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Gotham Central (Hardcover Reprints) #2
Gotham Central, Book Two: Jokers and Madmen
Cops just don't have it easy in the city of the Bat. Not only do they have to deal with the violence and corruption of the world's most notoriously crime-infested city, catering to some of the most insane and homicidal criminals, but they also have to deal with a vigilante who's hellbent on playing by his own rules.
And to make things worse, the Joker is terrorizing the city at Christmastime--randomly executing people with a rifle, and no one from the Mayor on down is safe! Plus, more stories involving the girl whose job it is to turn on the Bat-signal, a series of gruesome murders that grab the attention of The Huntress, and an old case of unfinished business for disgraced detective Harvey Bullock.
The second volume of the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning GOTHAM CENTRAL series (collecting #11-22), brought to you by acclaimed writers Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka, and artist Michael Lark, with additional art by Greg Scott, Brian Hurtt and Stefano Gaudiano. This volume also features an introduction by Duane Swierczynski.
And to make things worse, the Joker is terrorizing the city at Christmastime--randomly executing people with a rifle, and no one from the Mayor on down is safe! Plus, more stories involving the girl whose job it is to turn on the Bat-signal, a series of gruesome murders that grab the attention of The Huntress, and an old case of unfinished business for disgraced detective Harvey Bullock.
The second volume of the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning GOTHAM CENTRAL series (collecting #11-22), brought to you by acclaimed writers Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka, and artist Michael Lark, with additional art by Greg Scott, Brian Hurtt and Stefano Gaudiano. This volume also features an introduction by Duane Swierczynski.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2005
75 people are currently reading
2133 people want to read
About the author
Ed Brubaker
1,800 books2,977 followersEd Brubaker (born November 17, 1966) is an Eisner Award-winning American cartoonist and writer. He was born at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland.
Brubaker is best known for his work as a comic book writer on such titles as Batman, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Fist, Catwoman, Gotham Central and Uncanny X-Men. In more recent years, he has focused solely on creator-owned titles for Image Comics, such as Fatale, Criminal, Velvet and Kill or Be Killed.
In 2016, Brubaker ventured into television, joining the writing staff of the HBO series Westworld.
Brubaker is best known for his work as a comic book writer on such titles as Batman, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Fist, Catwoman, Gotham Central and Uncanny X-Men. In more recent years, he has focused solely on creator-owned titles for Image Comics, such as Fatale, Criminal, Velvet and Kill or Be Killed.
In 2016, Brubaker ventured into television, joining the writing staff of the HBO series Westworld.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 234 reviews
November 15, 2011
Gotham Central, written by the talented Mr. Ripley Mr. Brubaker, is the kind of graphic novel that you want to toss at those hoity-toity bookSNOBs when they float down from their pedestal atop Mount Elitist to bash on comics as being nothing but manky loads of provincial tripe. This book is your perfect rebuttal. It’s an “oh really, well take a gander at this” piece of argument that will leave them re-evaluating their close-mindedness.
The set up for this series as a whole is sublime. The city of Gotham is awash in violent crime and populated by a masked vigilante who wanders the streets battling homicidal maniacs and freaks, often with innocent bystanders caught in the cross-fire. In this chaotic warzone, the hard-working detectives of the city’s Major Crime Unit (MCU) tackle these cases while trying to avoid becoming collateral damage in Batman’s one-man vigilante war.
The setting is very familiar but with an added hardboiled, noiry edge as the stories take us to the places unexplored in the mainstream Batman comics. Batman’s appearance in these tales is rare, but his presence is a cloud that hangs over the events and is always felt. Um....good.
THE STORIES:
Volume 2 includes 4 story arcs, all of which have something interesting to offer that you don't find in the typical superhero comic fare. I’m going to begin with the third arc as it's my personal favorite of the collection. This is due largely to the fact that it involves the Joker, the truest and BESTEST Bat baddy (IMHO).
SOFT TARGETS:
The Clown Prince of Crime is knocking off city officials with a high-powered rifle in the middle of Christmas season. The first victim is the Mayor himself as he is engaged in a heated debate with the Police Commissioner over the Mayor’s decision to cut overtime for Gotham detectives due to budgetary constraints. This opening is so perfectly handled. In addition to opening up the story with a literal bang, we are made privy to things that generally go unmentioned in traditional story arcs (i.e., municipal budget shortfalls). The debate between the Mayor and the Commissioner goes on for several pages with arguments presented on both sides and creates a sense of genuineness to the plot.
Another aspect of the story I liked is the perception of the Joker himself among the detectives at MCU. There are dozens of costumed freaks that terrorize Gotham, but the Joker is the one that truly strikes dread in the folks at MCU.
This is probably a good time for me to mention the art which is outstanding and perfectly suited to Brubaker’s prose. Here are a few shots of the Joker which has him looking both “all too human” yet subversive as hell.
For Batman fans, note the reference to Sarah Gordon, who Joker previously murdered.
DAYDREAMS AND BELIEVERS:
The first story of the collection is a quiet, single issue piece following a “temp” named Stacy who works as a permanent “temp” data encoder/receptionist for Gotham MCU. Because of a recent legal decision, no member of the police may initiate the Bat signal (because it makes him the “agent” of the police) and so part of Stacy’s duties include turning on the Bat signal as she is not considered a member of the police department. A nice quiet tale that I thought was wonderfully done.
I also love the shot of Gotham in the final page of the story.
It is such a perfect representation of the feel of the City and I thought it was worth recognition given how much love I am pouring onto the prose.
LIFE IS FULL OF DISAPPOINTMENTS:
This is a great “in the trenches” piece as Detectives Vincent Del Arrazio and Joely Bartlett track down the killer of two women with a connection to a major pharmaceutical company. This is pure crime fiction with wonderfully, nuanced characters and a clever plot.
UNRESOLVED:
The final story is a doozy and involves a couple of Gotham’s major baddies as MCU reopens a decade old murder involving a State Championship baseball team. Best of all, we get to see ex-detective Harvey Bullock back in action who is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters.
Harvey gets into some major mischief in this one and I seriously hope we get to see a lot more of him in future volumes.
Overall, this is a terrific collection. Looking forward to spending more time with the cast of MCU.
4.0 to 4.5 stars. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
The set up for this series as a whole is sublime. The city of Gotham is awash in violent crime and populated by a masked vigilante who wanders the streets battling homicidal maniacs and freaks, often with innocent bystanders caught in the cross-fire. In this chaotic warzone, the hard-working detectives of the city’s Major Crime Unit (MCU) tackle these cases while trying to avoid becoming collateral damage in Batman’s one-man vigilante war.
The setting is very familiar but with an added hardboiled, noiry edge as the stories take us to the places unexplored in the mainstream Batman comics. Batman’s appearance in these tales is rare, but his presence is a cloud that hangs over the events and is always felt. Um....good.
