Gotham Central Book One: In the Line of Duty [Hardcover]

Ed Brubaker (Author), Greg Rucka (Author), Michael Lark (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2008

The first ten issues of the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning series is collected in hardcover for the first time! Written by Ed Brubaker (Captain America) and Greg Rucka (Detective Comics, 52), this series pitted the detectives of Gotham City's Special Crimes Unit against the city's greatest villains – in the shadow of Batman himself.
This volume collects two cases of the Gotham Special Crimes Unit. In the first, a cop is killed by Mister Freeze, and the squad is in a race against time to bring him in without the help of the Dark Knight. In the second story–the acclaimed, award-winning “Half a Life”–Detective Renee Montoya is outed as a lesbian and finds her work environment and personal life turned upside down. Things only become more complicated when she’s kidnapped by Two-Face. This debut volume features an introduction by acclaimed mystery author Lawrence Block.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (September 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401219233
• ISBN-13: 978-1401219239
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.6 x 10.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #753,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Police Drama in the World of Costumed Vigilantes, October 28, 2008

By 

David Suiter (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gotham Central Book One: In the Line of Duty (Hardcover)

Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker team up to write a stellar police drama set in Batman's home, Gotham City. Michael Lark provides the outstanding art work for this crime drama.

There are three stories contained in this great collection. The first has the writers co-writing a plot introducing us to the night and day shifts of GCPD and the Major Crimes Unit as they take on Mr. Freeze.

Brubaker then tackles the mystery of a kidnapping and murder. With plenty of plots and twists to keep an mystery fan jumping for more.

Rucka takes a more personal look at one of Gotham's Finest, Renee Montoya, as she deals with personal issues and the revenge of a twisted perp she arrested who was released on a technicality.

One of the strongest highlights was seeing how these police officers deal with a city that is protected by the Batman. The spectre of the Batman looms over each story but Batman only makes brief appearances. Brilliant handling by the writers to ground a real world story in the world of costumed vigilantes.

I can't wait for the next volume.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gotham Central - Read This Now!, August 18, 2010

By 

Matthew L. Brown - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gotham Central Book One: In the Line of Duty (Hardcover)

Length:: 2:21 Mins

I love just about every single thing about this book. It's written by two of my all-time favorite writers, Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker. It's drawn fantastically by Michael Lark. It's a police procedural. It's set in Gotham City. When factors like these combine to create a comic as incredible as this, it's as if the stars in the heavens above have aligned. Seriously though, Gotham Central is the most unique take on life in Gotham City that I've ever seen, and you'd be remiss in not checking it out.

So we hear you're looking for something to read. That's great because we've got a ton of recommendations on what comics you should be checking out. Every week we'll pick out one gem from the longboxes or trade shelves that you absolutely cannot miss. We're talking mainstream, indie, full storylines, single issues, and beyond. If there's a comic we enjoy that we think you will too, you'll hear all about it on Read This Now!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This would make a great TV show on HBO, November 3, 2008

By 

Matt Tomerlin - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gotham Central Book One: In the Line of Duty (Hardcover)

A great read for adult Batman fans. There's not much of the Bat, but I found that refreshing. It focuses on the cops, and their resentment toward Batman for solving the crimes they cannot. I really started empathizing with each of the characters. The art is also very nice, and evokes a Year One quality. Highly recommended. I'd love to see this made into a TV show on HBO.