Knight Terrors

Knight Terrors (DC)

by Joshua Williamson, Howard Porter (Illustrator), Guillem March (Illustrator)

Horror devastates the DC Universe as its greatest heroes confront their worst nightmare in this terrifying epic, perfect for all fans of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman!

When Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman find the body of one of their earliest enemies inside the Hall of Justice, their investigation takes them past the land of the living, beyond the land of the dead, and directly to a new villain called Insomnia...who uses his powers to engulf every single hero and villain in their own dark and twisted nightmares. The only way to save the world is to call for the help of an unlikely hero—Deadman!

As Batman, Deadman, and Wesley Dodds—the original Sandman—attempt to unravel this mystery, Insomnia unleashes his horrifying army—the Sleepless Knights!

This self-contained series is the summer blockbuster of comics events—set firmly in current continuity, but a perfect jumping-on point for all fans of DC and horror! Knight Terrors is written by DC mainstay and horror comics veteran Joshua Williamson, and chillingly illustrated by celebrated artists including Howard Porter, Giuseppe Camuncoli, and Caspar Wijngarrd!

This volume collects Knight Terrors First Blood , Knight Terrors #1-4, Knight Night’s End , the full main Knight Terrors story.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Superheroes, Horror, Batman

232 pages, Hardcover

First published February 6, 2024

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This huge crossover event (47 issues!) was a fairly enjoyable Hallowe’en read but the nature of most of it happening in sleeping characters’ heads did rob it of most of its impact. When you know going in that it’s all a dream, it stops you taking anything seriously, as you know they’re just going to wake up at some point and everything will (mostly) be fine.

The highlights for me were the Jim Gordon story in the Detective Comics tie-in, the Wonder Woman story and the Joker story, which was fantastic.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story line that doesn't really feel worth the complete standstill it created across the DC universe. It's fun and allows for a lot of creativity when it comes to the branching spin off issues, but it's got nowhere near the gravitas or staying power that other mainstream events of times gone by have. Good for those craving some light visual horror, skippable for those who aren't highly invested in DC events.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll rate these books individual for how much I enjoyed the mini-series within each book, but I’ll bring this review over to each of the five books in this series. I read the entirety of this event over a weekend in the single issue order that these were published in.

This event gets a lot of bad reviews everywhere I look and while I don’t necessarily agree with those reviews, I couldn’t push too hard against those opinions either. Most of these stories were okay. Some of them I actually really enjoyed (Main storyline, Batman, The Joker, Detective Comics, Shazam, The Flash, Nightwing) and some of them I actually just found to be nothing but a chore to get through (Angel Breaker, Ravager). I don’t see a problem with an event like this taking over a comic line for a couple of months for a quick refresher, but that’s seems to be a lone opinion for these books. I thought a lot of the art was the best parts of some of these stories and that art gave us some horrifying things to look at where we may never have seen in any other circumstance. I enjoy Joshua Williamson’s storytelling for the most part and I’m actually glad he was able to be the architect for something very experimental and different within the DC Universe.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://youtu.be/sUCx1W5mde4

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite the Justice League being on the cover, Knight Terrors is actually a Deadman story. Which is fine! I'm not very familiar with that hero, so it was nice to get to know him and his deal a bit. Unfortunately, where the mini-series struggles is with the undefined villain who is basically unleashing nightmares on the world... more or less because that looks cool?

I'm of the opinion that dream sequences are a terrible storytelling crutch and Knight Terrors is essentially one long, weird dream sequence. There are some clever moments and a few instances of good art, but this "event" feels pretty uneventful. Howard Porter also does the artwork in the back half and boy is it atrocious. It's like a Salvador Dali dream sequence - not great for storytelling you can easily follow.

Unrelated, but I was surprised to find that "Knight Terrors" has been used twice before in the DC universe, presumably unrelated to this event.

[Mia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tiring and dull.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the Damian/Bruce stuff but Deadman is not my favorite character in the world so having him be so present wasn't for me. I definitely want to continue with this run but I think I'm going to be waiting until I can get the rest via the library or paperback editions--I want to read it for Zatanna obviously but I cannot afford eight billion hardcover releases.

