Gotham Central

There were a lot of things to love about Gotham Central. But I think one of the things I loved most was how scary it made the villains seem.

I absolutely love villains. I read comics for the villains as much as the heroes. It's the villains that drive each and every story; without them there really isn't much to draw interest. And Gotham City has the best villains, bar none.

The only problem is, when you pit these villains against Batman -- no matter how scary and powerful they may be initially -- they start to pale over time (though the Joker still gives me a chill when used correctly).

But in Gotham Central we had the chance to see ordinary cops -- people without gadgets or powers or decades of training -- go up against these monsters. I just reread the first two issues of the series, and I was struck by how absolutely horrifying Mister Freeze was. I never get that vibe in other comics. It's because he's usually facing off against Batman -- and you know Batman's gonna win.

But when it's a couple of Gotham detectives going up against Freeze, we don't know what'll happen. And you never knew what the monsters of Gotham would do to these officers of the law. Because the monsters of Gotham are capable of anything.