Here we are! My final holiday comic review for the 2024 season. Based on the iconic Batman: The Animated Series, this comic sees the Riddler holding a prestigious gentlemen's club being held hostage during its annual Christmas party.
First of all, when I use the term gentlemen's club, I'm not referring to the seedy nudie bar near the airport. Second, when I use the term holiday comic, I'm actually actually referring to the time of year this book is set. Otherwise, this story is one that could have been told the other 364 days of the year.
Christmas is basically just a prop. The Riddler does cause a fire at the club by turning all of the Christmas tree table decorations into incendiaries. However, the fiend could have set the blaze with any sort of decor. The Riddler's scheme could have happened during the club's annual Easter banquet, Fourth of July fete or Thanksgiving feast.
This is no Christmas With the Joker.
I also had trouble with the ending. Riddler's escape hangs upon dumb luck. Somehow after escaping Batman's clutches, the villain dons a Gotham City SWAT team uniform. He manages to flee the scene when Commissioner Gordon orders the Riddler's SWAT team 'officer' to request fire and rescue and in order to do that, he's got to get inside a transport vehicle to get on the horn to make the inquiry. How would the Riddler have planned to have escaped if Gordon didn't pick him to contact the GCFD?
The ending really rests on a 'hand of fate' decision. The Riddler's heists are too well planned to the finest detail that having this escape step of his scheme hangs on random selection is just too implausible to me. Considering how perfect Paul Dini's Batman: TAS stories are, he really got a little sloppy with this plot. A Riddler caper has to be like clockwork and I'm not talking about using a sun dial.
Ty Templeton's art work was flawless. So clean and so screen accurate. It really steals the show... Uh, comic.
Not a true Christmas story. Not the most well thought out Riddler story. But some darn fine artwork.
Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.
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