PANEL ONE
The Riddler – Edward Nigma – is battered and bruised, his iconic garb torn.
He’s been through the wringer and is propped up against the wall of an abandoned Gotham City warehouse.
The Joker looms over him. He is not smiling. He actually looks quite distressed.
My take on the Joker is he’s not always the maniacally-laughing clown he’s so often portrayed as. He’s a psychopath; he never displays the same characteristics from one day to the next.
And today, he’s a brooding clown.
JOKER
Poor dear.
You’re asking yourself why, aren’t you?
PANEL TWO
The Joker crouches on his haunches, his face inches from Riddler’s.
JOKER
You need to know why.
Need an answer for everything.
Every riddle.
PANEL THREE
The Joker has unholstered a glinting pistol.
The barrel is pressed against Riddler’s head.
JOKER [1]
Your whole world revolves around questions and answers.
Answering the unanswerable.
JOKER [2]
But your world is fiction, Edward.
Buddy, ol’ pal.
PANEL FOUR
Joker licks the Riddler’s cheek.
Nigma’s eyes are wide with fear.
JOKER [1]
You live in my world, see.
There are no questions.
There are no answers.
JOKER [2]
There’s just me.
PANEL FIVE
Completely black, save for Joker’s word balloon.
JOKER
That’s the joke.
Wow, everyone's pulling out the big guns this week. Really liked this, Sime. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteA GREAT look into the mind of The Riddler. I love the fact that his desire for riddles comes from a need to know everything - and the insecurity that makes him prove it.
ReplyDeleteGreat work Sime. Also likes the alternate take on Joker.
Juxtaposition. I love it, i use the word a lot, and you've concentrated it down to two characters and done so in a great way. This is a top concept matched with a very cool page.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I like Joker licking his cheek, it's creepy but might not match the rest of the page.
Tight dialogue, and great use of a black panel.
I'm so shocked the damn Riddler has yielded such quality from us all.
This weeks bar has been set so high, all the pages have been fantastic. This page is yet another take on the Riddler and works wonderfully, the dialogue is super tight and well paced and your use of that black panel was the perfect partner for that final piece of killer dialogue.
ReplyDeleteSo far this week I would be more than happy to read full Riddler stories written by you guys.
Keep it up.
Damn, my script has to go after this one? Tough act to follow.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent script, Sime, particularly your portrayal of the Joker, which is spot on as far as I'm concerned. (I can't remember which writer came up with this as a way of explaining away all the different Jokers we've seen over the years, but it always stuck in my mind.) That said, despite the Joker's assessment of Edward here, it still felt more like a Joker page than a Riddler page... or at least a Joker & Riddler page as opposed to Riddler.
ReplyDeletePhenomenal page, Sime. It's certainly a Joker-heavy Riddler page, but it works beautifully. Your panel descriptions really work for me, especially the entirely black finale. You have the kind of idea here that other people wish they had come up (at least I do).
ReplyDeleteMan, I had no idea the Riddler could be so damn interesting, but everyone is really teaching me a thing or two.