The good news is that there are plenty of stories that similarly focus on Gotham’s notorious crime boss and yes, they are just as grim and violent as Colin Farrel’s epic portrayal of the Penguin. From stories that focus on Oswald rebuilding his empire to tales that showcase his utter lack of humanity, The Penguin fans are absolutely going to want to read these five comics.
Batman – One Bad Day: Penguin Shows Oswald Come Back From His Lowest Point
Batman – One Bad Day: Penguin by John Ridley and Giuseppe Camuncoli
Batman – One Bad Day was a line of one-shot prestige format comics that each centered around one of the Dark Knight’s iconic enemies (much like The Killing Joke did for the Joker). John Ridley and Giuseppe Camuncoli embrace the ‘bad day’ branding by showing Gotham’s most infamous gangster at the lowest point in his criminal career. His operation has been stolen by a new player known as the Umbrella Man and Penguin has nothing to his name save for a few bucks that he uses to buy a gun and one bullet.
Over the course of Batman – One Bad Day: Penguin, Oswald slowly, but surely gains the assets he needs. Whether it be Penguin using his silver tongue to convince old allies to join him or by using what little resources he has to make those in his way suffer, Oswald worms his way through Gotham’s underbelly, gaining more power and influence. And yes, the Dark Knight is around, but with Umbrella Man making Gotham worse than Penguin ever did, even Batman starts to reconsider the role Penguin plays in his city.
This one-shot is a perfect story for readers fresh off of watching The Penguin since its meant as a standalone tale and not really tied into any ongoing events. Plus, it has Oswald hustling and forging alliances just as he did in the HBO series. Those who like the odd brand of charm Oswald can pull out when he wants to are most certainly going to get a kick out of the Penguin’s rise to power in this amazing crime story.
The Penguin is for Fans Who Love Oswald’s Scheming Side
The Penguin by Tom King and Rafael de Latorre
If The Penguin made one thing clear, it’s that Oswald Cobblepot knows how to play the long game to get what he wants. Over the course of a year, Tom King and Rafael de Latorre showed the gangster’s Machiavellian nature with another story about the Penguin reclaiming his empire. But while Batman – One Bad Day: The Penguin saw Oswald lose his operation to a rival criminal, The Penguin put the title character in opposition with his own flesh and blood, the Penguin’s twin children, Addison and Aiden Cobblepot.
The Penguin builds off a plot point from Batman that involved Oswald faking his death and starting a new life in Metropolis. Unfortunately, his second chance is stymied when the United States government arrests him and turns him into a government asset, hoping to use him to secretly control Gotham’s criminal element. With no other option, Penguin begins assembling a small, but dedicated team of unexpected DC characters to reclaim his old operation. But the Cobblepot twins start taking measures to keep the business out of their father’s hands by any means necessary.
Though this one is a bit more wrapped up in modern DC continuity, it’s more than worth reading for fans of the HBO show. Even when it seems like he’s not, Oswald is always working an angle or working someone, whether it be Amanda Waller, the Riddler, or even Batman. One can never tell what he’s thinking, largely because the comic is narrated by every character except the Penguin. So readers who loved seeing Oswald using everyone around him as pawns in the Penguin’s twisted game is going to love this book just as much.
Joker’s Asylum: Penguin Gives Readers a True Look Into Oswald’s Heart
Joker’s Asylum: Penguin by Jason Aaron and Jason Pearson
Just like Batman – One Bad Day, Joker’s Aslyum was a run of comics that focused on the greatest villains in the Dark Knight’s rogues’ gallery (albeit these stories weren’t prestige length). However, Jason Aaron and Jason Pearson use the limited amount of space they have with Joker’s Asylum: Penguin to tell a story that illustrates the kind of person that Oswald Cobblepot really is. Told by the Clown Prince of Crime himself, this story begins with a young Penguin who is the subject of a prank by a group of girls (one of whom he fancies).
Years later, Penguin falls in love with a woman named Violet and appears to be in the process of changing for the better. That is, until one of Oswald’s dates with Violet is interrupted by a chef who laughs in Penguin’s direction. In revenge for the perceived slight, Penguin systematically ruins the chef’s life and drives him to alcoholism and eventually suicide. To make things worse, Violet discovers what Oswald did to the chef, as well as everyone who ever humiliated the Penguin.
The Penguin television series was not shy about portraying Oswald’s shortcomings. The show made it crystal clear that the Penguin was fueled by insecurity and hatred and that anyone who gets on his bad side is ultimately going to pay a heavy price for displeasing him. Joker’s Asylum: Penguin is a must-read for fans who want to see just how awful Oswald can really be, even when he’s responding to a perceived slight and not a genuine insult.
Batman: Penguin Triumphant Reinvented Oswald For a New Era
Batman: Penguin Triumphant by John Ostrander and Joe Staton
While most fans think of the Penguin as a crime lord, the truth is he used to be much more of a gentleman thief-type character who just had an affinity for Penguins. But in a Post-Crisis DC Universe, the Penguin shifted away from his more outlandish crimes to a more relatable and profitable venture. Penguin Triumphant by John Ostrander and Joe Staton helped mold the image of the modern-day Penguin with a story that saw Oswald Cobblepot eschew thievery for Wall Street in an effort to crush Bruce Wayne.
After realizing he could make more money as a white-collar criminal, Oswald pretends to have changed his ways and starts hitting the stock market. The ‘renounced’ gangster makes a killing and Penguin starts climbing the social ladder with Bruce powerless to stop him. But Penguin isn’t alone in this money-making scheme as he’s joined by Randall Holmes, an old rival of the Penguin’s and a powerful financier. But as greed begins to grow on all sides, the Penguin finds his old criminal life calling.
Not only did this book help shape the Penguin for a new era, it reinforced something that The Penguin show also made clear: Oswald can’t help but get in his own way. He’s undoubtedly brilliant and driven more than most, but because of something inside of him, he can’t help but make the worst choice in any given scenario. Fans who want a look at the Penguin’s modern characterization are going to want to make sure they track this story down.
Penguin: Pain & Prejudice Truly Defines Oswald Cobblepot
Penguin: Pain & Prejudice by Gregg Hurwitz and Szymon Kudranski
It’s hard to distill a character as complex as the Penguin down to one story. But if there’s one that defines Oswald Cobblepot, it’s Gregg Hurwitz and Szymon Kudranski’s underrated Penguin: Pain & Prejudice. This five-issue limited series covers nearly everything about the Penguin’s life, from his unbelievably awful childhood to the inhumane crimes he commits as the notorious Batman villain. This series really plays with readers as it will have them sympathizing with the Penguin one moment and hating his guts the next.
Not unlike The Penguin television show, this book makes it clear that Oswald does have a twisted kind of love in his heart for his mother, the only person who never judged him for his looks. But that love is buried under the cruelty that Oswald wears like armor in Gotham as he tries to keep his criminal empire afloat while Batman does his best to take the Penguin down. It’s a book that will pull fans in all directions while exposing the darkness hidden in the Penguin’s soul.
The Penguin was an amazing show that’s certainly one of the best stories to feature the iconic foe. But if there’s a book that comes close to matching the sickness that surrounds someone like Oswald Cobblepot, it’s Penguin: Pain & Prejudice. It’s a bit more fantastical and bleak than the HBO series, but it’s got the dark brutality that kept fans coming back on a weekly basis. Any fan of The Penguin owes it to themselves to make sure they read this story, which could easily be called its equal.
