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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
Gotham Central is not a Batman comic. Sure, Batman is in it from time to time and we do see cameo’s from Gotham’s finest villains. But it’s not about them. It’s about the police force who are trying to solve these hideous crimes while they reluctantly wait for Batman to swoop in and save the day. In the first volume, you see Mr. Freeze and Two-Face wreck havoc on the detectives lives, but you also see how the detectives deal with stuff normal police officers deal with like losing a partner or being outed. Honestly, you could take Batman out and swap Gotham’s supervillains for other villains and you’d still have a solid story.
Do I recommend this to other noobs? Not if you’re going into this thinking it’s a Batman story. You will be disappointed. If you like noir and police drama then by all means try this. It will be to your liking. I’m glad I read it because I like all of those things. I will finish this series.
Do I recommend this to other noobs? Not if you’re going into this thinking it’s a Batman story. You will be disappointed. If you like noir and police drama then by all means try this. It will be to your liking. I’m glad I read it because I like all of those things. I will finish this series.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I'll be upfront here, I'm only reading this series for Renee Montoya (who's barely in this first volume), and because it's next on my reading list. Cop stories are not my thing, especially not cop stories with such uninteresting characters. There are hardly any distinguishing personalities, they all kind of blend together, and the art doesn't do it any favors. Many of the men are drawn similarly.
Brubaker and Rucka are great writers in general - I'm a big fan of Rucka in particular. I just think this is a miss so far. Gotham is a character in and of itself, a rich setting touting a main cast of the Bat family and Batman's rogue gallery. If you're gonna write a series centered on the up-'til-now seemingly useless GCPD, they ought to be a little less bland.
Brubaker and Rucka are great writers in general - I'm a big fan of Rucka in particular. I just think this is a miss so far. Gotham is a character in and of itself, a rich setting touting a main cast of the Bat family and Batman's rogue gallery. If you're gonna write a series centered on the up-'til-now seemingly useless GCPD, they ought to be a little less bland.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
As much as I’m fond of Batman, it was refreshing to read a comic set in Gotham that wasn’t focused on him. While Gotham Central does give us stories involving big bads like Ms. Freeze and Two-Face, most of the focus was on the often overlooked GCPD and “ordinary” crimes. I generally like Brubaker’s writing, and if you’re a fan of police procedurals but still want the feel of a comics universe, I highly recommend this series.
Things I Liked
1. Pace: Brubaker handles pace well in this volume by showing readers how each event leads to the next (rather than jumping from place to place and expecting readers to use background knowledge to fill in the gaps).
2. Treatment of Grief: The first story arc follows detective Marcus Driver following the death of his partner. I found Brubaker’s treatment of Driver’s grief to be very heartfelt, even though we never see sobbing or breakdowns. Instead, Driver is reticent and throws himself into his next case, while also turning his anger to Batman.
3. Renee Montoya: Another story arc follows Detective Montoya, who is “outed” as a lesbian as part of a revenge plot (sort of - read the story). I found her story to be rather thought-provoking about LGBT+ experiences, both in reality and in comics. While some readers may find the story discomforting (it’s not a happy story, after all), I found it (and the character Montoya herself) to be very upfront about LGBT+ experiences.
4. Tone: The overall tone of this comic reminded me of Law and Order. The colors in the art are rather dark and cool, the GCPD in general are tough yet striving to do good despite their issues.
Things I Didn’t Like
Eh, you know... I don’t really have any.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in police procedurals, detective stories, crime dramas, and Gotham city.
Things I Liked
1. Pace: Brubaker handles pace well in this volume by showing readers how each event leads to the next (rather than jumping from place to place and expecting readers to use background knowledge to fill in the gaps).
2. Treatment of Grief: The first story arc follows detective Marcus Driver following the death of his partner. I found Brubaker’s treatment of Driver’s grief to be very heartfelt, even though we never see sobbing or breakdowns. Instead, Driver is reticent and throws himself into his next case, while also turning his anger to Batman.
3. Renee Montoya: Another story arc follows Detective Montoya, who is “outed” as a lesbian as part of a revenge plot (sort of - read the story). I found her story to be rather thought-provoking about LGBT+ experiences, both in reality and in comics. While some readers may find the story discomforting (it’s not a happy story, after all), I found it (and the character Montoya herself) to be very upfront about LGBT+ experiences.
4. Tone: The overall tone of this comic reminded me of Law and Order. The colors in the art are rather dark and cool, the GCPD in general are tough yet striving to do good despite their issues.
Things I Didn’t Like
Eh, you know... I don’t really have any.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in police procedurals, detective stories, crime dramas, and Gotham city.
Brubaker continues to be one of my favorite comic writers. This was a great approach to the Batman world. Just jumped into a world and wrote in the Batman characters as tangential elements. Really interesting.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The pacing for the first 2/3 of this book should is a masterclass in storytelling . Back third is still great but fumbles the pacing a bit.
Can't believe I missed this, as a) it came out when my comic book habit had its claws in the fiercest, and b) it involves all the things I most love in my fiction.
Those things include:
DC Comics
Batman
the police procedural, done a la Homicide: Life on the Street
Ed Brubaker
Those things include:
DC Comics
Batman
the police procedural, done a la Homicide: Life on the Street
Ed Brubaker
Really good read. Makes me want to watch a cop show again. I was hoping to read the series before Gotham premiered but oh well.
Good writing and nice dark art give the series and stories and gritty, grimy feel.
Good writing and nice dark art give the series and stories and gritty, grimy feel.
Brubaker and Rucka, but primarily Brubaker, writing a series of Homicide: Life on the Streets set in Gotham City, of course it's great. Dark and human, focussing on the obsessive nature of homicide detectives and the inner turmoil the job creates, it's well travelled ground, but always a pleasure when done well and I look forward to travelling this ground with Brubaker's creations for the rest of this series.