THE STORIES:
Volume 2 includes 4 story arcs, all of which have something interesting to offer that you don't find in the typical superhero comic fare. I’m going to begin with the third arc as it's my personal favorite of the collection. This is due largely to the fact that it involves the Joker, the truest and BESTEST Bat baddy (IM
SOFT TARGETS:
The Clown Prince of Crime is knocking off city officials with a high-powered rifle in the middle of Christmas season. The first victim is the Mayor himself as he is engaged in a heated debate with the Police Commissioner over the Mayor’s decision to cut overtime for Gotham detectives due to budgetary constraints. This opening is so perfectly handled. In addition to opening up the story with a literal bang, we are made privy to things that generally go unmentioned in traditional story arcs (i.e., municipal budget shortfalls). The debate between the Mayor and the Commissioner goes on for several pages with arguments presented on both sides and creates a sense of genuineness to the plot.
Another aspect of the story I liked is the perception of the Joker himself among the detectives at MCU. There are dozens of costumed freaks that terrorize Gotham, but the Joker is the one that truly strikes dread in the folks at MCU.
This is probably a good time for me to mention the art which is outstanding and perfectly suited to Brubaker’s prose. Here are a few shots of the Joker which has him looking both “all too human” yet subversive as hell.
For Batman fans, note the reference to Sarah Gordon, who Joker previously murdered.
DAYDREAMS AND BELIEVERS:
The first story of the collection is a quiet, single issue piece following a “temp” named Stacy who works as a permanent “temp” data encoder/receptionist for Gotham MCU. Because of a recent legal decision, no member of the police may initiate the Bat signal (because it makes him the “agent” of the police) and so part of Stacy’s duties include turning on the Bat signal as she is not considered a member of the police department. A nice quiet tale that I thought was wonderfully done.
I also love the shot of Gotham in the final page of the story.
It is such a perfect representation of the feel of the City and I thought it was worth recognition given how much love I am pouring onto the prose.
LIFE IS FULL OF DISAPPOINTMENTS:
This is a great “in the trenches” piece as Detectives Vincent Del Arrazio and Joely Bartlett track down the killer of two women with a connection to a major pharmaceutical company. This is pure crime fiction with wonderfully, nuanced characters and a clever plot.
UNRESOLVED:
The final story is a doozy and involves a couple of Gotham’s major baddies as MCU reopens a decade old murder involving a State Championship baseball team. Best of all, we get to see ex-detective Harvey Bullock back in action who is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters.
Harvey gets into some major mischief in this one and I seriously hope we get to see a lot more of him in future volumes.
Overall, this is a terrific collection. Looking forward to spending more time with the cast of MCU.
4.0 to 4.5 stars. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
July 13, 2012
It's Christmas in Gotham and the Joker is picking off victims one at a time with a sniper rifle. The girl whose job it is to turn on the Bat signal has a crush on Batman. Two women are poisoned. A cold case involving the murder of an entire high school baseball team draws the attention of the GCPD AND ex-cop Harvey F'n Bullock! All par for the course down at Gotham Central...
So, yeah. Gotham Central had to be the best written comic book produced during it's entire run. I didn't think it would be possible for Brubaker and Rucka to top the first volume but they did, and Michael Lark pulled it all together with his art, which is understated but perfect for the tone of the series.
The individual stories were great. I love that Bru-Rucka doesn't give us nerfed versions of the villains just because they're going up against ordinary cops, not Batman. Speaking of the Bat, he's in this volume even less than the last one but I have to say I didn't miss him very much.
That's about all I have to say. Crime stories + Gotham City = Pure Comic Book Gold. Go out and get the Gotham Central omnibuses right now!
So, yeah. Gotham Central had to be the best written comic book produced during it's entire run. I didn't think it would be possible for Brubaker and Rucka to top the first volume but they did, and Michael Lark pulled it all together with his art, which is understated but perfect for the tone of the series.
The individual stories were great. I love that Bru-Rucka doesn't give us nerfed versions of the villains just because they're going up against ordinary cops, not Batman. Speaking of the Bat, he's in this volume even less than the last one but I have to say I didn't miss him very much.
That's about all I have to say. Crime stories + Gotham City = Pure Comic Book Gold. Go out and get the Gotham Central omnibuses right now!
November 15, 2012
The never ending battle between Batman and the villains of Gotham City continues, and the cops of the GCPD’s Major Crimes Unit are often caught in the crossfire.
The second collection of the comics finds the detectives trying to figure out the mystery of two murders that had an exotic poison as the weapon, and the suicide of a disturbed man leads to the cold case bombing of a high school baseball team. Oh, and the Joker terrorizes the city with a sniper rifle.
You know, just another day at the office.
I’m absolutely loving this comic with it’s combination of a noirish police procedural filled with great characters that occasionally brushes up against the mass insanity of Batman’s villains. It’s kind of like if the TV show Homicide was mixed in with Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.*
* You can tell that Nolan’s movies were heavily influenced by Gotham Central with their focus on Batman’s relationship with the cops. I heard an interview with Ed Brubaker recently where he noted that one scene from Dark Knight was so obviously drawn from the comics that DC actually paid him for it while including a legal letter that they were under no obligation to do so.
It’s the little touches that make this thing work for me. For example, the first story is based on Stacy, the temp clerk who technically isn’t a city employee which makes her the only person who can legally turn on the bat signal since any police personnel doing it would be an admission that the department uses a vigilante. That's such a great touch of bureaucratic and legal tomfoolery that it makes Gotham feel that much more real.
I also continue to love the mixed reactions of the cops to their predicament in being caught up in Batman’s world. When they figure out that its the Joker shooting people, there’s a level of fear and panic that causes some to essentially hope that Batman will save them, yet there’s also the resentment that comes because he seems to be the source of the freaks who do so much damage to the normal citizens of Gotham.
What makes this series really shine is the stable of great characters that make up the MCU. Each of the cops is a fully realized person that struggles with their own issues as they try to do their job in a city that seems always on the verge of utter chaos.
The second collection of the comics finds the detectives trying to figure out the mystery of two murders that had an exotic poison as the weapon, and the suicide of a disturbed man leads to the cold case bombing of a high school baseball team. Oh, and the Joker terrorizes the city with a sniper rifle.
You know, just another day at the office.
I’m absolutely loving this comic with it’s combination of a noirish police procedural filled with great characters that occasionally brushes up against the mass insanity of Batman’s villains. It’s kind of like if the TV show Homicide was mixed in with Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.*
* You can tell that Nolan’s movies were heavily influenced by Gotham Central with their focus on Batman’s relationship with the cops. I heard an interview with Ed Brubaker recently where he noted that one scene from Dark Knight was so obviously drawn from the comics that DC actually paid him for it while including a legal letter that they were under no obligation to do so.
It’s the little touches that make this thing work for me. For example, the first story is based on Stacy, the temp clerk who technically isn’t a city employee which makes her the only person who can legally turn on the bat signal since any police personnel doing it would be an admission that the department uses a vigilante. That's such a great touch of bureaucratic and legal tomfoolery that it makes Gotham feel that much more real.
