| Gotham Central | |
|---|---|
 Cover ofGotham Central #1, art by Michael Lark. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | December2002 – April2006 |
| No. of issues | 40 |
| Main character | Gotham City Police Department |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Greg Rucka,Ed Brubaker,Michael Lark |
| Collected editions | |
| In the Line of Duty | ISBN 1-4012-0199-7 |
| Half a Life | ISBN 1401204384 |
| Unresolved Targets | ISBN 1563899957 |
| The Quick and the Dead | ISBN 1401209122 |
| Dead Robin | ISBN 1401213294 |
Gotham Central is apolice proceduralcomic-book series that was published by the comic book publishing companyDC Comics. It was written byEd Brubaker andGreg Rucka, with pencils initially byMichael Lark. The story focused on theGotham City Police Department and the difficulties of its officers living and working inGotham City, home ofBatman.
Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker collaborated on the "Officer Down" Batmancrossover. They wanted to do a series about the police in Gotham City and finally obtained approval from DC executives. The writers wanted Michael Lark forpencils and waited nearly a year to get him onboard due to scheduling, but used the opportunity to plan out the storylines. They plotted out the new series' elements and decided to script the firststory arc together, then split the lengthy cast into two shifts: Rucka would write theGCPD's day shift storylines, Brubaker would take the night shift, and Lark would pencil them both.[1]Gotham Central's debut yieldedEisner Award nominations in 2003 for Best New Series, Best Writer (Rucka), Best Writer (Brubaker), and Best Penciller/Inker (Lark).[2]
Gotham Central repeatedly failed to break the top 100 comics in sales. Despite this,DC Comics were encouraged by the improved sales of thetrade paperback collected editions. In an interview, Ed Brubaker stated that the book sold pretty well and was never in danger of cancellation, outselling almost all of Vertigo's books at the time. Ultimately Lark and Brubaker moved on to other projects, and, after three years of publication, the series ended amid theInfinite Crisis aftermath. It continued to have sales troubles through to the conclusion: issue #37 ranked 102nd place,[3] and issue #38 ranked 120th place[4] on the distributor's charts.[5]
Despite the sales, writerGreg Rucka assured that DC would have continued publishingGotham Central as long as he wanted to write it and that it was his decision to conclude the series. Rucka felt that the book was a co-creation between himself, Lark and Brubaker and when they left, with issue #25 and #37 respectively, it was time to move on. The year-long break provided by theInfinite Crisis event provided an opportune place to close out the main storylines.[6] At one point, Rucka was in talks to replaceGotham Central with a new series calledStreets of Gotham, which would focus on Renee Montoya as a private investigator. Those plans were scrapped in favor of making Montoya a major character in the weekly series52, with Rucka as a co-writer. In 2009, DC released an unrelated series calledBatman: Streets of Gotham that has been described as a mixture ofGotham Central and another canceled Batman series,Batman: Gotham Knights.
TheGotham Central cast was divided between the day and night shifts, with arcs alternating between both sets of characters. Main characters among the ranks of the detectives were Marcus Driver, Romy Chandler,Renee Montoya,Crispus Allen andJosephine "Josie Mac" MacDonald. Their superiors, CommissionerMichael Akins, CaptainMargaret "Maggie" Sawyer and Lieutenant Ron Probson also appeared prominently.Jim Corrigan, a corrupt CSI, features near the end of the series.
The supporting cast was mainly pulled from the large roster of theGotham City Police Department and some characters were subjects of their own story arcs. Long-time supporting characters of Batman,James Gordon andHarvey Bullock, also made recurring appearances. Batman himself, although not often seen, played a prominent role in the series.
