There’s a great amount of detail put into the eyes and there’s one shot in which Penguin is giving a toast that might be my favorite picture of the Penguin I’ve seen so far in the New 52. Penguin’s wiry hair didn’t look quite right to me at first, but once we saw the Penguin remove his hat I thought he looked absolutely spot-on. The artwork by Christian Duce and colorist Andrew Dalhouse is all quite good. Tieri does a terrific job of showcasing all of Penguin’s attributes including his supporting cast (Fishnet and Lark both make an appearance), his home (I loved the opening pages that showed the inner-workings of the Iceberg Casino), the very thing that makes him a threat (trick umbrellas and his knack for unrelenting revenge that tears down countless lives) and even his prior New 52 mis-adventures (John Layman’s “Emperor Penguin” storyline) are summarized to make this a pretty thorough rundown of all things Cobblepot. Otherwise it’s just going to get frustrating.Īs a short-story centered around the Penguin, Batman #23.3 is a success. However, this comic does make it clear that the Batman is missing and presumed dead so… Well, figuring out the order of events is proving to be kind of a headache so I suggest that you just read each comic on its own merits as a stand-alone one-shot. The moon has not been pushed to eclipse the sun as it was at the end of Forever Evil #1, citizens aren’t forming gangs and fighting over scraps of food like they were in Ventriloquist #1, and Penguin is not yet the mayor of Gotham as he was in today’s Scarecrow #1. It doesn’t try and tie itself into the larger Forever Evil epic at all, in fact Gotham feels even more normal (or as normal as Gotham can be) in this issue than it did in last week’s Riddler #1. “Bullies” by Frank Tieri and Christian Duce is a pretty satisfying Penguin story for those who loved Gregg Hurwitz’s portrayal of the character back in Penguin: Pain & Prejudice.

Batman by Gregg Andrew Hurwitz