Penguin: Pain and Prejudice

Penguin

by Gregg Hurwitz, Szymon Kudranski (Illustrator), Jason Aaron (Writer)

Bestselling author Gregg Hurwitz examines the painful and dark past of one of Batman's most devious foes. How did young Oswald Cobblepot go from being the apple of his mother's eye to the leader of underworld gangs and adversary of The Caped Crusader?

Collecting: Penguin: Pain and Prejudice #1-5 and Joker's Asylum: Penguin #1.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Batman, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 2012

About the author

Gregg Hurwitz is the critically acclaimed, New York Times and internationally bestselling author of 20 novels, including OUT OF THE DARK (2019). His novels have been shortlisted for numerous literary awards, graced top ten lists, and have been published in 30 languages.

He is also a New York Times Bestselling comic book writer, having penned stories for Marvel (Wolverine, Punisher) and DC (Batman, Penguin). Additionally, he’s written screenplays for or sold spec scripts to many of the major studios, and written, developed, and produced television for various networks. Gregg resides in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 4 out of 5]

(A-) 83% | Very Good
Notes: Powerfully perturbing, it's a punishing portrayal of perversion and paranoia, poignant in parts, and percolating pity.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Called by some 'The Killing Joke' for the Penguin: I am inclined to agree - this is a man without a soul who moves through a world of international crime. The back story of a bullied young boy explains the 'why' - but the 'what' he has become is horrifying. In many ways his methodical way of taking away anything his enemies love is even more disturbing that the way the Joker operates. GAH has done a fantastic job of reinventing this classic villain - highest recommendation.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really a great Penguin story, but it was so sad!
I mean, on one hand, I felt bad for little Oswald, but at the same time, he was a horrifyingly creepy kid.
I've honestly never thought of the Penguin as a dangerous villain, but this comic changed my mind. He was a total psychopath when it came to dealing with people who he perceived had wronged him.
*shudder*



Probably the most disturbing thing in the entire book was the incestuous undertones between Cobblepot and his mother.
Ewwwwwww!
Maybe being a mom myself made that whole relationship seem even ickier, but I doubt it. Gross!
There's this one panel where it looks like she puts her tongue in his ear when he's a little kid...to thank him for something he made for her!




OhMyGod! It burns! I can't un-see that! ACK!

Like I said, the whole book is just sad. I know the blurb says something about him possibly being considered an anti-hero and maybe finding true love, but I just didn't see that at all.
He certainly wasn't what I would consider an anti-hero unless you think that bad people never ever do anything nice. Occasionally, even the worst people will do something kind for someone they like. And as far as finding True Love? It didn't seem that way to me. Nobody as crazy as the Penguin could ever really love another person.
Well, he loved his f*@#ed-up mother, but that's about it!



It may sound like I hated this, but it was really just one of those books that was good, but hard to read.
And I never thought I'd say that about a comic with Penguin as the title character.
This one's dark, folks.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greg Hurwitz has done what I thought was pretty much impossible. To take a joke villain like the Penguin and make him scary as hell. The Penguin takes the ultimate revenge on the smallest perceived slight and at the same time give the ultimate reward to the smallest kindness. Be rude to him unknowingly and you might have your business shut down, your wife murdered, your kid given an incurable disease, your neighbors burned alive in a house fire and yourself framed as a drug dealer.

We also see him as the kingpin of Gotham. Sending thieves out to steal jewelry to give to his mother. We also gets flashbacks to his life as a child. How his brothers and father endlessly picked on him and mysteriously died one by one. Then we see his weird Oedipus like fixation on his mother.

Szymon Kudranski's art is dark and ominous, perfect for the series. My one complaint is that it is sometimes too dark and closeup in some of the panels and I didn't really know what was happening in those areas.

Finally, there's a one shot in the back by Jason Aaron that appears to be the treatise for this series.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Penguin, aka Oswald Cobblepot, is a crime-lord from one of Gotham's oldest and wealthiest families. Diminutive in appearance with a crooked nose, a rotund figure, dressing in blacks and whites, and a love of all things avian, it's easy to see how Penguin came by his cruel nickname. He's always been kind of a joke figure in the Batman world, a small fat man with no real powers, just money, the ever present monocle, umbrella and cigarette holder - really, what's to be scared of? Well Greg Hurwitz doesn't think Penguin's a joke and writes what is essentially his version of "Killing Joke" for this classic Batman villain.

