#2,897 in Books
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Reddit mentions of Gotham Central, Book 1: In the Line of Duty
Sentiment score: 7
Reddit mentions: 15
We found 15 Reddit mentions of Gotham Central, Book 1: In the Line of Duty. Here are the top ones.
or
DC Comics
Specs:
| Color | Black |
| Height | 10.2 Inches |
| Length | 6.7 Inches |
| Number of items | 1 |
| Release date | March 2011 |
| Weight | 0.89948496 Pounds |
| Width | 0.4 Inches |
If you've not read them yet, you might want to check out Batman: Black Mirror which is a detective story with Gordon as the main protagonist or Gotham Central which is basically The Wire set in the Batman universe.
If DC imprints count:
Hush is often regarded as one of the best Batman trades out there, so you're off to a good start.
Here's a rough list of other books you might enjoy, all widly embraced by fans of Batman while staying with a darker tone similar to Hush.
I''d also suggest reading Identity Crisis. Batman isn't the only character of the story, and while he doesn't make many appearances when he does he certainly makes an impact. Lastly, Gotham Central is also a great read, but it focuses on the GCPD MCU rather than on Batman himself, and how they deal with supervillains and working in a city with a masked vigilante.
Hope this helps.
Paging /u/theamazingspiderlin
Clears throat
Detective Renee Montoya. "Now why would anyone choose a Detective in the Gotham City Police Department?" A very good question. Sure, she's not a superhero in the sense of having powers as Clark, Diana, or Barry. She's just a human being who has a normal job. While Batman is also just a human with no superpowers, I don't think it's fair to compare Renee to Batman as they're in two different categories. There's nothing "normal" about Bruce.
Renee to me inspires hope. Everyone, regardless of race, creed, or sexual orientation can be a force for good. Even if you've got a job that isn't particularly glamorous, but it's a job that's necessary. To me her role as a Detective in a city that's corrupt from the inside out, says a lot about her character. I can also sort of relate in that here in New York, there is a HUGE anti-police sentiment. The media takes every chance they can get to paint the cops as bad guys. And I get it, yes there are instances of police corruption/violence/racial bias. But at the same time, I can't ignore the good work police do. If they didn't do a good job, I'm fairly confident there'd be a LOT more crime in the city as a whole.
Renee's also had to deal with a LOT of shit. If you haven't read Half A Life in Gotham, you should stop reading this post and go buy Gotham Central In The Line of Duty right now. As cliche as it sounds, you don't need to wear a cape or a suit to be a hero. Renee's tough and I'd gladly join the GCPD to work with her.
Shameless plug of a Renee Montoya commission Michael Lark did for me
What I was hoping gotham show would be: Gotham Central
For Chinese characters, read Gail Simone's All New Atom.
For Hispanic and African American (and bi) characters read Gotham Central.
A number of Milestone comics (Milestone being an imprint from the 90's that featured a large roster of black characters) are being re-released in trade pretty soon.
There's a lot more but those are one I liked a lot.
I think it would benefit the show if the show-runners realized that a slow-burn is best.
We just got to Gotham, let's explore it with interesting crime cases, detective work and corrupt cops.
I would love to sit in on a mobsters' meeting or a crocked courtroom scene (where it's obvious the defendant is being railroaded, but everyone is helpless to stop it). Show us what happens to the shop-owner who can't pay the cops his protection money. There's no need to shoe-horn in villains or add elements just to have a "Batman" feel.
We as an audience understand that this takes place in a world without Batman, so a departure from the Gotham as we have come to know it is necessary. Show us why Gotham needs Batman.
One of the best scenes so far is when Bullock was tracking down a perp, beating up pimps, pimps-slappin hoes. The lighting in the series is FANTASTIC. Keep us with that gritty-Gotham feel (Think New York in the 70's and This)
I have great hopes for this show and an anticipation when it finds its footing.
Here's hoping it becomes the show we all know it can be.
P.S. Gotham Central is a phenomenal detective series that just happens to take place in Gotham City. The location and Batman tie in's are all just a backdrop for some cool characters and detective work that takes place in the DC universe.
If you haven't already, check it out.
Introduction to Comics
How to Get Into Comic Books (13:40) | Patrick Willems
Consider your intent/commitment. Think about your favorite shows, movies, books, etc. Reading primarily for enjoyment or encyclopedic knowledge? Collecting? Have the time/resources to read 50 or 500 comics per character?
Don’t try to read everything at once. There’s too much. Forget about catching up, continuity, universes, etc. for now. Older comics can be an acquired taste for modern audiences, so they aren’t necessarily ideal starting points. Writers change often, characters get re-worked, and origins are re-told. Remember, there are many great characters, creators, publishers, etc. to explore.
Pick an interesting character/team and seek their most popular/acclaimed stories. Focus on self-contained, complete stories in one corner of the universe. There will be unexplained references/characters, just persevere or Wiki. Don’t let the tangled web of shared-universe comics overwhelm you. Think of it like solving a jigsaw puzzle one small piece at a time until you finally see the big picture.
