Mitch Gerads reveals how hard he pushed himself with Riddler's One Bad Day (and Tom King's honest reaction!)

DC Comics' Batman: The Killing Joke hosts many iconic moments in pop culture history – not least of which is the Joker’s 'One Bad Day' speech. It’s been brought to life in animation and homaged in comics ever since it’s original publication.

This year, DC is taking the idea of 'One Bad Day' and putting the rest of Batman's rogue's gallery through that lens. And on July 16, Mister Miracle's Tom King and Mitch Gerads are taking that to the questionable Batman villain the Riddler in Batman: One Bad Day: The Riddler. Described as a "tense, intellectual thriller," the two creators tell Popverse it's a book they've been wanting to do for a long time.

“No joke you can go back to any interview I’ve ever done and I’ve always said I wanted a smart, evil Batman Riddler book,” Gerads shared with Popverse, “And, so when the opportunity came up I was like, ‘Alright. This is everything I’ve ever wanted, so I better put everything into it’.”

Popverse spoke with Gerads and King at length about Batman: One Bad Day: The Riddler at Comic-Con International San Diego, getting in their joint return to Gotham City, and also the artist's pride in what he's done with this one-shot.

Here is our full 9-plus-minute interview with Tom King and Mitch Gerads on Batman: One Bad Day: Riddler #1.

With a character like the Riddler, there's bound to be more questions. Read our companion interview with Tom King and Mitch Gerads on Batman: One Bad Day: The Riddler by Popverse's Graeme McMillan.