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A review by mschlat
Gotham Central Omnibus by Ed Brubaker, Stefano Gaudiano, Kano, Greg Rucka, Michael Lark
5.0
As a series, this is probably closer to 4.5 stars (with some issues down to 3 stars), but I love the whole thing so much....
The high concept is great: tell the stories of Gotham detectives in the Major Crimes Unit (i.e., the ones most likely to run into Batman's foes, or what the cops call the "freaks"). Do they like working with Batman? (Usually not.) Are they angry about the state of crime in the city? (Probably yes.) Do they have to deal with crooked police and frustrating bureaucracy? (All the time.)
You have two of my favorite comics writers, Brubaker and Rucka, writing what they do very well: ground level gritty stories that still have humor and pack a wallop plotwise. You get tales that feature tons of characters in the Batman milieu, including the mystery of multiple dead Robins, a chilling Mad Hatter story with lots of Arkham Asylum, and a stellar Joker-as-sniper serial. (The creators hit it out of the park with a portrayal of the Joker in police custody --- it's super weird to see a character that crazed in the normal setting of an interrogation room.)
Much of the art at the beginning of the series is by Michael Lark, who sets the visual aesthetic for the book: scratchy pencils with tons of black ink and muddy colors. Lark carries it off quite well, but it's an art style that can go bad in the wrong hands. There are some stories by other artists where faces tend towards the unrecognizable with the grit, and throughout the series I got a little tired of panels with talking heads and no backgrounds. Besides Lark's work, I found Brian Hurtt's issue (#11) and a story by Kano and Gaudino (#33-36) to really shine.
I just reread this in pamphlet form and am now very tempted to buy the collection. It's one of my favorite examples from the Big 2 of small personal stories that work within a wider continuity.
The high concept is great: tell the stories of Gotham detectives in the Major Crimes Unit (i.e., the ones most likely to run into Batman's foes, or what the cops call the "freaks"). Do they like working with Batman? (Usually not.) Are they angry about the state of crime in the city? (Probably yes.) Do they have to deal with crooked police and frustrating bureaucracy? (All the time.)
You have two of my favorite comics writers, Brubaker and Rucka, writing what they do very well: ground level gritty stories that still have humor and pack a wallop plotwise. You get tales that feature tons of characters in the Batman milieu, including the mystery of multiple dead Robins, a chilling Mad Hatter story with lots of Arkham Asylum, and a stellar Joker-as-sniper serial. (The creators hit it out of the park with a portrayal of the Joker in police custody --- it's super weird to see a character that crazed in the normal setting of an interrogation room.)
Much of the art at the beginning of the series is by Michael Lark, who sets the visual aesthetic for the book: scratchy pencils with tons of black ink and muddy colors. Lark carries it off quite well, but it's an art style that can go bad in the wrong hands. There are some stories by other artists where faces tend towards the unrecognizable with the grit, and throughout the series I got a little tired of panels with talking heads and no backgrounds. Besides Lark's work, I found Brian Hurtt's issue (#11) and a story by Kano and Gaudino (#33-36) to really shine.
I just reread this in pamphlet form and am now very tempted to buy the collection. It's one of my favorite examples from the Big 2 of small personal stories that work within a wider continuity.