As part of the Knight Terrors comic book event, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman discover the body of one of their earliest enemies in the Hall of Justice. In investigating the matter, the heroes and villains of the DC Universe will find themselves in the Nightmare Realm. Here, they’ll be forced to face their worst nightmares, with whatever happens to them reflected in the Waking World.
Reading comic book events can be a nightmare to keep track of when dozens of comics are involved. I have created this Knight Terrors reading order to make reading easy. It lists all the issues in their recommended order, plus extra details such as release dates, creator credits, and heaps more.
Table of contents
- How to read Night Terrors
- Background reading
- A short pause for some comics
- Knight Terrors reading order
- After Knight Terrors
- Collected editions
How to read Knight Terrors
Knight Terrors consists of more than 45 comic issues. That’s a lot of comics in the space of two months! Luckily, it’s up to you on how you approach this comic book event.
While DC Comics would love it if you bought every comic involved, they certainly don’t expect you to. As a result, they’ve set up Knight Terrors so you can optimise your reading experience your way. The core series consists of the First Blood one-shot and the four-part Knight Terrors miniseries. Additionally, there are several character-centric two-part miniseries.
My recommendation is to start with the Knight Terrors: First Blood one-shot. This is the official first chapter for the event and sets everything up. The main story will then continue in the four-part Knight Terrors miniseries.
After that, check out any of the tie-ins that appeal you. These comics are a great way to expand your reading experience and tell Knight Terrors side-stories from other character’s perspectives. For instance, Knight Terrors: Wonder Woman shows what Wonder Woman is up to in the Nightmare Realm.
You don’t have to read all of the tie-ins. It’s totally up to you which ones you read. You could pick them based on the characters featured, the premise of the tie-in, or the creators telling the story.
Background reading
What should you read before jumping into Knight Terrors? There is no specific story sets up this event. However, Knight Terrors: First Blood references the current status quo of the DC Universe, mentioning recent stories and events in conversations. It’s not essential to have read these to understand Knight Terrors and feel more like DC reminding what has recently happened before the event takes over a big chunk of the publisher’s output for two months.
Check out the following stories if you’re the kind of person who likes to read everything before jumping into an event or wants to know what they need to catch up on in the DC Universe:
DC Universe: Lazarus Planet
Written and art by various.
DC Universe: Lazarus Planet is a recent comic book event that created new superpowered characters (both heroes and villains) and shook up the powers of existing characters through the eruption of the Lazarus Volcano. The villain of Knight Terrors, Insomnia, has their origin tied to this story. Find out more about it and how to read it in our reading order.
Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths
Written by Joshua Williamson. Art by Daniel Sampere.
Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, last year’s big comic book event, gets a mention in Knight Terrors: First Blood. It’s conclusion helped set up many stories as part of the Dawn of DC publishing initiative. It’s epilogue also kicked off the Amanda Waller story that continued in Dawn of DC Primer and looks like will be a side story in Knight Terrors. You can find out how to read Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths in our reading order.
Its conclusion also saw the disbanding of the Justice League and the Titans take their place.
Chip Zdarsky’s Batman run
Written by Chip Zdarsky. Art by Various.
Want to know what Batman has been up to recently? Read Batman (2016 series) #125-136.
Joshua Williamson and Jamal Campbell Superman run
Written by Joshua Williamson. Art by Jamal Campbell.
Want to know what Superman has been up to recently? Read Superman (2023 series) #1-5.
A short pause for some comics
It’s worth noting that many of DC Comics’ ongoing series will be paused during the Knight Terrors event. This will be for two months and will affect the series featuring characters with tie-ins. Instead, these characters will have a two-part Knight Terrors miniseries. The comics will return in September.
For example, the ongoing Batman series will not be published during Knight Terrors. Instead of Batman #137 in July and Batman #138 in August, Knight Terrors: Batman #1-2 will be published. Batman #137 will be published in September after the conclusion of Knight Terrors.
This is not unlike the Future State event, which put DC Comics’ entire line on hold. However, this time it will only put participating series – such as Action Comics, Detective Comics, Superman, Green Lantern, and others – on a two-month pause. Other comics will continue to run as usual.
