This week, I had planned to (finally) read Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips' Criminal Vol. 3.
That was until I realised that Volume 2 of the Penguin was being released.
As such, I decided, in preparation for going through this new release, I'd re-read its predecessor first.
Penguin Vol. 1: The Prodigal Bird boasts and
all-star creative team, written by Tom King (Issues 1-7)
and Chip Zdarsky (Issue 0) and drawn by Rafael De
LaTorre (Issue 1-5), Stevan Subic (Issues 6-7)
and Belen Ortega (Issue 0) follows Oswald Cobblepot, the
former crime boss of Gotham, who is now living a new life in Metropolis after
his 'death' at the hands of Batman. However, when a sinister Government agent
coerces him to regain his former empire, the 'Penguin' must rise again,
acquiring allies both old and new in order to eliminate Gotham's newest
Kingpins; his own children.
Despite the rather polarising opinions towards his Batman
run, I've always enjoyed Tom King's work in the past (not to mention Rafael De
LaTorre's art) and so, upon seeing this on the shelf in my LCS late last year
(and because I wanted to lean more towards trades going forward .... Which is
working out SO well), I decided to pick it up and give it a go.
I really enjoyed this volume of the series. While the story
starts off quiet and slow, depicting a character so far removed from the
Penguin we've seen for decades, King shows this as a mask, ever but a moment
from slipping and reveal the monster. Of course, once that mask is ripped away,
we are off to the races, as King produces a sinisterly Machiavellian chain of
events as the Penguin prepares for his attack on his children and their grip of
the underworld. The best part of this journey has got to be the Help, an
(presumably) original character who seems to be Alfred, if Alfred had been
trained to become Batman. Of course, that's not to discount the Penguin
himself, who comes across as the truly dangerous man, we've come to expect,
although his intelligence seems to be at a level not previously expected.
No more is that latter point apparent, than in the origin
story contained within Issues 5 and 6. I originally didn't take to this tale
but after I readthrough, I'm much more appreciative of King's story, which sees
Cobblepot's rise to infamy. What I loved about this story was that, the once
and future Penguin subtly played both sides, with neither even considering him
a true threat, in order to become powerful while remaining (mostly) free. That
said, this story also had the adverse effect of making Batman look a little
stupid. Oh well, you can't be prepared for everything.
The art of this story by Stevan Subic perfectly portrays the
dark and sinister workings of Oswald's plans as well as his macabre look and
surroundings. In fact, all three artists' styles perfectly match the respective
stories they are visualising.
Upon it's first read, I felt that this open entry into the
Penguin's re-emergence was a good read. However, second time round its fair to
say that its improved in my opinion to something a little closer to excellent.
But now the prep work is done, I certainly hope the
execution of the Penguins plans live up to this trade.
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