The Riddler: Year One #1 came onto the scene like a freight train as it blended visuals with the vital purpose of adding context to The Batman. Focused entirely on Riddler, Paul Dano and Stevan Subic explore Edward Nashton’s evolution from a lonely, sad man to empowerment and doing what he thinks might bring a little justice to the world. In The Riddler: Year One #2, we see Edward go from a mentally ill worker drone to taking control of his life for better or, more likely, for the worse of others.
Once again, The Riddler: Year One is a visual feast with colors and pencils by Subic. The book is dark and disturbing due to Edward’s nightmarish visages in his head or the darkness that takes over in the real world from Edward’s point of view. You’re right there with Edward in these dark moments, and it’s a scary place to be. This helps connect the reader to Edward’s point of view, however tainted and disturbed it might be.
The narrative expertly moves back and forth from disturbing, nightmarish depictions of Edward and relatable moments. This helps show we’re witnessing a transformation of a man from certainly mentally ill and disturbed, but still innocent and good-natured. The problem is, as he sees his ability to uncover truths and find faults in others, will he take things too far?
As far as the story, the pace and plotting are a bit too slow. Subic’s nightmarish art continues to delight and intrigue, but Edward’s discovery of cooked books and gangsters manipulating companies takes a while to get to satisfying points. You can see where the story is going far before it actually happens, and by the end of the issue, you’ll wish things progressed a bit more quickly.
If you’re seeking scenes with Batman, you get a few here. Similar to the last issue, there are rare sightings, and in this issue, there’s a connection made to do the work for justice at night and during the day, living a different life. You can see the mirroring going on to compare the two characters.
The Riddler: Year One #2 confirms that Subic is a force in the comics community now and in all his future endeavors. The story is intriguing as it puts you behind the glasses, so to speak, and gets inside Edward’s head. His disturbing view of reality is ever present, and it’s a haunting place to live, but in this series, we get to exist in a way only comics could deliver.
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