Gotham Central, Vol. 4: The Quick and the Dead

Gotham Central (Collected Editions) #4

by Greg Rucka, Michael Lark (Illustrator), Stefano Gaudiano (Illustrator)

Living in the shadow of the Dark Knight makes the detectives of Gotham's police force determined to prove they have what it takes to enforce the law in a city rife with criminals--with or without Batman's help.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Batman, Dc Comics, Crime, Comic Book, Fiction

166 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2006

About the author

Greg Rucka, is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his work on such comics as Action Comics, Batwoman: Detective Comics, and the miniseries Superman: World of New Krypton for DC Comics, and for novels such as his Queen & Country series.

Reviews

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly, I enjoy the stories about Renee significantly more than the stories about the ensemble cast of the GCPD. I find her to be the most interesting character and I like watching her deal with different situations. Maybe because Rucka has a good grasp on her character or because there's more to work with that I haven't seen in every other police procedural. Either way, I enjoyed this and the volume about her coming out story more than the rest of the series.

The first story deals with Renee and Cris running into a gang shooting and details the investigation afterwards. As this happens, we see the fall out from Batman's inability to save an officer in the last volume. The politics and bureaucracy is actually interesting to me which is surprising considering the films haven't managed to make me care about this sort of thing. There's always the conflict of the department knowing Batsy's out there doing the dirty work for them. Here, the commissioner makes a choice to change that and Batman's response to that was interesting. Batsy's not exactly the bad guy here but he's not completely innocent either.

The second story deals with two kids stumbling across a Flash villain's lab. There's a ManBat, Bruce Banner type story line here that I've seen before but it wasn't terrible. The real focus of this part was Renee having to come to terms with her violent streak. Or at least, I thought that was the focus but the problem is this ends rather abruptly. It's kind of thrown out there in a Dr Lector/Clarice Starling type scene and it seems to bug her but the plot goes nowhere. I feel as if it was the set up to finally deal with her penchant for roughing up perps. I get that Rucka is trying to portray cops honestly but police brutality is a really uncomfortable subject for me. Even knowing who these villains are and what they've done, I keep thinking about all the other innocent peeps that probably got assaulted, too. Makes this department kinda hard to root for.

Anyway, this concept is mentioned but not really dealt with. They also try to discuss Renee and her estranged family. That ends rather abruptly, too. It was just odd. Like a Rucka got a note to wrap it up the issue before and he scrambled to do so.

So, this was a great volume except for the last issues where it seemed like the ending was rushed. It was a shame because this was possibly my favorite I've read so far.

Note: since Rebirth is bringing back some older DC treasures, I wonder if they might consider reviving this series. Sure, with Gotham doing well (I think? I haven't watched since season 2) they'd probably feature/mention Gordon a lot more but I would be so down for seeing this series rebooted. It's a really interesting look at Gotham from the GCPD's point of view.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES 

There are many graphic novels about superheroes and their world and how important it is for them to save the regular mortals but rarely do we get a perspective of the mortals unless they're family or lovers. In this series we focus almost exclusively upon the detectives (morning and night shifts) of Gotham who sometimes resent “The Bat” for solving their cases. It's a fresh and interesting approach with Batman showing up less than 5% of all the tales.

START BOOK FOUR 

The two tales within are broken into parts and are titled as follows: “Corrigan”, “Lights out” and “Keystone Kops”. All are written by Greg Rucka and the Artwork is by Michael Lark & Stefano Gaudiano.

“Corrigan” is about a corrupt evidence collector who sells a chief piece of evidence on E-Bay. “Lights Out” is a decision by the new commissioner to break ties with Batman much to the dismay of some of the detectives and staff. The last tale, “Keystone Kops”,
brings Flash villain, Dr. Alchemy, into the game and his lab has damaging side effects on a good and noble cop.

I would say “Corrigan” was slightly better than the other two tales but they were all good enough.

