Well, this is getting tiresome. For the fourth month in a row, someone is getting recruited and Penguin’s plan inches (though an inch seems too large an increment) toward fruition. I predicted this last month and I’ve certainly been proven right. This comic’s extreme lack of narrative motion is making for an excruciating read and that’s not the only issue. Let’s get into it.

I already discussed my dislike of “gathering the team” plots last month and here we get even more of that. Every page in this comic is bent on leading us toward the addition of another member of Penguin’s crew (Sadly, there isn’t even a b-plot to distract us.). Now I’ll have to get a little bit into spoilers to discuss the rest of this issue. Not that there’s really much to spoil here but, regardless, you have been warned. Penguin’s new partner in crime is… his ex-wife.

His retconned into existence, casino owning, possible mother of some of his dozen or more children, wife. It’s unclear if this is his only ex-wife. I don’t know if all of those children were born from a marriage but I know they aren’t all this woman’s children. Anyway, connecting this comic back to the "children plot" started by Zdarsky was not the move to endear me to this issue. I was perfectly happy to forget all about that plot. Besides that, I don’t enjoy how she is introduced in this issue. Penguin is shown to be afraid of her. Clearly, the idea is to show how impressive and powerful she is. Note: putting one character down to make another look better is poor writing. What makes it particularly annoying, though, is that for the past three issues King has been using the same technique to make Penguin (and some of his associates) look scary. At this point, it feels like a house of cards. None of these characters are built on a strong foundation and they’re all starting to look very lame to me.

He's even still in love with his ex-wife so that woman in issue one (whom I was interested in) is most likely out of the series for good. Not that that’s surprising after failing to appear since her introduction.

That’s all there is to this issue’s plot. A bunch of buildup to meet someone extra scary which then quickly ends with some edgy posturing and an agreement to team up. The scripting continues to decline as well. More of the choppy dialogue that used to plague King’s writing is making a reappearance, as seen below.

He’s trying to give her a unique voice but I’ve seen him use this voice many times before and I simply find it annoying. It feels so written to me, like there is too much intention behind it and it fails to feel natural. The constant censored cursing is back as well which, as always, is driving me up the wall.

Last on my long list of complaints about this title is the declining detail in the artwork. It’s still nice enough looking work but compared to the earlier issues I’m noticing a lot of sparse backgrounds and panels that feel flat and dull. Only last month, I was praising De Latorre for his consistency...

This page is a good example. The panels that do have backgrounds are very nondescript and mostly shadow. The angles and choices of composition also don’t strike me as very exciting. It’s a subtle decline and something that can be tough to see without directly comparing this issue to previous ones. I do understand why this happens on a monthly book but the problem is when I’m so unenthused with the writing, I start looking toward the art to wow me and the flaws become more noticeable under more intense scrutiny. If the writing kept me engaged I would be able to pass over a slight decline in art quality as I look forward to turning the page. Unfortunately, I’m not feeling that excitement.

Recommended if…

• You like the art and can overlook some of the rushed bits
• You’ve been dying to know who the mothers of Penguin’s children are

Overall

I’m just so bored with this book. It isn’t incompetent so I can’t score it any lower but there is nothing to interest me here and the “story” has been dragging since issue two. According to the soclicitations, Penguin is going to spend the next two months rounding out the arc by recruiting more people and then, instead of something finally happening, we’re going to change gears and get a flashback story to Penguin and Batman’s first meeting (Something I have never wondered about before and still don’t). So, in short, nothing is going to get better anytime soon and I recommend all but the most ardent Tom King superfans skip this comic.

Score: 3/10

DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.