The last Joker’s Asylum was really nothing worth to remember….Well except for that awesome Penguin story by Jason Aaron. DC feels differently and once again we have five one-shots loosely connected by the Joker. First up is a Riddler story and it has to be better then the first issue from the previous volume….right?

So far so good, as this was a good story at best. Peter Calloway, to the best of my and the internet’s knowledge, is a new writer. He does a good job handling the Joker since he is narrating everything we see. It’s not what we’ve seen from Morrison; but a nice call back to the early and less sadistic Joker from the past. The story itself with Riddler is good, but nothing really to come home about. Calloway knows the characters well but nothing really jumps out of this. Other then the fact that Nigma’s and my love life are very similar….Other then that sad peice of info, it’s pretty much a generic issue.

What makes this issue more enticing is the art. Instead of Clayton Henry (which the solicts promised), we get Andres Guinaldo. Again I’ve never heard of him but I like his style. It’s sorta feels like Frank Quitely in a way. What with the faces and the way the action scenes are handled. What also makes this a good looking issue is the coloring by Tomeu Morey. Bright and colorful, it really makes the panels stand out. Green is always a constant in the story and overall it has a nice spectrum of all the colors.

While this isn’t a bad comic it certainly isn’t a memorible issue. It starts off better then the truly awful first issue of the first volume. The characters are certainly there, but nothing really sets it self apart from other Riddler stories. The ‘twist’ at the end is also nothing really to come home about. Although if there is a mystery as the Joker states early on, I certainly didn’t see it. Already I can say that trade waiting for these series of one-shots is a good idea. But with the Mad Hatter and Clayface stories coming (with great creative teams on them)….then maybe you should at least give those two a try.