Saturday, April 21, 2018

Gotham Central Omnibus

Gotham CentralGotham Central by Ed Brubaker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tell me you did not just shoot Batman!

Gotham Central tells the story of the detectives of the Gotham City Major Crimes Unit.

I read and reviewed Gotham Central in individual collections. This was my second time reading the entire run. It's just as good on the reread.

The cops of Gotham City have it rough, what with the spectre of Batman looming over them. In this massive tome, the cops of the Gotham City Major Crimes Unit have their hands full with Mr. Freeze, The Joker, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Doctor Alchemy, and others, all the while trying not to involve a certain Dark Knight Detective.

The book tells the tale of the downward spiral of Renee Montoya, outted as a lesbian and disowned by her family, seeking out violence for relief. It's also the tale of Crispus Allen, Marcus Driver, and others. The GCPD tackle super villains, corruption, and a bunch of dead Robins with good old-fashioned police work. It's basically The Wire set in Gotham City.

The artwork, particularly Michael Lark's, perfectly suits the tale, painting Gotham in grimy, dark, subdued colors. Brubaker and Rucka weave a realistic tale about what it would be like operating a police department in a world full of super heroes.

Even though I'd read the entire run before, Renee's tale jabbed me right in the feelings quite a few times. It's a gritty road to an unhappy ending. It's a shame there aren't many comics like this but we can still get bombarded with multiple flavors of Justice League and The Avengers every month.

That's about all I want to say. On the second read, Gotham Central is still one of the best comics of the 21st century. 5 out of 5 stars.


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