[Joe Bogue · Rating 1 out of 5]

SPOILERS: Half a Star. If you need to put Boston Brand in a literal Batman suit to make your Deadman story interesting, it probably isn't a very good Deadman story. He doesn't even do anything cool with the Bat's body, he just stands around. Also, if the unpredictably magical Lazarus Resin can resurrect a decades buried Sandman, why couldn't it just make it so Deadman can communicate with the living? It's a lot of chicanery to set up a mediocre and derivative event. Plus, Deadman has a history of being the guide/narrator through other realms, including times in which he doesn't need a human body to talk to the story's hero. Nothing in this main Knight Terrors plot is very well thought out, and the event draws on obscure moments from DC's past while just ignoring more prominent ones.

Additionally, Insomnia's family was killed during one of the Metal events, both of which involve evil 'nightmare' versions of the Batman attacking earth. His family dies while the League fights against these Dark Bats and his plan for revenge is then to sick a bunch of "Knightmare" Leaguers on the populace? It's ridiculous. [And after Future State and/or Generations and/or Dark Crisis and/or Dawn of DC, is Metal even really still part of the mainline continuity anymore?] I get that it's a super hero comic but I can only suspend my disbelief so far.

[Lucille · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pas foufou
J’étais plutôt contente au début car j’aimais bien l’ambiance un peu horreur autour des cauchemars et des personnages que l’on retrouve d’habitude dans la justice league dark que j’adore mais bon au final j’ai fini par m’ennuyer car un méchant qui ne tient pas la route et des dialogues bof. J’aimais surtout les intro narrées par Deadman et les styles de dessin parfois vraiment beaux

[Roman Zarichnyi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Кожна нова подія у всесвіті DC для мене — це завжди очікування певного розчарування. Часто сюжети виявляються слабкими, а інтриги не виправдовують себе. Однак «Лицарські жахи» здивували своїм задумом, хоча реалізація все ж мала свої недоліки. Основна ідея події виглядала свіжою, особливо завдяки поєднанню супергероїки з елементами жахів. Можливо щось таке уже було, але мені про це невідомо.

У центрі сюжету — битва героїв DC зі своїми найгіршими кошмарами. Після того, як у Залі Справедливості було знайдено тіло одного зі старих ворогів, Бетмен, Супермен і Диво-Жінка занурюються у розслідування. Їхній шлях веде їх через світ живих, мертвих і прямо до нового лиходія на ім'я Безсоння. Він використовує свої сили, щоб занурити всіх героїв і злодіїв у моторошні жахи. Єдиний, хто може допомогти героям, — це Мрець, який стає ключовою фігурою у боротьбі проти жахів, армії Безсоння.

З позитивного боку, використання Мерця як головного героя виявилося дуже вдалим рішенням. Його наратив у стилі ведучого старого горор-шоу додавав історії певної самобутності, і гумор, який він вносив, трохи пом’якшував похмурість події. Деякі моменти жахів, моторошні сни героїв, були реалізовані атмосферно та яскраво.

Проте головний антагоніст Безсоння залишив змішані враження. Його мотивація, заснована на тому, що супергерої не врятували його родину, виглядає слабкою. Його дії здаються безвідповідальними, адже він не намагався сам виправити ситуацію, а довірився долі випадку. А тепер лише створює хаос. Це робить його взагалі не переконливим персонажем. І ще поява в цьому коміксу такого персонажа, як Веслі Доддс, заінтригувала досить сильно. Тепер є бажання прочитати про нього окрему лімітовану серію коміксів.

Тай-іни, як це часто буває, не справили великого враження. Більшість із них виглядали як необов'язкові доповнення, які не додають нічого суттєвого до основного сюжету. Винятком можна назвати веселу історію про Джокера, де він став офісним менеджером. Цей сюжет хоч і не надто серйозний, але додає трохи легкості та гумору до загального тону події. Але такого "крінжового" гумору.

Графічна складова теж залишає неоднозначне враження. Загалом малюнок мені не сподобався — він виглядав неакуратно, а іноді й надто хаотично. Проте для сцен снів і жахів він добре підходить, створюючи відповідну атмосферу. Щодо тай-інів, якість малюнку дуже варіюється, як і самі історії.