I also continue to love the mixed reactions of the cops to their predicament in being caught up in Batman’s world. When they figure out that its the Joker shooting people, there’s a level of fear and panic that causes some to essentially hope that Batman will save them, yet there’s also the resentment that comes because he seems to be the source of the freaks who do so much damage to the normal citizens of Gotham.
What makes this series really shine is the stable of great characters that make up the MCU. Each of the cops is a fully realized person that struggles with their own issues as they try to do their job in a city that seems always on the verge of utter chaos.
April 1, 2017
I finally get Gotham Central. And it's great, if you know what it is.
So when I read and re-read volume 1, I had never read any Brubaker, so I didn't understand his schtick of noir and its doomed characters. Since then I've read half of Criminal, all of Fatale, and the first volume of Kill or Be Killed. Then I went back to Gotham Central with volume 2. BAM, I got it.
What I didn't understand, at first, was the utter lack of super villains and most importantly Batman. But they've had their day. It's always their day. Brubaker, Rucka, and Lark have finally given Gotham City's Finest their day, because they've never had the spotlight. And let me tell you, it's a bloody one.
So instead of following Bats and the Rogues, we follow the Major Crimes Unit of Gotham Central Police Department. While it is a police procedural, it's actually noir. Gotham is a dark fucking city, populated by dark criminals, morally complex police officers, in progressively dark situations. Serial shootings, hostages, bomb threats, poisonings. It's intense stuff. But we get to see the M.C.U. as human beings with feelings, relationships, and faults and shortcomings. If you're okay missing out on rubber and spandex for once, and taking a long look in the back alleys of grimy police work, you won't be disappointed.
The artwork, mostly done by Michael Lark, upholds the dark, gritty writing. It has that 'Sean Phillips' feel: rough, heavy, and expressive. Lee Loughridge, one of the best colorists in my opinion, uses a neutral palette until bright colors are needed. I can't really imagine much room for improvement when it comes to the art. It's just exactly what's needed.
For a comic based in Gotham, with Joker on the cover, the super villains get very little page time. Joker gets a few issues, Mad Hatter gets a few, but it's mostly the every day crimes, the cops, and their dramatic lives we read about. And that's okay. Just don't expect this to be like any other Batman comic you've ever read. Because it gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'Detective Comics.'
January 6, 2018
Gotham Central presents the crimes of Gotham from the viewpoint of the cops, and it does a really good job of showing the trials and tribulations of being a cop in Batman's town. If you're a fan of police procedurals, this is an amazing series. The characters are complex, and the art has a gritty realism to it.
January 5, 2017
A first, albeit small, offering of this brand spanking new year, which on a personal level so far has mostly consisted of me recovering at a snail's pace from a particularly nasty virus contracted during the holidays. Still, stiff upper lip old bean!, as they so gratingly cheerful exclaim across the Channel, and let's plough on here.
Somewhat thicker lengthwise than Gotham Central's previous volume, 'Jokers and Madmen', sadly, is more uneven in terms of quality as well. Issues 11-22 are collected here, comprising 4 stories in total.
Jervis Tetch, aka The Mad Hatter, my favourite minor Batman villain
A pang of disappointment pierced my heart after seeing the inconsistency of the art across stories, as Michael Lark has been employed for just two of them ('Soft Targets' and 'Unresolved'). Without delving into the actual storylines (more details of which you can find elsewhere), they are by far the standouts. It becomes clear rather quickly that he is crucial to the establishment of that grimy, seemingly hopeless environment the beautifully realized regular joes and plain janes of the GCPD sleuth about in.
One suspects Lark serves as a great inspiration to writers/co-creators Rucka and Brubaker, as magic does tend to happen whenever these three collaborate. All aspects of a sequential story get turned up a couple of notches, which is always a feast for us readers to see transpire in the field of comics.
Somewhat thicker lengthwise than Gotham Central's previous volume, 'Jokers and Madmen', sadly, is more uneven in terms of quality as well. Issues 11-22 are collected here, comprising 4 stories in total.
Jervis Tetch, aka The Mad Hatter, my favourite minor Batman villain
A pang of disappointment pierced my heart after seeing the inconsistency of the art across stories, as Michael Lark has been employed for just two of them ('Soft Targets' and 'Unresolved'). Without delving into the actual storylines (more details of which you can find elsewhere), they are by far the standouts. It becomes clear rather quickly that he is crucial to the establishment of that grimy, seemingly hopeless environment the beautifully realized regular joes and plain janes of the GCPD sleuth about in.
One suspects Lark serves as a great inspiration to writers/co-creators Rucka and Brubaker, as magic does tend to happen whenever these three collaborate. All aspects of a sequential story get turned up a couple of notches, which is always a feast for us readers to see transpire in the field of comics.
February 11, 2022
What an amazing follow up to the smashing first entry. Whilst this volume features the Joker, it's one of those rare instances where his presence doesn't overshadow the supporting cast. This is even more impressive considering that most of the M.C.U (Major Crime Unit) don't have solidified statuses in the DC Universe. There's some wonderful storytelling in this one, giving particular credit to the suspense Brubaker manages to create in the Joker storyline and the well executed dialogue throughout. Interactions feel incredibly natural between the squad members and you absolutely buy into their world. Like before, Brubaker does not shy away from exploring sensitive topics, with this volume focusing very heavily on psychological and emotional trauma.. The series continues to stray from typical Batman stories and could absolutely pass as a standalone crime series if it wasn't for the DC character name drop every now and then.
September 10, 2019
(1) Aside from the dark and gritty Batman, we also have the overworked and gritty G.C.P.D! But the mayor is threatening to cut their budgets! Suck to be them when you only have limited resource to fight crime, right?
(2) As to the first story. Hi Stacy, you just need to stop having romantic daydreams about Batman. I mean even your fantasy-Batman tells you "it's unhealthy". Lol lol lol
(3) Okay, Batman is barely there in the story, but I like seeing how ordinary cops (with no superpower and barely enough firearm) deal with the threats of Joker (who threatened to bomb Gotham during Christmas) and Mad Hatter ().
(4) By the end of the book, Arkham Asylum shows up as a location! And it's so Gothic and scary I'm totally glad!
(5) The Huntress and the Penguin show up too! I like that!
(6) The hard-boiled tone in the stories are so, so well played! I'm impressed!
Other Reviews:
Red Hood: Outlaw vol. 1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review: Batman: Battle For the Cowl: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review: Batman: Life After Death: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review: Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Book Review: Batman: The Long Halloween https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review: The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told Vol. 1 (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
Review: Batman: A Death in the Family https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
(2) As to the first story. Hi Stacy, you just need to stop having romantic daydreams about Batman. I mean even your fantasy-Batman tells you "it's unhealthy". Lol lol lol
(3) Okay, Batman is barely there in the story, but I like seeing how ordinary cops (with no superpower and barely enough firearm) deal with the threats of Joker (who threatened to bomb Gotham during Christmas) and Mad Hatter ().
