Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight was perhaps the strangest comic to come out of DC in 2023. The Christmas miniseries revealed the true story of Santa Claus and his status as Bruce Wayne’s former teacher. Now, Santa Claus will return in a sequel series starring the original writer in time for the 2024 holiday season.
“I was blown away by how well last year’s Silent Knight series was received,” notes writer Jeff Parker. “Readers really responded to us going full throttle with Santa in the DCU. And then I was asked if I wanted to do another one and have an extra issue? That was Happy New Year.”
“The first Silent Knight series wasn’t quite what I expected, and that’s exactly why I liked it,” says artist Lukas Ketner. “Jeff has an incredible ability to take an idea like a Batman and Santa team-up and execute it with a great story, new DC history, and a real threat. Of course there’s humor, but it’s much more effective when there’s real money at stake.”
Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns explained
The sequel, titled Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns, picks up a year after the first series. The Justice League investigates a new holiday horror when lifeless bodies marked with strange symbols are discovered. This turns out to be a trap that draws the League into another world. Luckily, Batman is able to help Robin escape. Now Damian Wayne must enlist the help of Zatanna and Santa Claus if he wants to save his father and the world’s greatest heroes.
Three uncolored pages from Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #1 can be viewed below.
“When Lukas started Silent Knight Returns, our inboxes were bursting with images that were better than anyone could have imagined,” Parker continued. “With The Bat Office, we started early, so we had rare planning time to really build out the story and create an ominous and scary villain. Cool monsters, exotic locations – you’ll love the clever details Lukas works in, it will be worth reading multiple times.”
“I come from a cartoon horror comics background,” Ketner added, “but when Jeff first mentioned the possibility of a Silent Knight sequel, I had a real ‘Join me, Coach!’ moment. The story has some great fantasy horror vibes and I love that it could just as easily have been a DC Halloween series.”
The five issues of Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns will be released weekly in all comic book stores shortly before Christmas.
