And, since women love the bad boys, let’s throw one of the founding members of Batman’s rogues gallery in for good(?) measure.

Edward Nygma,..

Wait, does a name like that make you wonder about predestination?

Anyway, Edward Nygma, or E. Nygma, first donned his green togs in Detective Comics 140, October of 1948. Bill Finger and Dick Sprang are responsible for the criminal mastermind hobbled by the obsession to incorporate riddles and puzzles into his crimes.

His Golden Age appearances were limited to his debut and Detective Comics 142. Presumably the Riddler was a guest of the state until the Silver Age when, upon his release in Batman 171 he continued his criminal career.

Since then, Nygma has made up for lost time never far from a comic book appearance throughout the ensuing ages and crises.

And, if you’re curious as to the answers on the Valentine, it’s printed upside down in the lower left hand corner and the title of today’s post.

Sometimes life is puzzling enough, so here’s a day to celebrate our confusion.

National Puzzle Day was created in 2002 by Jodi Jill, no stranger to creating conundrums. Jill is a professional quiz and puzzle maker, offering her handiwork to classrooms.

Our representative is one of Batman’s colorful rogue’s gallery, The Riddler. Created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang in 1948, Edward Nigma first appeared in Detective Comics (1937) 140.

Nigma delights in leaving puzzles and riddles prior to conducting his crimes to foil the Caped Crusader. The obsession usually leads to his capture.

During his early years in the waning days of the Golden Age, The Riddler was a straight up costumed criminal matching wits with Batman and Robin. His modus operandi continued into the Silver and Bronze ages until he would be updated for new breed of readers in modern times.

Detective Comics (1937) 140

Nigma would become more of a broker of information until his reformation following a blow to the head resulting in the Riddler falling into a coma. His new profession was that of a private consultant helping to solve a murder. He would later become a detective.

Another head trauma returned Nigma to his villainous ways just prior to The New 52. In both this reboot and DC Rebirth, the Riddler spends a good portion of his time in Arkham Asylum, until his eventual escape.

For long-time fans, the Riddler will forever be Frank Gorshin and his live-action antics on the 1966 Batman television series. The veteran actor received an Emmy nomination for his portrayal.

Cory Michael Smith was the living embodiment for the Gotham series airing 2014 to 2019.

The late Ted Knight voiced the Riddler in Filmation’s Saturday morning The Batman/Superman Hour. Michael Bell did the honors in Hanna-Barbera’s Challenge of the Super Friends as well as the 1980s version of Super Friends.

John Glover gave the character voice in Batman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Superman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond.

Freddy’s Robert Englund was the voice of the Riddler in 2005’s The Batman. John Michael Higgins did the honors during the Batman: Brave and the Bold run.

He was given life by Jim Carrey in Batman Forever in 1995. The big screen box office bomb is a forgettable appearance.

What to do for National Puzzle Day shouldn’t be as, well, puzzling. Catch up with a crossword in the local paper, find a digital dilemma online or just read up on the green-clad cad with the penchant for puzzles.

Fan favorite Mark Dos Santos looks at life in Gotham City from Norman Rockwell’s point of view. Santos tips his hat to artist Rockwell who captured American life on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post for five decades. For more information on Santos and his other creations, click here.

The Saturday Evening Post – not

Batman and Robin Adventures 3

Paul Dini takes the new title for a holiday spin early on with the Riddler playing the Grinch who tries to steal Christmas from the well-to-do of Gotham by crashing an exclusive Christmas Eve festival at the Peregrinator Club.

When Batman the Animated Series first aired no one realized it would become, arguably, the best Dark Knight cartoon with only Brave and the Bold challenging the series. Later it would incorporate the Boy Wonder toward the end of the original run and later offer an even younger version with The New Batman Adventures.

With each incarnation the comic book would mirror its televised counterpart. The Batman and Robin Adventures are the four-color feature of The New Batman Adventures.