Artist Stevan Subic makes his American comics debut, collaborating with Dano to deliver a shadowy and gritty tale of a society’s forgotten man who refuses to go unnoticed any longer. Subic’s recent Conan the Cimmerian for French publisher Glénat has brought him great acclaim in Europe, and he’s about to break out globally with a Batman series unlike any you’ve seen before. Believing Gotham to be unsalvageable, Edward begins create a grand plan to expose and assassinate Falcone and his allies, as well as flood it and assassinate political figures to ensure they do not fall under his Syndicate's influence. Create a costumed persona of "the Riddler", he begins to recruit a community of followers to help plan and carry out his schemes. Edward also plans to bring Batman into his operations, believing he has been helping him investigate these discretely. In the days approaching his plans, Edward enlists Ana's help to expose New Beginnings' involvement in Drops, arranging for her to leave Gotham as she and her father planned. On Halloween, he arranges Higgins death and sends Stone a recording he made of his crime, threatening to send it to his family. Stone commits suicide whilst Edward prepares for his first crimes as the Riddler. Frankly, if you waited this long, you should wait a little longer to buy it as a graphic novel. But there’s nothing wrong with collecting each issue – I know Subic’s alternate covers create a large image when stitched together, which is a lot of fun. Brail, Nathaniel (March 18, 2022). "The Batman: "Year One" Trends as Fans Anticipate Paul Dano's Riddler Comic Series". ComicBook.com . Retrieved August 15, 2022. Speaking of which, the art is a thing of beauty here! A common trap with artists who are adapting live-action works is that some characters feel too photo-realistic to their actors, as opposed to what fits for their respective style. There’s not really much of that here. While there’s the occasional panel that looks a little too close to a promotional photo of Dano, most of the issue shows how Subic is more than happy to illustrate Eddie in all sorts of positions, whether they be unassuming or sinister.

Brail, Nathaniel (July 22, 2022). "Comic-Con 2022: New The Riddler: Year One Preview Released". ComicBook.com . Retrieved August 15, 2022. SDCC: More Big News from Jim Lee and His Friends!". DC Comics.com. July 22, 2022 . Retrieved August 13, 2022. I’ve never been great at art, but I put a lot of effort into trying to recreate this. It’s a little embarassing, but I wanted to show you a poorly-made scan of my efforts: to show you that for the four years I’ve been here, no matter the quality of my work, I have always wanted to bring you my best. Johnston, Rich (July 22, 2022). "DC Comics October 2022 Solicits & Solicitations – Not Just Batman". Bleeding Cool . Retrieved August 13, 2022. Western comics, meanwhile, aren’t particularly bold in that respect. Sure, many of them have played with the idea of a weekly release format, or releasing stories as a complete graphic novel – but for the most part, the big publishers have a formula, and that formula is releasing each new chapter on a tried-and-true schedule. This remained the case for Riddler, even if I felt it compromised the flow of the story.My one worry for this book is that it runs the risk of being less interesting without the usual characters that populate Batman’s world. Instead of complex, dynamic characters like Penguin, Alfred and Selina Kyle, we get more one-dimensional characters: Eddie’s supervisor, for example, who only seems interested in stepping over Eddie to climb the corporate ladder. The book mitigates this by diving deep into Eddie’s psyche – he may be the only character we care about here, but we are really invested in his story. By the time this panel comes around, the book has my full confidence. I’m not going to spoil how we get here, but those with some pattern recognition should be able to see the parallel here. I get the feeling we’re in for something good. In The Batman, Paul Dano’s portrayal of the Riddler is a haunting and genuinely disturbing performance. It paints the picture of a man who has been hard done by the world around him, and has not been given an environment to process it, save through violence and radicalisation. In Year One, Dano’s writing and Subic’s distressing imagery work in tandem to sell this, placing you in the mind of the character. But it’s not here where I think the book always shines: instead, it’s the quieter moments of intrigue, mystery, methodical worldbuilding and genuine heart that make the book worth reading. It’s a prequel and a tie-in, but it’s one that gives a shit about your time. For that alone, I’m proud to say it didn’t waste mine, and that I can end my tenure at Batman News on a high note. Absolutely. You will find very few other tie-in comics with this level of care, consideration, imagery, depth and authenticity. In that respect, this book does have one over on a lot of the other superhero fiction you’ll find on comic book shelves. This book knows what it wants to do, and when it delivers, it throws in a little extra – because it cares, and it wants you to care. To me, that’s the mark of a book worth reading. Cecchini, Mike (October 6, 2022). "Riddler: Year One – How Paul Dano Created a New Origin Story for His Batman Character". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022 . Retrieved November 6, 2022. You’re a fan of The Batman and can’t wait for The Penguin. That’s really what this boils down to – if you want to expand what you’ve seen in the world of this incredible film, this is your logical next stop.