(4) By the end of the book, Arkham Asylum shows up as a location! And it's so Gothic and scary I'm totally glad!
(5) The Huntress and the Penguin show up too! I like that!
(6) The hard-boiled tone in the stories are so, so well played! I'm impressed!
Other Reviews:
Red Hood: Outlaw vol. 1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review: Batman: Battle For the Cowl: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review: Batman: Life After Death: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review: Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Book Review: Batman: The Long Halloween https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review: The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told Vol. 1 (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
Review: Batman: A Death in the Family https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
August 29, 2025
Volume two of Gotham Central just goes crazy, and it's a real step up from the first. We start off with the Joker, yep, that motherfucking crazy clown, sniping people. And not just any people, he's targeting innocents, creating a city-wide panic just for the hell of it. This arc is so compelling because it shows how the GCPD deals with a psycho on the run, using methodical police work like ballistics and forensics, all while feeling completely helpless against a villain who defies all logic. A lot of people die, and you feel every single death more just because you're with the detectives the whole time, not with Batman. It is one fucked-up situation.
And then the second half of the volume is just as good. The final arc really focuses on Marcus Driver, Josie Mac, and the return of disgraced detective Harvey Bullock. They're investigating a years-old school bombing, and the case becomes personal for Bullock. The reveal is great, as the investigation leads them to a new fire-themed villain and the unsettling discovery that the Mad Hatter was involved in the original bombing, using his technology to manipulate people.
This volume also digs into the internal conflicts of the police force, with a great arc that deals with a corrupt detective and the struggles of Crispus Allen and Renee Montoya to expose him. We also get to see the cops' complex relationship with Batman and how they feel about the "freaks" who plague their city.
I really just like this volume a lot. It's even better than the first one, and a fucking great 5 out of 5 for me.
And then the second half of the volume is just as good. The final arc really focuses on Marcus Driver, Josie Mac, and the return of disgraced detective Harvey Bullock. They're investigating a years-old school bombing, and the case becomes personal for Bullock. The reveal is great, as the investigation leads them to a new fire-themed villain and the unsettling discovery that the Mad Hatter was involved in the original bombing, using his technology to manipulate people.
This volume also digs into the internal conflicts of the police force, with a great arc that deals with a corrupt detective and the struggles of Crispus Allen and Renee Montoya to expose him. We also get to see the cops' complex relationship with Batman and how they feel about the "freaks" who plague their city.
I really just like this volume a lot. It's even better than the first one, and a fucking great 5 out of 5 for me.
May 17, 2012
The second collection from the Brubaker/Rucka written series, Gotham Central, follows the much the same formula as the first.
While I liked this volume just as much as the first, it may pull ahead slightly thanks to the introduction of Joker to the series. His arc, Soft Targets is easily the best of the bunch. Terrorizing the citizens of Gotham during the holiday season, Joker begins eliminating city officials at a rapid rate even going so far as to present the public with an accessible countdown clock to his next murder.
I loved the hell out of that story, especially Joker's dialogue. There's a lot of references to events from the first volume which is really helps develop an emotional connection to these cops.
I'm not planning on spending a lot of time on the other stories but I'll say the following:
Daydreams and Believers makes you really view Batman in a different light. Not to say that it's hard to imagine him becoming a sex symbol for some of the ladies of Gotham but seeing as it's never been addressed in my experience (outside of Catwoman), it was refreshing and certainly very different to behold.
Unresolved was excellent. Outside of the animated series from the 90s, I didn't really know a whole lot about Bullock other then that he seemed like a bumbling cop that Batman always seemed to get the better of. Boy, was I wrong.
Bullock was pretty great here. As Det. Driver notes, Bullock really is your prototypical old-school cop. I hadn't been reading a lot of Batman around this time and was not aware of the story surrounding his dismissal from the G.C.P.D. The story brings you up to speed quickly and establishes how obsessive a cop can be when they're unable to close a case.
Overall, this is a really strong and very compelling series despite the lack of The Dark Knight. While he makes his standard appearances, I believe he's in this one even less than the first. A great sign that the series is really finding its footing and can lean comfortably on these great characters.
While I liked this volume just as much as the first, it may pull ahead slightly thanks to the introduction of Joker to the series. His arc, Soft Targets is easily the best of the bunch. Terrorizing the citizens of Gotham during the holiday season, Joker begins eliminating city officials at a rapid rate even going so far as to present the public with an accessible countdown clock to his next murder.
I loved the hell out of that story, especially Joker's dialogue. There's a lot of references to events from the first volume which is really helps develop an emotional connection to these cops.
I'm not planning on spending a lot of time on the other stories but I'll say the following:
Daydreams and Believers makes you really view Batman in a different light. Not to say that it's hard to imagine him becoming a sex symbol for some of the ladies of Gotham but seeing as it's never been addressed in my experience (outside of Catwoman), it was refreshing and certainly very different to behold.
Unresolved was excellent. Outside of the animated series from the 90s, I didn't really know a whole lot about Bullock other then that he seemed like a bumbling cop that Batman always seemed to get the better of. Boy, was I wrong.
Bullock was pretty great here. As Det. Driver notes, Bullock really is your prototypical old-school cop. I hadn't been reading a lot of Batman around this time and was not aware of the story surrounding his dismissal from the G.C.P.D. The story brings you up to speed quickly and establishes how obsessive a cop can be when they're unable to close a case.
Overall, this is a really strong and very compelling series despite the lack of The Dark Knight. While he makes his standard appearances, I believe he's in this one even less than the first. A great sign that the series is really finding its footing and can lean comfortably on these great characters.
August 30, 2017
Fan freakin' tastic! I have not read the first volume yet but these stories were amazing. Well written with great art from Michael Lark and others. I believe this contains the best Harvey Bullock story of all time with the story "Unresolved". The Joker story is also quite good and was an influence on The Dark Knight. I'm always a sucker for police procedural stories and seeing it done so well with the police officers of Gotham City was really satisfying.
November 20, 2022
You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.
It’s another day in the office for the detectives of Gotham City. From cowardly maniacs to deranged and unforgiving lunatics, it’s become unsurprising when the city cowers in fear at the latest terrorist attack. And what are they supposed to do against individuals who would stop at nothing to watch the world burn? Even the law can only go so far in ensuring peace. Sometimes, all you can do is play things by the book. Sometimes, you could also look into unlikely alliances and justify the means by the ends. This second volume collecting issues #11-22 written by Ed Brubaker and/or Greg Rucka has the stories titled Daydreams and Believers, the four-part story arc Soft Targets, the three-part story arc Life is Full of Disappointments, and the four-part story arc Unresolved.
What is Gotham Central: Jokers and Madmen? The Gotham City Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit continues its struggle with its city’s insane and homicidal criminals. With violence and corruption proliferating at a delirious rate, it doesn’t help that they must also handle a delusional vigilante dressed as a bat hellbent on serving justice his own way. Around Christmastime, the city is engulfed in terror by randomly rifle-executed individuals. From the common Gothamite to the Mayor, no one is safe and their best leads indicate that the Joker might be at the heart of it all. Additional murders around the city also bring the Huntress lurking around while disgraced detective Harvey Dent is consulted in an ongoing unresolved case.