«Лицарські жахи» — це подія зі свіжою ідеєю, але з неідеальною реалізацією. Вдалі моменти, як-от використання Мерця та атмосферність жахів, заслуговують на увагу, але слабка мотивація головного лиходія та неоднозначний малюнок псують загальне враження. Якщо ви вирішите ознайомитися з цією подією, радив би зосередитися лише на основному сюжеті, оминаючи тай-іни.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un nouveau vilain déferle sur le monde : Insomnia. Il a la capacité d'infiltrer les rêves, de les transformer en cauchemars et d'y bloquer ses victimes. Son prochain objectif ? Amener les cauchemars dans le monde réel.

Une aventure de la Justice League avec un pitch fantastique bien sympatique et surtout des lead originaux, puisque le combat est principalement mené par Deadman et Robin (Damian) ! Le point faible c'est que c'est un récit très intriqué dans d'autres, et même si c'est techniquement un one shot, c'est un peu frustrant. Ça reste un bel opus (et les illu' 😍).

[Geo Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine interesting context to the series of tie ins but a little drawn out and ultimately unnecessary. You pick up information about insomnia in other books (mainly Batman…) that is just reiterated in this series. Even the Damian usage was a little lacking, though it is fun to see them still using golden age characters like Wesley Dodds’ sandman ! The highest regard I can give is the little introductions at the beginning of each issue, I found the format interesting and entertaining, but plot wise the story wasn’t necessary.

[Amber Sayre · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. Not the best and not the worst comic I’ve read. The story could have been great but with so many different authors it was too disjointed. Some of them were great like the Robin issues which felt connected to the story and had great emotional scenes. But then Catwoman’s issues just didn’t feel as connected to the story.

[Craig Schorling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will openly admit that this story has issues and suffers from several things. I personally couldn't stop reading it though. I have always loved Nightmare on Elm Street and this gave off strong vibes. I loved the premise. The art was cool and creepy. The body horror was great too. This was a fun read that scores higher for me personally because of all the boxes that it checks.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so fun

[La librairie de Charron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pour commencer, ce tome crée un lien entre divers comics de la série Dawn of. Dans le comics Dawn of Green Lantern tome 1, Hal Jordan avait été frappé dans son sommeil par le fameux Insomnia puis il avait réussi à s'en libérer. Il y avait également eu une note comme quoi l'histoire serait développée dans ce tome-ci, d'où cette chronique.

L'histoire débute avec Batman et Robin alors qu'ils arrêtent deux super-vilains et Damian, sans explication, fait un cauchemar. Peu après, il arrive à se réveiller et il explique brièvement à son père de quoi était composé son cauchemar, ce qui a foutu aussi la trouille aux super-vilains qu'ils ont arrêté. Peu après, ce sont les autres super-héros qui sont touchés après avoir découvert le cadavre de John Dee, littéralement épinglé dans le Hall de Justice à l'entrée. Là, Sandman intervient et arrive à faire comprendre aux super-héros de quoi il s'agit (de la magie) et qu'ils auront besoin de tout super-héros connaissant la magie.

De son côté, Insomnia sème toujours la terreur parmi la population et les super-héros, tout le monde est touché, même les cinglés d'Arkham. Heureusement, Harley Quinn arrive à aider Batman un peu mais tout le monde est impuissant. Deadman mène l'enquête de son côté et avec l'aide de Sandman et de Detective Chimps entre autre, ils arrivent à savoir ce que veut Insomnia : la pierre des cauchemars, qui a été cachée dans la réalité par John Dee, alors qu'elle n'a pas sa place dans le monde réel. Au fur et à mesure que l'on progresse, on apprend qui est vraiment Insomnia et d'où lui vient son surnom ; d'après ce que j'ai pu voir sur ses origines, il est aussi dangereux et timbré que le Joker. Bien sûr, en fin d'histoire, on verra une Amanda Waller avec son nouveau projet secret, dont tous les romans Dawn of sont liés.