Cover image for 1022DC051 Riddler: Year One #2 Bill Sienkiewicz Cover, by (W) Paul Dano (A) Stevan Subic (CA) Bill Sienkiewicz, in stores Tuesday, December 27, 2022 from DC Comics Disclaimer: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review. 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.Picturing Dano narrate all of this is quite fun, mind you! I certainly wouldn’t trade the narration, especially when the entire point of the story is situating us inside Riddler’s head. But when you have a line of dialogue about how the walls are closing in next to an image of that fear manifest, maybe you can let the picture speak for itself. LOLtron was intrigued by the preview of Riddler: Year One #2. It looks like the series is going to explore the dark origins of Edward Nashton, the Riddler, and his obsession with Thomas Wayne. The story promises to be full of mystery and intrigue, and LOLtron is looking forward to seeing where it goes. LOLtron is especially interested in the low-level human cog in the crime machine that Edward Nashton is investigating, and hopes to see more of that in the coming issues. Do I think this book works without The Batman? Not particularly. Save for Riddler, the characters in the story aren’t particularly interesting enough to draw me in, and a lot of the key hooks of the book rely on us knowing where everything ends up. But do I think this book is one of the best tie-in comics you can get?

Goodnight, Batman News. Goodbye, the wonderful people who have read and commented for all these years. Amidon, Aurora (July 25, 2022). "The Batman's Paul Dano Is Ready to Play The Riddler Again". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on July 25, 2022 . Retrieved August 13, 2022. 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. How did an unknown forensic accountant uncover the dark secrets of Gotham’s underworld and come so close to bringing down the entire city? But that’s just it, isn’t it? While it’s decent on it’s own, the book mostly makes me want to rewatch something else.

This isn’t unordinary, mind you. At the end of the day, ignoring all its bells and whistles, The Riddler: Year One is a movie tie-in. It’s not like the upcoming Penguin show, where there’s room to show growth and development in the larger story – it’s telling a specific story about how a character gets to a certain place at a certain time. I shouldn’t expect anything more; really, the book gave me no reason to! And that’s okay. But what it means is that we need to assess this book as a support piece for another product, rather than simply a comic that can stand on its own two legs. Schedeen, Jesse (March 18, 2022). "New Riddler Year One Comic Written by The Batman 's Paul Dano Announced". IGN. Archived from the original on March 18, 2022 . Retrieved August 13, 2022.

Let’s get my criticism right out of the way, because it’s a small complaint in the face of all the praises I have for this book. Maybe part of the reason I bring this up is because I’ve been subject to the critique myself, but I feel narration is used as something of a crutch here. Dano is obviously very excited to tell everyone what’s going on in the mind of the Riddler, so there’s a lot of Eddie’s internal monologue going on throughout this book. It’s not especially cluttered, so the art has plenty of space to breathe – but it is there, and occasionally seems somewhat redundant. I think it’s a similar feeling to acting. After spending so much time with the character, Paul Dano would have to have an intimate understanding of Edward Nashton, AKA the Riddler. He’s eager to share that understanding with everyone else, too – and while there are hints of overenthusiasm at play, I’m happy to say that Dano and artist Stevan Subic’s first foray into the world of The Batman is a success! Brail, Nathaniel (July 26, 2022). "The Batman Star Paul Dano Is Ready to Return as The Riddler in Sequel". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2022 . Retrieved August 14, 2022. Cover image for 1022DC052 Riddler: Year One #2 Cover, by (W) Paul Dano (A/CA) Stevan Subic, in stores Tuesday, December 27, 2022 from DC ComicsThere’s a certain feeling one gains the more familiar you become with the game – though this applies to any tabletop, really. The more you immerse yourself in the world you’ve been transported into, the more invested you become in your character you’ve made. Eventually, whether you created them or not, you gain a sense of ownership to them.