ARTWORK

I found the artwork hit or miss. Yes, it's dark and gritty looking but sometimes it feels like only 80% of the normal details are there in the artwork. Batman doesn't look terribly impressive though maybe that's intentional to add to the mundane setting. 

RESULTS

This series received great critical acclaim and a passionate fanbase but never did well commercially.

STORY/PLOTTING: B; ARTWORK PRESENTATION: B; CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B to B plus; WHEN READ: late July 2012; OVERALL GRADE: B.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think I ever took Dr. Alchemy too seriously as a villain before, or even gave him much thought at all, really. But now that he's gotten something of a Hannibal Lecter makeover … wow! Quite a nasty piece of work …

As always with Gotham Central, the real focus is on the interactions between the members of the MCU. And it's a new era where Batman is no longer a trusted ally …

If these books have a fault, it's that they're too short. I want more!
Highly recommended!

[Julio Bonilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

STUFF. GETS. PERSONAL.

Batman makes 2 appearances throughout the book.

[Toby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Potentially with this one I have put my finger on just what it is that makes me enjoy Rucka's Gotham Central storylines far less than Brubaker's; Rucka basically gives you superhero tropes from the detectives point of view, Brubaker gives you noir detective tropes with some superhero shit in the background. Unlike what seems to be the majority of the world, I really don't like superhero stories, characters, books, movies, or TV shows. I don't even like what they did with the Powers TV show. Batman is a boring character, from a boring comics imprint universe and try as Rucka might to make this edgy, it all just feels like a cut scene from yet another dull ass Batman movie that's waiting for the stupid idiot in tights to turn up again.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Still great, but it doesn't seem to be quite as realistic as when it started. We're seeing more supervillains and weird happenings, but considering the series is set in Gotham I suppose that's unavoidable. One of the better Batman related series published.

[Ronald · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yikes! That was bad. I don't even know where to start.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The weakest of the Gotham Central collections so far. Which actually says more for the quality of the other three volumes than of this one, since it's actually pretty good.

Three storylines this time around. The first involves a crooked crime scene investigator who sells evidence online. Like everything else crooked in Gotham, this basically gets a pass until he sells a bullet that would clear Crispus Allen of a shooting, and his partner (Renee Montoya) has to deal with him. The story itself is good, but there's a frustrating ending that leaves the impression that nothing has been settled, and that the entire two-issue arc was just narratively spinning our wheels. If it might as well never have happened, why did it have to happen?

The second story is a single issue, and it's completely isolated from any context. Apparently, in at least one of the three issues skipped here, something happened involving Batman that made some people on the GCPD (including the new commissioner) unwilling to deal with him anymore, so they remove the Batsignal. But here, it's entirely devoid of context, so it ends up not making much sense. Why are they blaming Batman? What actually even happened? Got me. At least I wasn't the only one wondering why they were giving the gang at Arkham such a shiny present.

The third, and longest, of the stories is a crossover with one of Flash's minor villains, (Doctor Alchemy) involving a sidetrip to the much more organized Keystone PD. The story is good, and there are serious and tragic consequences on the line. But parts are very, very derivative of Silence of the Lambs, to the point of having Hannibal Lite literally saying "quid pro quo" in one of his first panels. Way too referential in a book of this tone, at least for my tastes.

So, three stories that didn't work for me, but they're still as well done as their concepts will allow.

[Gavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one focuses on a supervillian encounter between Montoya & Allen and the bad guy. Also involving the CSU Jim Corrigan. Great work yet again, Rucka has this down.

[Mary Overton]

A droning nightmare ... dark and grimy and ostentatiously world-weary ... excellent trash reading.

[Hilary "Fox" · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Quick and the Dead returns the series focus to Renee Montoya and Crispus Allan for the most part. The first story sees a drug bust go wrong, and how a single missing bullet could change the trajectory of one man's career. From that the focus shifts back to Montoya's neighborhood, and a dispute between children that ends in tragedy when a cop gets more than they bargain for. While not particularly familiar with The Flash, I can say that it was a pretty riveting read.

