Tom King’s Batman: One Bad Day – The Riddler tells a tale of the Riddler’s backstory in the style of Alan Moore’s Batman: The Killing Joke. The story, featuring art by Mitch Gerads and letters by Clayton Cowles, references both Moore’s story and Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One, two key issues from the Bronze Age that continue to influence stories decades later. This story is part of DC’s One Bad Day anthology, touching on several of Batman’s rogues’ gallery.

In Tom King’s telling, the Riddler gives up his usual schtick, becoming far more brutal and uncompromising in order to prove that he’s the smartest in Gotham and lacks his usual sense of fair play. Flashbacks detail the first time he snapped as a youth in a private school upon realizing that he was not able to outsmart everyone. Batman investigates and interviews his father while also finding details about Edward’s mother and childhood.

In portraying young Edward’s days in boarding school, Gerads appears to reference Dead Poets Society, with Edward resembling Ethan Hawke’s character while his English teacher looks like Bryan Cranston or Bradley Whitford. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne and Commissioner Gordon resemble Bruce Timm’s portrayal in Batman: The Animated Series. Visually, the story is excellent, though the story feels far shorter than The Killing Joke and the ending is less than satisfying. Perhaps it works well alongside the other One Bad Day stories, but it leaves the reader wanting as a standalone volume. ( )

This is the best Batman comic in some time. On the heels of a Batman/Riddler feature film (and a good one!), King and Gerads have offered another interpretation. The Riddler is often considered the diet version of the Joker. This time not so. The story is dark like any truly good Batman story. The art work captures aspects of the classic Riddler (with just a touch Jim Carey, I think). Well done! ( )

DC just can't quit Alan Moore.

Based on this entry, the Batman - One Bad Day event seems to be an attempt to remix Batman: The Killing Joke with eight other members of Batman's rogues gallery.

Tom King -- who has gotten a lot of mileage out of recycling Moore already in his Batman run and his Rorschach limited series -- slots Riddler into Moore's masterpiece, with the present day storyline seeming to offer an ultimate confrontation and a debatable conclusion to his relationship with Batman as the flashbacks give the villain a definitive origin rooted in psychological torment. The Riddler even directly addresses the events of The Killing Joke at one point.

King and artist Mitch Gerads are no Moore and Brian Bolland (who provides a variant cover included on the back of the hardcover edition I read) but they are quite skilled, and I found myself pulled into the tale even despite the constant need to compare. It's dense storytelling for a comic book and there are still some aspects I'm working out, but I'm quite satisfied with this particular knock-off. ( )