The Penguin #8: A Day in the Life

Oswald returned to Gotham City with a mission. But he’s not going to spend every moment of every day scheming and plotting. So what does his life look like the rest of the time? The Penguin #8 takes the reader through a day in the life of Oswald Cobblepot.

The Penguin #8 is told from the point of view of virtually every character except Oswald. It opens on Commissioner Gordon and a detective walking through the lobby of an apartment building. Bodies litter the floor. They follow the trail of carnage up the stairs and to the front door of Oswald Cobblepot’s apartment. Then the issue flashes back six months to Oswald renting that very same apartment. He looks out on the city at the dawn of a new day. From there the issue follows Oswald as he encounters both the mundane and the dangerous. He stops by a hot dog cart. The vendor is so shocked that it takes several moments for Oswald to actually get his hot dog. Later, while enjoying his hot dog in the park, he is beset by a man’s friendly but out of control dog. The man recognizes Oswald as he apologizes and asks if Oswald is going to kill his dog. A would-be assassin, sent by Oswald’s children, follows Oswald down the street only to get a bullet for his trouble. And afterward the day gets really interesting.

Genre subversion is at the heart of The Penguin. The only crime fiction subgenre that fits it is the caper story which is the type of story that is told from the villain’s point of view. But that is the only quality The Penguin and the caper story share as King pushes back against virtually all other elements, many of them humorous, that the subgenre possesses. So given the subversive nature of the series itself, it’s not surprising that King chooses to subvert the day in the life concept as well.

Investigative scenes featuring Commissioner Gordon bookend The Penguin #8, but the rest of the issue follows Oswald. Unlike the usual day in the life concept, though, none of the story is told from Oswald’s point-of-view. Rather, each scene is narrated by the characters Oswald interacts with: the realtor, the hot dog vendor, the jogger, and so on. This is not the first time that King has used other characters’ viewpoints to develop Oswald. But no issue leans as far into the idea as The Penguin #8 does. And unlike those other issues, Oswald doesn’t really evolve as a character here. He simply is.

Unfortunately a byproduct of structuring The Penguin #8 is how cluttered it is. There’s an argument to be made that most comics, already narrated from a first person point-of-view, are de facto day in the life stories. If that’s the case, King’s storytelling choice actually makes more sense. But getting into the various characters’ heads enough to understand them in these moments while also including dialogue as they interact with Oswald results in a lot of text. It’s all well-written and engaging, but there are multiple overstuffed pages.

The characters themselves are amusing in a mundane kind of way. Each interaction with Oswald is distinct, and the uncomfortable and simultaneous ordinariness of several of them make the issue fun. By contrast, Gordon’s scenes feel like they came straight out of a hardboiled detective novel; this Commissioner Gordon could easily headline his own companion detective series.

De Latorre is back as the artist on The Penguin #8. His Oswald is always a character with power and dignity (even in the most undignified of moments). And, befitting King’s script for the issue, he’s lighthearted and even amused at moments. There is always a sinister undercurrent, though, and the differences in mood showcase De Latorre’s proficiency at depicting emotion. The subtle addition or subtraction of a line or the minor adjustment of an angle are all that’s necessary to switch Oswald from amused to unhappy. It’s wonderfully economic.

The page featuring Oswald’s interaction with the hot dog vendor should not be overlooked. It’s a six panel layout that alternates between the two characters, starting with the vendor. The vendor’s three panels are identical as he stares in shock. Oswald’s three panels, on the other hand, work as a progressive closeup and depiction of his changing mood. Oswald’s first panel is furthest away with his happiest expression. Then closer and not quite as happy. Then closest and upset. Narratively this is the issue’s least important page. But visually and with relative simplicity, De Latorre says a lot about how the day is going to unfold.

Maiolo makes a statement early in the issue when Oswald rents his apartment. The scene concludes with a splash page of Oswald looking out his window toward the bright yellow of a new day. De Latorre doesn’t draw sunrise as such, so it’s up to Maiolo to convey the emotion of the moment. He handles it exceptionally well. Oswald’s apartment is small, nondescript, and only a few floors off the ground. As a practical matter the bright yellow rising over and around Gotham establishes the start of a new day. But the way the light is framed around and above Oswald, growing progressively brighter, transforms Gotham into his domain.

The Penguin #8, as noted earlier, is text heavy. Cowles does a good job in organizing the various caption boxes and dialogue bubbles, but it is a lot to manage. That alone is noteworthy. But Cowles’ ability to keep juggling caption box and text color combinations for the various characters in any given issue (this one features nine) and largely keep them from getting lost in Maiolo’s coloring is impressive.