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10 reviews for:
Gotham Central, Vol. 3: Unresolved Targets
Ed Brubaker, Stefano Gaudiano, Greg Rucka, Michael Lark
4.25 AVERAGE
10 reviews for:
Gotham Central, Vol. 3: Unresolved Targets
Ed Brubaker, Stefano Gaudiano, Greg Rucka, Michael Lark
4.25 AVERAGE
After the disappointment of Vol 2, Vol 3 was approached with a certain amount of trepidation.
But all fears were allayed within the opening pages. We're back to gritty cop drama stuff, no repeats.
In this volume we are dealing with an unsolved case and Mad Hatter, with Harvey Bullock lurking in the shadows like the spectre at the feast.
And it's just great.
The story rattles along, there are twists and turns aplenty, and the whodunnit aspect holds up its end of the bargain.
The artwork is as good as we've come to expect, and as an added bonus the TPB version's pages are heavy and feel old - adding to the grittiness of the story.
But all fears were allayed within the opening pages. We're back to gritty cop drama stuff, no repeats.
In this volume we are dealing with an unsolved case and Mad Hatter, with Harvey Bullock lurking in the shadows like the spectre at the feast.
And it's just great.
The story rattles along, there are twists and turns aplenty, and the whodunnit aspect holds up its end of the bargain.
The artwork is as good as we've come to expect, and as an added bonus the TPB version's pages are heavy and feel old - adding to the grittiness of the story.
The first story in this book is the second collaboration between Rucka and Brubaker for Gotham Central, playing on the well worn themes of Joker holding Gotham to ransom over his ongoing feud with The Bat. Certainly reminiscent of the really tedious second half of Dark Knight but from the point of view of the detectives it becomes something far more interesting, but even so as with the rest of the series the detectives are so interestingly written that when these silly cartoon villains appear it reduces part of the enjoyment of the story. And I don't want to criticise Rucka, which is how I always feel when I'm reviewing these books, one eye constantly on the lookout for Brubaker's involvement but the second story that is all Brubaker is truly exceptional crime writing that not only gives everything you love about Criminal or Fatale or basically anything he created with Scott Phillips (minus the fabulous art of Phillips unfortunately) but also everything you've already come to love about this series so far, it's dark, brooding observations of humanity.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is exactly how I see Gotham City in my mind. Grimey, gritty, dirty, whatever word you would like to use. They all apply. Rucka & Brubaker write two different stories each compelling and important and there are only a couple of scenes involving super heroes. The Joker story is creepy and the Mad Hatter tale is weird and smarmy, just like him. My only complaint is that the cast is so big that its hard to keep track of them at times.
He sets a mood like nobody else, but DAMN, Michael Lark canNOT draw individually distinguishable characters. The Joker-sniper story suffered, just a bit, from high expectations. I recall that it won an Eisner, and though it was good, I still felt like it circled the block once too often in showing tense cops trying to find clues in the madness. I enjoyed it, but I somehow expected just a little bit more.
Brubaker's solo arc, "Unresolved," featuring Harvey Bullock, was good stuff. With a smaller cast, Lark's individuality issue isn't such a distraction, and Brubaker keeps you guessing right up to the arrest.
Brubaker's solo arc, "Unresolved," featuring Harvey Bullock, was good stuff. With a smaller cast, Lark's individuality issue isn't such a distraction, and Brubaker keeps you guessing right up to the arrest.
I quite enjoyed this one, as well. Not as much as the last one because the characters seemed forgettable and interchangable. Renee was only mentioned in this one and I couldn't remember anything specific about the others.
The cases were pretty interesting. The first one revolving around Gotham's least favorite clown. There was a plot that reminded me of an episode of BBC's Luther. I won't spoil it but the Joker was wreaking havoc on Gotham's first responders and it was pretty scary. I really like the way Brubaker and Rucka tell these stories because you're pretty much just along for the ride as they attempt to stop the bad guy. We learn everything the officers learn at the same time so none of the suspense is lost when the audience gets to find out the plan ahead of time.
The second is one of my least favorites, Tetch. Guy seriously creeps me the fuck out. That case reminded me of a Law and Order episode. While I don't like the final reveal, it didn't bug me so much that it took me out of the book. I didn't like this portion as much but it was still pretty good.
I think there's only one volume left and that makes me sad because I'm really enjoying this series.
The cases were pretty interesting. The first one revolving around Gotham's least favorite clown. There was a plot that reminded me of an episode of BBC's Luther. I won't spoil it but the Joker was wreaking havoc on Gotham's first responders and it was pretty scary. I really like the way Brubaker and Rucka tell these stories because you're pretty much just along for the ride as they attempt to stop the bad guy. We learn everything the officers learn at the same time so none of the suspense is lost when the audience gets to find out the plan ahead of time.
The second is one of my least favorites, Tetch. Guy seriously creeps me the fuck out. That case reminded me of a Law and Order episode. While I don't like the final reveal, it didn't bug me so much that it took me out of the book. I didn't like this portion as much but it was still pretty good.
I think there's only one volume left and that makes me sad because I'm really enjoying this series.
Ok, so this is actually the exact same book as the one I just read:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6375833-gotham-central-book-two
Jokers & Madmen. This series has been collected in 5 volumes in paperback and in 4 volumes in hardcover, with different issues included in the different formats. It appears that in the hardcover issues, they combined Vol 1 & 2 of the paperbacks together. Unfortunately, I think the library has a mixed collection, meaning I'm missing a story. So, if you decide to start reading these, make sure of what you're getting.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6375833-gotham-central-book-two
Jokers & Madmen. This series has been collected in 5 volumes in paperback and in 4 volumes in hardcover, with different issues included in the different formats. It appears that in the hardcover issues, they combined Vol 1 & 2 of the paperbacks together. Unfortunately, I think the library has a mixed collection, meaning I'm missing a story. So, if you decide to start reading these, make sure of what you're getting.
Excellent work- gritty, well-characterized, and with some great plot lines.
And this series continues to not disappoint! These plots are easily plots that could be found on some of the better police procedurals on TV and I'm just delighted that this series exists. Someone observed that both stories would make fine movies and I'd have to agree! The Joker story is terrifying and tense as is the murdered high school students one. Batman also continues to keep a low profile and I love the frustration that mounts in the GCPD when he goes off on his own investigation and doesn't share information.
I'm well aware that this series is coming to an end and I'm going to be so sad when I read the last volume.
I'm well aware that this series is coming to an end and I'm going to be so sad when I read the last volume.