Scott's Take: Dark Knights of Steel: All Winter by Jay Kristoff and Tom Taylor

 

Dark Knights of Steel: All Winter by Jay Kristoff and Tom Taylor is set in the Dark Knights of Steel DC Universe. This is the medieval style universe that Tom Taylor created. I read this in a bit of a weird way. I read the first two issues through DC Infinite. Then, while I was waiting for DC Infinite to put up all the issues, my local library got in the collected edition. I think if one is going to read this they should read it through a traditional book. The color seemed washed out on the online version vs the regular book. The Deathstroke story is minimalistic in color and therefore uses a mostly black or white color palette for most of the book.

 

In this book, Deathstroke is a mercenary Viking guy who ends up escorting a magical kid through ice and death across an unforgiving landscape to save the world. One of those reluctant hero escort quests while dealing with his traumatic past deals. Not the most original premise, but a fun read overall if you like action, magic, Deathstroke and the DC Universe. Deathstroke is a grumpy antihero who is pretty much done with doing anything except looking out for himself.

 

Deathstroke is very similar to the main universe version except for the time period he is operating. There is also a special guest star for part of the book from the Dark Knights of Steel main series that shakes up the book halfway through.

 

There is also include a short origin story for Aquaman in this universe by a different creative team. Tom Taylor tells the tale of The Aquaman. The story is fun, but I don’t know if they did enough to make him different.

 

Both stories include obvious setups if someone wants to continue the story. I am a fan of both writers so maybe I am a little biased towards this read.

 

Overall, I liked both stories by both creative teams. I just feel like they could have done more to make the characters different. But, if you like either Deathstroke or Aquaman, I think you will enjoy this read.

 

By the way, Amazon does not carry this in hardback. That ISBN is: 978-1-79950-079-7. So, the only way you can get it at Amazon is the digital version.

 

 

My hardback reading copy came from the Audelia Road Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

  

Scott A. Tipple ©2025