versus Coca-Cola style Claus. “There is humor in there,” Zalben added, “It’s a goofy comic book, particularly Damian Wayne plays with the concept quite a bit.”
One thing Zalben is hoping the four-issue mini will explore, though, is what, exactly, Batman learned from Santa Claus. His guess? “Why Batman is all over the place all the time, at the same time. And that’s because Santa Claus, I want to see that joke.”
Batman / Santa Claus: Silent Knight #1 Official Synopsis:
THE DARK KNIGHT PARTNERS WITH A NOT-SO-JOLLY ST. NICK AS SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN! The four-part crossover event of a generation begins when a not-so-jolly St. Nick hits Gotham City to investigate a brutal crime in the days leading up to Christmas… What manner of man or beast could have committed such atrocities?! With the help of his former student, Batman, Santa will team up with the heroes of the DC Universe to right this wrong—or the world wakes up to coal in their stockings! A brutal, two-fisted holiday tale of hope, wonder, and monster hunting is the perfect treat to ring in the holidays—it’s Claus in canon!
