Gotham Central #30 Review

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Reviewer : Tim Byrne
Story Title : Keystone Kops (Part 3)

Written by : Greg Rucka
Art by : Stefano Gaudiano & Kano
Colored by : Lee Loughridge
Lettered by : Clem Robins
Editor : Matt Idelson
Publisher : DC Comics

I hate to say this on what has been a consistently mature and rewarding title, but this issue just didn’t ‘click’ for me.

The story of Allen and Montoya attempting to save the life of their fellow officer continues, as they negotiate, threaten and bargain with Dr. Alchemy.

I assume it is deliberate, but even if meant as a ‘tribute’ of some kind, the opening discussion between the detectives and the imprisoned Dr. Alchemy makes for one of the more naked ‘Silence of the Lambs’ rip-offs that I’ve ever seen. Heck, just to beat us over the head with the point, Rucka even works ‘Quid Pro Quo’ into the conversation. Having a character then actually EXPLAIN what the phrase means really just adds insult to injury.

At any rate, the negotiation results in Alchemy returning to Gotham and being brought to the injured officer. Several entirely predictable plot twists follow, and we have a cliff-hanger that brings to mind a style of story-telling that has been happily absent from this title for the majority of its run.

One of the things that I have always loved about Gotham Central is that it doesn’t treat its police officers as foolish cannon fodder, and never has. The temptation in super-hero comics (and especially Batman ones) has been to either portray officers as futile incompetents or corrupt cowards. The cops in Gotham Central have always been, although flawed, also smart, tough and reliable.

However, there are a number of mistakes and predictable plot developments in this issue that seem reminiscent of one of the main Batman titles. And that ending…ugh. I like to keep away from that kind of ‘here I come to save the day’ mentality. See the storyline back in issues #1 and #2 for an example of this type of story (involving Batman) done much better.

Anyway, the definite high point is a further development in the Montoya storyline, with a meeting between two people close to her that seems to be going better than we would have dared to hope.

The art is competent, although, as always, the important task is to make sure that the different characters are sufficiently distinguished to make the narrative easy to follow. Gaudiano succeeds in this respect, although the threat and the end of the issue doesn’t succeed in looking particularly threatening.