For those accustomed to acclaimed writer Ed Brubaker’s stories, this latest volume within the Gotham Central franchise is another excellent display of his story-telling and character-designing abilities. With some stories benefiting from contributions by writer Greg Rucka, these tales continue to delve deeper into the unique and noir world of the GCPD and the complex relational dynamics between the detectives of the MCU. From romantic affairs to hierarchy-related tensions, the characters display a wide range of emotions, grudges, and motivations that hint at their way of life and conception of law enforcement and justice. Not to mention that having Batman as a secondary character, more of a mythological entity that intervenes and disrupts the administration of the GCPD’s justice, allows for a unique atmosphere where these non-superhero characters deal with life and death in a much more human way, making the central themes of death, loss, and trauma much more emotionally-resounding.
To accompany the excellent narrative of the stories in this volume is Michael Lark’s artwork (as well as the additional art by Greg Scott, Brian Hurtt, and Stefano Gaudiano). The unified and coherent style makes for an engaging reading experience where the cold, brutal, and depressive atmosphere is immediately set, effortlessly alluding to crime procedurals within a noir genre. The sepia tones also add an underlying iciness to the narrative, beautifully complementing the sense of danger that is omnipresent within Gotham City. Emotions are also unmistakably palpable throughout these stories, especially when the characters face a dead-end, are stripped of any sense of hope, or deal with death. While some of the one-shot stories in this volume balance out the volume with humour or temporary respite from absolute chaos, the series grows strong as it focuses on the GCPD and its detectives.
Gotham Central: Jokers & Madmen is another excellent foray into the daily lives of Gotham City Police Department’s detectives and their brush with death, loss, and trauma.
April 4, 2022
Gotham Central Book Two: Jokers & Madmen collects issues 11-22 of the DC Comics series written by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka with art by Micahel Lark, Greg Scott, Brian Hurt, and Stefano Guadiano.
A spree of Gotham City assassinations by a sniper is revealed to be an act of terrorism by The Joker who has completely shut down Gotham City in the days before Christmas. Gotham City's finest must work around the clock to not only save the city, but also make sure Gothamites can enjoy the holidays with their families.
This was absolutely fantastic. It was great to see how the Joker's presence effects the cops of Gotham and sent them into an immediate frenzy. There are some other really good arcs collected in this volume. The series has quickly found it's stride and is excellent addition to the Batbooks.
A spree of Gotham City assassinations by a sniper is revealed to be an act of terrorism by The Joker who has completely shut down Gotham City in the days before Christmas. Gotham City's finest must work around the clock to not only save the city, but also make sure Gothamites can enjoy the holidays with their families.
This was absolutely fantastic. It was great to see how the Joker's presence effects the cops of Gotham and sent them into an immediate frenzy. There are some other really good arcs collected in this volume. The series has quickly found it's stride and is excellent addition to the Batbooks.
January 7, 2013
In preparation for a class on graphic novels next summer I am trying hard to read as many of the central texts of just ONE superhero, and why not Batman, most people's favorite? But this series I discover is not so much about Batman as about the cops who work in his shadow solving crimes, and I thought the stories and noir artwork were great, and putting Batman in the background was a great idea. Tow great crime writers, Brubaker and Rucka, tell these tales. Worth a read, for sure. A must if you like Batman stories.
October 24, 2015
Thats the Joker!
July 23, 2016
Ugh - you know when you’re reading a stinker when you keep checking the page count - ok, p.156 - and you think after a couple mins “I must be on p. 160 by now” and you check and you’re on p. 159. And there are another 120 pages to go. Yeah I gave up on this, but I’m still going to review it because fuck this book for making me wade through 159 pages of crud!
It’s partly my fault as I didn’t care much for the first Gotham Central book and was happy to leave the rest of the series alone but then I heard the Joker story Soft Targets was super-good so picked up the second Gotham Central book hoping it was going to blow me away and… eeeeeeeh. It was just ok - at best.
Soft Targets is about the Joker setting up timed sniper rifles to take out city officials with nobody sure of who’s next or why. It reads a bit like some of the scenes in Christopher Nolan’s 2008 movie, The Dark Knight, in the way the killings spark fear in Gotham’s citizens and causes a mass panic as Joker taunts everyone that he’s going to kill every few hours, and so on.
The few scenes the Joker was in, including a couple cameos from Batman, were pretty good, but that was it - I was mostly bored with what little was happening on the page. One other good thing to note before I start complaining - the temp office worker’s role was ingenious. She explains that it’s her job to turn on the Bat Signal on the GCPD roof because if one of the officers did that it would mean they were conceding that Batman was real and their official position is that he’s an urban myth. That’s an amazing detail - hats off to Ed Brubaker for that sucker (I blame Greg Rucka’s contributions for most of the unreadable drivel)!
But my issues with Gotham Central remain the same as the first volume - the cast are a bunch of nobodies! Interchangeable cops talking cop-speak, moaning about paperwork and weak coffee and overtime and long hours and oh, god I don’t care! I can’t even point out certain characters because they all looked so unremarkable that I never remembered any of their names!
And the art by Greg Scott is shocking - there’s one scene where some detectives go to a woman’s house to tell her the friend she was with the night before has been murdered and her dialogue is the usual “oh my god, this is horrible, etc. charged with emotion stuff” yet her facial expression looks like she just had a great fart! Then in the next panel she looks blasé, and the next she looks mildly bored. It’s absolutely ridiculous how out of sync the art and the text is, at least in that story.
I’m not a fan of police procedurals so maybe that’s why I dislike Gotham Central so much but I know that I don’t want to read CSI: Gotham - those cop shows bore me to tears which is why I never watch them; the many crime novels that sell so well, I stay away from because I don’t care about the tedious ways investigators go about solving cases or how gruff and/or “gritty” their dialogue is.
If you like Joker stories (and who doesn’t?), Soft Targets is only ok - I couldn’t say it stood out all that much, especially as most of the time the focus is on bland police officers - and I wouldn’t go out of my way to read it.
Batman is interesting. Joker is interesting. Gotham’s police officers are not - and they make up 99% of this book. I gave up on this shortly after Soft Targets ended and Detective #1 and Detective #2 were investigating some weak-ass homicide involving some no name victim and some no name killer and they were complaining about inter-departmental politics over who got promoted over who and blah blah blah. That was it. No more Gotham Central for me - ever!
It’s partly my fault as I didn’t care much for the first Gotham Central book and was happy to leave the rest of the series alone but then I heard the Joker story Soft Targets was super-good so picked up the second Gotham Central book hoping it was going to blow me away and… eeeeeeeh. It was just ok - at best.
