Gotham Central

December 11, 2014 11:19 AM

Ed Brubaker looking back on writing Batman, Catwoman and Gotham Central - an epic three part interview from Comics Alliance: 1, 2, 3

A previous interview with fellow Gotham Central writer Greg Rucka: 1, 2 3
posted by Artw (23 comments total)

There is also a TV show of some kind.
posted by Artw at 11:20 AM on December 11, 2014

From what I understand, the TV show is about the young Penguin's up-and-coming days in the criminal underworld.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:59 AM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]

God, I miss GCPD. It was amazing.
posted by joyceanmachine at 12:21 PM on December 11, 2014 [5 favorites]

When I thought Gotham might be GCPD, I was so happy. I should have known better.
posted by triage_lazarus at 12:43 PM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]

Paul Dini and Kevin Smith spitballed an idea for a young Bruce Wayne show on Smith's podcast, ending up with something that sounds a little like Gotham Academy. I think I'd probably be more into the Gotham show if it was little more like than than Gotham Central with extra mini-Bruce.
posted by Artw at 12:51 PM on December 11, 2014

There's a lot to like in the tv show... Young Penguin is awesome, not yet Riddler is fun as teenage Cat Woman, Alfred is great... Jim Gordon is ok as are the rest of the other regulars. Well all except kid Bruce Wayne who is boring as all hell.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 1:05 PM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]

not yet Riddler is fun as teenage Cat Woman

Wow...I've missed a few episodes, but that is an unexpected twist.
posted by jedicus at 2:03 PM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]

Wow...I've missed a few episodes, but that is an unexpected twist.

Oh sorry, spoilers!
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:28 PM on December 11, 2014

That was the series that convinced me that most of my favourite Batman stories are the ones where he's only tangentially involved.
posted by whittaker at 2:48 PM on December 11, 2014

There's still a few issues off Gotham Central which have never been collected in TPB format, but which are almost impossible to find as individual comics. I keep hoping DC will see the TV show as an opportunity to package these up as a GCPD "lost files" volume so I can finally read them.
posted by Paul Slade at 4:05 PM on December 11, 2014

That was the series that convinced me that most of my favourite Batman stories are the ones where he's only tangentially involved.

I think it's the series that cemented both Rucka and Brubaker as writers capable of carrying off crime stuff without capes involved.
posted by Artw at 4:34 PM on December 11, 2014

I watched Brubaker on that board game show with Will Wheaton, they were playing Pandemic, and he seems pretty insufferable but he and Rucka sure wrote the fuck out of those Gotham Central books. Absolute diamonds, and the last good thing DC ever did. I don't think either of them have been as good since, but I'm generally pretty uncharitable anyway.
posted by turbid dahlia at 6:59 PM on December 11, 2014

Goddamnit I'm going to buy myself the set for xmas.
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:00 PM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]

Paul Slade, every issue seems to be available on comixology at 2 bucks a pop.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 7:05 PM on December 11, 2014

Rucka did some pretty good writing right after that on 52 and Checkmate. He also did some of the best least bad parts of the bloated DC crossovers, if I remember right (no guarantees; they all blend together in my mind).
posted by knuckle tattoos at 7:10 PM on December 11, 2014

I'm a big fan of Rucka's Stumptown.
posted by Artw at 10:13 PM on December 11, 2014

Paul Slade, every issue seems to be available on comixology at 2 bucks a pop.

Thanks very much - I'll check that out.
posted by Paul Slade at 12:49 AM on December 12, 2014

For Brubaker of course I recommend Criminal and the various other things he's done with Sean Philips.
posted by Artw at 6:53 AM on December 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

I love Rucka's work, superhero and non-, and Gotham Central was very enjoyable, but if it were used as the direct basis of a TV series, I think its debt to The Wire would show through. A Renee Montoya Question series, on the other hand, could work wonderfully.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:07 AM on December 12, 2014

[…]but if it were used as the direct basis of a TV series, I think its debt to The Wire would show through.

Feature, not a bug.
posted by whittaker at 2:52 PM on December 12, 2014

Both started in 2002 I guess so it was the year for that sort of thing...
posted by Artw at 2:55 PM on December 12, 2014

If it were used as the direct basis of a TV series, I think its debt to The Wire would show through.

In the interview, Brubaker cites David Simon's Homicide: Life On the Street rather than The Wire as one of GCPD's inspirations. Personally, I've always thought it draws most on NYPD Blue.
posted by Paul Slade at 2:33 AM on December 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

Bah, should have checked the dates. (I didn't get Gotham Central until some years after it ended, and after I'd already watched The Wire and started to get into Rucka's work in general.)
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:01 PM on December 13, 2014