296. GCPD #2 ... DC ...

Honestly, this is a hard issue to review and we are not just talking about the themes and diverse characters because this book ... though is about the police officers in Gotham where Batman lives and operates ... reads more like adult-oriented or a Vertigo slice of life book

As this is issue 2 in the series (that lasted more than 3 years) ... I didn't pick it up owing to its "average" covers ... and only tried one issue that had Robin on the cover ... but when it came out on digital and I sampled issue 1, I was hooked

It is great reading!

We have the entire squad of GCPD as potential main stars for each issue along with all others including the coroner, ambulance drivers, etc

And in issue 2, we start off with a crime ... or a murder ... and all evidence points to Mr Freeze. The only challenge here is that Mr Freeze kills his victims now by freezing them ice-solid. But why? He is not a petty criminal. So what is he after? And as it is a supers type of crime, should they call in the Bats or not?

Some are agreeable, others not so and want to prove that the GCPD is equipped to handle all sorts of crimes. Raveling or rather unraveling alongside the clues comes the lives of a few selected officers. We get more hints in each issue as stuff like lesbianism, corruption, drugs etc move to centerstage

And finally because it is early days in this series, we get the bits and pieces of Batman as if he is merely one of an ensemble cast

All in all, a good read

Ratings: 6/10