Hurwitz tugs at the heartstrings by making Penguin a figure of mockery from the earliest possible age; spurned by his father but loved by his mother, Penguin grows up with several older brothers who mock and beat him mercilessly, before going to a school where his peers do the same. Isolated by his appearance, he cultivates his precocious intellect to concoct schemes to make his life more bearable - by killing off those who jeer him. Thus are monsters created.

Jumping back and forth from the present to the past, we see the Penguin today as a master of revenge, targeting those he perceives have wronged him, sensitive for even the slightest of slights. But he doesn't just go after the person, he goes after their friends, their family, their pets, their acquaintances; Hurwitz writes Penguin as Don Corleone x 100. We also see Penguin's massive network of contacts and resources, making him formidable to a single person looking to stop him - like Batman.

Hurwitz gives Penguin a love interest for this book, a blind woman who warms to his personality, and through her we see Penguin's capacity for good - making this story all the more tragic by its conclusion. We also catch glimpses into Penguin's psyche, like how an inferiority complex and bitterness can warp a person on the inside and turn someone who could conceivably make the world a better place but, because of a lack of understanding and love in their formative years, has decided to make the world suffer instead.

This is a 5 issue mini-series, but DC also include a one-shot Penguin comic from 2008 written by Jason Aaron called "He Who Laughs Last...!" which, despite its brevity, manages to tell the same story Hurwitz has taken 5 issues to tell in just 1! This mini-series has its roots in Aaron's short comic, and though I enjoyed Hurwitz's book immensely, it made me once again appreciate Jason Aaron's brilliance as a writer and hope he one day returns to Gotham to write a feature length story arc.

"Penguin: Pain and Prejudice" is an inspired and engrossing story reminding readers why this cartoonish villain is one of the all-time greats in Batman's Rogues Gallery, as well as giving us access to the real person behind the reputation. An excellent read, Batman fans will devour this but for those who enjoy a great gothic story, this is well worth a look too.

[Michael O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating story of a very complex anti-hero, the Penguin. Of Batman villains, most seem most interested in either the Joker or Harlequin, but the Penguin is, to me, one of the more psychologically interesting. In this story, we see Penguin at the height of his game --- wealthy and powerful. But, after reading his past, it's clear that these are incidental. In childhood, despised by his father, bullied by his older brothers, ridiculed and humiliated by his classmates, but loved unconditionally by his mother, the Penguin is twisted and tormented into the creature he will become in adulthood. Which is to say cruel, ruthless, and vicious --- but retaining a small, last remaining vestige of compassion. Sin and cruelty from the past beget a bumper crop of more sin and cruelty in the man that will become the Penguin.

Unlike other villains, it is neither power nor wealth that Penguin craves, but respect. Which does not come his way naturally. Clearly, if who you are now is what you were when, then Penguin's formative years have lead him to conclude that love, with the exception of his beloved mother, is not a reality --- and that, if love is not possible, then life is but a choice between either humiliation or fear -- and that to be feared is better. Penguin's accrual of wealth and power are means to an end --- to make sure that the humiliation and ridicule never happen again --- ever --- and to take action when they do.

Add to this bitter past a brilliant cunning, high intelligence, and patient calculation, and, in Penguin, you may well have someone pathological in ways even beyond that of the Joker. His way of thinking differs little from Josef Stalin or the members of North Korea's Kim Dynasty --- who would understand the Penguin's methods perfectly. An insult, a trifling gesture of disrespect -- and the Penguin doesn't torture or kill you ---- he destroys your entire life, piece by piece, cruelly, mercilessly in such a way you wish for a quick end. Not hesitating for a moment to go after your loved ones and friends if that is the best way to destroy you.

In this plot, after the death of his mother, Penguin does encounter a blind woman --- also being bullied and ridiculed -- and they establish a connection. Possibly the first and only member of the opposite sex. other than Penguin's mother, to love and accept Penguin as he is. But, tragically, right as the two finally bridge those last barriers between them, Penguin cannot restrain his drives to go after those who, in his view, despise him --- blowing his one chance at retaining a touch with the rest of humanity, and forsaking his companion.

The story ends in my opinion, sadly with Batman intervening to stop Penguin's villainy and Penguin losing his last chance at humanity --- but the crafty bird always has a backup plan. This story is wide open for a sequel!

