Apparently, January is Ed Brubaker month for me. He's written some of my favorite reads this month, including Catwoman, Sleeper and now the third issue of Gotham Central, which is everything I had hoped the series would be. While the first two-issue arc was a little too centered on a Batman villain and its use of the entire cast made it hard to focus on the characters, this one has a Batman type story off to the side and a focus on a couple of the main characters, as well as an approach that reminds me of C.S.I. or Law and Order more than Batman.
Gotham Central is a rarity in comics, but it feels very much like the police drama that is a staple of television fiction right now. I watch and like a lot of those shows, and I'm happy to say that Brubaker has captured a lot of what fascinates me about them. The techniques they use to get their information, from finding clues to autopsy reports to questioning to outright interrogation, are very interesting to watch. And Brubaker also captures the unique relationship dynamics of the cops in this issue, with the way the partner dynamic influences them in particular.
A lot of the strength of the issue is to be found in the characterization. The conversations the cops have aren't always designed to drive the plot forward, some of them are there to establish the mindset or the characters. Prime examples of this are the discussion about evil that opens the book, or the high school yearbook talk that provides a nice moment in the car. Even the conversations that do further the plot, though, also build the characters, establishing the neighbors of the murdered teenager as rich snobs or spelling out a little more about the parents of Jenny and thus what her life was like. And the continuing drama of Driver dealing with the events of the first story is very effective, whether you've read the first two issues or not.
For a book this realistic, you need someone who can do realistic artwork, or the whole thing goes out the window. Lark is definitely the right choice for this book, painting a convincing portrayal of normal people in normal clothes and normal settings. The details on the nice neighborhood that Jenny came from or the squad room help to set the mood, and there's so much story in everyone's face that it's easy to get a feel for the characters. Lark's art still looks different to me than it did on Scene of the Crime, but I'm reminded of both Guy Davis and Cliff Chiang, two other artists whose work I really enjoy in this vein.
Batman isn't absent this issue, in fact he and one of his foes make a rather prominent appearance toward the end that has important ramifications for the cops. However, the focus of this story is on a murder investigation, what it does to the parents and the cops, and there's both mystery and strong character development going on. I can't wait to see the next issue.
