Forget about Smallville... I want Gotham Central on my television set every week. Rucka and Lark absolutely nail the cop show dynamic here, but with a Gotham twist, and "Half A Life" has been my favorite story on this title so far. Some of the things I didn't think I'd like, including a continued use of Batman's rogues' gallery and a focus on cops who have gotten a fair amount of screen time in the comics already, turn out to work just fine, and I love the way the story is coming together. Rucka's story makes sense, it follows logically and seems obvious in retrospect, but he never gives things away too soon. And Lark's rain-soaked take on Gotham feels so real you might have to dry your hands after putting the book down.
I think what I love most about this story is that I don't know where it's going, and I haven't since the beginning. Even though, in retrospect, it all seems so obvious. The name of the story alone is a huge clue as to who's behind the whole thing, for example. But really, with the introduction of Josie Mac to the cast, I don't know what's going to wind up happening with Montoya. I certainly didn't see the reveal of Two-Face's insider coming, even though that made perfect sense at the time. And even in the space of this issue, if you go back to see if (for example) a car scraped a mailbox, you see it was there, and that all the setup is being laid down and paid off later.
It's the character interaction that really drives the story, though, and it certainly keeps me interested. Montoya's new lawyer carries a bit of a sinister air at first, because there's the worry that she might be working for the bad guy. The chaos in the courtroom with Montoya's family and her lover is heart-breaking. The interaction between Cris and Daria, and Cris and Josie Mac, is great. And speaking of Josie Mac... I love the character, and I'm glad to see her join the cast. I'm not sure if those who haven't read the Josie Mac backup from Detective Comics will appreciate exactly what's going on with her in these pages, but I'm sure they'll find her likable.
While I love all the character work, though, the standout piece in this issue is without a doubt the big action sequence in the middle. Lark and Rucka orchestrate a beautiful takedown of a police prisoner transport, a brutal and fast gunfight that seems to speed up the pace of the comic, racing along even though it's constructed of static images. In particular, Lark's depiction of the two (another clue) armored cars crashing into the bus is stunning. And as always, Lark makes Gotham feel like a real place, whether it's the small house where Two-Face's insider lives, the rain-soaked streets of Gotham or any other locale. There's also an impressive attention to detail... check out the little evidence tags littering the crime scene. A lesser artist wouldn't have put that much work into a detail that most won't notice, but it does wonders for setting the scene.
Gotham Central, as I'm sure you've all heard by now, is one of DC's best books. It's one of those books that would make the cut if I had to drastically reduce my comics reading, because it offers up something no other book (even the similar-genre book Powers) can.