Knight Terrors reading order
Check out the recommended Knight Terrors reading order below. Additionally, I have added other helpful details such as annotations, creator credits, and release dates.
Dawn of DC: Knight Terrors Free Comic Book Day Special #1
Written by Joshua Williamson. Art by Howard Porter and Chris Bachelo.
Available 6th May
Note: Dawn of DC: Knight Terrors Free Comic Book Day Special #1 is a free comic that DC Comics gave away as part of Free Comic Book Day 2023. It acts as a teaser to the event to get readers excited about it. You can read it for free online if you missed Free Comic Book Day.
Knight Terrors: First Blood #1
Written by Joshua Williamson. Art by Howard Porter.
On sale 4th July
Note: Knight Terrors: First Blood #1 is the first chapter of Knight Terrors and sets up the core Knight Terrors miniseries and the tie-ins.
Knight Terrors: Batman #1 (of 2)
Written by Joshua Williamson. Art by Guillem March and David Lafuente.
On sale 4th July
Knight Terrors: Ravager #1 (of 2)
Written by Ed Brisson. Art by Dexter Soy.
On sale 4th July
Knight Terrors: The Joker #1 (of 2)
Written by Matthew Rosenberg. Art by Stefano Raffaele.
On sale 4th July
Knight Terrors: Poison Ivy #1 (of 2)
Written by G. Willow Wilson. Art by Atagun Ilhan.
On sale 4th July
Knight Terrors: Black Adam #1 (of 2)
Written and art by Jeremy Haun.
On sale 4th July
Knight Terrors #1 (of 4)
Written by Joshua Williamson. Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Stefano Nesi, and Caspar Wijngaard.
On sale 11th July
Knight Terrors: Robin #1 (of 2)
Written by Kenny Porter. Art by Miguel Mendonça.
On sale 11th July
Knight Terrors: The Flash #1 (of 2)
Written by Alex Paknadel. Art by Daniel Bayliss.
On sale 11th July
Knight Terrors: Zatanna #1 (of 2)
Written by Dennis Culver. Art by David Baldeon.
On sale 11th July
Knight Terrors: Shazam #1 (of 2)
Written by Mark Waid. Art by Roger Cruz.
On sale 11th July
Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1 (of 2)
Written by Jeremy Adams and Alex Segura. Art by Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, and Mario ‘Fox’ Foccillo.
On sale 11th July
Knight Terrors: Wonder Woman #1 (of 2)
Written by Josie Campbell and Stephanie Williams. Art by Juan Ferreyra and Meghan Hetrick.
On sale 18th July
Knight Terrors: Superman #1 (of 2)
Written by Joshua Williamson. Art by Tom Reilly.
On sale 18th July
Knight Terrors: Nightwing #1 (of 2)
Written by Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad. Art by Daniele Di Nicuolo.
On sale 18th July
Knight Terrors: Catwoman #1 (of 2)
Written by Tini Howard. Art by Leila Leiz.
On sale 18th July
Knight Terrors: Punchline #1 (of 2)
Written by Danny Lore. Art by Lucas Meyer.
On sale 18th July
Knight Terrors #2 (of 4)
Written by Joshua Williamson. Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Stefano Nesi, and Caspar Wijngaard.
On sale 25th July
Knight Terrors: Teen Titans #1 (of 2)
Written by Andrew Constant. Art by Scott Godlewski.
On sale 25th July
Knight Terrors: Action Comics #1 (of 2)
Written by Leah Williams and Phillip Kennedy Johnson. Art by Vasco Georgiev.
On sale 25th July
Knight Terrors: Detective Comics #1 (of 2)
Written by Dan Watters. Art by Riccardo Federici.
On sale 25th July
Knight Terrors: Harley Quinn #1 (of 2)
Written by Tini Howard and Leah Williams. Art by Hayden Sherman and Ben Templesmith.
On sale 25th July
Knight Terrors: Angel Breaker #1 (of 2)
Written by Tim Seeley. Art by Acky Bright.
