Alan Moore's Watchmen inspired a vogue for comic books that placed gaudily garbed superheroes in more true-to-life, real-world settings. Many similar series, such as Astro City, have been widely acclaimed, but one of the best has gone largely unheralded. Gotham Central focuses on Gotham City's police and their struggle to maintain order in a flagrantly corrupt burg beset by bizarre, costumed criminals. Batman himself, whom the cops mockingly call the Bat, makes only fleeting cameos as GC detectives contend with his superpowered foes. In the installments collected here, the Joker terrorizes with sniper attacks, beginning with the assassination of the mayor, and the force reopens an unresolved bombing involving the Mad Hatter and, disgraced ex-detective Harvey Bullock suspects, the Penguin. Obvious analogues to Gotham Central are such TV procedurals as Law and Order and Homicide. Like them, Gotham Central boasts superficial verisimilitude, hard-edged dialogue, and a large cast of precisely drawn characters. Michael Lark's shadowy, muted art, enhanced by sympathetic coloring, brilliantly realizes writers Brubaker and Greg Rucka's intricate, compelling story lines.
