Product Description

For almost as long as there has been a Batman, Commissioner Jim Gordon has been his trusted ally within the GCPD. But now Gordon lies perilously close to death, shot by person or persons unknown, and for once the Dark Knight Detective hasn't a clue. Their relationship was sorely tested during No Man's Land, but survived. Now, though the unstated partnership may be dissoved. Forever. Together, Batman, Nightwing, Robin, Catwoman and Batgirl must pool their resources to catch a killer. But regardless of the outcome, for Jim Gordon this will be his last case. The new dark-edged noir tome established by Batman: Evolution continues...in the most shocking Batman story of all!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #858424 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 168 pages

About the Author
Greg Rucka has written extensively for all the Batman titles, and has contributed to Batman: No Man's Land Vols 1-5. His creator-owned graphic novel, Whiteout, has received huge critical acclaim.

Customer Reviews

One of the best Batman collections around
I mean it. This is an excellent collection. The tale of the shooting of Commissioner Gordon is riveting reading, forgoing super-hero antics for a good Detective story in which Batman takes no active role in the proceedings, but his influence is felt throughout.

The basic story is that Jim Gordon is shot on his birthday and lies in intensive care. Catwoman is the prime suspect, but is actually innocent. As Batman mourns his friend, Gotham's vigilantes and the city police race to find and convict the shooter.

Jim Gordon was the best written character in the No Man's Land saga, and his rift with Batman that ran throughout the series showed the reality of a cop working with a super-hero. This relationship continues here. When Batman learns of the shooting (whilst taking down some minor villains), he goes into a blind rage, almost killing them. He then spends the majority of the time by Gordon's bedside, unable to cope with the loss of a close friend and ally. The stand out scene between the two has to be after Gordon's retirement, set in the same garden that featured throughout No Man's Land, as the ex-police officer reveals how his job has destroyed his daughter and his wife. Comic books (especially DC comic books) rarely bother with secondary characterisation (just take a look at the current Superman books), but Batman books are the exception to the rule.

This can be seen in the large role given to the Gotham City Police Department in the tale. They are the real stars, and the potential for storylines featuring the police in a city plagued with super villains is relaised here, as well as in the subsequent Gotham Central series. The best sequence is the one where Detectives Montoya and Allen try to extract a confession from the guilty party. Allen's reluctance to 'use the Bat' (i.e. threaten returbution from Batman) is well justified, and the consequences of his decision alter the course of the book drastically.

Hardcore Batman fans will be disappointed by the lack of involvement from Batman and his family of vigilantes. Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl and Azrael do play an important role, capturing Catwoman and uncovering the murder weapon, and Nightwing porvides emotional support for Barbara Gordon, who enjoys an extended part in the drama. Too often she is reduced to the role of Oracle, just handing out pertinent information to aid the Dark Knight. Here, she is able to be a crime-fighter and daughter in the same pages - the stand-out scene being when she (as Oracle) has heard of her father's shooting, but has to wait as Barbara Gordon to be told by the police.

There are only a few detractors from the book. The depiction of characters varies from artist to artist, with a guilty party changing from brunette to blonde almost randomly. Azrael is particularly poorly defined. And whoever the pander brothers anywhere near the pages of a Batman book should be shot, as their depiction of Harvey Bullock as a thin man, and Batman as Albert Steptoe in a skint-tight suit leaves a lot to be desired.

However, don't let the art detract from this well-written and well-plotted storyline. If Batman was like this all of the time, he really would be the World's Greatest Detective.

A more human Batman makes for a better story.
Since No-Mans Land Greg Rucka and the new team of writers have suceeded in making Batman (as well as the supporting cast) seem fresher and more rounded.
This story brillantly captures the complex relationship between Gordon, Batman and the entire Gotham Police Dept's view of the vigilante. This new crime-noir orientated approach to Batman stories is a fantastic approach, even giving Batman and Gotham a more realistic feel than seen pre-earthquake. The artwork is also superb, leaning towards a more natural style whilst remaining as sophiscated as ever.

A must for batman fans
Taking place in the "New Gotham" series, Officer Down sees an attempted assasination of Commissioner Gordon on the day of his retirement.

Rather than portraying the Dark Night as the mean machine we all know and love, it goes deeper than that, portraying the man behind the mask, powerless, as he stands watching Commissioner Gordans, and more importantly, his best friends life ebb away in the hospital ward.

The case is left down to his proteges, Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, Azreal, and Oracle, to hunt down the only known witness, Catwoman, and discover the assilants true identity.

No supervillans this time round, but still a first class advanture no true Dark Knight fan should be without.