Bref, en conclusion, l'histoire fut assez bien écrite dans l'ensemble. Ici, il ne s'agit pas vraiment de combats physiques mais plutôt psychiques et du domaine des rêves et cauchemars donc c'est un peu normal que l'on voit des combats entre « esprits » comme avec Deadman et compagnie plutôt que sur les muscles, même si nous avons quelques combats physiques vers la fin mais voilà, cela reste tout de même un comics qui s'intitule aussi Knight Terrors donc on s'attend à ce genre d'évènements. C'est vrai que je n'en connais que très peu sur Deadman, j'avais assez bien apprécié son personnage dans l'animation Justice League Dark, que je vous conseille d'ailleurs. Dans l'ensemble, c'est un comics que je conseille pour tous les amateurs d'ésotérisme, de cauchemars et d'esprits. D'ailleurs, on verra de nouveau le personnage d'Amanda Waller dans le comics Absolute Power, dont la chronique arrivera très bientôt.

[Roman · Rating 4 out of 5]

​​До нового івенту "Knight Terrors" від DC я був налаштований дуже скептично, оскільки минулі події від видавництва мене дуже розчарували. Не додавало віри й те, що автором KT був Вільямсон, останній івент від якого був таким собі і те, що DC поставили на паузу майже всі свої серії, більшість з яких так і не встигли нормально початися, заради цієї події. Тож чи вдалося DC нарешті перервати стрік невдалих іветнів? Давайте розбиратися.

Зав'язка серії полягає в тому, що новий лиходій Інсомнія хоче знайти камінь кошмарів який суперлиходій доктор Дестіні заховав у снах когось з героїв. Для того щоб здобути його Інсомнія змушує героїв та лиходіїв заснути в результаті чого вони потрапляють у свої жахіття.

Почнемо з хорошого а саме з головних героїв. Мені дуже сподобалося те, що подія вийшла зосередженою на Дедмені, який тут майже всю подію розгулює в тілі Бетмена, Вільямсон досить непогано його прописав тут і мені навіть хотілося б побачити якусь серію про Бостона від нього, з хорошого також порадувало те, що тут автор вирішив повернути оригінального Сендмена. З хорошого також сподобалося те, що здібності Інсомнія отримав внаслідок подій "Планети Лазаря". Щодо самої історії то вона зосереджена на тому як наші головні герої намагаються знайти камінь кошмарів та дізнатися історію Інсомнії. Загалом комікс читається досить легко, з хорошим малюнком від Камунколі, Несі та Віджнґаарда. Також порадувала більшість тай-інів в яких як раз таки і показані ті самі жахіття в які потрапили герої, хоча от деякі якщо чесно вартувало б зробити ван-шотами, а не лімітками з двох номерів.

А тепер до мінусів, більшість з яких у мене є до фіналу. Почнемо з того, що останній номер малював Говард Портер і його малюнок вийшов дещо всратим, особливо це видно в екшн сценах які виглядають як каша. Також розчарувало те, що в результаті все закінчилося тим, що люди тепер бояться героїв. З мінусів також вартує виділити мотивацію Інсомнії, він тут мстить за те, що герої не врятували його родину і сама по собі мотивація його могла б бути норм, але як нам пізніше показали то в смерті родини винен він сам, оскільки під час "Металу" вирішив не евакуювати родину бо герої їх і так врятують.

В результаті "Knight Terrors" нехай і має деякі мінуси, але він вийшов першим івентом від ДС з часів "Металу" та "Нескінченної Зими" (хоча це скоріше кроссовер) який мені сподобався. Загалом раджу прочитати. Далі на нас чекає подія "Beast World" та продовження лінії з Волер яка хоче перебити героїв, але якщо чесно то на щось хороше я не чекаю, хоча до "Knight Terrors" я теж на початку так ставився, так що буду радий якщо в результаті виявиться що я помилявся.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a weird event, but much better than dark crisis which the same writer also wrote and yeah I enjoyed it more in collected edition format and it makes for a fun read and I guess people will like it more as time goes on I think. Its a decent story about someone who got wronged by the Justice League and wants to take revenge on them and you see his story play out, and his motives and what not, this allows the writer to give focus on Deadman and Golden age Sandman aka Wesley Dodds and you see them tryna investigate the case and stop this villain and also Damian is there, and you see set up for other tie ins and "Sleepless knights", the name leaves a lot to be desired but the designs were cool and yeah I kinda like their investigation aspect.

