This stands out as the best issue in the series yet, and given the high quality of the 11 issues to precede this one, that's really saying something. Brubaker and Rucka are the tops when it comes to crime writers in comics right now, and together, they make a powerful team. This story, despite the existence of colorful characters at the periphery, rings incredibly true. The writers and the artist bring a nightmare scenario to life, and I felt as though I was being led behind the scenes in news I've actually seen on CNN.
As the police commissioner meets with Gotham City's mayor to discuss budget cuts to the police department, one of them is struck down by a bullet, shot by an unseen gunman. The Gotham City Police Department's major crimes unit is on the scene immediately, scrambling for leads and clues. It's not long before they're drawn to the site of another shooting, and a pattern begins to emerge. There's a sniper loose in Gotham City. But it's not the notion of major public officials being gunned down at random that's the scariest notion. It's the identity of the man who's pulling the trigger.
Lark's artwork is the key strength here. The premise is brilliant, yes, but it's the artwork that conveys the intensity of focus and emotion that's at play here. The climactic playground scene moves quickly and conveys the frantic nature of the action. One might argue that Lark's style is one that's usually quiet and methodical... even stiff. That's not the case here. he conveys the hectic pace incredibly well. Loughridge's dreary, muted colors bring an appropriate darkness and tension to the storytelling as well.
Beltway Sniper. It really hasn't been so long since those two words had America glued to its TV sets and Washington, D.C. area residents holed up in their homes. Rucka and Brubaker tap into those recent fears and that real-life drama to create a convincing and riveting story set in the world in which the Batman lives.
I think one of the most intriguing aspects of this script is how the characters are portrayed as really having no control over the situation. Previous examples of the detectives at work portrayed them as deliberate in their actions and investigation. They take their time, they consider. Often, the solution lies in how one perceives the case. But here, the detectives appear to be quite powerless and desperate, especially in the angry and frantic final scene atop police headquarters.
