Batman: Officer Down

    (DC, 2001)
™ and ©2001 DC Comics

On the night of his birthday, Commissioner James Gordon, Gotham City’s top cop, is shot in the back by a mysterious assailant. All leads point to Catwoman, but as Gordon’s fellow cops—and the entire Batman family of heroes—soon learn, the shooter is someone none of them could have expected. Worse still, he may get away with the crime entirely.

This collected edition, drawing from the story arc that ran through the various Batman titles, as well as Catwoman, Nightwing, Robin, and Birds of Prey, is a great police drama, and one where the Caped Crudader plays a mere supporting role. Instead, it’s the detectives on the Gotham police force—and Commissioner Gordon himself—who take the spotlight. And why not? Gordon has been a part of the Batman mythos from Day One (he debuted in Detective Comics #27, too), and one the most enduring supporting characters in DC Comics history, second only to Lois Lane. It’s about time he got center-stage. While not as sweeping as earlier Batman story arcs like “No Man’s Land,” “Officer Down” is a thriller with real substance, and real consequence, as events lead Gordon to one of the most dramatic decisions of his life.
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