Gotham Central was one of the best comic series going. Told from the perspective of the Gotham City PD detectives who are trying their best to keep a city that is continually on the brink of madness from going over the edge, it reads like a script to NYPD Blue. If Batman has more than a page of ink per three issue series, it is amazing. And when the caped crusader makes a rare appearance, it isn't always a welcomed one. Afterall when your in the GCPD, you don't have the tools, the gadgets, the freedom from due process, or the backing of the Justice League...you have a gun, a heart, a brain, and a lot of guts.
You live with the knowledge that there is a vigilante who makes you look incompetent; a myth that has brought a level of craziness into your city that did not exist before his arrival; and you live in a constant mixed state of respect and loathing for "The Bat." It was a great series and this TPB is the best of it.
I almost wish that this TPB did not have Joker on the cover holding the sniper rifle. The reveal of him as the sniper terrorizing the streets of Gotham during the busy Christmas shopping season is one of the beset reveals in comics. It quickly pushes the stakes over the top and makes you feel for the characters. But even knowing he is coming will not detract from the greatness of this read. Enjoy!