Prisoner of the Penguin! Page 3

  All of that was true. Bruce Wayne had done all those things. The only thing Batman left out was that he was Bruce Wayne.

  “You trusted me before when I asked you to send Bruce Wayne to prison,” said Batman over the phone. “I’m asking you to trust me again and let him go.”

  CLICK!

  The call ended.

  Commissioner Gordon pocketed his phone and looked through the cell bars at Bruce Wayne.

  Gordon stood there, thinking for many moments. Then he made his decision.

  * * *

  An hour later, Bruce walked out of the prison a free man.

  The Penguin, the Warden, the guards, and the inmates were all safely locked away inside.

  Now that the Commissioner knew what had happened, he would make sure the prison was sold to a new company.

  A company that wasn’t owned by one of Gotham City’s villains.

  Because no matter what it took, Batman was going to get all these prisoners transferred to Arkham Asylum.

  A real prison.

  THE PENGUIN

  Real Name: Oswald Cobblepot

  Occupation: Professional Criminal

  Base: Iceberg Lounge, Gotham City

  Height: 5 feet, 2 inches

  Weight: 175 pounds

  Eyes: Blue

  Hair: Black

  Like the flightless fowl he resembles, Oswald Cobblepot has little skill in combat and doesn’t seem very threatening. He is, however, a dangerous criminal mastermind constantly in search of easy money. Although he is one of the wealthiest men in Gotham City, few of the Penguin’s proceeds have come from honest sources. Expect the Penguin to be protected at all times by a group of hired goons.

  Cobblepot’s waddling walk and beakish nose earned him the unwanted nickname “the Penguin.” His pursuit of wealth and success comes from the desire to rise above those who have teased him.

  The Penguin’s fashionable nightclub, the Iceberg Lounge, serves as a safe haven for crafty crooks of all kinds. While there, the Penguin spreads his wings in order to connect with the criminal elite.

  The Penguin has a number of tricks up his sleeve. His special umbrellas can hide a variety of deadly tools. They can also double as a parachute or helicopter, allowing him to fly away from situations gone afoul.

  BIOGRAPHIES

  SCOTT SONNEBORN has written more than twenty books, one circus (for Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey), and a bunch of TV shows. He’s been nominated for one Emmy and spent three very cool years working at DC Comics. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their two sons.

  LUCIANO VECCHIO was born in 1982 and currently lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. With experience in illustration, animation, and comics, his works have been published in the US, Spain, the UK, France, and Argentina. His credits include Ben 10 (DC Comics), Cruel Thing (Norma), Unseen Tribe (Zuda Comics), and Sentinels (Drumfish Productions).

  SKETCHES & FINAL ART

  COMICS TERMS

  caption (KAP-shuhn)—words that appear in a box. Captions are often used to set the scene.

  gutter (GUHT-er)—the space between panels or pages

  motion lines (MOH-shuhn LINES)—illustrator-created marks that help show motion in art

  panel (PAN-uhl)—a single drawing that has borders around it. Each panel is a separate scene on a spread.

  SFX (ESS-EFF-EKS)—short for sound effects. Sound effects are words used to show sounds that occur in the art of a comic.

  splash (SPLASH)—a large illustration that often covers a full page (or more)

  spread (SPRED)—two side-by-side pages in a comic book

  word balloon (WURD BUH-loon)—a speech indicator that includes a character’s dialogue or thoughts. A word balloon’s tail leads to the speaking character’s mouth.

  GLOSSARY

  asylum (uh-SIGH-lum)—a hospital where people who are mentally ill are cared for, typically over long periods of time

  circumstance (SIR-kuhm-stanss)—a condition or fact that affects a situation

  commissioner (kuh-MISH-uh-ner)—an official who is in charge of a government department, like the police

  hulking (HULL-king)—very large or heavy

  panic (PAN-ik)—a state or feeling of extreme fear that makes you unable to function normally

  penitentiary (pen-uh-TEN-shur-ee)—a prison

  retracted (ri-TRAK-tid)—to pull something back into something larger

  riot (RYE-uht)—a large group of people behaving in an uncontrolled and violent manner

  vulnerable (VUHL-ner-uh-buhl)—in a position where you can be easily hurt or harmed

  Batman: Comic Chapter Books are published by Stone Arch Books,

  A Capstone Imprint

  1710 Roe Crest Drive

  North Mankato, Minnesota 56003

  www.capstoneyoungreaders.com

  Copyright © 2014 DC Comics.

  BATMAN and all characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics. (S14)

  Star33544

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on the Library of Congress website.

  ISBN: 978-1-4342-9131-8 (library binding)

  ISBN: 978-1-4342-9135-6 (paperback

  ISBN: 978-1-4965-0097-7 (eBook PDF)

  ISBN: 978-1-4965-0323-7 (eBook)

  Summary: Once again, Batman catches the Penguin in the act, meaning more prison time for the villain. Since the fowl felon has a bad habit of escaping his cell, the Dark Knight delivers him to a privately run, impenetrable prison this time around. But even from behind solid bars, the Penguin finds a way to gain the upper hand... and appoint himself warden! With all the thieves, thugs, and crooks under his sway, the Penguin hatches a plan to unleash his new army on Gotham City. The only shot Batman has at preventing the Penguin’s entire army from flying free is to go inside the prison and battle the bird-brained villain on his own turf...