I love Renee Montoya so much. I love this series and how well it treats the whole ensemble cast. It's fascinating how adroitly different topics are addressed - sexuality and race, police brutality and favoritism. While Batman does lurk in the shadows, he is present more for the trouble he poses the GCPD than the hero that he typically comes off as.

This is such a refreshing look at the superhero genre in general. It isn't the grimdark reimagining that DC in particular tends to revert to to breathe new life into titles, but rather a street level examination of what it might be like to be a human just trying to do their job in a world filled with superheroes.

Can't recommend this series enough.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very strong GC book. This book deals with Corrigan stealing evidence that leaves Cris Allen out to dry, and Montoya getting it back. Nicely done. The commissioner takes down the Bat-Signal down. This story only so-so. The tension was great, and I appreciated it, but I have NO IDEA why they took down the signal or why so many cops are so pissed with Batman. Was this part of the War Games arc?

The final story is the the Keystone Cops arc, where an officer is changed by Doctor Alchemy, whom I've never heard of. But it's a really good arc. I love the mind games played by Alchemy and Montoya/Allen, though I'm a bit disappointed that Rucka went for the down ending. It seems that Gotham Central is a never-ending series of down endings. Outside of Montoya's father trying to get back into her life, everybody comes out of this book much worse off than when it started. ONE halfway happy ending isn't too much to ask, is it?

[Nate]

It pains me to say it, but this is a relatively weak volume of Gotham Central. The stories aren’t bad, but compared to the generally brilliant preceding ones, they fall short. One story ends abruptly, another references events elsewhere, and the third contains too much superhumanity for this decidedly grounded noir book (not to mention a blatant Silence of the Lambs ripoff). I can’t complain about the dialogue or writing, which is strong throughout. The content just doesn’t reach home run territory like usual.

There is one major bright spot: Renee Montoya. She’s the most interesting character in this series, and her evolution here - becoming increasingly frustrated with corruption and hostility in the GCPD - is always compelling. This is an entirely Rucka-written volume, so she’s front and center much of the time. Sometimes that’s a problem, though, because Gotham Central is at its best when highlighting the ensemble cast.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rucka writes the cops of Gotham City well. That's the book's biggest strength. Based on that I'd add another 1.5 stars, but ...
First there's the perennial bane of TPBs, the crossover issue without context. One issue hinges on something Batman did in his own book that has the entire PD distrusting him. I have no idea what the hell it was, which undercuts the story. So does that like most "Nothing Will Be The Same" stories, everything was the same before too long.
Second, there's a story involving Flash's foe Dr. Alchemy wherein Rucka decides to make him into Hannibal Lector type. Not only is this way, way out of character for Al Desmond but it's such a blatant knockoff it doesn't work.
Based on the flaws I'd knock off a star, but the good stuff is very good.

[Desmond Killian · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the wake of War Games, Detectives Allen and Montoya head to Keystone City to work over a very Hannibal Lecter-coded Dr. Alchemy. As always, Montoya finds herself drawn towards violence, with her fellow police officers enabling and even rewarding her when she loses her cool. It establishes an interesting parallel between her and Batman, as the Bat's unique brand of vigilante ultraviolence has finally been outlawed after a gang war engulfs Gotham City. Before Montoya leaves for Keystone, Batman breaks into her apartment, and the two of them have a conversation:

"You didn't used to be so cold."

"You would know."

[Kahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Volume four in the Gotham Central series, and everything that is so good about this run is crammed into the pages – with a dash extra.
This is probably the strongest one yet.
The police department has turned against Batman, Montoya is still having trouble with her father, corrupt cops abound, and now a new villain is brought into Gotham to help fix a problem of his making.
Once again this is a dark, tense, gritty, gripping trawl through the underside of Gotham. Batman barely appears, leaving the normally incidental characters to take centre stage.
And once again they do it in style.

[Bassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This excellent series continues with this book, showcasing how corrupt cops and freaks manifest Gotham’s soul. The spotlight was on Renee Montoya, and for the better of it. Really like this series, shows how you can make an alternate Gotham TV series out of it. Art and writing are excellent, as always from this creative duo.

[Sarospice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series has gotten better and better each volume as you get more involved with the GCPD. If you know a lesbian interested in comics they must read this. Rene Montoya is THE main character and she's a great voice for life in Gotham.

[Wirotomo Nofamilyname · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buku #43 di tahun 2017.

Seri Gotham Central tidak pernah mengecewakan.
It’s that damn good! :-)

[Anthony Lacroix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah c’est plate que ça finisse comme ça

[Dennis Wannemacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

8,7/10

[Neil Mehta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A-.

[Amna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Renee-centric stories are consistently the most interesting parts of Gotham Central. Still enjoying the Batman/Renee interactions and Renee being a real one, not turning on Batman post-War Games.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first two-parter in this collection, “Corrigan”, focuses on a crooked in the Gotham City Police Department. And I don’t mean crooked in the sense of working with the bad guys, but more along the lines of a self-interested and shameless thief who absconds with crime scene materiel in order to make money off the to side by selling it online to the highest bidder. Unfortunately for Detective Montoya, who emerges as the narrative center of the last half of Gotham Central’s run, both her and her partner Detective Allen become caught up in this rat’s nefarious plot. By tale’s end, you realize that this can only end badly.

In the second and shortest tale, “Lights Out”, we get insight into the thoughts of the various GCPD staff members when the new Commissioner orders the destruction the Bat-Signal. (Shades of The Dark Knight again. Didn’t I mention that earlier?) Anyhow, it’s been clear since issue one that this is where the over-arching plot of this series has been headed. And the shattering the Signal’s glass – courtesy of Lark’s superb visual pacing -- come across as depressingly tragic for the city of Gotham.

In the third and last story-arc, “Keystone Kops”, Montoya and Allen seek the aide of washed-up and imprisoned b-list Flash rogue Doctor Alchemy – shades of Agent Starking seeking help from Hannibal, in my mind’s eye – who they need to help solve an accidental case of chemical mutation in one of his former Gotham hide-outs. But like the brilliant mind of the diabolical Hannibal, Dr. Alchemy’s help only brings more trouble when he is brought to Gotham from Keystone City under police escort. You always get this feeling that something terrible is about to go wrong, and – yes, you got it -- it does. As for the art duties this story-line: Would that Lark penciled this story instead of Guadiano. (Am I starting to sound mean here? Okay, I’ll try and stop complaining.)

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superheroes are really weird, which you only really notice if you have a basis of comparison. By following the regular people of Gotham, Gotham Central highlights what a bizarre and terrifying world they live in. Like Astro City, Powers, or Watchmen, Gotham Central emphasizes the mythical nature of heroes and villains, which heightens their wonder. Oddly, it also humanizes them. I think the best example of this working well is when, in the first issue of this collection, The protagonists are faced with the Black Spider, a forgettable and minor member of Batman's rogues gallery.

http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20...

However, viewed from the perspective of a normal person, and in the context of the issue, he is truly frightening. I think that's the strength of Gotham Central. Because he's larger than life, we all know that Batman can never truly lose. Sure, he can lose or be killed temporarily, but he's always going to make a comeback and win. But the cops of Gotham Central can and frequently do lose. They're normal people faced with monsters, which makes for an entirely different kind of story. Instead of a clash-of-titans tale of good vs. evil, we watch normal people try to face problems and evils that are much larger than themselves. For the most part, they make the best of it.

I'm not saying the series is perfect. The second story in the collection introduces Doctor Alchemy in a direct ripoff of the Silence of the Lambs, but he's not nearly as arresting as Lecter. This ends up weakening the story, but it's still a quite enjoyable read. Also, the art is a bit weak on the whole. The faces aren't very expressive, which is a shame, since there are so many of them.

