Batman Giant #3 Review

Riddle Me That

Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Art by: Nick Derington, Dave Stewart, and Josh Reed
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 21, 2018

Also includes:

Batman - Hush Part 3: The Beast
Nightwing - Past and Present
Harley Quinn - Love Stinks!

This is another one of those big issues that were pushed the minute these Walmart 100-page issues were announced.  Brian Michael Bendis on Batman!  Was it worth the hype and the wait?  Let's find out...


The issue opens with Batman on the move while getting intel from Alfred back at the mansion.  Bendis does a good job of playing the Batman vs Bruce Wayne game as Alfred reminds Bats of the dinner party he is missing.  We get to the gist of the issue, though, when Batman asks Alfred to repeat the riddle, “When is the Riddler not the Riddler?”  Yep, this is a Riddler story!

Bendis often has his characters rise above the story in a way that isn't quite breaking the fourth wall but is very close and here it's Alfred complaining about the Riddler.  It comes off as a wink wink type of thing very similar to what James Robinson did recently in Detective Comics and I didn't mind it, but I didn't love it either.  I also got tired of the couple of times where Batman is talking to Alfred and other people ask if he's talking to them.  We get it, it's odd for someone just to yell stuff out, but it's a comic book thing that has gone on forever.  Now, if Bendis wants to make fun of jerks with Bluetooth earpieces that yell while I'm getting my coffee every morning then I am all for that!  2014 called, am I right?!?  The good thing is, those are really my only gripes for the entire issue and in the overall scheme of things, they are pretty minor.  

The story continues with Batman realizing this is all a robbery disguised as a Riddler flash mob and that seems to jive with the riddle.  That is until Batman catches the real deal and the Riddler seems way out of his mind.  

The issue ends with the Riddler getting away, Batman knocked out for a bit and a mystery of what is going on and who is really involved.  To make things even cooler, there is an awesome name drop for a cliffhanger that doesn't seem to make sense in the best kind of ways.

Yea, I really enjoyed this story.  I am a Riddler fan and setting him up in a story that is a riddle itself is so cool.  I also liked Nick Derington's art as well and can easily recommend this story to anyone even a little curious about these Walmart issues.

Bits and Pieces:

A mystery involving the Riddler?  I am so in!  This was a really good start and I can't wait to see what Brian Michael Bendis has in store going forward.  

9.2/10