Comic Review: Batman: Curse of the White Knight #8

Batman: Curse of the White Knight #8

DC Comics

Writer: Sean Gordon Murphy

Artist: Sean Gordon Murphy & Matt Hollingsworth

With Curse of the White Knight #8, Sean Murphy delivers an immensely satisfying conclusion to his Azrael saga, ending the series on an incredibly high note. The Wayne secrets are all on the table and from the first page, Murphy launches us into high-octane action.

Believing that he has nothing left to lose, Bruce Wayne relentlessly pursues Azrael, intent on abandoning his ultimate rule and killing the villain. Bruce’s internal struggle either to claim revenge for the Gordon family or to stay true to the ideals of Batman comprises the bulk of the issue’s plot. As always, Murphy gets a ton of mileage out of this premise as it branches in multiple directions, feeding into the one-on-one showdown between Batman and Azrael as well as the typical introspective moments. In this issue, it’s Nightwing who gets a chance to shine as Bruce’s moral lifeline; a hard-hitting talk between father and son midway through is one of the best moments not only of this issue but of the White Knight universe as a whole. It’s great to see Murphy give some respect to Dick and his relationship with Bruce in the finale after keeping him on the sidelines in favor of Harley, Joker, and Barbara in the preceding issues. Story-wise, it’s about as strong an ending as Murphy could have given, wrapping up most of the threads introduced in this miniseries as well as using its final moments to set up the third act, Beyond the White Knight.

Murphy and Matt Hollingsworth go all-out on the book’s art, delivering intense action as always. There’s little to say here that hasn’t been said about the duo’s work already; suffice it to say they’re on top form here. Murphy leans a little less on reference and bits of fan service (like last issue’s Azrael splash page) and instead lets his original work stand on its own, with the only reference being the reappearance of the iconic 1989 Batmobile, which Bruce used to launch his pursuit of Azrael in issue #7. It’s a decision that likely makes the issue’s art stronger as there is no possibility of distracting or detracting from the story. Overall, this is a visually stunning finale that deserves to be appreciated.

Curse of the White Knight’s final issue might be its strongest. Sean Murphy delivers a no-holds-barred story that sees Batman driven to his absolute limits, enhanced by more of the great introspective and emotional moments that have made the other stories in Murphy’s Batman universe so memorable. Murphy and Hollingsworth’s art is stunning on its own, and the seeds that Murphy plants in this issue clinch CotWK #8 as a must-read.