Soft Targets is about the Joker setting up timed sniper rifles to take out city officials with nobody sure of who’s next or why. It reads a bit like some of the scenes in Christopher Nolan’s 2008 movie, The Dark Knight, in the way the killings spark fear in Gotham’s citizens and causes a mass panic as Joker taunts everyone that he’s going to kill every few hours, and so on.
The few scenes the Joker was in, including a couple cameos from Batman, were pretty good, but that was it - I was mostly bored with what little was happening on the page. One other good thing to note before I start complaining - the temp office worker’s role was ingenious. She explains that it’s her job to turn on the Bat Signal on the GCPD roof because if one of the officers did that it would mean they were conceding that Batman was real and their official position is that he’s an urban myth. That’s an amazing detail - hats off to Ed Brubaker for that sucker (I blame Greg Rucka’s contributions for most of the unreadable drivel)!
But my issues with Gotham Central remain the same as the first volume - the cast are a bunch of nobodies! Interchangeable cops talking cop-speak, moaning about paperwork and weak coffee and overtime and long hours and oh, god I don’t care! I can’t even point out certain characters because they all looked so unremarkable that I never remembered any of their names!
And the art by Greg Scott is shocking - there’s one scene where some detectives go to a woman’s house to tell her the friend she was with the night before has been murdered and her dialogue is the usual “oh my god, this is horrible, etc. charged with emotion stuff” yet her facial expression looks like she just had a great fart! Then in the next panel she looks blasé, and the next she looks mildly bored. It’s absolutely ridiculous how out of sync the art and the text is, at least in that story.
I’m not a fan of police procedurals so maybe that’s why I dislike Gotham Central so much but I know that I don’t want to read CSI: Gotham - those cop shows bore me to tears which is why I never watch them; the many crime novels that sell so well, I stay away from because I don’t care about the tedious ways investigators go about solving cases or how gruff and/or “gritty” their dialogue is.
If you like Joker stories (and who doesn’t?), Soft Targets is only ok - I couldn’t say it stood out all that much, especially as most of the time the focus is on bland police officers - and I wouldn’t go out of my way to read it.
Batman is interesting. Joker is interesting. Gotham’s police officers are not - and they make up 99% of this book. I gave up on this shortly after Soft Targets ended and Detective #1 and Detective #2 were investigating some weak-ass homicide involving some no name victim and some no name killer and they were complaining about inter-departmental politics over who got promoted over who and blah blah blah. That was it. No more Gotham Central for me - ever!
February 5, 2018
This series continues to be great, and Book Two: Jokers and Madmen may even improve a little from the initial volume. One welcome addition was the intro's cast of characters page, which listed the two dozen investigators (with their shift assignments) and support staff with 'headshots,' and it's a mystery why that wasn't included in the first book. It's a large cast but used exceptionally well, and on top of THAT there are probably close to 100 characters throughout with dialogue. All in a day's work for Brubaker & Rucka, right?
Anyway . . . Gotham's MCU continues to work their film noir beat again to fight the good fight, with assorted gritty cases featuring appearances by Joker (absolutely evil, as usual), Penguin, and the Mad Hatter.
Anyway . . . Gotham's MCU continues to work their film noir beat again to fight the good fight, with assorted gritty cases featuring appearances by Joker (absolutely evil, as usual), Penguin, and the Mad Hatter.
March 15, 2022
So, (spoilers?) you remember that big cliffhanger ending of the previous volume? The whole Lesbian needs a Man to save her thing. Not one peep. I guess someone noticed how sexists that story line was but so awkward that after all that buildup - nothing.
The story that starts here is OK I guess and frankly would have been better if the bad guy was not the Joker. Everyone knows the Joker and how those stories without Batman goes. That it took the Joker turning himself in to move the plot and the GCP to get a clue is not good for the safety for the people of Gotham. The whole point of this book was I though to not use the big bads. Anyone could have been a sniper / mad bomber.
The second story was good, but suffered from the Gotham Police being bad at their job. But I guess 10 years to solve a crime is OK. It was kind of funny how everyone was Bullock was a good cop just a drunk now. When Bullock was actually a dirty cop for so much of his time in the force. There have just be so many reboots. I liked how they handled the Batman villain but Bullock not so much.
The story that starts here is OK I guess and frankly would have been better if the bad guy was not the Joker. Everyone knows the Joker and how those stories without Batman goes. That it took the Joker turning himself in to move the plot and the GCP to get a clue is not good for the safety for the people of Gotham. The whole point of this book was I though to not use the big bads. Anyone could have been a sniper / mad bomber.
The second story was good, but suffered from the Gotham Police being bad at their job. But I guess 10 years to solve a crime is OK. It was kind of funny how everyone was Bullock was a good cop just a drunk now. When Bullock was actually a dirty cop for so much of his time in the force. There have just be so many reboots. I liked how they handled the Batman villain but Bullock not so much.
April 18, 2025
This is such a great world, gritty and gripping. Highly recommended.
July 21, 2014
Daydreams & Believers (11). This is a nice examination not just of Stacy's characters, but all of the detectives. It's a crime that it was missing from the previous trades, as it really sets the scene for who all these people are [8/10].
Soft Targets (12-15). The biggest problem I had with this arc was always that it felt too derivative of Homicide: Life on the Streets. I mean, it was always obvious that Gotham Central had Homicide in its DNA, but this whole arc reads like a variation of the "Sniper" two-parter and then the ending is straight out of "Fallen Heroes", another two-parter. Despite that, Rucka and Brubaker do great things with the plot. The reveal of the villain is chilling, and the interpersonal dynamics revealed within are great. But I wish it were more original [7+/10].
Life is Full of Disappointmenst (16-18). A nice three-part story. The case itself is actually quite shallow, but the story works because of how Rucka & Brubaker deftly use it to highlight three different pairs of detectives, showing the dilemmas that each faces in their lives. You can see why this was skipped in the original trades, because it's a much quieter story, but having every story be Joker this, Penguin that, as was the case in the original trades, robs a continuing storyline of its downtime (like the funeral in this arc). [7/10]
Unresolved (19-22). A strong end to this volume. It's got a good mystery, but the Harvey Bullock connections are great, and it's even got a strong B plot involving Romy and Nate. Definitely the best story of this volume and proof that Gotham Central still has life in it, a year and a half on [8+/10].
Soft Targets (12-15). The biggest problem I had with this arc was always that it felt too derivative of Homicide: Life on the Streets. I mean, it was always obvious that Gotham Central had Homicide in its DNA, but this whole arc reads like a variation of the "Sniper" two-parter and then the ending is straight out of "Fallen Heroes", another two-parter. Despite that, Rucka and Brubaker do great things with the plot. The reveal of the villain is chilling, and the interpersonal dynamics revealed within are great. But I wish it were more original [7+/10].