Overall, I enjoyed this story immensely. One of the best graphic novels I've ever read.

[Rizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting to poopoo this comic, just assuming that the New 52 had ruined Penguin like most other DC characters. But no, this is actually a pretty excellent deep dive into Oswald's character regardless of universe. It can fit post-Crisis just as easily as post-Flashpoint. Penguin has always struggled to stand out among the wackier villains of Gotham, but this story is a good example of how unsettling and powerful he can be. Is it derivative? Absolutely. But it's also pretty damn engaging. And that art, wew.

[Prongs · Rating 5 out of 5]

THAT WAS GREAT.

Dark and sad and a great addition to the Gotham universe. I'd like to give 6 stars just for the Joker bits.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

People hate what is ugly.What is weak.
It's a mirror of their own worst fears.

[The Comic Book Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man, what a bummer!
I really wanted to like this.
It's just like any other Penguin story that I have read. We see his tough childhood, he befriends birds and then as an adult he falls in love with a woman etc.
To me, it's feels formulaic and boring. They need to do something new with the Penguin and not repeat the same story.
I also didn't really like the artstyle. It was a bit ugly and was too dark due to the coloring etc.

(PS: a better story that I liked was a one-shot written by Jason Aaron in the Joker Asylum anthology. Frankly, it's the same story, but shorter and more effective. You can read it in this trade)

4/10

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

A valiant attempt to humanize and dig deeper into the psyche of The Penguin, but ultimately this is just too familiar of a storyline. It's missing a certain creative push to knock it over the edge of rote "damaged person becomes a villain" story into something more unique and nuanced. Oddly, I kept thinking "I've seen this all before" as I read it, and then DC went the extra mile by including, as a bonus, an old Jason Aaron story about the Penguin that is almost exactly the same. It doesn't do your story any favors when you hold something identical up right next to it in the same collection.

In any case, Hurwitz does a good job with what is there. His dialogue feels noir-y without being over the top, and he does his best to highlight the various traumas from Penguin's life in a way that reveals why he's making certain decisions in the present. He's also great at writing Batman himself, whose presence is only lightly felt in this story, which makes him all the more imposing and important when he shows up.

However, I never got a real sense of what allows the Penguin to perfectly run a crime empire right under Batman's nose. Sure, I get that he was picked on as a child and as such has an obsessive tendency to visit vengeance upon those who mock him, but how does that factor into being a criminal genius? It actually makes him overly emotional and reactive, which is the last thing the head of an underworld empire should be. Hurwitz doesn't explore how Penguin manages to justify both of those aspects of his personality. We're just shown these two fairly at-odds traits and expected to believe they can co-exist, right up to the point where Penguin blows everything by being, again, overly emotional and reactive. It's a little hard to swallow.

There's also a fair amount of telling instead of showing going on. For instance, at one point, Penguin reveals he's utterly destroyed the life of a man who insulted him. But, we don't see him carry any of it out. He just tells the man all the terrible things he's done and we have to buy it. It's kind of... boring. I'd rather see these things happen to this guy and see the Penguin relish in them than just hear them read aloud like a grocery list of atrocities.

Anyway, this felt like it was on the right track to be a pretty solid and unique look at the Penguin, but instead it kind of peters out, transforming into a very standard tragic romance, complete with a blind woman who can't see how hideous Penguin truly is. I'd say this one is easily missable.

[Brady Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a much better book than I expected, a nice little back story for one of the Batmans more famous foes. Not only did this title make me care about the character, it made me empathise with him one page and detest him the next, great stuff! Batman is used sparingly but you know he is always there lurking in the background and he is at his most menacing in this title, more so than I've seen in a long time, when Batman is hunting the penguin through his house and taking the guards down with stealth you cannot help but think "awesome!" Whilst my only gripe is that the artwork is a bit too dark at times, the fact that it is panelled so well more than makes up for this, even with the flashbacks you never lose grip of what is going on. This isn't penguins killing joke as people say, this is penguins Joker, as in joker by Brian azzarello, it's dark, menacing, unsettling at times but more importantly always awesome!

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A darker tale than the norm. Though I'd say it was a little iffy on what it wanted to be.

Basically Penguin is a real piece of shit here. He is a crime lord, and they show that in full force. When he begins to fall for a blind woman he doubts himself even more as the general public still views him as a joke. Batman is trying to stop him every step of the way but without proof that's a bit hard. Overall this is a solid Penguin story with really screwed up moments but I think it didn't do much for the character in the long run other than showing he can be a legit threat. A 3 out of 5.

[cloverina · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

SO close to being a straight 5 star, but the art, although it's great in most panels, can be very muddy and it ruins all the action, leading to the last few pages of the main story being pretty anti-climactic. Even the story at the end of the collection was absolutely fantastic, and I The Penguin has always been my least favorite Batman villain. I wanted to like him so bad, and the Internet said this is the story I needed. They were so right.

[Sandryne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good, it’s a nice way to learn more about the back story of one of batman’s iconic villains

[Ronan The Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was surprisingly really good. I only say surprisingly because it was hard to imagine any book about the Penguin being as serious and not goofy mustache-twirling, giving a real insight and backstory to the character and his motivations. He’s a self-centered psychopath, but Hurwitz shows how he became that. He makes you feel for Oswald in a way that maintains he’s absolutely a terrible, terrible monster (seriously, some of the things he does to people who upset him on any level are viciously heinous), and a real threat/menace to Gotham, but seeing his fucked up childhood makes it all the more tragic; the pain inflicted onto him that warped into the pain he inflicts unto others. Hurwitz also makes the bird-themed weapons and hatched plots (so sorry), less ridiculous and at least somewhat more realistic.

And then the art. The art was great, dark, gritty, and had a claymation/creepy animatronic quality that’s hard to describe. Perfect fit for the story. The fit of the art to the story makes a huge difference, and this really made it feel like you were seeing the world through Cobblepot’s eyes.

If there’s a gripe to be had, the last issue felt a lil rushed, and the emotional punch in the end was slightly hampered for me specifically with his relationship with the blind woman, it just felt more manufactured in the end, even though I approve of the idea behind it, but all in all this is an underrated mini that I would definitely recommend to get a deeper understanding of a classic Batman villain.

[Dr Rashmit Mishra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was superb , fantastic even .

Penguin had always been one of the more relatively benign villains in the Batman foe gallery , he was a mobster and a fraud who used his club to do all kinds of illicit acts , however with this book that perception is changed as we find out just how cruel he can be.

That said , the book also sheds light on how Penguin actually think , what actually goes in his mind , and for some brief moments you can actually come to care for him as a character . Of course as i stated , these moments are brief coz soon u see the cruel aspects of his and those aspects just overpower all sense of pity you have for the man .

One particular panel where he describes how his victims were all criminals who never were caught or persecuted by the public or the police but he was because of how he looked made me think of Robin Hood for a moment as well.

I genuinely feel that reading this book may make readers appreciate penguin as a villian , and put him above in ranking amongst other Bat-foes . Sure he aint no Joker , nor Two-face but he's Penguin and he's scary

[Julius · Rating 4 out of 5]

To put it plainly this comic surprised me. Taking a look at its cover I didn't expect much from it, but it was not long before that changed. The story deals with the origin of the Penguin, one of Batman's most well-known villians. From the way it brings across the Peguin's childhood, and the suffering he endured within it, down to the way in which the comic follows his thoughts (both current and past) I found exellent. Even the art, not enough to catch my eye very much in it's form, simply fitted to the story so well that I had to nod my head in its favor. Everything about the comic fitted the story it was telling so very well. I suggest this to anybody who likes a good look at seeing the world from the villian's point of view.

[Cassie R. (cassie_in_the_void) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh Oswald, such a sad and horrible character. In a good way of course. I wanted to read more about the character after I watched a few Gotham episodes and I thought this would be a good staring point. I thought this story gave a good explanation as to how Oswald became The Penguin. And I love how he compares himself to other people that do bad things and makes Batman think about how they decide who the villains are.

This was a sad story and of course there are no happy endings for villains. What happened to Cassandra was horrible but I thought her interactions with Oswald were great. And I just loved the little Joker cameos. I definitely want to read more about the character now and learn about the other villains in Gotham as well.

[Justine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't expect to love this book this much!! It was such a great read, such an intense moment!!
When I was younger, I was traumatised by Penguin because of Tim Burton's movie and Danny de Vito's playing. He was so scary. But with this comics, I reconciled with him!! It is so sad a story...
Penguin is born from prejudice and pain, just as the title tells. Society is so hypocrite... My heart broke multiple times. Best comics I read with Red Son.

