KNIGHT RIDER #5

WRITER: Geoffrey Thorne
ARTIST: Jason Johnson
COLORIST: Milen Parvanov & Sai Studios
LETTERER: Deron Bennett
EDITOR: Shannon Eric Denton

Previously: Knight Rider #4

So, Michael survived the car crash. So did Bishop. Those are the biggest spoilers I’m going to reveal here, since the book just came out today. But the bad guys got away with Katherine. There’s some banter between Michael and K.I.T.T., who is determined to help Michael rescue her, and K.I.T.T. still refers to her as his “mother.” And as they prepare to go after her, we get a glimpse of Katherine alone in a dark room, waking up after being sedated for an undetermined amount of time, while an off-panel voice speaks to her. Katherine then realizes that she recognizes the voice, and we see her react in shock as two off-panel figures (one male, the other possibly female) enter the room. That’s the cliffhanger.

This is the first issue of the series where I have a couple of problems. There’s a supposed “twist” in the beginning of the book that I could see coming a mile away. I’m honestly rather surprised Geoff Thorne would use this particular plot device. Also K.I.T.T. states that Michael was unconscious for around 6 hours, which should mean that he’s looking at severe brain damage, but he just shakes it off and is back to his usual self. And as for the cliffhanger, I’m fine with that as long as there’s not another fake-out coming next issue. It’s time to start revealing some of the details behind F.L.A.G. and whomever attacked it and why. Suspense and mystery are great, but if you drag it out too long, you risk the readers losing interest.

I still mostly enjoyed this issue, and that’s speaking as someone who was never even a big fan of the TV show, so that’s something. And the artwork is still impressive, so kudos to Jason Johnson for that.