Like the way this highlights Boston so much is awesome and its been some time since he was the focus of a major story.. last was Brightest day I think and thus this leads to some interesting face-offs and what not, and some cool other villains and then by the end Trinity comes in and Damian is also there and he gets a good spotlight too, the more I think about, I like most of the concepts introduced here and the villain was sympathetic and his origin is made clear, and he is one of my favorite new Justice League villains created in a long time, and actually is threatening.

But yeah by the end you see the team and heroes come together to stop this threat and some big moments for the two characters and I really liked his big moment and it kinda is emotional for fans of said character and I read the Wesley dodds Sandman book last week and it was a nice tie in to this book with one specific mention haha!

So yeah, overall fun event with a good villain, and focus on 2-3 people investigating and some cool moments, the art can be iffy and weird at times especially the starting and closing issues, that maybe the negative point for most people but still an okay read and sets up a lot of storylines that came after it, like Gotham war and Beast world really well!

So maybe read it once and see for yourself and I just read the Superman and Batman tie-ins by the same author, and it were okayish and introduced Super-reaper and Gun-bat, cool names and cool designs and does tie into this event really well and make for a nice companion read along with these!

[Alek Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

A horribly executed event; which unfortunately seems common place now with Joshua Williamson. His attempts at dramatic and awesome storytelling are often melodramatic and corny instead.
This event is essentially an opportunity for some metaphysical analysis of DC's titular characters. Providing 2 issue stories that delve into the nightmares of heroes and villains; that are completely separate from the events at large.

vvvSpoilersvvv

The main story involves Boston Brand and a new villain, Insomnia. Because the iconic Deadman has a Boston accent in his animated portrayals, and was a circus performer in another life, Williamson really doubles down on the showmanship. Every issue starts with Deadmam insisting on being a dramatic storyteller, and it undercuts the horror aspect right away.

Insomnia is one of the big problems with this story in my opinion. A nobody given random powers by happenstance with the worst motivations. During the DEATH METAL event, this fool ignores authorities orders to evacuate his neighborhood and get his family to saftey. Believing such a notion is unnecessary, because the Justice League would keep them safe. And when his home collapses due to some unseen destructive force, he blames the Justice League for his families death. It wasn't like Superman punched some bad guy through the building and ignored the mans cries for help. No, his house just collapsed while the Justice League was fighting in the area. So of course it's their fault and they're monsters for not saving his family.
The self-centered and delusional Insomnia is now motivated to bring the heroes nightmares to life. To show the world just how scary and monstrous they really are. Supposedly by the end it works and now the world is subliminally afraid of the JL because they have fucked up nightmares?!

To me if you want a story about a person the Justice League failed to save so he sets out to expose them as mere mortals unworthy of the title, hero. Read "A Villains Journey" from the New 52.

[DC · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly quick and enjoyable read, for the most part. At its core it’s a Deadman story, which for me is a win! The pacing overall was decent, until it all came spiraling to a quick and unremarkable end (more on that later). The art across the entire book did a lot of heavy lifting (though the end was a lot more sloppy than the rest of story). I especially liked the Free Comic Book Day issue that set up the event. I’m a huge fan of Chris Bachalo work. The story itself was anywhere from OK to decent, but rather trope-y at times… which leads me to the spoiler section of my review.

I thought the idea of the nightmare stone and the potentials for different storytelling because of it were awesome. It allowed for some really excelling and twisted looking artwork. This however, ultimately, fell rather flat by the end because of the villains very basic vendetta against all superheroes because his family died while they were saving the world. So, not only did they have to be punished in his mind, but I guess the whole world too! “If I can’t have my family, no one can!” If the villain had a more compelling motive, I could have potentially loved this story. This sadly was a pretty run of the mill plot device, which keeps me from giving it a great review. That and the end. The end was bad. The end made me want to dock this story even further to be honest. I’d give this more of a 3.5… maybe 3.8… but I’m having a hard time giving it 4, especially with the last final couple pages in play. The “post credit scene” slapped at the end of the story to get you to find out what Waller is up to in a totally different story? Ya… no thanks. I’m not sure I’ll bother with one. I will however maybe read one or two of the other Knight Terror tie-in stories. I’m curious what they’ve done with the other nightmare sequences.

