Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Batman #23.2 The RiddlerBatman #23.2 (Riddler)
DC Comics
Snyder, Fawkes, Haun & Rausch

Another awesome 3-D cover from DC’s big promotion actually turns out to be backed up with a solid read. Unlike most of the DC 3-D books, this one provides a solid, self-contained read. While the book does call on events from previous issues they do not get in the way of the story Fawkes is trying to tell here. Overall, this is worthwhile one-shot to pick up.

The Riddler decides to break into the Wayne building. Gotham is seemingly under some dark times and the backdrop alludes to the loss of the Justice League as the partial cause. This helps tie the book to the bigger DC event but it doesn’t try to jam this book into the middle of it thankfully. The Wayne building promises to be a challenge to break into, which seems to be the key for the Riddler targeting it. His desire, once inside, isn’t clear.

The book excels with the riddles. As the book’s narration begins the reader is given a glimpse into the Riddler’s mind and how he crafts his riddles. This really helps to build this version of the character up in the book while the plot unfolds. The book then accelerates and the Riddler’s intentions are very revealing and quite clever helping to complete the comic’s entertaining read.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsOne the best aspects of the comic is the artwork. The pencils are detailed but the inks are soft making the book feel a bit more noir than a typical Batman book. The colors are outstanding. Rausch makes full use of the greens in the Riddler’s outfit and contrasts them scene to scene perfectly. The Riddler looks partially deranged and part-way brilliant helping to create a visually complex character. His emotions as depicted in this book present a character that knows what he’s going to do and is extremely confident but distant from his actions. While the book seems light on the action, the artwork does a great job contrasting the calm demeanor of the Riddler versus the chaos he’s causing around him. The artwork definitely makes this story standout from the pack.

The Riddler isn’t the type of villain that seems to have a crime syndicate or bag of tricks to play on Batman, but when done right, this character is every bit as interesting any other Batman villain. This comic book is worth picking for the story as well as the cool looking cover. Check it out.

4 out of 5 Geek Goggles