I recently read Greg Rucka's fourth novel, Shooting at Midnight (I highly recommend it). Though he offers a fascinating plot, it's the characterization of the female lead that grips the reader. It's about a woman who has to face what she became a long time ago, about a bad choice she made that will be with her forever. Here, Rucka tells the story of a woman who is forced to deal with who she is rather than what she's become, and it makes for powerful and genuine character-driven storytelling. Renee Montoya has been a mainstay of the world of Batman -- even outside of comics -- for a few years now, and now, her story is finally being told. "Half a Life" is not to be missed, even by those who have no interest in the Dark Knight.
Someone is letting the people in Renee Montoya's life know that she's gay and is involved with a woman in Gotham. Montoya's "colleagues" are, for the most part, complete shits about the whole thing, and that doesn't come close to the chaos the revelation will cause in her strictly religious family. Renee pushes away the one person who can relate to what she's going through, and if that weren't enough, Montoya's a suspect in the murder of the private eye who took the candid photo of her and her lover.
This is an angry but quietly intense script, and Lark brings it to life perfectly. His gritty style suits the grim tone of the story incredibly well. He brings out the ugliness in the antagonists, both major and minor, and through her eyes, he conveys the hurt and fear that Renee feels. Hollingsworth's deeply dark colors reinforce the tense and sullen atmosphere incredibly well. He uses greys and light browns to cast a haze over the artwork, and it further deepens the darkness in which much of the story unfolds.
In this issue, thanks to Renne's brother's dialogue, we really get to know her family beyond the stereotypical nagging-mom scenario we saw in the previous issue. Though perhaps some of us cannot relate to Renee's struggle with her sexual identity, that kind of family dysfunction and the feeling of being judged are notions we can all understand.
The murder plotline is a secondary concern in this story arc, as it's the exploration of Renee's personal life that's really center stage. The only flaw to be found in this issue is what seems to be Rucka's assumption that readers will pick up on the common ground that Renee and Maggie Sawyer share.
The most touching moment in the book comes when Renee turns to the phone to get in touch with Daria, her lover. It's a moment of hope in an otherwise sad story. Rucka reassures the reader that no matter what happens, Renee has something good and reliable in her life. Everything else may be turning to shit around her, but she still has someone that she can count on and with whom she's willing to share herself. It's a comforting scene amid a confusing and scary personal fiasco.
