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February 23, 2006
Gotham Central, RIP
One of my favorite comics just ended its run: Gotham Central, a DC genre experiment that really worked. It was set in the city of Batman, the Joker, et al, but it wasn't really a superhero comic. Rather, it followed the cases of Gotham homicide cops. Superheroes intersected their world, but the primary characters were just ordinary detectives trying to do their jobs. It was grittier than anything else at DC, but with a different tone than noir Marvel comics like Daredevil. It was more of a straight-up policier, in the mode of the TV show Homicide, but with an honesty about bureaucracy and corruption that recalls HBO's great crime series, The Wire. The superhero angle just gave it a little extra edge - these cops know they need Batman, but they also resent that they need him, and don't respect his vigilante approach. This makes them much more sensible and human than all the other cops over the years who've simply stood by as this guy in a cape has walked right over them.
The comic was co-written by Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker. They're both very talented writers - see especially Rucka's Queen & Country, and Brubaker's current run on Captain America. But Gotham Central is the best thing either of them has worked on, matching Rucka's strong characterization with Brubaker's tight plotting.
Gotham Central didn't have quite the fizz of the best stuff from Brian Michael Bendis or David Lapham, noir tyros who will eventually become Hollywood heavyweights like Frank Miller, if that's what they want. Instead, it had the more deliberate pacing and rich ensemble acting of the best TV cop shows. That probably was a hard sell to the DC demographic. It also had a grimy look that too often was outright ugly - although the art got better over time. I can't be outraged the comic got cancelled - it had a good run, including a dark, powerful final arc. But I do hope it doesn't cement in comics editors' heads the assumption that there's no room for further experimentation in the superhero genre.
Posted by tedf at February 23, 2006 08:10 PM
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