| Title | Issues | Writer | Artist | Synopsis/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "In The Line of Duty" | #1–2 | Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka | Michael Lark | Marcus Driver's partner Charlie is killed byMr. Freeze while the pair are investigating a lead, making the MCU (Major Crimes Unit) aware of a bigger plot by Freeze. |
| "Motive" | #3–5 | Brubaker | Lark | The MCU investigate the late Charlie Fields' unsolved case, involving the murder of a teenage girl and the villainFirebug. |
| "Half a Life" | #6–10 | Rucka | Lark | Renee Montoya is outed at the station as alesbian and finds her work environment and personal life turned upside down. The Batman villainTwo-Face appears in this arc, having fallen in love with Montoya and kidnapped her. This is probably the most famousGotham Central story, having won a number ofawards. |
| "Daydreams and believers" | #11 | Brubaker | Brian Hurtt | A story told from the point of view of MCU temp Stacy as she writes to her friend Meg about her life in the MCU and her fantasies (including romantic fantasies about Batman). |
| "Soft Targets" | #12–15 | Brubaker, Rucka | Lark, Stefano Gaudiano | The cops of Gotham find themselves literally under fire from theJoker, as he begins sniping both police and civilians in his murderous campaign. Every second becomes valuable; as to further the damage, the Joker has made a website featuring streaming webcam footage from his next position. |
| "Life is Full of Disappointments" | #16–18 | Greg Scott | A murder investigation is passed between three different sets of detectives across the three issues, allowing a glimpse into the various lives of the detectives. This story also features theHuntress. | |
| "Unresolved" | #19–22 | Brubaker | Lark, Gaudiano | An old murder case involving theMad Hatter is reopened, but the now-disgraced Harvey Bullock suspects that thePenguin is involved. |
| "Corrigan" | #23–24 | Rucka | Lark, Gaudiano | Crispus Allen's job is threatened after corrupt Jim Corrigan removes evidence from a scene. This story also features the death of Batman villain theBlack Spider and ties into the BatmanWar Games crossover. |
| "Lights Out" | #25 | At Akins' orders, theBat-Signal is removed from Gotham Central after the events ofWar Games, which lead the MCU to (further) distrust Batman. | ||
| "On The Freak Beat" | #26–27 | Brubaker | Jason Alexander | A murder investigation in whichCatwoman is a suspect is further complicated when Catwoman learns about Detective Josie Mac's psychic powers, a secret she has kept from the others at the MCU. This story also featuresSlam Bradley. |
| "Keystone Kops" | #28–31 | Rucka | Gaudiano,Kano | An officer is transformed into a monster after an accident involving an old laboratory belonging to theFlash villainDoctor Alchemy. Dr. Alchemy later changes the composition of Renee Montoya's necklace, causing it to permanently scar her chest with thedual venus symbol. |
| "Nature" | #32 | Steve Lieber | A story told from the perspective of one of the many corrupt police officers of Gotham City. This story features the characterPoison Ivy. | |
| "Dead Robin" | #33–36 | Brubaker, Rucka | Kano, Gaudiano | A boy's body is found, wearing aRobin costume. The MCU must assume that the boy really is Robin, and Batman becomes a major suspect. This story also features theTeen Titans. |
| "Sunday Bloody Sunday" | #37 | Rucka | Lieber | Tying into the events ofInfinite Crisis, this story features Crispus Allen trying to get home to his family in a disaster-stricken Gotham City. This issue also featuresCaptain Marvel and the death of theFisherman. |
| "Corrigan II" | #38–40 | Kano, Gaudiano | Allen goes after the corrupt Jim Corrigan, only to be killed. Corrigan uses his connections and well-placed lies to get off clean, persuading a disgusted Montoya to leave the force. |
| Title | Material collected | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| Gotham Central Vol. 1: In the Line of Duty | Gotham Central #1–5 | ISBN 1-4012-0199-7 |
| Gotham Central Vol. 2: Half a Life | Gotham Central #6–10,Batman Chronicles #16,Detective Comics #747 | ISBN 1-4012-0438-4 |
| Gotham Central Vol. 3: Unresolved Targets | Gotham Central #12–15, 19–22 | ISBN 1-56389-995-7 |
| Gotham Central Vol. 4: The Quick and the Dead | Gotham Central #23–25, 28–31 | ISBN 1-4012-0912-2 |
| Gotham Central Vol. 5: Dead Robin | Gotham Central #33–40 | ISBN 1-4012-1329-4 |
| Gotham Central Book One: In the Line of Duty | Gotham Central #1–10 | ISBN 1-4012-1923-3 |
| Gotham Central Book Two: Jokers and Madmen | Gotham Central #11–22 | ISBN 1-4012-2521-7 |
| Gotham Central Book Three: On the Freak Beat | Gotham Central #23–31 | ISBN 978-1-4012-2754-8 |
| Gotham Central Book Four: Corrigan | Gotham Central #32–40 | ISBN 978-1-4012-3003-6 |
| Gotham Central Omnibus | Gotham Central #1–40 | ISBN 978-1-4012-6192-4 |
In August 2006, Brubaker said that he was told that many people atWarner Bros. loved the comic, and that if they had not had a moratorium on Batman television shows, they "could have set upGotham Central at WB in a heartbeat".[7]
A television series titledGotham was in development by Fox in 2013, following the career of Jim Gordon prior to the appearance of Batman.[8] The series premise bears similarities toGotham Central. It premiered on September 22, 2014.[9] To coincide withGotham's premiere, DC Comics issued a reprint ofGotham Central #1, at a special price of $1.[10][11]
An untitled police procedural TV series fromMatt Reeves was in development, to be set in the same continuity as the filmThe Batman.Gotham Central was being considered as a title for the series.[12] The development of the show was revealed to not being moving forward and put on hold in March 2022.
