One nice thing about an ensemble cast the size of Gotham Central? No character, not even the writer's admitted favorite, is safe. That's what gives "Half a Life" a lot of its tension. The fact that long-time Batman readers know this character pretty well, and that Rucka and Lark have so effectively built a story where his life is systematically destroyed, gives it the rest. Rather than simply losing the reader in the desperation that Montoya is feeling, however, Rucka spins a story that keeps the reader guessing, trying to figure out the central mysteries of who the murderer is, what the ultimate goal of the setup is and what's going on, before dropping a bombshell on the last page that guarantees you'll be back for the next issue.
Gotham Central takes on a genre that is prevalent on TV right now, and in this issue (as with several of the others), it is structured something like a TV ensemble drama. Rucka and Lark open with a seemingly unrelated scene, as two detectives from MCU enter the apartment where a crime has been committed. Not only does this tie directly back into the story, giving the reader important information, it also lets Rucka introduce and flesh out two MCU characters and one additional cop, and whether or not we see them again is irrelevant; their presence here, and fairly important role in the story, helps to give the feel of the size and scope of the police department that is the center of this comic.
While the ensemble cast is certainly important, though, this particular story is very much focused on one person, Renee Montoya. The other chapters of "Half a Life" have given us some interesting scenes that show Montoya's daily routine, easing us into the notion of her as a person as well as a cop, and the sequence this issue does the same thing. Montoya going through her routine, the radio in the background establishing that more goes on in the world than what directly affects her, sets up a pretty startling moment where she discovers a frame-job in progress. Rucka has written an effective one, too. Even if Inspector Esperanza isn't a corrupt or particularly mean-spirited Internal Affairs investigator (and he does seem to be just doing his job, even if it does make him the antagonist), the frame is done so effectively that even Montoya's quick-thinking or logical protestations of innocence seem false.
What I like about the story, in addition to the strength of the plot and the clear thinking that went into orchestrating the whole thing, is the way the characters react. 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.
Michael Lark continues to shine on Gotham Central, and Lee Loughridge, taking over for Matt Hollingsworth, does a great job on the colors as well. The whole thing feels moody and contained, with a similar visual style to the shaky camera style used for NYPD Blue, and the story is kept relatively small, focused on offices, city streets or other tight locales. The lighting is green, orange, yellow, dark but not just monochrome black or gray, and 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.
