This is one of those books I used to get over and over from the library back home. I remember picking it up on a whim, and the first full page shot of Scarecrow hooking me. Then I remember trying to be a cool kid and pretending I’m too cool for Batman, yet in spite of that the character designs and images stuck with me for years, until I finally bought a copy and revisited it. It mostly holds up!

Haunted Knight is a collection of three Batman vignettes. The visual style stands out as the collection’s strength, with Tim Sale absolutely killing it on every front. Heh, as soon as I typed that, I thought, “did he?” and the answer is no: Bruce Wayne’s visual style is wildly inconsistent. But in spite of that, I remember shots of Penguin, Poison Ivy, and most of all Joker, all of whom were novel at the time and have only gotten better with age. Joker is only present for a couple of pages, which actually leads into the primary criticism I have of this collection: it’s rushed in places. Joker is built up, with an intro of his haunting laugh that lasts for fully half of his presence in the book. It was effective, so maybe it doesn’t matter, but I was struck by it on reread.

The story I remember most concerns the Mad Hatter, mostly because I couldn’t believe that was an actual Batman villain as a kid. It stands on its own though, with the most emotional story in the collection, as Babs Gordon is captured by the Hatter and Batman has to try and find her before she’s hurt. It’s a solid story that takes a completely stupid villain and somehow makes him interesting. It also has my favorite shot, with the Hatter, who is quite mad, seeing Batman behind him in the mirror and screaming that he’s the Jabberwocky. That’s the sort of thing that sticks with you for a long, long time.

Haunted Knight is a solid Batman story that anyone could understand, but that will work well for Batman fans who remember the Keaton movies and their blend of camp with genuine darkness. Definite recommendation.