On sale 25th July
Knight Terrors: Batman #1 (of 2)
Written by Joshua Williamson. Art by Guillem March.
On sale 1st August
Knight Terrors: Ravager #2 (of 2)
Written by Ed Brisson. Art by Dexter Soy.
On sale 1st August
Knight Terrors: The Joker #2 (of 2)
Written by Matthew Rosenberg. Art by Stefano Raffaele.
On sale 1st August
Knight Terrors: Poison Ivy #2 (of 2)
Written by G. Willow Wilson. Art by Atagun Ilhan.
On sale 1st August
Knight Terrors: Black Adam #2 (of 2)
Written and art by Jeremy Haun.
On sale 1st August
Knight Terrors #3 (of 4)
Written by Joshua Williamson. Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Stefano Nesi, and Caspar Wijngaard.
On sale 8th August
Knight Terrors: Robin #2 (of 2)
Written by Kenny Porter. Art by Miguel Mendonça.
On sale 8th August
Knight Terrors: The Flash #2 (of 2)
Written by Alex Paknadel. Art by Daniel Bayliss.
On sale 8th August
Knight Terrors: Shazam #2 (of 2)
Written by Mark Waid. Art by Roger Cruz.
On sale 8th August
Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #2 (of 2)
Written by Jeremy Adams and Alex Segura. Art by Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, and Mario ‘Fox’ Foccillo.
On sale 8th August
Knight Terrors: Wonder Woman #2 (of 2)
Written by Josie Campbell and Stephanie Williams. Art by Juan Ferreyra and Meghan Hetrick.
On sale 15th August
Knight Terrors: Superman #2 (of 2)
Written by Joshua Williamson. Art by Tom Reilly.
On sale 15th August
Knight Terrors: Nightwing #2 (of 2)
Written by Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad. Art by Daniele Di Nicuolo.
On sale 15th August
Knight Terrors: Catwoman #2 (of 2)
Written by Tini Howard. Art by Leila Leiz.
On sale 15th August
Knight Terrors: Punchline #2 (of 2)
Written by Danny Lore. Art by Lucas Meyer.
On sale 15th August
Knight Terrors: Teen Titans #2 (of 2)
Written by Andrew Constant. Art by Scott Godlewski.
On sale 22nd August
Knight Terrors: Action Comics #2 (of 2)
Written by Leah Williams and Phillip Kennedy Johnson. Art by Vasco Georgiev.
On sale 22nd August
Knight Terrors: Detective Comics #2 (of 2)
Written by Dan Watters. Art by Riccardo Federici.
On sale 22nd August
Knight Terrors: Harley Quinn #2 (of 2)
Written by Tini Howard. Art by Hayden Sherman.
On sale 22nd August
Knight Terrors: Angel Breaker #2 (of 2)
Written by Tim Seeley. Art by Acky Bright.
On sale 22nd August
Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2023 series) #4
Written and art by various.
On sale 22nd August
Note: Batman: The Brave and the Bold is an anthology series that serialises several stories. This issue contains a Stormwatch tale that also acts as a Knight Terrors tie-in.
Knight Terrors #4 (of 4)
Written by Joshua Williamson. Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Stefano Nesi, and Caspar Wijngaard.
On sale 22nd August
Knight Terrors: Zatanna #2 (of 2)
Written by Dennis Culver. Art by David Baldeon.
On sale 8th August
Note: Knight Terrors: Zatana #2 leads directly into Knight Terrors: Night’s End #1.
Knight Terrors: Night’s End #1
Written by Joshua Williamson. Art by Howard Porter.
On sale 29th August
Buy Knight Terrors issues on…
After Knight Terrors
DC Comics hasn’t revealed too much information about which comics will spin out of Knight Terrors yet. However, we do know that the following will connect to it in some way or another.
Titans: Beast World
Written by Tom Taylor. Art by Ivan Reis and Lucas Meyer.
Do you want to know what’s next for Amanda Waller and her plans? This subplot will continue to unfurl in DC Comics’ next comic book event, Titans: Beast World. Find out more about and how to read it in our Titans: Beast World reading order.
Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War
Written by Chip Zdarsky and Tini Howard. Art by Mike Hawthorne, Andrno Di Bendetto, Jorge Jimenez, and Nico Leon.
The Gotham War is a crossover between Batman and Catwoman, which will see them on the opposing sides in a war for Gotham City. Themes and story elements from Knight Terrors: Batman and Knight Terrors: Catwoman help set this event up. Check out our Gotham War reading order to see which issues are involved.
Harley Quinn #32
Written by Tini Howard. Art by Sweeney Boo.
On sale 26th September
Harley Quinn is back from experiencing the horrors of Knight Terrors but she won’t be escaping it that easy. She’ll have to deal with Lady Quark, who has found a way to harness the powers of the Nightmare Realm.
Power Girl (2023 series) #1
Written by Leah Williams. Art by Eduardo Pansica and Julio Ferreira.
On sale 19th September
The events of Knight Terrors have awoken a Kryptonian threat that only Power Girl can stop.
Green Lantern (2023 series) #3
Written by Jeremey Adams and Phillips Kennedy Johnson. Art by Xermanico and Montos.
On sale 12th September
The Knight Terrors: Green Lantern issues will feed directly into what’s happening in regular Green Lantern series. The third issue is the next one to be released after this comic book event.
Wesley Dodds: The Sandman #1
Written by Robert Venditti. Art by Riley Rossomo.
On sale 10th October
This isn’t technically spinning out of Knight Terrors and more of a Justice Society of America adjacent comic. However, I recommend the series if you want to read more of Wesley Dodds.
Unnamed Superman Event in 2024
Joshua Williamson mentioned at the SDCC Knight Terrors panel that Knight Terrors: Superman #2 will help set up a currently unnamed Superman event in 2024.
Collected editions
Check out the following hardcovers if you’d prefer to read Night Terrors in a collected format.
Knight Terrors
Collects: Knight Terrors #1-4, Knight Terrors: First Blood #1, Knight Terrors: Night’s End #1, and a story from the Dawn of DC Knight Terrors 2023 FCBD Special Edition
Knight Terrors: Dark Knightmares
Collects: Knight Terrors: Batman #1-2, Knight Terrors: Catwoman #1-2, Knight Terrors: Detective Comics #1-2, Knight Terrors: Nightwing #1-2, and Knight Terrors: Robin #1-2
Knight Terrors: Knightmare League
Collects: Knight Terrors: Action Comics #1-2, Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1-2, Knight Terrors: Superman #1-2, Knight Terrors: The Flash #1-2, and Knight Terrors: Wonder Woman #1-2
Knight Terrors: Knocturnal Creatures
Collects: Knight Terrors: Harley Quinn #1-2, Knight Terrors: Poison Ivy #1-2, Knight Terrors: The Joker #1-2, Knight Terrors: Punchline #1-2, and Knight Terrors: Zatanna #1-2
Knight Terrors: Terror Titans
Collects: Knight Terrors: Titans #1-2, Knight Terrors: Shazam! #1-2, Knight Terrors: Black Adam #1-2, Knight Terrors: Angel Breaker #1-2, and Knight Terrors: Ravager #1-2
Have your say
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This RO claims that no background reading is required.
Within the first issue “KT: First Blood,” there are spoilers & references to multiple events Dark Crisis, Lazarus Planet, the current/most recent runs of Superman & Batman. There are even Editors notes to read some of these in order to know what’s going on.
That’s a lot of background reading required & as someone who likes to read everything for the full experience, I saw this article claim that there’s no background reading required & I was very excited & jumped in right away, to quickly find out that it contained spoilers to events that I have not yet read.
It’s misleading, not sure if these things fall under the vague “events that lead up to” criteria. It’s expected to be included, considering most ROs include background reading for references made. It’s important to note for any readers who haven’t read the events referenced.
Hi Jay Bee, I’ve updated the Background reading section to be more clear and to offer some reading suggestions who want to do the reading before jumping into Knight Terrors.
No canonical comic fully stands on its own. That doesn\\\’t mean it would negatively affect the reading experience.
Super helpful.😁 I will definitely come back for more advice next time I have a question.📚