Life is Full of Disappointmenst (16-18). A nice three-part story. The case itself is actually quite shallow, but the story works because of how Rucka & Brubaker deftly use it to highlight three different pairs of detectives, showing the dilemmas that each faces in their lives. You can see why this was skipped in the original trades, because it's a much quieter story, but having every story be Joker this, Penguin that, as was the case in the original trades, robs a continuing storyline of its downtime (like the funeral in this arc). [7/10]
Unresolved (19-22). A strong end to this volume. It's got a good mystery, but the Harvey Bullock connections are great, and it's even got a strong B plot involving Romy and Nate. Definitely the best story of this volume and proof that Gotham Central still has life in it, a year and a half on [8+/10].
June 25, 2015
This volume was better than the first, slightly -- which is still high praise. I wonder how much this particular comic influenced the film The Dark Knight. I know Batman: The Killing Joke is often cited as Heath Ledger's inspiration for his Joker in the movie, but I saw a lot of that character in this trade, which came out a few years before the movie did in 2008.
December 6, 2024
4.5 Stars
Really good stuff here by some master story tellers. Michael Lark isn't half bad either. I love his style after a while. Bubaker and Rucka make such a great tandem it's hard to believe this is two writers and from what I gather it's the night shift and Day shift in the precinct is the way it's split, but each case affects the whole cast.
I love a good police procedural and what's not to love about Gotham. This is one series you need to go back on if your a Brubaker fan just to see some of his earlier work.
Really good stuff here by some master story tellers. Michael Lark isn't half bad either. I love his style after a while. Bubaker and Rucka make such a great tandem it's hard to believe this is two writers and from what I gather it's the night shift and Day shift in the precinct is the way it's split, but each case affects the whole cast.
I love a good police procedural and what's not to love about Gotham. This is one series you need to go back on if your a Brubaker fan just to see some of his earlier work.
February 5, 2022
Another gritty, hard-boiled chunk of police procedurals set on the dirty streets of Gotham, complete with Bat-family cameos and costumed perps, but these stories aren't about them. No, they're about the cops who have to clean up their messes, and that's what makes these stories special. They are grim, but not without hope, dark with spikes of warmth and humor, human stories in a world populated with gods and monsters. In these stories, right generally prevails, but not without cost. Great stuff for fans of either Ed McBain or DC Comics, or anyone interested in either.
August 29, 2024
Gotham Central Book Two puts us back in the trenches with the GCPD. In this collection we get four story arcs (two of them involving super villains from Batman lore). Perhaps the most exciting arc is one in which the Joker begins sniping the leadership of Gotham City.
Brubaker’s crime narratives are always top-notch and Rucka’s art is just as good as the narrative.
Brubaker’s crime narratives are always top-notch and Rucka’s art is just as good as the narrative.
October 22, 2024
3/5 Stars
Individual issues rated below -
Gotham Central #11: 3/5
Gotham Central #12: 3.5/5
Gotham Central #13: 3.5/5
Gotham Central #14: 3.5/5
Gotham Central #15: 3.5/5
Gotham Central #16: 3/5
Gotham Central #17: 3/5
Gotham Central #18: 2/5
Gotham Central #19: 4/5
Gotham Central #20: 1/5 (R-slur)
Gotham Central #21: 3.5/5
Gotham Central #22: 4/5
Individual issues rated below -
Gotham Central #11: 3/5
Gotham Central #12: 3.5/5
Gotham Central #13: 3.5/5
Gotham Central #14: 3.5/5
Gotham Central #15: 3.5/5
Gotham Central #16: 3/5
Gotham Central #17: 3/5
Gotham Central #18: 2/5
Gotham Central #19: 4/5
Gotham Central #20: 1/5 (R-slur)
Gotham Central #21: 3.5/5
Gotham Central #22: 4/5
January 2, 2021
You can chalk Soft Targets up as one of my favorite story arcs in a Batman comic, period. The major crimes unit cast continues to evolve and the stakes stay high. Gotham Central continues to be the epitome of want I want out of a Batman title and a Brubaker book. Must read!
February 4, 2015
3.5 stars
This volume is honestly a pretty mixed bag. It’s got two strong stories in Soft Targets and Unresolved and an incredibly weak story in between.
Soft Targets by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka
This was one of the most interesting stories I’ve seen yet in Gotham Central, primarily because it puts the police square in the middle of the war between Batman and Gotham’s costumed “freaks.” It starts with a sniper taking out a number of Gotham’s high-ranking public officials and quickly turns into a cat-and-mouse game between Batman and one of Gotham’s biggest "freaks." I know Goodreads and Amazon both spoil who this is but I’m gonna be stubborn and not name them because it would be so much better if you didn’t know ahead of time. Brubaker and Rucka handle this really well because the police are stuck between the mayor (who just assumes Batman’s gonna jump in and save the day) and the panicking Gothamites who are terrified of who the sniper will take out next. Add into this the fact that it’s happening the week before Christmas and Gotham couldn’t be in more of an uproar. As a huge Batman fan, it’s fun to see how the police view him, even if it isn’t all that complimentary. And honestly, by the end of the story I really can’t blame them. Things don’t exactly turn out for the best and since Batman doesn’t ever bother to explain himself, there’s understandably not a whole lot of trust between him and the GCPD. Which really just makes things more interesting.
Life is Full of Disappointments by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka
I’m not sure I’ve ever been so bored reading a Batman story in my life. I generally like police procedurals but this is just too low-key for me. It focuses on a number of the less known police officers and some of their personal and professional problems. In the first part (written by Brubaker), one of the veterans gets snubbed on a promotion because of politics within the mayor’s office and begins work on a case involving a young woman who’s been murdered. He’s helped out by another set of detectives, and another set of personal problems appears. Part Two (written by Rucka) follows with a THIRD set of detectives who take on the case when another body that appears to be connected shows up and this time there’s some mob connections that are completely UNRELATED to the case and I have literally no idea why we’re supposed to care. And then the case is solved and no one gives a shit.
Unresolved by Ed Brubaker
And then, thank God, Brubaker takes over again with a dark, twisted crime story involving an old cold case. Detectives Marcus Driver and Josie MacDonald end up getting involved with a hostage situation when it turns out that Driver knows said hostage taker and is the only person he’ll speak to. Things don’t go as planned and the two detectives end up having to re-open a case last looked at by the disgraced Harvey Bullock. It was really interesting to see how losing his job as a cop had affected Harvey and how his old style of policework meshed with the newer styles of Driver and MacDonald. This felt much more in Brubaker’s usual gritty style and brought Gotham Central back to more solid ground after the incredibly boring Life is Full of Disappointments crap.
The artwork is the same unimpressive work that we’ve seen in the previous book but the (mostly) strong storytelling again makes it not super noticeable.
Overall, Book Three is worth a read if you liked the first book but I would definitely advocate for skipping the middle story unless you really, really enjoy personal stories about GCPD officers you barely remember.
This volume is honestly a pretty mixed bag. It’s got two strong stories in Soft Targets and Unresolved and an incredibly weak story in between.
