*No Spoilers*
Collects BATMAN: GORDON OF GOTHAM #1-4, BATMAN: GCPD #1-4 and BATMAN: GORDON’S LAW #1-4.
Gotham City Police Commissioner Jim Gordon stars in this new collection of crime stories from the 1990s that stars the colorful, determined cops of Batman’s home town.
The first story in this volume, Batman: Gordon’s Law, Commissioner Gordon has stumbled upon a coverup of a huge money laundering bust, the only trace is the few remaining $1,000 dollar bills.
However, Commissioner Gordon refuses Batman’s aide. Thus, he starts his mission to bust up the corruption within the Gotham Police Department.
I felt like this novel set the tone for the rest of this collection. It was gritty, rough, and brought Gordon into a light not many others get to see. He might be the commissioner of Gotham City, but he’s still a cop no matter what politics may dictate.
Seeing him take on this case without much of Batman’s aide, makes you truly see how rough and corrupt not only the Gotham Police Department is, but Gotham City as a whole. Gordon is just one man, but he’s doing his best to clean up the police corruption.
The second story, Batman: GCPD includes three stories from three of Gotham City’s finest detectives. I have read some of the comics surrounding the GCPD, and I have enjoyed them. It’s interesting to see an inside look into Gotham’s police department.
The story starts when Sargent Harvey Bullock beats up a costumed low-life and his partner goes to request a transfer. Commissioner Gordon grants her the transfer, and so he reassigns Bullock a new partner. All while Harvey is dealing with a rampant serial killer, Internal Affairs breathing down his neck, and his partner getting kidnapped on her new case. As well as another set of detectives on the hunt for a string of high-stakes thefts.
I found Sargent Bullock’s case the most interesting, someone in Gotham is going around killing seemingly random men and only leaving them with a teddy bear dressed up as their profession. The mystery was entertaining and intriguing.
Overall, I enjoyed this second story in this collection. I would say the writing was good, and the characters had interesting storylines and characteristics.
The final and main story: Batman: Gordon of Gotham is as fantastic as the other two stories in this epic volume. The story is about Gordon opening up to Batman about a time in his past when he was a beat cop in Chicago. He shares a story about an assassin who got away.
I love how Gordon is telling Batman a story about his past. Both are lonely characters and to see them bonding in this way makes me happy. I just figured the this was just Gordon getting something off of his chest. Boy, was I wrong!
After storytime is over, Batman tells Gordon something he already knew he had to do: go get sweet vengeance.
Overall these three stories, I enjoyed each of them for different reasons. I would highly recommend this collection for lovers of crime dramas, Commissioner James Gordon, and of course Batman. Even though Batman doesn’t have that much of a presence in this collection, it’s not Batman’s story, it’s the hard-working detectives at GCPD who make this collection worth reading.
Elisha's Book Reviews 
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