- Riddler: The Riddle Factory
- Published by DC Comics
- Originally Published: 1995
- 48 Pages
- Writer: Matt Wagner
- Artist: Dave Taylor
- Colorist: Linda Medley
- Letterer: Bill Oakley
Still, periodically, DC Comics makes the effort to give the Riddler his due. Every once in a while, he’s granted the spotlight in a one-shot that might do him justice. In The Riddle Factory, Edward once again steps to center stage – and sadly falls flat on his face.
What’s the Scoop?
On Gotham City’s public access station, a new television show has premiered with the Riddler as its host. An underground broadcast in every sense – the location of filming changes with every show so that Batman can’t interfere with its production – it’s a quiz show with a twist.
At the beginning of each episode, the Riddler names a Gotham citizen he’s got dirt on. Through each riddle he poses to the contestants, a bit of that person’s secret is revealed and at the end of the hour, the scandal is split wide open, paraded in public view. The contestants themselves don’t have it all that easy: sure, if you succeed in matching wits with the Riddler, you walk away with a prize, but should you fail, physical punishment is in store.
Of course, nothing is quite as it seems, and ruining the lives of some of Gotham’s rich and famous (including Bruce Wayne) is secondary to the Riddler’s actual goal. It’s up to Batman to track him down in his underground studio and put a stop to The Riddle Factory once and for all.
Technical Specs
The script for The Riddle Factory isn’t particularly strong, but it’s not completely devoid of value, either. Matt Wagner’s Riddler is reminiscent of Frank Gorshin’s portrayal in many ways: manic, unpredictable and self absorbed, he’s a real presence on the page, characterization-wise. The riddles themselves are somewhat lame, but if the writer’s goal was to evoke the Gorshin incarnation of Edward Nygma, then he succeeded for the most part.
However, Dave Taylor’s art is so distractingly inconsistent and generally mediocre that it robs the script of whatever virtues it may have. It’s almost as though Taylor couldn’t decide which direction to go in with the characters in the book and nowhere is this more glaring than with the Riddler himself. In one panel, he may look like a relatively young man, suave and debonair, in the very next, his features are completely different – those of an old man – and his expressions are rubbery and cartoonish.
The coloring is poor as well. The hues that are splashed across the pages are dull, washed out. The Riddler’s signature green and purple has never looked so subdued. There’s no contrast, no flair.
Final Verdict
Simply ruined by the artwork that stole all the story’s flamboyance, The Riddle Factory is a decent script that wound up being damaged by poor art and coloring. Had its campy qualities been embraced and played up instead of watered down, it could have been enjoyable. It’s a real shame it wasn’t.
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