The latest 3-part story focuses on the way Arkham City’s most famous criminals live within the confines of the super prison. And as you can see by the cover, it’s going to expand on the Joker/Penguin rivalry which was one of the most entertaining subplots of Arkham City (Make sure you listen to every interview tape and press the button on all museum display cases in the game!).
I have mixed feelings about this issue in both its writing and art. With a new story arc comes a new artist and this time we get Simon Coleby who does a fantastic job on everything except for the Penguin and the Penguin is a crucial part of the whole issue. The problem is that he’s too skinny. The Arkhamverse Penguin no longer has that long nose we’ve all grown accustomed too, but all the other trademark physical features remain. Heck, the monacle became permanent feature in this universe as it is a broken bottle lodged in Penguin’s eye socket! But the character in Arkham Unhinged #7 doesn’t look like Penguin.
He’s too thin, his jaw is too square and his skin looks much too old. The rest of the comic’s art looks fantastic. I especially liked how Simon drew Batman here.
I also like the story that’s unfolding here, but there are too many moments that feel like Fridolfs is stalling. A half of a page means a lot when the comic is only 10 pages long. When it’s evident from the beginning of one scene that the Joker is responsible for missing goods we don’t need another page showing more Joker graffiti accompanied by the narration “Buncha Jokers” we get it.
I was going to give this issue a pass, but it kicks into high gear once the Penguin’s men wrap up their story. I don’t want to give anything away, but it’s definitely going to grab your attention!
Worth a Buck or Not?
It almost wasn’t, but the final pages are too cool to pass up.
Batman: Arkham Unhinged can be purchased at comiXology.