Discover your preferences and let them guide you. Don’t get stuck preparing/over-analyzing, just start reading. Do you like/dislike old/new comics? Specific writers/genres? Cartoony/realistic art? Familiar/weird concepts? References/self-contained? All-ages/mature content? Follow these instincts. Didn’t understand a reference? Maybe read that next.
Acquire/Buy comics:
Marvel
DC
You can skip to the 2016 re-launch with DC Universe: Rebirth and then any Rebirth series #1.
Other
The first arc of Trees by Warren Ellis has several LGBT characters, including some trans folk. I thought it was pretty interesting. It's collected here.
Also, Kaptara isn't out yet - the first issue is next month - but the main character is gay. Obviously it's not out yet, but I like the creators quite a bit.
As far as Batwoman, the Pre-New52 arc was much better than the New 52 stories, imo. It can be found here. Greg Rucka is a much better writer than JH Williams III and co.
Which reminds me, Gotham Central by Rucka and Brubaker features a LGBT lead character. And it's really good. One of the story arc deals with the characters sexual orientation being outted.
Loved Bad Blood... It's about time the animated movies extend the Bat family. I don't know if you've read a lot of the comics but, a lot of the time Batman isn't the most compelling character in his books. His rouges, entourage and many times the GCPD steal the show.
In fact, check out GCPD
https://www.amazon.com/Gotham-Central-Book-Line-Duty/dp/1401220371
Batman: The Man Who Laughs is a really good Joker story by Ed Brubaker with art by Doug Mahnke.
Also by Ed Brubaker (co-authored with Greg Rucka), I bet your boyfriend would like the series Gotham Central, which is about members of the police force in Gotham City dealing with being caught between Batman and the supervillains.
In that case, I'd say pick a character and start from the beginning of a "run" - meaning, a series of issues written by the same author. The best way to do this is via "trades" which are paperback books that collect a bunch of issues into one.
A few suggestions that I've personally enjoyed and are good to start with (with Amazon links to the first trade, but also, make sure you use your local library - either taking out physical copies or digitally via Hoopla):
Ultimate Spider-Man - Brian Michael Bendis
Fantastic Four - Waid / Wieringo
Gotham Central - Michael Brubaker
Daredevil - Mark Waid
Astonishing X-Men - Joss Whedon
Batman: Year One - Frank Miller
There are also tons of guides online, so if you have a specific character you want to start with, you can just google "best _____ comics to start with" and get some suggestions.
Don't be afraid to just jump in. Individual story lines for the most part can stand alone without any background.
EDIT: added the hyphen for the bot :)
I'm starting off the Gotham Central Trades, and they are REALLY good. I kinda wish that Gotham had modeled itself after the trades a little more closely.
They're pretty amazing.
Gotham Central Book 1: In the Line of Duty
Gotham Central Book 2: Jokers and Madmen
Gotham Central Book 3: On the Freak Beat
Gotham Central Book 4: Corrigan
http://www.amazon.com/Gotham-Central-Book-Line-Duty/dp/1401220371/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464034979&sr=1-3&keywords=Gotham+Central+Omnibus
http://www.amazon.com/X-Men-Dark-Phoenix-Chris-Claremont/dp/0785164219/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464034961&sr=1-1&keywords=Dark+Phoenix+Saga
http://www.amazon.com/Nextwave-H-T-E-Complete-Collection/dp/0785198393/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464035053&sr=1-1&keywords=Nextwave
http://www.amazon.com/Scene-Crime-Ed-Brubaker/dp/1607066327/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464035093&sr=1-1&keywords=Scene+of+the+Crime+brubaker
http://www.amazon.com/Batgirl-Robin-Year-Chuck-Dixon/dp/140124033X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464035149&sr=1-1&keywords=Robin+Batgirl+Year+One
http://www.amazon.com/Lobster-Johnson-Vol-Iron-Prometheus/dp/1593079753/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464035186&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=Lobster+Johnson+iron+porometheus
http://www.amazon.com/Lobster-Johnson-2-Burning-Hand/dp/1616550317/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0A0BF2MXWWA82BKQTEM0
I have an explanation for that, when Bruce Waynes parents died he decided he would fight for justice, that let to him going to any mean to bring a criminal to justice, and that wasn't street justice, he turns them into the police.
The reason the police can't keep any of the criminal is jail is that all charges on them have to get dropped as the police cannot use any evidence that Batman gets them, for these reasons
1 Gotham PD is not allowed to recognize that the Batman even exists (Gotham Central)
2 Batman is a criminal for his vigilantieism (Batman the animated series)
3 Since he is a known criminal any evidence brought to the police by him is inadmissible in court because the criminal has too much of a defense by saying it was tampered with, since no-one knows Batman's methods
They are only held until trial and then released, and for the Joker most of the time they can claim insanity and then lock them up, but if all the criminals are in one location it is harder to move them around safely and they get out.
It's the stuff they do not show you about the Batman stuff that shows how he screws up Gotham more.
Check out the Series called Gotham Central