As much as I’m fond of Batman, it was refreshing to read a comic set in Gotham that wasn’t focused on him. While Gotham Central does give us stories involving big bads like Ms. Freeze and Two-Face, most of the focus was on the often overlooked GCPD and “ordinary” crimes. I generally like Brubaker’s writing, and if you’re a fan of police procedurals but still want the feel of a comics universe, I highly recommend this series.

Things I Liked

1. Pace: Brubaker handles pace well in this volume by showing readers how each event leads to the next (rather than jumping from place to place and expecting readers to use background knowledge to fill in the gaps).

2. Treatment of Grief: The first story arc follows detective Marcus Driver following the death of his partner. I found Brubaker’s treatment of Driver’s grief to be very heartfelt, even though we never see sobbing or breakdowns. Instead, Driver is reticent and throws himself into his next case, while also turning his anger to Batman.

3. Renee Montoya: Another story arc follows Detective Montoya, who is “outed” as a lesbian as part of a revenge plot (sort of - read the story). I found her story to be rather thought-provoking about LGBT+ experiences, both in reality and in comics. While some readers may find the story discomforting (it’s not a happy story, after all), I found it (and the character Montoya herself) to be very upfront about LGBT+ experiences.

4. Tone: The overall tone of this comic reminded me of Law and Order. The colors in the art are rather dark and cool, the GCPD in general are tough yet striving to do good despite their issues.

Things I Didn’t Like

Eh, you know... I don’t really have any.

Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in police procedurals, detective stories, crime dramas, and Gotham city.