The cataclysmic conclusion to the bestselling series is here. The battle between the Three Kingdoms rages in brutal and dramatic fashion as heroes return! But when dark secrets spill out like blood on the battlefield, bitter differences must be set aside as the Trinity go to war against the White Martian threat. Can even their combined might prevail and save the planet? Plus, a trio of tales focusing on Bruce, Zala, and Kal-El’s past. What truly defined their lives and prepared them for their tumultuous future? Collects Dark Knights of Steel #7-12 and Dark Knights of Tales from the Three Kingdoms #1.
Once a professional juggler and fire eater, Tom Taylor is a #1 New York Times Bestselling, multi-award-winning comic book writer, playwright and screenwriter.
Well known for his work with DC Comics and Marvel, Taylor is the co-creator of NEVERLANDERS from Penguin Random House, SEVEN SECRETS from Boom Studios and the Aurealis-Award-winning graphic novel series THE DEEP. Taylor is also the Head Writer and Executive Producer of The Deep animated series, four seasons of which is broadcast in over 140 countries.
He is perhaps best known for the DC Comics series, DCEASED (Shadow Awards Winner), NIGHTWING (nominated for 5 Eisner Awards), SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL (GLAAD Award Nominee), INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US, SUICIDE SQUAD, EARTH 2 and BATMAN/SUPERMAN as well as Marvel's FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, ALL NEW WOLVERINE, X-MEN: RED, DARK AGES and SUPERIOR IRON MAN. Taylor is also the writer of many Star Wars series, which include STAR WARS: INVASION and STAR WARS: BLOOD TIES (Stan Lee Excelsior Award winner). Taylor has written for Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, Boom Studios, Wildstorm, 2000 AD and Gestalt Comics.
Tries to be Game of Thrones but ends up being incredibly generic and topical. It feels like all the characters were ripped out of 2023. None of them act as if they live in a medieval setting, so it makes everything feel disingenuous. I think a big part of that is the dialogue. They all speak with modern language. The farther the story went, the less it even acknowledges its setting. By the end, everything just fizzles out, and half the characters introduced are abandoned and forgotten.
Damn, the first volume was super fun for me, but this one kind of pulled a bait and switch that yes, makes total sense, but also made me groan aloud and completely lost me for the rest of the story.
Conceptually-fun, but rushed beyond understanding. The whole series has a lot of potential, and it's a bit saddening to see that this is how it all comes to an end. Oh well!
Like others have said, it feels to topical. It seems the authors don't know if they want to do a fantasy story, a Game of Thrones-pastische or a standard superhero story. Relying to much on the tropes and archetypes of the normal DC Universe didn't help, as it feels like the same thing but with a different aesthetic.
Here is a suggestion, try reading an actual fantasy book before writing one, okay?
the art was amazing, some of the twists were Allright. But everything else was so generic, and the idea of aliens & advanced alien science being in this medieval story really threw me off, if you are gonna include these two elements just write sci-fi.
I hope we'll get to see more of this world in the future, because this run was good.
I really liked the medieval approach, i was genuinely invested in the story and most importantly i had a good time reading it. There are high stakes, secrets and revelations, some good character arcs and some fan service moments. A bit of everything really and done fairly well in my opinion.
Of course it's not perfect, there are some issues. Too many characters to balance, even more in the second volume with definitely no time to develop them all.
If you like elsewhere stories you can do a lot worse than this.
era melhor terem lançado um sistema de RPG do que um quadrinho. apesar da arte absurda de linda e um ou outro momento de impacto, nada disso compensa uma história tão rasa e mais preocupada em se estabelecer como um cenário pronto pra ser usado em licenciamento do que uma trama em si. triste a disneyficação da dc.
A great conclusion to this epic story. Great artwork and story. If I had one complaint about this book, it would be only that it felt too short. This book is faster-paced than the last volume.
Each of the kingdoms has suffered losses, and they intend to take it out on the others. The true enemies will be revealed, and alliances will be forged, but is it already too late? Can trust that has been broken be earned again? Who will survive? Then the annual shows the early adventures of the princes'.
A great Elseworld story and the great thing about it is that there are enough loose ends that this world can be revisited (I hope). The Game of Thrones continues. The book finishes with a varient cover gallery and a sketchbook with character designs.
Rushed, but so fun and fresh, it is full of twists and turns that will both delight and surprise fans. It's not a masterclass in storytelling by any stretch, but it's just such good fun and visually impressive to boot.
Starts off in the right direction but doesn’t go anywhere after that. Two stars for how good the drawing is and how cool it is to see these characters in a different setting.
This was a lot of fun. Tom Taylor is rapidly becoming one of my favourite comicbook writers. Again, I would have rated this higher if not for the fill-in artist on one issue.
Le tome 1 brisait assez les canons de DC pour rendre le tout original et intéressant. Batman avec des superpouvoirs, le fusion Joker-Luther-Green Lantern, Superman élevé par ses parents biologiques, Constantine en prophète, etc.
Mais voilà, tome 2, c'est la fin, il faut tout remballer.
On nous avait présenté une géopolitique complexe avec ses jeux de coulisse diplomatique. Où chaque acteur agit avec sa logique interne qui se comprend. Où les héros tombent en guerre les uns contre les autres, chacun avec de bonnes raisons.
Et voilà que tout retombe comme un soufflet dans une nuées de clichés. Grande Bataille épique et tout le monde s'arrête, se regarde et se dit : "Qu'est-ce qu'on fait là? On est tous des gentils!". Puis on s'allie, on trouve le gros méchant qui veut détruire l'univers, et on lui fait sa fête.
The first volume was fun and I was interested to see how things played out, but this second volume was kinda disappointing. The characters became boring immediately after it's revealed that a shape-shifter was actually the one committing every problematic act in the story to ignite a war that was also kind of boring. A lot of the characters also amounted to nothing. Overall, it wasn't great but I really liked the art style.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
4.5 stars. Brilliant! I loved this story, though this volume wasn’t as good as a whole as the first volume, I still thought it was great! The inclusions of the more various DC characters and concepts in this world had me geeking out. My only small knock would’ve been that the story just didn’t take certain directions that I expected and wanted it to.
The gasp I gussped!! A 5 star line up of your favorite DC characters with twists and swaps I didn't see coming. I loved it, Tom Taylor ate and left no crumbs
This went even harder than the first volume! The end is so carthartic and again the setting is just delightful. Now, I also understand the title of the series.
10/10: I usually expect a decline in quality from the first volume of a run to those that follow it, but oh my goodness, this story continued to blow me away!
Showcasing the reality of John Constantine's prophecy was done in some of the most shocking ways, making me reach a point of audibly going "no wayyyy" several times throughout, particularly in regards to Alfred and the Titans.
If this is where this universe is left, so be it. But I pray that this universe has stories continued in it for years to come! I cannot wait to be reunited with these characters if and when the time comes. One of my favorite comics of all time now and I'll recommend this to anyone who is a fan of alternative history, historical fiction, or is a massive comic geek such as myself. Absolutely brilliant.
The First Volume of this title was outstanding, so I knew I had to read this one as well. The War between the 3 Kingdoms continues to rage until shapeshifters begin to be exposed! Turns out Prince Bruce's caretaker Alfred is actually J'onn J'onzz, the last Green Martian. A huge number of White Martians are on the planet and the Kingdoms must unite together to stop the threat. It would be really interesting to see how this story would continue, who would be their next threat, etc. OR what the world would look like after a huge time jump. Either way, fantastic story and great art kept this one outstanding for me. Strong recommend.