Batman: Haunted Knight is an anthology trade paperback published by DC Comics in 1996. It reprinted three one shot Halloween specials from the previous three years. Each of the stories were written by Jeph Loeb and featured art by Tim Sale.
Plot:
During the story “Fears”, Batman is hunting down and trying to capture Scarecrow. As the title suggests, fear plays a large part in the story, with Batman nearly dying of fear while trapped in a large, poisonous, thorn maze.
“Madness” tells the story of James Gordon’s daughter, Barbara, being kidnapped by Mad Hatter and forced to be in a twisted tea party with other kidnapped children. Batman and Gordon finally save Barbara and bring down Mad Hatter.
“Ghosts” is basically a Batman universe version of A Christmas Carol, with Bruce’s father taking the place of Marley, and the three spirits being Poison Ivy, Joker, and a Grim Reaper figure who turns out to be Batman’s ghost. The message from the spirits is that Bruce should not let Batman take over his entire life.
Review:
” … there is some downright unforgettable art on display here. From terrifying depictions of Batman to open the book, to what’s possibly my favourite reveal of the Joker ever, the book has no shortage of amazing scenes and Sale illustrates many of them wonderfully. No doubt I’ll want to talk about every page of his once I finish the Harvey Dent origin story, but suffice it say: this guy has style like no other. The closest comparison to another artist I can think of is Frank Miller, but that isn’t really fair because, as you can see in this image of Poison Ivy, Sale has a very unique and identifiable approach to his character design.” Jordan Smith
“Haunted Night is a complete joy, with the writing and art complementing each other at every turn. If you are a Batman fan, then you might find yourself picking up this book and never letting it go.” The [Real] Scratch Pad
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“Though the first two stories in this collection are good reads, I wouldn’t recommend this trade too highly. Sure, it’s Loeb and Sale and good stuff, but it’s nowhere near the level of their later work. You likely wont’ be haunted by these stories or drawn back to them often.” Hilary Goldstein, IGN
