I’m currently really loving the new Penguin mini-series (5 issues I think) published by DC.

It’s called Pain and Prejudice and it does the utterly cliched thing of serving up a super villain’s childhood as the main reason why that villain is so damn evil.  In this case it’s the Penguin, a character who will always be Burgess Meredith to me.

The thing is that the gorgeous art by Szymon Kudranski and a really smart script by Gregg Hurwitz somehow takes the cliche and all the expected dramatic beats and turns it into something sad and tragic and compelling.  I mean, seriously, there’s nothing particularly innovative about the first two issues.  Basically, we get an insight into Oswald’s childhood where he was teased by his brothers, demeaned by his father and adored by his mother.  You’ve seen it all before.

And yet the comics works.  Hurwitz cleverly turns the table on the readers, making us realise that by laughing at the popular representation of the the Penguin, the figure of fun with his wobble and his silly nose and his pie throwing capacity, we’re as bad as the Penguin’s brother and his father.  It’s only Oswald’s mother who can see past the deformity and the oddness and understand the true brilliance of her son.

Suddenly the Penguin becomes someone who you can’t help but take seriously.  Someone who you can’t help but feel sympathy for, but also hate for the evil he does… even if you can appreciate why he is the way he is.

It really is fantastic stuff.  The last few panels of issue two, coupled with some amazing art, left me very close to tears.

Of all the DC and Marvel comics that I’ve read in the last three months, Penguin: Pain and Prejudice – only two issues old – is the one I look forward to the most.  And Ultimate Spiderman as well.

Highly recommended.