Writer: Tom King
Art: Rafael De Latorre, Marcelo Maiolo, Stefano Gaudiano, Scorpio Steele, and Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Price:$3.99
Release Date: November 28th, 2023
Oswald Cobblepot’s plan to return to Gotham City is about to be executed, but he’s going to need one last, key piece…and only a beautiful face from his past can provide it. Enter the femme fatale, Lisa St. Claire as The Penguin #4 by Tom King continues.
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THE DISPATCH
The confusion and multiple narration panels from a variety of characters continue as The Penguin #4 takes to Vegas for Oswalt to meet with his Ex. King ultimately uses this issue to set up what appears to be a monetary heist only for the entire story to be a perplexing ruse. Honestly, it’s extremely difficult to see what Oswalt gained in any of the developments amongst these pages.
As The Penguin #3 ended, it appeared as though Oswalt finally got his team together to take back Gotham. So, as The Penguin #4 opens in Vegas, the casino angle made it clear that his gambit was for the money to support his venture. However, if that’s what legitimately happened, it wasn’t explained well at all. Moreover, King offers fake deaths and little action from his new team that made the issue come across as rather flat.
Additionally, the entire issue set up this rotten, gold-digging, vile ex-wife who appeared to be quite the opposite by the end of The Penguin #4. So vile in fact, that she enjoyed picturing the Riddler while having sex with Oswalt. Yet, as the issue ends, she appears to be quite emotionally connected to the Penguin as they perpetuate this plan of the Penguins for… show. I guess for show because I don’t see the point of faking someone’s death in a casino bedroom with only one man as a witness who you later kill at the end of the comic. So again I say, what was the point of this issue?
ART
Continuing the theme of “what was the point?”, the nine-panel grid wasn’t overused specifically in this issue BUT it’s been overused by King in almost every book since his Batman run. Now, the team has been creative with it as of late, especially in this week’s The Penguin #4. About five pages were nine-panel grids BUT another five to six were six to seven-panel grids portraying the same atmosphere. The perk of these grids is to tell more story in a small amount of page count while also being able to show a deeper progression in the moment. Nevertheless, that’s not how King used them this week. The grids didn’t help the development of the story and merely added more room for confusion and story complication. They came across as overused because nothing was gained by using this style. No development came from the story this week after utilizing the technique. Therefore, just like the rest of this issue, what was the point?
FINALLY THOUGHTS
Sometimes, King outsmarts himself. He makes stories too far-fetched and (what he deems) clever to make the story fluffy, unique, and (what he deems) inventive. However, I spiral back to “the point” of The Penguin #4. Was it to get financial backing? Because if so, that wasn’t clarified. Was it simply to kill Lunk? Because that’s all that came from this installment. Was it letting the world believe Oswalt died in a casino when he really didn’t? Because they could have framed that without all the bloodshed. And how does Oswalt swoon people to work with him by using Gotham City as the carrot? Who wants that degenerate, filthy, murderous, crime-invested, city? That’s not a very enticing carrot to dangle. Yet, the Penguin continues to get people to join his cause in stupidly designed ways by King. And it’s getting old, fast.
By far, The Penguin #4 was the worst, most convolutedly pointless installment to date. It lacked clarity, direction, and offered little to no purpose or action. Mix together the continued incoherent narration boxes without guidance as to who is ever talking and readers get a jumbled, convoluted mess that’s far from a masterpiece. King needs to get this comic’s act together before it’s too late. As usual, the clock is ticking and the story is falling apart at the expense of the reader again. If he doesn’t start getting to the fireworks factory soon, people are going to bail. He’s got one issue left to hook the reader or I think people will be done. If you can’t do it in five issues with that amount of page count, narration, and grid layout, you won’t be able to do it at all. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless!