Penguin: Pain and Prejudice #4
Title: Practice Run
Written by Gregg Hurwitz
Art and Cover by Szymon Kudranski
Colors by John Kalisz
Reviewed by Steve Seigh
This may very well be my favorite issue of Penguin yet. The bottom line is that this 5 issue run is really shaping up to be something worth your time. Gregg Hurwitz has penned a dark and emotional tale for Gotham’s most notorious bird man and the plot is only getting thicker. In this issue we’re finally treated to some solid Batman action, all the while the double life that Penguin has been leading seems to be coming apart at the seams. It’s been a real trip to watch Penguin go from suave debonair while in the company of his blind companion to a corrupt terrorist of Gotham. I find myself sympathizing with him a bit more than I probably should, but for me that’s just a testament to how well written this arc has been. The first two issues really beat it in to you that Penguin has always been a man of ridicule and anguish even from his early days. Without that proper foundation this would have just been another Penguin story alongside the countless others, but fortunately for us, this story is becoming much more rewarding than that.
VERDICT
Buy it – This series has been delivering consistently for me over the past 5 months. I urge you to give it a read as it might very well change your mind in regards to how you view one of Gotham’s longest standing villains. With only 1 more issue left in the arc I can’t wait to see how Gregg Hurwitz wraps up this dark and tragic tale of love and revenge.