[Sheida · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oswald is a very fascinating villain so I really liked the story here but I wasn't really a fan of the artwork, it was way too dark, you could barely see what was happening.

[Paweł · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mroczna i ponura historia o pingwinie. Zdecydowanie najlepiej oddaje wszystko co ma ten złoczyńca w głowie.

[SmokingMirror · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm another one who read this on the recommendation of Robin Lord Taylor. I was a little apprehensive because some of the reviews here made it seem that the story focused on bullying and violence, which I guess it does, but more in an allusive and descriptive way rather than being depicted explicitly. RLT said this Penguin made his portrayal look like Mary Poppins and that's probably true.

The elements of the story were foreseeable but it was the details that I enjoyed. Cassandra was kind of an obvious character used to humanize the Penguin (never be with a guy whose first name is The, a paraphrase from the book) but I really liked her. The way she talked to herself even when other people were around was charming. Her insecurities shed light on all of the other stuff that was going on. It was as though everyone in that book was on the same continuum of human feeling, just some in a darker place than others.

I read this as single issues because it's so hard to obtain the book right now without a lot of money, so I missed out on the Jason Aaron bonus story.

I am interested to read the other Hurwitz books with Batman villains. I think he does a subtle job bringing detail to kind of basic plots, which comic book origin stories often are.

Gertrud is a better name for Oswald's mother than the one in this book and I'm certainly glad not to be named Jason Cobblepot. (How could someone with that name not be a bully?)

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gustó la idea general, que es la misma de siempre: Oswald Cobblepot es un nene feo al que maltratan y discriminan desde chiquito. Crece resentido y sintiéndose inútil, pero con una inteligencia por encima de lo normal que le permite ir escalando en el mundo criminal y de paso vengarse de aquellos que lo jodieron, hermanos incluido. Ya en el presente, con todo un imperio criminal construido a sus espaldas, se enamora y a la vez trama oootro de sus planes llenos de resentimiento y rabia, pero Batman lo frena. No es que sea una historia muy original que digamos pero la verdad que está bien contada.
En el aspecto del dibujo, mis opiniones son más contradictorias: Szymon Kudranski es muy buen dibujante, pero muy mal historietista. Sus caras, cuerpos, gestos, escenarios, y toda la bola, la verdad que se ven muy bien. Pero a la hora de narrar, de hacer un planteo interesante en la página, de resaltar lo que se supone que tiene que resaltar en la página, etc, no logra mucho. Sólo muchas masas de negro y confusión. Y la verdad que todo el masacote oscuro del coloreado tampoco suma.
Una lectura pasable para el que quiera probar algo reciente de Batman independiente y completamente autoconclusivo de las sagotas que desarrolla el amigo Snyder actualmente.

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very dark and truly sad story about one of Batman's premier villains.

[Roman Stadtler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best Penguin story I've ever read, truly showing how horrible and powerful, and yet sad, the old bird really is.

[Marius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Die düstere Vorgeschichte des Verbrechens

Inhalt: Mit "Pinguin: Schmerz und Vorurteil" erschien am 01.03.2022 im Panini Verlag ein Sammelband, welcher alle fünf Hefte der Reihe "Penguin Pain and Prejudice" von Gregg Hurwitz zusammenfasst. Auf 124 Seiten zeichnet der Autor das Leben des Oswald Cobblepott nach. Der Leser erfährt, dass der jetzige Gangsterboss eine schwierige Kindheit hatte. Durch sein Missbildungen wurde er Opfer von Spott und Häme. Diese erlitt er nicht nur durch Schulkameraden und andere Kinder, sondern auch durch seine eigene Familie. Zuneigung und Unterstützung erhielt der junge Oswald nur durch seine Mutter und die Tauben, die ihm als tierische Begleiter dienten. In der Gegenwart lebt von diesen vergangenen Personen nur noch Esther Cobblepott, die Mutter des Gangsterbosses, zu der er eine merkwürdige Beziehung unterhält. Schließlich trifft der Pinguin Cassandra, eine blinde Frau, durch die er ganze neue Emotionen erfährt...