Overall, I would recommend this story if you like dark/occult stories but would not recommend you blind buying the hardcover or the now announced omnibus without reading it first.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.
This next DC crossover seems like it might have been setup to get a lot of books out to help push the "Dawn of DC" event (yet another reboot of all the titles). With ample start time, tons of authors and artists got to work on this, which seems like a bit of a time killer... However, the story is decent (unlike some other recent DC crossovers).
Basic Summary:
During the events of "Dark Nights: Metal" a battle the Justice League was having with the Dark Batmen resulted in some collateral damage to Gotham City. In one of those buildings, a man survived a building collapse, but his wife and children did not. He swears vengeance on the Justice League. Surviving the horrors of Arkham and refusing to sleep, the man adopts the moniker of Insomnia, and begins to unite the waking world with the realm of nightmares. He searches for the "Nightmare Stone" which would allow the nightmares to become real, and he eventually gets it by tricking Deadman, who much of this crossover revolves around. In the aftermath, the Hall of Justice is closed, Bruce Wayne is in a coma, recovering from overuse of his body by Deadman's possession, and Amanda Waller was able to use Bright to infiltrate the nightmare realm to obtain the Helm of Hate and the Nightmare Stone, which a mystery person uses to become Doctor Hate.
I'll still read through the side stories, which will show many of the DC characters nightmares and should be fun dark reads. Overall, this was alright. Check it out if it seems interesting.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly solid company wide event, especially with my preconceptions going in. I was a little put off by DC's last event (Lazarus Planet) and more than a little tired of everything having a fantasy basis. This series skewed more towards the supernatural, and personally I feel the story's internal logic and end made sense (and offers some potential for future storylines).

The basic premise is that a new supernatural threat has arisen. Insomnia is searching for the nightmare stone and blames the JLA for his misfortunes. Part of his revenge tour is sending the entire planet to sleep, and giving everyone nightmares.

Frankly, I think Williamson underplayed the damage of everyone going to sleep at the same time (maybe I missed something about everyone going to sleep at the same time, and the ensuing planes falling out of the sky, etc.).

Some heroes manage to stay awake, but not for the entire story arc. There are multiple two issue mini-series that were done during this story and some were actually pretty good.

So points to Williamson for giving readers an event series that was better than I expected and better than Lazarus planet.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darkness falls across the DC Universe as the first event of Dawn of DC sends everyone's favourite heroes and villains into the Dreamlands as new villain Insomnia seeks the Dreamstone.

I have a lot to say about the tie-ins to this series, which we'll get to, but the main book is pretty solid actually. The core conflict is good, and the fairly focused cast of Deadman, Batman, and Robin push things forward well. The ending is a little flat, but there's a lot of fun to be had along the way. I was a tiny bit disappointed that Dream Of The Endless didn't show up like he did in Dark Nights: Metal, but never mind.

The art's solid - Williamson's longtime collaborator Howard Porter's around for a bit, while the main four issues are shared between Giuseppe Camuncoli, Stefano Nesi, and Caspar Wijngaard. None of them are huge names at DC (Camo's probably up there), so it's nice to see them get the spotlight on an event book like this.

Knight Terrors is solid fun. Did it need to be a huge crossover? No. But you can enjoy the main series without any of those, and I'd definitely recommend you do.

[Michael Welch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knight Terrors is a huge 47 issue summer event that was published by DC in 2023, that had all the heroes and villains trapped in nightmares. This event brought two forgotten heroes to the forefront Deadman, and the golden age Sandman. Deadman is the narrator for the main event books and is refreshing to have a big event centered around a ghost superhero that has to possess bodies to walk around and fight the villain Insomnia. Insomnia is a forgettable villain for me and the main series I would rate 3.75 stars out of 5. However the ties in which we get to see the nightmares people are trapped in save this event. Some stand outs are the: Batman, Poison Ivy, Joker, Detective Comics , Action Comics, Wonder Woman, Flash, Superman, Catwoman, & Titians. These are just the ones that stuck out to me. Over all I think the tie ins when they hit really hit and bump this read up to a 4 out of 5 comic book read. I recommend this for anyone who wants a spooky read, and the beauty of tie in is that you can read as many or as little as you want.

