Gotham Central: In the Line of Duty

Living in the shadow of the Dark Knight makes the detectives of Gotham's police force determined to prove they have what it takes to enforce the law in a city rife with criminals--with or without Batman's help.

Even with Batman on the job, the police of corrupt, crime-ridden Gotham City have their hands full. Such is the premise of the latest Batman serial, Gotham Central, which focuses on crime fighters without costumes and superpowers. Resentful of but dependent on the shadowy figure they derisively call the Bat, Gotham's cops spend most of their time on mundane crimes--the primary case in this, the first Gotham Central story arc, is the murder of a teenage girl--but they invariably encounter Gotham's bizarrer crooks, too. In the opening pages, a member of the force is brutally killed by Mr. Freeze, and a third-rate villain called the Firebug figures indirectly in the murder investigation. Ed Brubaker and Rucka's intricate plotting and deft characterization are brilliantly realized by Michael Lark's noirish, muted artwork, which places Batman firmly in the street-level world of the cops rather than the other way around. This outstanding addition to the Batman universe, so to speak, should grab viewers of TV shows like NYPD Blue as well as regular Batman readers. Gordon Flagg
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