by Greg Rucka & Michael Lark (with Pearson, Rosado, Smith, Mitchell).
Publisher: DC/Titan Books
Brubaker and Rucka provide alternate story arcs on this title, and the transitions are seamless: you really can't tell the difference. It's tense, dramatic and absorbing crime precinct fiction which just happens to take place in Gotham, and so once every so often one of its infamous denizen's will raise their crazy heads. I'm going to talk about Lark first, because he does for this book what Risso does for 100 BULLETS or what Guy Davis did for SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE - he anchors the action firmly in its environment, replete with its own atmosphere, which in this case consists of the contemporary street-level activity of a predominantly dark and dangerous American city. The regular cast are all members of the MCU (Major Crimes Unit), who tend to deal with crimes that don't predispose them all to be as kindly as you might like. I don't mean they're just tough, they're also rough - as often as not to each other - and they don't get much help from the regular cops on the beat either. But they're human, and they have lives of their own, even if some of them would prefer to leave them at home.
Case in point: officer Renée Montoya. She's actually one of the most approachable and dedicated officers they have. But she's being stalked by Marty Lipari, a man who got off on an easy rape case because the evidence "went missing". Hell, he's even suing her for damages to the tune of ten million dollars, and he's hired a Private Eye to take photographs of her. Now the Private Eye is dead, Lipari is missing, and the photographs have found their way not only onto the precinct walls. Soon Lipari will be dead, Monotoya's gun will be found at the crime scene, and a stash of coke in her home. Of course it's a set-up, but why? What's on those photographs? And how much worse is Renée's life going to get before she even begins to understand the trouble she's in?
This arc won the 2004 Eisner Award for best story. Now, for my money, the Eisner judges are way too disposed towards corporate fare at the expense of the truly remarkable, but this is one award I won't begrudge, because I was on the edge of my seat throughout. You'll love Montoya, you'll feel for her, and if you think I've given stuff away, I've barely scratched the surface. I wouldn't do that to you, and with that in mind I implore you - absolutely implore you - not to read the introduction. I'd also skip the extra stuff they've bundled in (early Batman work by Rucka) which does introduce Montoya, but may put you off because the quality isn't as high. You can go back and read that later. It adds nothing to the story. Go straight to page 51. Do you trust me? Go straight to page 51.
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