Posted October 2010 | Updated : March 13, 2011 | May 3, 2012 | August 6, 2015

Gotham Central Unresolved Targets

I did mention before that this is Gotham and Batman is here and so are the villains associated with him. We got a taste of these costumed baddies in 'In The Line of Duty' the first story arc and the rather long 'Half A Life'. In both cases the villains were given there due, reactions in the precinct and the street were thoughtfully crafted by Brubacker and Rucka. In 'Soft Targets' another Batman villain makes his appearance. But not all villains are equal, among the bad guys in Gotham the Joker is pre-eminent. Part of the joy of 'Soft Targets' is the satisfaction of seeing the cops react to Joker and compare this with their reaction to the previous baddies. As I said, in the Batman universe, the Joker is the villain, and this story arc shows it.

Hey this is a comicbook right? How about we put in a discussion of the municipal budget? Nah, nobody does that in a comic. Wrong! It happens here and I love it. Right at the beginning, the Mayor and the Police Commissioner bargain about the GCPD budget. I enjoyed following the quite sensible opinions of both as they kicked the issue around. Aside from being fun to read, this discussion makes me aware that the cops are working people, they have shifts, they do overtime. I become aware of this as the series moves on and it adds to the believability of the GCPD aspect of the stories. This, in turn, makes the superhero/supervillain aspect stand out. Brilliant, just like Marvels.

I won't spoil things for you but there is a story buildup that culminates in an incident in a schoolyard during the wrap up of the investigation. Even when the writing moves from one storyline to the next the buildup keeps on moving along getting bigger and bigger until Bang! The schoolyard scene - and the story isn't even finished yet.

Right after that, watch how the cops react when they see that they are, in fact, up against the Clown Prince of Crime. Priceless. See how Azeveda and Mac react.

See what Probson does.

Now we have a 'who's in charge' fight between the Captain and the Lieutenant in front of the Commissioner. Who would put this in a comic? Brubacker and Rucka did. And it works, it works beautifully. See what the new Mayor does when faced with the prospect of throwing down with the Joker - hah!

Then the Mayor sends the GCPD to do arrests as a publicity stunt in the middle of the case, sacrificing public safety to get political points. R is for Reality.

The Joker makes his appearance at last. Michael Lark manages to avoid drawing the Joker as caricature - this is one of the best renditions of the Joker I've ever seen.

In the end the Joker comes in for some level of punishment. If I hadn't read Batman: The Killing Joke I would wonder how the Joker is able to subject himself to that. But I did read the Killing Joke so I know why. As I said, the deeper your knowledge of Batman lore the better Gotham Central gets.

This is the best story arc so far.

'Life is Full of Disappointments' begins with a funeral. When you actually feel sad about the demise of a fictional character it's a sure sign that the creative team is doing a fine job. So it is with Gotham Central.

In the last issue of this story arc the Huntress makes an appearance. That's right, The Huntress. I just took a glance at JSA Classified which portrayed the current Huntress and the Earth 2 Huntress. The portrayals were larger than life. Sexy. Dangerous. Super-heroic. With that you just have to see how the Huntress is portrayed here: It's like a regular girl went out and bought a Huntress costume for Halloween. That's how she's portrayed. Another great case for Gotham Central being a wonderful respite from the regular superhero fare.

One last thing worth mentioning is Detective Tommy Burke. In this three-issue run he is drawn by artist Greg Scott. And he stands out somehow. The face more expressive. He almost jumps out of the page at you, more than any other character in the arc he seems so realistic.

So I'm looking at how Michael Lark renders people and they are so individual -just like in real life.

I've read my share of Batman but I'm no diehard. From reading those books I only remember two names from the GCPD: Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock. Bullock is no longer a member of the GCPD, he was alluded to in a previous arc as having had to turn over his badge. He's front and center in this story though.

We get an early allusion to our next villain - the Mad Hatter.

Yup, looking good - in a bad way.

We learn why Harvey Bullock is not a detective anymore. The guy's gold, he deserves that he's a legend. And you know why? Because he considered friendship a higher bond than duty.

Harvey Bullock's face. Michael Lark nails it again. I'm ready to give this guy his own comicbook - Harvey not Michael. Michael already has his own comicbook.

So I'm looking at the goings-on at the MCU and I realize that I like reading Gotham Central because these cops like what they do. It's the same reason why I like the movie The Paper, it was about a bunch of journalists who are also having a great time doing regular jobs. In a world were there are people who have to force themselves out of bed in the morning, this is a great thing to read about.

Arkham was already scary with Batman in the Batman books. Here, it's like the detectives are going into a haunted house. Just look at this panel.

I have to say that of all the villains I love the way the Mad Hatter was handled both by the writer and the artist. The details, the looks the gestures, the background information, everything was just perfectly placed.

Excellent story arc, almost as good as 'Soft Targets'.

Did you know Crispus Allen is currently the Spectre? I always liked him and this panel makes me like him even more.

We take a look at GCPD's Internal Affairs department. It's not the first time they show, they had some bit parts in 'Half A Life' story arc, but they're in early in this story and we get to see the process, and we get to see behind the process, why it's necessary.

Not a single cape on this one. It reads like an episode of Law & Order.

The Avengers fight all over the world. The Green Lanterns take on the whole universe. It's possible to get tired of the sheer scope of it. Come home to Gotham Central where the biggest fight happens in offices. In this issue watch the Commissioner take on the Mayor.

Now that I've ranted against superheroes let's show one - the cowl and cape of the Bat in full effect, and no, it's not the classic swinging from a rooftop scene.

This one issue arc is much more focused than the last one issue story which was 'Daydreams and Believers'. It's also much heavier since it's about a landmark decision by the GCPD.

New artist for this arc, name's Jason Alexander. Everything's cool except the faces of guys . Ouch. Drawn like they have some kind of allergy that makes them all blotchy.

Nice stylized shot of CGPD HQ with starry backdrop shown below. The inking for this issue switches beautifully from heavy to fine lines at just the right places.

Cemetery scene next. Done so good you could actually feel the frost.

I've never seen a bondage club portrayed in a comic until now.

Okay, they're talking about No Man's Land, calling it NML, I thought it was a place, then now it looks like an event. This must be part of the Batman mythos but I'm all out of Batman lore.

Stefano Gaudiano is the artist. Reason I mention it is because I have to give credit where credit is due. Montoya has a complicated history with her father. Gaudiano captures it perfectly in a look.

The hospital scene in this story is the most intense it has gotten so far in the series - the Joker getting a beating becomes a distant second.

If this series changes even just one homophobe, that's forty issues well spent.