I did like being able to see the parallels between Maggie and Renee and the differences in their experiences. How the city they come from shaped them and how their families shaped them. Some cops talk behind Maggieās back but they donāt dare say anything to her face. With Renee they get bold and harass her up front. I loved the part where Maggie told Renee that if anyone bothered Renee she wanted Renee to be the one to let her know and not someone else. It was really cool seeing the two of them like that.
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Thank you all for another great week. If you are still working through Gotham Central, donāt fret. Weāll be happy to read your thoughts/opinions whenever you are ready to share them.
Week 4 will cover Batgirl (2011-) #19-24, and issue #45. Hope to see you there 
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So some thoughts after finishing this arc:
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This was an amazing story. No wonder it won the award. It was heartwrenching and heartwarming. Thatās hard to pull off. The homophobia and misogyny was strong in issue #7 so it was a bit of a tough read, but Renee was such a strong character that you knew sheāll be okay. I still wanted to give her lots of huggles. I really loved the realism and groundedness with which Gotham and its citizens were portrayed. Little details like the morning news report on the radio gave so much life to the city. I prefer my comics to be like this, realistic as much as possible.
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The art was fabulous. I love outlandish artwork when it fits the story, but this clearly required a more subdued but no less beautiful art. Itās gritty, realistic, and just so good. The coloring work also deserves praise for its excellent color palette, itās subdued as well, almost pastel, and draws you in so much.
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Even though she had a fairly small part in this, I loved Dee. Their tender moment with Renee at the coffee place was such a sweet moment, a short scene but showed a lot of their relationship.
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Special shout-out to Detective Allen and MacKenzie, I mean MacDonald! Allen was a true partner and a great supporting character, and I loved Josie right away. Oh god I want this to be made into a TV show so bad now. I know police procedurals get a bad rep for being too samey or whatnot, but if DC would adapt stories like this, it would be amazing, gritty, and win all kinds of acclaim, just like this story did.
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Reneeās vindication at the station at the end made me cry. Such good writing and artwork. Just so perfect. And that final āIāve got youā?
This was an excellent choice, a book Iāve been meaning to get to for a long time. Thank you for picking it, @nu52 with special thanks to @Jay_Kay for prompting it! Iāll keep reading this series to the end for sure!
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!. I knew I was invested when I too wanted to give Renee hugs 
The fact that they could make us care for her that deeply in such a short period of time is a testament to how good this story is. It probably is due to the fact that itās so realistic. You could relate to Renee and the other characters because theyāre able to be more of a window for us and be more of who we might be if we were in Gotham.
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Yes! The coloring definitely deserves a lot of credit as well. I believe Lee Loughridge did the colors. Great work.
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Aww that scene was adorable. It felt like a small little slice of life. It was because of scenes like that one that I could see this being a movie or a streaming show.
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There are plenty of cop shows out there, but youāre right. This should be adapted. It is just different to everything out there. It did remind me a little of SVU when that was at the top of their game. Allen and how much trust he had in Montoya made their partnership feel completely authentic. MacKenzie, oops MacDonald, instantly made herself a character I felt I had read for issues on end. Love that she would push back when she knew she had something worth pushing for even when Allen wasnāt listening. Hope we get to see more of her later in the series.
5.The final āIāve got youā got me I even had to post the pic in this thread.
Yes, thank you @Jay_Kay. You really got us all invested in Renee Montoya now.
Thanks @Yazme because you made me aware of this particular story. <3
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@nu52 that last panel was everything. The last couple of pages I couldnāt hold back the tears because of everything Renee had to go through. First being outed like that, and some of her co-workerās vile reactions, and then being framed for murder while her girlfriend was being threatened by a rapist and her parents finding out that the photo wasnāt faked. Itās too much. And through it all she kept her cool as much as she could and in the end when sheās with Two-Face, I felt like it was almost too much abuse. So many emotions all through these issuesā¦ This story is up there with Batwoman: Elegy for me for some of the best in comics ever.
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@Mae I just saw the DC Daily cast talk about Batwoman: Elegy. You saying itās up there with this story makes me want to jump right into that story now. Iāll have to check that one out soon.
Renee went through so much. Every aspect of her life was affected by Two-Faceās actions. She handled all of it as best she could, and I know sheāll come out stronger after all of it is said and done.
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I just started reading Gotham Central and just noticed that it was picked for book club. I really like seeing Gotham through other characters eyes. Iāve been familiar with Montoya since Batman the Animated Series and before New 52 when she becomes the Question. Renee goes through so much in these few issues from her parents, her brother and her co-workers. Two-Face, in his own messed up way was trying to get her to break down and just lose control. Luckily Renee is a strong character that endures all the crap sheās put through. Iām plowing my way through this series and I like the way the GCPD deals with the super villains. Small things like who is allowed to turn on the batsignal are pretty cool.
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@hotstufflouieb Yeah, I guess I had never thought about it, but it makes sense for certain people to not be able to turn the batsignal on. This made Two-Face really scary to me in a way he hadnāt been before. It was really intense what he did.
Really glad we got your thoughts on this seies/story. Thanks for joining 
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I wish DC did a new series similar to this, gritty realistic drama.
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Me too! Do you think itād be best to revive Gotham Central or to take the approach to another setting? I really would like to see the take on the reporters of DC and what they have to go through to get the story.
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Gotham Central might be cool to see again but I think a whole new settings would be better. Yeah, I really like the idea of focusing on reporters. Could still be Gotham or another city, doing investigative journalism.
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Weāll be getting something like that soon with Greg Ruckaās Lois Lane maxi-series.
In terms of similar series, I am reminded of Gotham By Midnight (not Gotham AFTER Midnight, I made the same mistake looking this up), which is also about cops in Gotham City, but with a supernatural bent, where Jim Corrigan/The Spectre and a group of misfit police try to solve supernatural crime and stop it ā not just before Batman solves it, but before The Spectre decides to come in and stop it in a way that would destroy Gotham in the process.
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