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GOTHAM CENTRAL VOL. 2: HALF A LIFE TPB
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DC Comics
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artists: Michael Lark, William Rosado, Steve Mitchell, Jason Pearson & Cam Smith
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth, Lee Loughridge, Digital Chameleon & Wildstorm FX
Letters: Willie Schubert, Rick Parker & Todd Klein
Cover Artist: Michael Lark
Editors: Matt Idelson, Dennis O'Neil & Jordan Gorfinkel
Price: $14.99 US/$19.99 CAN |
Had DC reprinted this trade in the more timely manner it deserved, I would no doubt have called this trade paperback my favorite Gotham Central story. Since they took over a year between trades instead, it will have to settle for being my second favorite Gotham Central story, behind the more recent "Unresolved." At any rate, long in coming though this book was, it is certainly worth the wait. I've generally felt that Rucka's focus on Montoya is becoming a drag on the book as time goes on, but early on, his crush on the character gave us a very interesting story about a cop with an unusual relationship with a dangerous felon, a relationship that seemed to have romantic implications, at least until we got to the Gotham Central story that turned all of that on its head and made sense of a few hints dropped in Rucka's earlier Montoya stories. This trade reprints not just those Gotham Central tales but a couple of the foundation stories from Batman Chronicles and Detective Comics, a nice touch that makes the whole thing work as a sort of definitive "Rucka on Montoya" volume, but it is the actual "Half a Life" story from Gotham Central that is the most compelling work of the book, a twisting crime narrative that is impossible to put down.
Lark, along with colorists Hollingsworth and Loughridge, are on a very small roster of artists who could have made this story work so well, and Gotham Central has definitely been stung by Lark's recent departure. A lot of the storytelling is in small, furtive glances or reaction shots, rather than in big, splashy action, and Lark captures those subtle storytelling clues perfectly. In addition, the work he and the colorists have done on making Gotham feel like a real city shines through in these stories, whether it's in the cramped squad rooms at GCPD, the lived-in appearance of Montoya's apartment, the coffee shop or the street outside Daria's apartment. This has the feeling of a TV show, real people against real backdrops, and a lot of that is down to the artwork The result is that the "cop show" feel of the book is reinforced, or indeed laid down, by the artwork as much as by the story. The other art on the book, whether it's the oddly colored work of Rosado in Detective or the more cartoony approach by Pearson on Chronicles, pales by comparison, although admittedly both artists do a fine job with the script, if presenting a more loud, superhero look that doesn't quite jibe with Gotham Central's overall "street" vibe.
I'll be honest, I wasn't crazy about Montoya taking center stage so early in the Gotham Central series, and I'm really not crazy about it now, because I'm worried that with Brubaker gone, Rucka is going to turn Gotham Central into "Renee Montoya Comics with guest stars some other cops." However, while I worry that Montoya might wind up hogging the spotlight, "Half a Life" is certainly a good argument for why that might not be such a bad thing, as Rucka serves up a doozy about Montoya's private life that results in some terrible chaos for the character and great drama for the reader. Unlike the first two story arcs (reprinted in the first Gotham Central trade, which by the way, is a steal at $10), this one isn't really driven by a case, but by a personal story that turns into a case. But that doesn't mean we don't get some police procedural stuff. Rucka tells us a lot by showing us how easily Montoya and Allen crack the case that Robbery couldn't, as well as providing some dark humor about stupid criminals and smart cops.
Really, though, this story is all about putting poor Detective Montoya through the pressure cooker. There are a lot of really great character interaction scenes, from Montoya dealing with homophobia in the department to her defensive confrontation with fellow lesbian officer Captain Sawyer to the always interesting relationship moments between Montoya and Two-Face. In addition, in Montoya's interaction with her brother and the rest of her family, we see some of the reason for her closeted behavior. It's clear from the first moment that Montoya's parents appear that they are traditional and maybe a little quick-tempered, and their reaction to Montoya's revelation makes absolute sense given what we see of the pressure they put on their daughter in the Detective and Chronicles stories.
Which is not to say that Rucka only builds up Montoya, even if the focus is on developing that character. Crispus Allen, who we meet in the pages of Detective as an "arrogant pain in the butt," has clearly taken great strides as far as backing his partner and starting to fit in with Gotham, and Montoya's lover Daria is likable and sweet and oh-so-accepting, even if she does offer up some very human and understandable snark about Renee's desire to keep their relationship a secret. The addition of Josie Mac (a Judd Winick creation) is also welcome, and she makes her presence (and unusual abilities) known very quickly. Then there's Inspector Manny Esperanza, whom Rucka steers clear of the usual sleazy I.A.D. archetype and instead makes a good guy in a bad job, the antagonist in some ways but hardly the bad guy. That level of realism, while often seeming out of place to me in Rucka's superhero work, is ideal here. There's no black and white morality, no easy answers. There are occasional outbursts, but they're measured and real. The characters on both sides of the whole thing are smart but principled, whether it's Daria quickly realizing that she should stop talking, Esperanza putting together what he thinks happened so quickly or the interaction between Cris and Montoya that shows him to be smart and loyal to his partner.
Half a Life stumbles a little bit at the end with the introduction of Batman into the mix, and if I'm tired of "Jerk Batman" in the other DC books, I'm even more annoyed by the "interfering lout Batman" that we often get in Gotham Central. On the other hand, Batman's interference does seem like a realistic way that the cops would view him, and I like that the cops recognize his ability with the freaks, as shown when Mac and Allen discuss what to do when Two-Face gets involved in the story. I would just as soon have not seen Batman at all aside from in the Chronicles and Detective reprints, but his part is small enough that this mostly plays to its strengths, which is a story of the regular cops in Gotham dealing with a very non-regular crime and criminal that hits close to home with one of their officers. 9/10
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