Gotham City Garage comes to a close. Overall, it was one of those series that started out a little uneven, found its pace, and then stumbled at the finish line. As with Bombshells, the series is/was based on a line of DC merchandise, with variations on established characters. It’s a shaky premise, much like turning a 7-minute SNL skit into a feature film. It rarely works.

In the case of Gotham City Garage, it seemed to run longer than it should have. It seemed to me less a story and more of a showcase, like an hour-long commercial for the aforementioned merch. Thanks, but not thanks. I am less inclined than ever to indulge in the garage culture style figurines the series is based upon.

Let’s consider the title: Gotham City Garage. It implies the garage is IN Gotham City, but in actuality, it isn’t. Gotham is under the heel of Lex Luthor, and the garage is far off in the desert, where the only curb appeal is some abstract form of freedom.

In the end, Luthor is defeated, because, y’know, girl power. That may appeal to some readers in search of some imaginary feeling of empowerment. Since most people are born with the same functioning two arms and two legs and comparable intelligence, I have a hard time giving credibility to such concepts. For me, concepts like inner peace, strength or faith don’t come from outside agent. You either have them inside you or you don’t. You just need to know where to look.

As I said, this book stumbled toward the finish line. Brian Ching’s artwork looks rushed and sketchy, as if the book was published from his pencils without the benefit of an inker. Maybe both DC Comics and Ching were done, and simply eager to move on to a more interesting project.