Gotham Central: Half A Life By Greg Rucka Discussed August 2005 Buy Gotham Central: Half A Life from Amazon.com Buy Gotham Central: Half A Life from Lambda Rising

Questions

1. Gotham Central: Half A Life contains both the original five issues of "Half A Life" from Gotham Central, as well as two previously published stories from three and four years earlier featuring Detective Renee Montoya and Two-Face. Do you think these two additional stories should have been included in the collection?
2. Montoya was originally a minor character made popular by the "Batman: The Animated Series" tv show. Had you encountered the character before reading Gotham Central: Half A Life? If so, did this affect your reading of the book? Did familiarity with the character (or lack thereof) make Montoya seem more or less sympathetic?
3. There are three lesbian characters in "Half A Life"; Montoya, Daria, and Captain Maggie Sawyer. How do you think writer Greg Rucka handled their depictions? Did he use stereotypes in defining these characters within the story, keeping in mind that Montoya and Sawyer were both pre-existing characters?
4. There are numerous continuing characters and situations in "Half A Life" as part of both a continuing series as well as part of the "DC Universe". Did you find this confusing when characters like Josie Mac appeared, or references to things such as the earthquake/No Man's Land? Did Rucka do a good job of keeping things understandable to new readers?
5. Did you find Montoya's coming out process realistic? What about her relationship with Daria?
6. How did you feel about Michael Lark's art in "Half A Life"? Do you think his realistic style is good or ill-suited to a book that contains both cop procedurals and fantastic characters like Batman and Two-Face? Did you like his art more or less than Jason Pearson's ("Two Down") or William Rosado ("Happy Birthday Two You")? What did you think of the different coloring styles used in the book; both the full colored version of "Two Down" or the limited palette in the rest of the book?
7. What did you think of the ending to "Half A Life"? Did you find it satisfying? Do you want to read more Gotham Central?
8. Would you want to have another graphic novel down the line at a Lambda Sci-Fi book discussion?