This month’s Penguin issue is a tale of two beatdowns.
Luckily, the far more satisfying of the two beatdowns is the one we close things out with here in issue #11.
I for one wish somebody would ask Tom King to get to the point.
Tom King and Rafael De LaTorre’s twelve-issue Penguin‘ series has shaped up to be something of a mixed bag. Its early outings got things off to a great, gritty crime-drama start. Things fell a little flat in the middle issues; King’s inventive storytelling and De LaTorre’s consistently, sharply brooding pencils were always enough of a powerhouse talent combo to keep the pages turning, but as readers, we never quite got the feeling that we were on the surest of narrative footing.
A pattern was developing: The Penguin would administer a devastating, disturbingly calm beatdown of a subordinate, be they related to him by blood or not, while he climbed the bleeding stepping stone on his way back to reclaiming his criminal empire and we’d be back next month to deal with the general fallout. The trouble was, cool as those beatdowns were, readers were not exactly made privy to any plot details that would flesh out this concept of Cobblepot “reclaiming his criminal empire” and what else exactly that would mean or look like. And I think there was a reasonable expectation, at least on my own part, that we’d get some more concrete answers within this penultimate issue.
I just don’t think that that’s happened.
I think I’ve mentioned in a previous penguin review that the prevailing wisdom on Tom King’s strength as a writer dictates that his stories are more enjoyably read in collected formats as opposed to month-to-month single issues. With this in mind, the devoted Penguin reader is this month presented with a curious double feature, because in addition to this issue number 11 hitting the shelves today, DC is also coming out with a collected edition of the first six Penguin issues. It’ll be a curious exercise indeed to compare the two reading experiences. I for one have a feeling that reading the collected edition of this series is going to make me something of a fan again.
This month’s art is getting repetitive as well. The dramatic flashes of black and red silhouettes for the scenes of violence. Just feels like it’s all been done before in the previous months. There’s nothing here that’s bad by any means, but the uniformity of technique and composition the artistic team is using throughout this series is starting to get less “consistent” and more just plain “ redundant”.
So back to that final beatdown.
Without spoiling who the victim is here, I’ll say this: I think it’s what Tom King does best these days. I also think it’s what Tom King knows he does best these days. It’s all just getting a little old. You’ll have to forgive me for constantly bringing up the Sopranos comparison, but in fairness to me, it’s a comparison that Tom King has invited multiple times. But violence itself is not what made “The Sopranos” a truly great series. I’ll leave to more astute analysts than myself to cover what exactly it was that made that show so innovative, but suffice it to say that this penguin series has not effectively captured that magic.
For the past few issues, I’ve concluded with the feeling of “I’m curious to see how King begins to wrap this all up.” Now that we’ve only got one issue left, I can’t help but feel like he hasn’t begun at all. This ending is going to be rushed.
Recommended if…
You absolutely have to see how this all ends
You’re not sick of Penguin beating people up with his umbrella
You can’t get enough of the Force of July
Overall
This is a series that’s stumbling across the finish line a little. Whatever cool or intriguing ideas that were being set up in the first half are fizzling out. This is an issue which sees the final moments of a suffocated candle, just seconds before there’s naught but ash and smoke. Sorry about that last line. It’s just not a great comic.
Score: 5/10
DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.
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