Penguin: Pain & Prejudice #2

The Penguin's childhood is explored further as we find out how some of his family members died.  

Gregg Hurwitz has been tasked without his five issue mini-series that explores the Penguin's origins. Penguin is often a Batman villain who doesn't get the recognition he deserves. I admit even I wasn't always crazy about him but from these first two issues, I find him fascinating. 

Most of this issue centers around flashbacks of Penguin's past. We see more of his childhood and the things he dealt with such as his relationships with his parents and brothers. We learn how his father and three brothers died. It may or may not come as a surprise to everyone. After all this is Gotham. 

One thing I didn't like was that Penguin got his mom a penguin robot that he claimed could do whatever she needed such as going to the drugstore to pick up her prescriptions. I thought that kind of killed the story a little. The idea of him getting her something shaped as a penguin wasn't bad, just the fact that it was a robot that could do whatever she needed felt out of place and unbelievable. 

The artwork is by Szymon Kudranski. He does both the cover and the interior art. I really enjoyed his style and found it to be a great fit for this Penguin series. I liked how he draws the Penguin both in the present and the past. Colorist John Kalisz deserves praise for his exceptional work as well. 

This series is becoming more intriguing each issue. I can't wait to find out more about the Penguin. Only two issues in and I've already gained new respect for him as a villain. The Penguin has always demanded a certain respect as a kingpin of a crime empire. Seeing his past and what made him the man he is today has been fun to follow. I'd recommend this to Batman fans.