I know I'll be seeking out more Gotham Central, and if you like Batman, police stories, or hero-humanizing comics, I'd say give it a go.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

My biggest problem with this third volume of Gotham Central is the ascendance of Renee Montoya. Sure, she's a great character, but the previous two volumes had really been ensembles, while this one instead becomes the Montoya show, with 6 out of 7 issues focusing on her. The Keystone Kops episode epitomizes this in an almost farcical way, with two other detectives being asked to step up to the plate ... before Montoya pushes in and steals the case from them. This still is a good volume but it doesn't quite rise to the heights of the previous two.

Corrigan (23-24). There's just barely a freak in this Rucka story, and that may be why it's so good. After a shocking beginning, it's all about partners and corruption within the GPD. The result is super tense — and foreshadows some tragedy to come. [9/10]

Lights Out (25). This quiet story really highlights the strengths of the series: it's all about character and consequences and meaning. This short pulls that off nicely [7/10].

Keystone Kops (28-31). There's not much mystery here, but this is another good look at the intersection between super villains and mundane cops ... and as usual, it isn't pretty [7/10].

[Trey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I appreciated the throughline of Renee Montoya's off-duty life in this volume, I prefer when Gotham Central handles more realistic villains and has very little Batman, like a cape swoosh here, a movement in the shadows there. The back half of this volume includes Dr. Alchemy, a Flash villain that is far too sci-fi for the gritty crime drama this book should be.

[Du4 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this collection contains some of my favorite GCPD stories as Rucka & Brubaker begin the slow buildup of the character of Jimmy Corrigan. Corrigan is a dirty lowlife crime scene unit cop who steals evidence and pays off uniforms for drugs. The story of Allen and Montoya trying to learn how to deal with this dirty bastard is particularly rough and sets up a very shocking end to the series.

There's also a fantastic story about GCPD detectives teaming up with Detectives Chyre and Morillo from the Flash's home town of Keystone City. Loved that one.

My one complaint about this particular volume is the effects of a Batman crossover. We get hints that something big went down in Gotham (there are a couple issues missing from this collection) that estranges Batman from the GCPD, but we never really find out what all this was. (It turns out that this was some big "Gangwar" crossover where Batman's actions inadvertantly led to the deaths of several GCPD officers. Go Google annotations!)

[Amber DiTullio · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth of the series, this book starts out with the Commissioner taking down the Bat-signal. Batman is now going to be among the wanted rather than someone the police go to when they need help taking down the biggest bads. It explores how GCP are trying to deal with this change. The second story involves a corrupt CSI that has a habit of taking things from crime scenes to sell and line his own pockets. This time, what he steals could cause an officer to lose his job. The final story is the longest of the three and gives us a glimpse into Star City as well, thanks to a Silence of the Lambs-like need to get the help from a madman that's locked up there.

The stories were interesting, but they didn't strike me as strongly as the previous books in the series. Still, getting a chance to learn more about the GCP's MCU was great. It primarily focused on Montoya and Allen, but they're a couple of my favorites, so that was a good thing for me.

I'm interested in getting vol 5, but my library doesn't have it currently. So... maybe sometime in the future.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is exactly the same as Gotham Central, Book 3: On the Freak Beat.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...

More good stories about the good (and bad) cops that are working on the Gotham police force. These didn't have the same punch as the first two issues, but it's still a good series. I'll definitely be looking into other works by Greg Rucka.

Quick synopses of the stories:
- A good cop is accused of shooting a suspect & the bullet that would exonerate him was sold online by a crooked CSI
- The bat signal is being removed due to Batman's involvement in an incident resulted in the death of several officers
- Catwoman is framed in a theft/murder case, but in turn blackmails an officer who is trying to hide her psychic powers
- An officer is caught in a chemical explosion trying to rescue to teens & is mutated into a huge monster. The detectives try to track down the mad scientist to cure him before it's too late. Det. Montoya tries to reconnect with the father than spurned her when she came out as a lesbian.