Soft Targets by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka
This was one of the most interesting stories I’ve seen yet in Gotham Central, primarily because it puts the police square in the middle of the war between Batman and Gotham’s costumed “freaks.” It starts with a sniper taking out a number of Gotham’s high-ranking public officials and quickly turns into a cat-and-mouse game between Batman and one of Gotham’s biggest "freaks." I know Goodreads and Amazon both spoil who this is but I’m gonna be stubborn and not name them because it would be so much better if you didn’t know ahead of time. Brubaker and Rucka handle this really well because the police are stuck between the mayor (who just assumes Batman’s gonna jump in and save the day) and the panicking Gothamites who are terrified of who the sniper will take out next. Add into this the fact that it’s happening the week before Christmas and Gotham couldn’t be in more of an uproar. As a huge Batman fan, it’s fun to see how the police view him, even if it isn’t all that complimentary. And honestly, by the end of the story I really can’t blame them. Things don’t exactly turn out for the best and since Batman doesn’t ever bother to explain himself, there’s understandably not a whole lot of trust between him and the GCPD. Which really just makes things more interesting.
Life is Full of Disappointments by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka
I’m not sure I’ve ever been so bored reading a Batman story in my life. I generally like police procedurals but this is just too low-key for me. It focuses on a number of the less known police officers and some of their personal and professional problems. In the first part (written by Brubaker), one of the veterans gets snubbed on a promotion because of politics within the mayor’s office and begins work on a case involving a young woman who’s been murdered. He’s helped out by another set of detectives, and another set of personal problems appears. Part Two (written by Rucka) follows with a THIRD set of detectives who take on the case when another body that appears to be connected shows up and this time there’s some mob connections that are completely UNRELATED to the case and I have literally no idea why we’re supposed to care. And then the case is solved and no one gives a shit.
Unresolved by Ed Brubaker
And then, thank God, Brubaker takes over again with a dark, twisted crime story involving an old cold case. Detectives Marcus Driver and Josie MacDonald end up getting involved with a hostage situation when it turns out that Driver knows said hostage taker and is the only person he’ll speak to. Things don’t go as planned and the two detectives end up having to re-open a case last looked at by the disgraced Harvey Bullock. It was really interesting to see how losing his job as a cop had affected Harvey and how his old style of policework meshed with the newer styles of Driver and MacDonald. This felt much more in Brubaker’s usual gritty style and brought Gotham Central back to more solid ground after the incredibly boring Life is Full of Disappointments crap.
The artwork is the same unimpressive work that we’ve seen in the previous book but the (mostly) strong storytelling again makes it not super noticeable.
Overall, Book Three is worth a read if you liked the first book but I would definitely advocate for skipping the middle story unless you really, really enjoy personal stories about GCPD officers you barely remember.
September 24, 2011
Did you love the world of Batman? I love that world. It's a little city called Gotham. The only problem is Batman can't be everywhere at once. Gotham still needs a police force. In that police force they need a unit to investigate the super-powered criminals of Gotham. Welcome to Gotham Central. Brubaker and Rucka have written another amazing volume of this police unit. They interweave the characters and drama from the beginning of the series through out the entire book. Even after a case is closed that doesn't mean it over for the detectives. They have to still deal with what's happened to them. They have to go to court and testify against they insane killers.
This volume of Gotham Central has two major stories in it and a smaller one. The major first story is about the Joker and his involvement of driving Gotham crazy right before Christmas. The detectives only have so much time before Batman ends the case. Just like all the stories, this Detectives deal with the after math of the Joker the entire book. The second major story is about an eight year-old case. One that may not have happen quite like everyone thought it did.
These are amazing comics. If you love a good noir story, this is the place. Brubaker and Rucka are masters of this field. They weave the personal side of the characters so you're invested in them. Then they throw in the dirty side of life. They mix it together so no one is safe, not even main characters. If you like cops and super-villains. If you like drama. If you like noir. This is you story.
This volume of Gotham Central has two major stories in it and a smaller one. The major first story is about the Joker and his involvement of driving Gotham crazy right before Christmas. The detectives only have so much time before Batman ends the case. Just like all the stories, this Detectives deal with the after math of the Joker the entire book. The second major story is about an eight year-old case. One that may not have happen quite like everyone thought it did.
These are amazing comics. If you love a good noir story, this is the place. Brubaker and Rucka are masters of this field. They weave the personal side of the characters so you're invested in them. Then they throw in the dirty side of life. They mix it together so no one is safe, not even main characters. If you like cops and super-villains. If you like drama. If you like noir. This is you story.
April 14, 2013
Some more great stuff from this series.
We begin with a look inside the head of one of the civilian members of the MCU, Stacy, the one member of the team allowed to operate the Bat-Signal. This issue is a little daft at times, but is full of heart and a nice spotlight on a character we've not seen much of.
Next comes Soft Targets, the highlight of this volume, in which the Joker goes sniper crazy over Christmas. This storyline will have major effects on all the characters involved, and keeps you guessing right up till the end.
There's a bit of an interlude with Life Is Full Of Diasppointments, which involves the Huntress tangentially and I have a feeling the point of this story will come into focus a little further down the line; as it stands now, this storyline is more forgettable than anything we've had so far.
And then finally comes Unresolved, a four part story that draws in the Mad Hatter and Harvey Bullock. This is another great story that opens up a cold case for the MCU and tries to solve it with new evidence coming to light that is personally linked to one of the series characters.
Overall this is another wonderful volume that shows a different side to Gotham City; if not for the three part story in the middle, I'd probably have given this the full five stars.
We begin with a look inside the head of one of the civilian members of the MCU, Stacy, the one member of the team allowed to operate the Bat-Signal. This issue is a little daft at times, but is full of heart and a nice spotlight on a character we've not seen much of.
Next comes Soft Targets, the highlight of this volume, in which the Joker goes sniper crazy over Christmas. This storyline will have major effects on all the characters involved, and keeps you guessing right up till the end.
There's a bit of an interlude with Life Is Full Of Diasppointments, which involves the Huntress tangentially and I have a feeling the point of this story will come into focus a little further down the line; as it stands now, this storyline is more forgettable than anything we've had so far.
And then finally comes Unresolved, a four part story that draws in the Mad Hatter and Harvey Bullock. This is another great story that opens up a cold case for the MCU and tries to solve it with new evidence coming to light that is personally linked to one of the series characters.
Overall this is another wonderful volume that shows a different side to Gotham City; if not for the three part story in the middle, I'd probably have given this the full five stars.
December 9, 2018
Even better than the first volume. The first issue look at Stacy--the "intern/secretary" whose real job is to be there to turn on the bat-signal when ordered--was a great look both at a character continually in the background and the impact working in such a job would have. The second arc, in which the Joker holds the city hostage with a series of high-powered rifle sniper-murders, is a wonderful look at the city and exactly why the cops would have to have a love-hate relationship with Batman. How could they not? And the final arc, unresolved, may be the best of the lot as its a fantastic noir-cop story with nary a hint of Batman but the return of Harvey Bullock to a major role. Great great stuff throughout.
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