Bewertung:Mit "Pinguin: Schmerz und Vorurteil" erhält der Leser ein erschreckend detailliertes Bild des Gangsterbosses Oswald Cobblepott. Geprägt durch seine schreckliche Kindheit, lernt der Pinguin früh alle humanen Emotionen abzulegen und skrupellos seinen eigenen Willen durchzusetzen. Besonders perfide bestraft der Verbrecher seine Opfer nie direkt. Stattdessen vernichtet er deren Leben, indem alle, die ihnen je etwas bedeutet haben, ausgelöscht werden. Hierin drückt sich die Rücksichtslosigkeit des Hauptcharakters in besonderem Maße aus. Schuld an seiner Lage und seiner emotionalen Inkompetenz haben stets die anderen, denen Oswald sogleich auch gnadenlose Rache schwört. Hurwitz gelingt mit der Figur des Pinguin eine außergewöhnliche Schwarz-Weiß-Kontrastierung. Während sich der Leser immer wieder dabei ertappt, mit dem gehänselten kleinen Jungen Mitleid zu haben, werden diese Momente stets durch die Widerlichkeit des Pinguins vernichtet. Das Publikum muss sich eingestehen, dass beide Teil der gleichen Medaille sind. Nur zwei Personen gegenüber zeigt der Pinguin stets seine weiche Seite: seiner Mutter Esther und seiner Geliebten Cassandra. Esther Cobblepott ist der einzige Halt für den jungen Oswald. Er entwickelt dadurch eine extrem tiefe und liebevolle Beziehung zu ihr: Für seine Mutter würde der Pinguin alles tun. Auch in ihrem nunmehr hohen Alter stellt er ihr das beste Personal zur Seite, besucht sie regelmäßig und scheut keine Kosten. In dieser, über die Grenzen des Normalen gehenden, Verbindung ähnelt der Superschurke dem bekannten Literaturcharakter König Ödipus. Eine ähnliche Anziehung entwickelt der Gangsterboss nur zu Cassandra, einer blinden Frau, die er im Zoo trifft. Aufgrund ihrer Sehbehinderung fühlt sich der Pinguin in ihrer Nähe stärker als sonst, da sie sein Aussehen nicht warnehmen kann. Zugleich hat auch sie Erfahrung mit Ausgrenzung und Spott gemacht. Trotz alldem bleibt dem Leser stets gewahr, dass die Beziehung zu Cassandra ebenso krankhaft ist wie alle anderen Verbindungen des Oswald Cobblepott. Zunehmend tritt sie in den Schatten und wird zu einem Prestigeobjekt des Pinguins. Ihre Sorgen und Ängste nimmt er nicht wahr und klärt sie auch nicht über seine Person auf. Neben den fabelhaft geschriebenen Charakteren, glänzt auch der Schreibstil Hurwitz'. Mal ruhig, mal schneller, häufig auch mit inneren Monologen des Pinguins wirkt das Werk abwechslungsreich und es kommt nie Langeweile beim Lesen auf. Der Text ist dabei stets verständlich, regt aber auch zum tieferen Nachdenken an. Hinter den gewählten Worten steckt oft mehr, als zunächst erkennbar ist. Die sprachlichen Bilder und Metaphern sind hervorragend in das düstere Bild der Umwelt eingearbeitet und ziehen sich auch in die Zeichnungen hinein (Oswalds Brille, die Schneekugel, der Bedeutung des Namens von Cassandra). Der Grafikstil rundet das BlackLabel-typische Erscheinungsbild herausragend ab. Schwarz-Weiß-Kontrast, scharfe Kanten und Dunkelheit sind einige der grafischen Stilmittel, um dem Leser die Morbidität des Geschehens näherzubringen.

Fazit: Ein Meisterwerk rund um Batmans Erzfeind, welches in keiner Comicsammlung fehlen sollte. Perfekt für Liebhaber des Tragischen und Düsteren. Gesamt: 5/5

[Anwar Vázquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nos muestra a un pingüino dolido con la sociedad y como las circunstancias hacen su vida más penosa, hola sin embargo no logra crear a un personaje interesante la demostrar porque debemos temerle.

Tenia esperanzas de leer una historia épica e instante, I pero solo se quedo en una historia predecible y simplona

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

ouch

[Macarena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quería leer el cómic antes de empezar la serie 👌🏻
Es uno de los villanos que más me gustan. Ya era hora que lo pusieran oscuro 100% , me gusta el toque que le han dado y muy interesante todo lo que te cuentan antes sobre los pingüinos que han existido en ese universo, tanto libros como películas.