THE RIDDLER YEAR ONE #1 Review

The Riddler Year One #1 is published by DC Comics, written by Paul Dano and illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz and Stevan Subic.

Issue #1 is available 26th October 2022 either directly from DC Comics online or from your local comic book store, digital copies will be available to download from the usual content providers.

Synopsis

As depicted in Matt Reeves’s hit movie The Batman, the Riddler wasn’t simply an amusing eccentric with an affinity for wordplay and baffling clues, but as terrifying a villain as any in the annals of the Dark Knight. Here you can see Edward Nashton evolve into the menace known as the Riddler. How did an unknown forensic accountant uncover the dark secrets of Gotham’s underworld and come so close to bringing down the entire city?

This six-issue miniseries is an immediate prequel to The Batman the detailed, disturbing, and at times shocking story of a man with nothing to lose.

Review

In this first issue of a six part series we get to discover the origins of another iconic Gotham villain, The Riddler. Fans of Matt Reeves’s recent reboot of The Batman will be intrigued to discover the deep and dark origins of this iconic figure and mysterious spearhead of the blockbuster smash. Edward Nashton is an information whizz, some may well call him a walking computer he finds numerical problems that the common man struggle with a walk in the park, in the modern day this however can see you shunned by your peers and looked upon as something of an oddity in the normality of society and at times taken advantage of. This is something that Edward has over time learnt to accept and quietly deal with in his own way but much like an elephant Edward doesn’t forget, he just longs to be accepted in society and be a part of the norm.

With this story set as a direct prequel to the box office smash readers will begin to understand the reasoning to Riddler’s actions this is a deeply dark story that will give the readers deeper look into the character of The Riddler.

For me the writing from Paul Dano really adds more depth to a character that fans have loved to hate for decades, the story is full of emotions and highlights the flaws of a modern society where people need to conform to fit in. With this being the first of 6 issue I am intrigued to find out more of this character and how he decends into the dark and twisted character of The Riddler and Paul Dano is definitely the right person for the job.

The illustrations of the book are quite unique but still has that DC dark feel to it, the talented combination of Bill Sienkiewicz and Stevan Subic works well as they utilise their artistic flair to depict this dark world. The art has an almost watercolour style to it that somehow gives it that erratic nature and almost chilling feel giving the reader a book that just grips you hard throughout.

Verdict

Being a fan of the blockbuster hit I was excited to find out more behind the mask and riddles, this issue has laid the foundations for a strong series ahead.

⭐⭐⭐⭐