Review by Ian Keogh

One Bad Day is a series of hardcovers spotlighting the villains of Gotham and involving the idea of a single bad day, inspired by Alan Moore’s starting premise for The Killing Joke.

As told by John Ridley, the Penguin has a pretty good day, but as the title doesn’t necessarily refer to a bad day for him, let’s not quibble. We first meet Oswald Cobblepot very much down on his luck, outside Gotham and using his last twenty bucks to buy a gun and a single bullet. From there Ridley follows the old plot of someone starting with something worthless and trading up with every transaction. It’s elevated, though, by Ridley having the Penguin reflect on his previous behaviour.

The art credits are for Giuseppe Camuncoli on layouts and Cam Smith finishes instead of the standard penciller and inker combination, meaning Smith has greater than usual input. It’s not immediately apparent, and a beaten Penguin is strongly illustrated, but some later faces don’t have the same subtlety and some figures are rigidly posed. For the most part, though, the story rolls out effectively and efficiently.

It’s a novel idea for a villain to consider their failings other than in the most maudlin manner, and Ridley has Penguin do that sincerely, while also aware that Gotham was a better place for his running the criminal enterprises as the person who usurped him has no restraint. There’s a far smaller role for Batman here than in other One Bad Day outings, but it’s pivotal, and used to make a valid point. By the end, as might be expected, Penguin is back on top, and Ridley’s supplied some varied supporting characters with potential for the next writer to use them.

All One Bad Day hardbacks are available with a standard cover, while the smaller comic versions feature four rarer alternatives, and despite being self-contained they’re all numbered as #1. The entire run is also available together as a boxed set packaged with a hardcover edition of The Killing Joke.