Exclusive Preview of Gotham City: Year One!
Never before seen: The first few pages of the new book--with art by Phil Hester!
Well this is going to be fun.
As I’m sure I’ve said too many times and will soon say too many more times: the great and powerful Phil Hester I have a new limited series coming out in a few weeks—Gotham City: Year One. It features brilliant colors and letters by my old friends (and fellow members of team Vision) Jordie Bellaire and Clayton Cowles, and here for the first time, I get to show you some pages!
As background, this book is the story of how Gotham went from being just another fine American city to being GOTHAM CITY—the home of sin and monsters and Batman. In 1961 Slam Bradley, who first appeared in Detective Comics #1, investigates the horrible kidnapping of the Princess of Gotham, Helen Wayne, the daughter of Bruce’s grandparents, Richard and Constance Wayne.
It is a dark and cool and fun noir full of insane twists and turns that will redefine the Batman mythos. If you you’re into Human Target or Supergirl or Strange Adventures, this is the book very much in that vein. And, on a personal level, I’ve had as much fun putting this book together as I have doing any other project. I’d write Bradley mysteries for the rest of my life if they’d let me.
But you don’t need me to hype this thing. It speaks for itself. Just look. Here for the first time ever are the first few pages of the series:
So…we’re going to have some fun aren’t we…
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Dear Tom (I hope this finds its way to you),
Last night I read the first issue of GOTHAM CITY: YEAR ONE. I knew it would involve the kidnapping of Bruce Wayne's aunt. What I wasn't expecting (though in retrospect, I should have) were all the Lindbergh kidnapping echoes. There were a LOT, including such subtle ones as rumors about the child's physical condition, the disappearance being found by the nursemaid, the father's reputation for playing pranks, the ransom note by someone who was clearly not an English speaker, the mark on the note, and so on.
How do I know this stuff? Wellllll - I live in Hackettstown, NJ, about an hour and a half from East Amwell Township, where the Lindbergh house was. And for about 15 years, my lovely wife and I were involved in a re-enactment of the trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, which was staged annually in the original Hunterdon County Courthouse in Flemington, NJ, where the real trial took place in 1995. My lovely wife played Anna Hauptmann, wife of the accused, during our entire run. I originally played Arthur Koehler (who testified about the ladder found near the crime scene), but for the last 10 years I portrayed Bruno himself. (We're going to talk about Bruno, yes, yes, yes.) It was a fascinating experience, and we learned a lot.
Tom (if you're reading this), I'm curious to know what you used for your reference. I found that Jim Fisher's book THE LINDBERGH CASE to be the best account. Some of the wilder theories, such as the one where Lindbergh hired Hauptmann to kidnap the child, are just too much.
I know that this will play out differently in your story, of course, but I wanted you to know that at least ONE person appreciated the research you must have done!
And Phil Hester's art was superb. I look forward to seeing where this story goes over the next five months!
Sincerely,
Bill
What Phil Hester can do with a few lines is remarkable. I am so looking forward to this collaboration!