“At The Hands of Monsters in a Frozen Prison”
Artist: Juan Gedeon
Color Artist: John Rauch
Letterer: AW’s DC Hopkins
Review by Fay Clark
At this point, we now have a very classic spy story: Infiltration into a secret base, flirty co-workers, cool stealth suits, and a cliffhanger at the end of the last issue. Am I missing anything? I guess we will find out in Pennyworth #3.
Double Agent, Triple Agent… Who even knows?
Apparently, we know where Bruce and the Batfam get their penchant for landing themselves in terrible trouble, Alfred Pennyworth. What a troublemaker, even if it’s accidentally. Much like his future wards, trouble seems to find him! It definitely does in this issue!
Scott Bryan Wilson must love the old spy movies and the Pennyworth TV show, as you can feel the imprint of them on his work. We’ve been constantly moving between the past and the present in this series, remembering one of Alfred’s missions, and in some cases even further back to his childhood and teenage years. Although that sounds like a lot, it really isn’t. All of these things tie into the main story of why Alfred’s being held in a tiny dark room somewhere. I have no theories as of yet, but Scott Bryan Wilson seems to know exactly what he’s doing; the one-liners and dry British wit are all over this series.
Cause you’re hot, then you’re cold
There’s some amazing work from artist Juan Gedeon in Pennyworth #3. In a particularly cold climate, Juan can make you feel freezing, and when you add John Rauch as the color artist, what you get is a dream team! There were times that I felt super cold, just due to the color and the slightly hunched body language. There are some panels towards the end of the issue that are my favorite from this mini-series so far. You can tell straight away from the juxtaposition of the colors and the diagonal view of the art exactly what Juan and John were going for.
I also have to mention the present timeline, with Alfred stuck in a little box room. The use of shadow and light streaming through this tiny area shows a mastery of skill. There’s so much to focus on and the light leads your eye to where Juan and John want it to be on the page.
Conclusion
I’m really enjoying the way this series is going. Scott Bryan Wilson seems to have a clear plan as to where this will all lead and I for one cannot wait to find out where that is. This creative team is really good, and Juan and John work together so well together that I can’t imagine anyone else on this project now. Alfred has yet again gotten himself into a spot of bother… let’s see if he can make it out without too much damage!