The Riddler: Year One (2022-) #6

by Paul Dano, Bill Sienkiewicz (Cover Art), Stevan Subić (Penciller)

The time has come. Edward Nashton’s long, painful psychological journey and downward spiral have finally brought him to the point where he is ready to take direct action against the corrupt of Gotham. Embittered and abandoned and believing the world is aligned against him, he’s reached the time to lash out. His extensive research and clandestine operations have left him with a deeper knowledge of the city’s web of criminality than anyone in Gotham. And now he knows exactly which targets to strike and when. As Edward finally dons the mask of the Riddler, the series ends right before the start of his first murderous attack, shown in the opening scene of Matt Reeves’s film The Batman. Actor Paul Dano brought this character to life onscreen, and now he completes Edward’s arc with this groundbreaking prequel. Together with renowned European artist Stevan Subic, Dano has crafted a disturbing and emotional tale, filling out the backstory of one of the most unique and terrifying villains faced by any version of the Dark Knight.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Graphic Novels

36 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 29, 2023

About the author

Paul Franklin Dano is an American actor. He began his career on Broadway. He won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance for his role in L.I.E. (2001) and gained wider recognition for playing a troubled teenager in Little Miss Sunshine (2006). For playing identical twins in Paul Thomas Anderson's period drama There Will Be Blood (2007), he was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Dano had critically acclaimed roles in 12 Years a Slave and Prisoners (both 2013). For his portrayal of Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson in Love & Mercy (2014), he earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He played The Riddler in The Batman and a caring father in The Fabelmans (both 2022), receiving a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for the latter.

Dano made his directorial debut with the drama film Wildlife (2018), based on the novel by Richard Ford; he co-wrote its screenplay with his partner, Zoe Kazan. Also in 2018, he starred as a convicted murderer in the Showtime miniseries Escape at Dannemora, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor. Dano has also written the comic book The Riddler: Year One (2022).

Reviews

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty decent, but also a little harder to follow this time around, and naturally anticlimatic because it's a prequel to the film. I can certainly see a lot of people rewatching the film after finishing this series to get their final fix.

Artwork has always been stunning and does most of the talking for the series. Some great moments in this issue but it also relies on you remembering the film for full satisfaction. I barely remember the film at all so I didn't follow everything here.

Overall, though, it's been a great series. Fantastic insight into the character and loads of tension built within as well as leading towards the film's conclusions.

[Etienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect! Amazing ending, great backstory from the Riddle and now I just want to rewatch The Batman to see how everything fit together!

[spalanai ⛤ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final issue to this amazing series.
Paul Dano engraves his name as an actor who not only cares about his craft but also has the talents for brilliant storytelling. As for the collaboration with the exceptional art of Steven Subic whose creative genius never fails to stun, this is the best artist/writer duo I’ve ever read ｢｡•.

[Bryham Fabian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, the wait is over. With this last issue, Paul Dano finishes paving the road that led his character from a tormented office worker with a hidden genius to the serial killer we saw in the film. A product of his city, oh the city, it is as active about his characters here as it is in Matt Reeves' film. There's not much I can add that I haven't mentioned in the previous issues. I loved the Riddler's design, leaving behind that greenish executive suit with the goofy little hator the stupid pajamas stamped by question marks all over the place. This Riddler, and his design, is the best I've seen in my life so far (although the Riddler's design of Batman: Earth One, Volume 3 is great too). The part where Edward visualizes himself dressed in Batman's costume, reminded me of Hugo Strange's fantasies and his performance as Batman in Batman: Prey.

[Hannah Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tied up the loose ends nicely and added some genre at context for the film, loved it! Also gator?? Am I sensing a killer Croc spin off?

[claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

the riddler is so kind ❤️

[Breshna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shh, Just Breathe.

[Rob Vitagliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talk about sticking the landing. This series really made me appreciate the movie. I just got out of it (one night only rerelease in theaters for Batman's 85th anniversary) and it really made me appreciate the movie more. It filled in some gaps, answered A LOT of my questions that really bothered me the first time I saw it and honestly kept me from fully enjoying the movie, and it even made my wife understand what was going on more because I filled her in on some details from the book before we went in.

I have to hand it to Paul Dano, he really put effort in to this book, and it is definitely not your run of the mill media tie in. This actually served a purpose and without question enhanced the original medium. Was it my cup of tea entirely? No, I didn't like the demon monster things and the Riddler that's my all time favorite character is not unhinged, but I appreciate that this version of him really had his motivations flushed out.

[Kastie Pavlik · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect conclusion as the movie's prequel. Art, styling, narrative, tone, content, pacing - the people involved in this project truly understand the purpose and importance of context. I saw the movie 3 times in the theater and numerous times since, and every issue in this series is a mini dive back in, and you can start the movie exactly where this ends. Queue "Ava Maria" now. Well done. (?・o・)σ

I hope DC invests in higher quality content like this in future projects and opts for fewer quick and shoddy (shameless) money grabs.

[Wm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've learned to avoid comics written by non-comics creators. But I'm glad to have given Paul Dano a chance. Easily the best 2023 comic I've read, and stands with the best of the best Bat-universe comics. Admittedly, I wasn't a fan of issue 5's departure from the form into Se7en-esque diary, but it still got the job done. I hope Dano is again inspired enough by an acting job to return to comics (or to write in another visual-primary-multimedia medium).

[alli · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’ve had this for weeks but FINALLY found time to read it, and man was it worth the wait. what a fantastic prequel to the batman — paul dano is a great writer, and he did such a phenomenal job with edward’s backstory.

i would love to see paul write more comics (esp. riddler ones ) because he has a real talent for it! can’t wait to see him reprise this role sooooooon :)

[Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent prequel to The Batman.

Finale to what has been an excellent series. Paul Dano has done such an excellent prequel to The Batman. I would recommend this to any fan of the film. Haunting artwork that matches the ghosts of gotham city.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need Paul Dano to start writing comics full time

[Eddiepatlol · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art in this series was beautiful but the story left me wanting more

[Daniel Bingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started: 20/09/2023
Finished: 20/09/2023

Best comic I’ve read in a while

[ComicBookCult Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This issue was everything I hoped it to be. A perfect ending.

[makayla]

bit confused about this one, but i’m sure it’ll make more sense in next volume :) fantastic so far!

[Ximena]

Sooooo sickening. I loved it.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty much leads into the timeframe of The Batman. A really good series overall.