[Ya Boi Be Reading · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 rounded down. The focus on Deadman saved it. The art might have but its hard to read often. I also feel like the tie-ins handled the nightmare concept better as the nightmares in here are typically generic looking with the Sleepless Knights being underutilized despite their cool appearance.
Between the story and the art, the art was better. It's nice with nearly each issue having three artists on it meaning each one gets to go ham on their art style as well as switch styles to fit the mood of each page or moment. But at times it just feels like its there to be part of the summer blockbuster event of it all then to be of value.
The story was eh. It went how you'd think it would go. Insomnia's motivations are alright (if a bit overdramatic) but nothing blockbuster event worthy. The real highlight is Deadman whose fun to read and begins issues with a fun flair. But nothing really happens with him here. He's cool and I wish they did more with him as a character than assumedly shelving him for awhile with his “death.”
I think as an event this was more about the fun tie ins than a gripping central story and that sentiment shows in my higher rating for the some of the tie-in hardcovers and having more to talk about with them.

[Peter Derk · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good attempt to tell people who say nobody wants to hear your dream stories to fuck off, but like most big comics crossovers that swallow up all the books under one publisher, the main thread is a little thin, and the sidebooks are just sort of boring.

Guys, do events, just do them as their own thing. It's fine. Us nerds can handle it, and there's no fucking way this shit is tricking many people into buying ALL of DC's output in order to get the whole story. I mean, there are uber-nerds out there who do it, but not because they're riveted by the story but because they, like an Aerosmith song, don't want to miss a thing.

They aren't thrilled and hanging on every word, they're being abused by you all. Come on, guys. Comics nerds take enough abuse as it is. The last thing they need is to receive it from YOU, the purveyors of those comics!

[Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just. Bad.

Take 'Dawn of DC' and just put it on pause while this mega event goes across the DCU. Tangentially connected to the Lazarus Planet event, this series is about a new villain (Insomnia) searching for the Nightmare Stone and causing all the world's nightmares to manifest.

Worst part of all of this is that this is the core story and it's pretty thin. It only gets fleshed out if you read the tie-ins. Good luck dropping all that $$$. Almost as bad? The art. 90% of it tries too hard to be spooky and creepy with the horror theme, but it looks like badly carved woodcuts.
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Bonus: Classic Sandman in zombie form? Gee, thanks Lazarus Resin
Bonus Bonus: Is this the end of Deadman? Probably not. He never gets the happy ending.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I liked the idea better than the execution. A horror themed crossover event is promising in concept, and making Boston Brand and Wesley Dobbs, original Sandman, the viewpoint characters is a bold and thematically appropriate choice. The story just felt a little thin on the actual ground, and it seems like all of the really interesting scenes (the various nightmares) all got farmed out to the side comics. And I'm kind of skeptical of the fallout at the end. You mean to tell me that the entire world is going to turn against superheroes as a whole, including Superman, because they had one (1) nightmare with superheroes in it? It just doesn't feel credible that the vast majority of people would do anything but shrug off their nightmares, because we all do it all the time.

[Andrew Garvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the artwork is of wildly varying styles and quality and story feels sluggish at times, there's enough horror, creativity and violence to keep things going, starting with the First Blood special, running through the four main issues and then the climactic, outsized Knight's End. It's always fun to see Deadman and Batman paired together as they (sort of but its mostly just Deadman hijacking his body) are here and Deadman's powers are used well and creatively to make him, along with the revived Golden Age Sandman key to taking on nightmarish new villain Insomnia (whose powers, origin and backstory are revealed throughout). An enjoyable main story to the almost 50 issue crossover event that's interesting enough to make me give the wider story a good look.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was billed as a horror book about the JL dealing with nightmares it definitely needed the horror elements ramped up and barely had the league involved. This was a Deadman story, which was fine. Boston deals with the new threat of Insomnia who unfortunately was unoriginal. The story wasn't bad by any means but I don't know if it was good either. The art was good and bad as well as Giuseppe Camuncoli's work was solid but Howard Porter's was not up to par. This was far from his best work. Also, the coloring was way too bright given the story matter. Overall, Boston was great here and I liked him and how he got to shine but the league was missed and the ending seemed too easy.