GREG RUCKA ON A LARK-LESS GOTHAM CENTRAL

[MattBrady]

Yeah - Gotham Central. After some rumor, it was confirmed this week that Michael Lark, artist of Gotham Central, DC’s police procedural series set in Gotham City, was leaving both the series and the company, moving over to Marvel for a new, two-year exclusive contract. He had formerly been on an exclusive contract with DC.

What does that mean for Gotham Central? One of DC’s lower-selling monthlies, the series is critically acclaimed, and is reported to be one of the publisher’s trade success stories, that is, the trade paperback collections of Central sell as well as – or better than – the monthly series, in part, justifying the monthly’s continued existence.

So – the short version, Gotham Central is not cancelled. Lark’s final issue is this week’s #25. As already solicited, Jason Alexander will illustrate issues #26 and #27, written by Ed Brubaker. Greg Rucka will write issues #28-#30 or #31, which will be illustrated by (regular series’ inker) Stefano Gaudiano. The new regular artist will then debut with #31 or #32, which will be the next joint storyline co-written by Rucka and Brubaker.

We caught up with Rucka to talk about the upcoming change in the series.

When Newsarama recently spoke with Rucka and Brubaker about the series, both writers went out of their way to mention how Lark is an integral part of the creative team, and that without him, it wouldn’t be “Gotham Central.”

So, forced to look at the series without Lark, how will things change?

“The tone, I don’t think is going to be changing at all,” Rucka said. “The look and the feel is as much dictated by the artist as the writer, and until we know who is going to be filling Michael’s very substantial shoes on the book, I don’t think that neither Ed nor I would be able to answer that effectively.”

That’s not to say that Lark’s decision to leave didn’t make an impact – not at all. “We had a very long talk when it became clear that Michael was going to leave, and there was nothing that could be done about it, and really, everybody went to great lengths to try to find a solution, but at the end of the day, it comes down to one factor more than anything else, which is Michael always has to do what is the best thing for his career and for his family. Nobody is ever going to hold that against him. Nobody.

“So it’s not a bitter thing, but it did throw Ed and I into a real tailspin for a while – our first thought for a while was, ‘Can we even continue?’ Both Ed and I, for a very long time felt that if we would ever lose Michael then that would probably mean it was time to hang up the book. The problem was, Michael leaving came at a very interesting time, as Ed and I were working on different storyarcs, and both of us were really happy with what we were able to do, and with what we were writing.

“We had a talk when it was clear that Michael was going to be going to Marvel, that neither of us, perhaps selfishly, wanted to give it up. Writing Gotham Central for each of us is such a pleasure and such a joy, and it’s such an opportunity – it’s such a rare thing in mainstream comics to be able to do a book like this. I mean, Issue #25 comes out this Wednesday – we’ve done 25 issues of this thing. In today’s market, that’s really saying something.”

Along with Rucka and Brubaker not wanting to give the series up, DC also chimed in with its official wishes for the series. “DC made it clear that frankly, they didn’t want to see this book go away, and both Ed and I tended to believe them, because if they were looking for an excuse to cancel it, they’d just been handed one in a climate where any reason is a good enough reason to cancel a lower-selling book. And frankly, Michael leaving was a legitimate reason – I would have argued fiercely against I if they had decided that was going to be it when Michael left, but they would have had very good ground to stand on. But Matt Idelson made it clear that he felt the book should continue, and there was still a lot that we could do, and then Dan Didio made it very clear that he wanted the book to continue as well.

“So once Ed and I made peace with our ‘guilt’ of going on without Michael, we decided that we’d go for it. So that’s where we are now – we’re looking for the artist. There are people we’re considering, and I can’t name any names, but if there’s an artist out there who thinks they’d be brilliant on this book, I urge them to send samples to Matt Idleson at DC. That’s where we’re standing right now.”

Thing is, and this is what Idelson, Rucka, and Brubaker will have to deal with, is how closely the new artists’ style will match with Lark’s, who had, until now defined the look of Gotham Central. Even until this point, fill-in artists on the series have strongly resembled Lark’s style and approach.

“It’s kind of a problem – you don’t want to take an artist and say, ‘We want you to be Michael Lark.’ That’s unfair to an artist. There are certain things that are easily replicated that Michael brought to the book, for instance, the sense of tone, the sort of noir/Cinema Verite feel. There are artists out there who do that and do that very well in their own stylistic fashion. That’s something that we’re more interested in pursuing rather than someone who will do a good Michael Lark impersonation. Nobody’s said this to me, but I’m sure there’s a wondering at DC that maybe one of the things that wasn’t helping the book was that the art style wasn’t an easily accessible one for a lot of people. There may be people out there who want nice, clean lines rather than that wonderful sense of texture that Michael brought to the page. So, that may be factoring in to the new artist selection as well.

“At the end of the day, and if we’re lucky, the decision is going to be a joint one between Ed, myself and Matt, and it will be someone we all agree on. I’m honestly less concerned with somebody who will be able to replicate the stylistic as much as finding someone who was as killed as Michael with the acting, and the subtleties that required. That’s a far harder thing, and both Ed and I really rely on an artist being able to convey the smaller emotions and the beats in this book. In their way, the most dramatic and most affecting things that happen in Gotham Central also happen to be the quietest and smallest things.

“It will be interesting to see what will happen – we’re all aware that this could really hurt the book, but at the same time, we all have faith in the core idea of the book being one that has merit, and lie I said, we love doing it, and it’s hard to give up doing something that you love.”

[MattZitron]

Damn, I'll miss lark.

He made the series fantastic,

Wonder who the new artist is?

Matt

[KyleV]

Lieber! Lieber! Lieber!

[tomwe]

Oh yeah! make that a second for Steve Lieber on this book. I re-read whiteout just the other day, and those books kick ass man.

bring it on!

(oh, and i love the book guys)

-Tom

[Dave_Garcia]

Originally posted by KyleV
Lieber! Lieber! Lieber!

I'll third Lieber. Its been too damn long since I've seen his art on a regular basis.

[csGuy]

Glad to hear the book will keep going no matter what. Keep those trades coming!

[SHABBAZZ]

I'm gonna have to check this out, good books shouldn't be in peril like this...

[Cray_ws]

I posted this in the MARVEL @ WIZARDWORLD DALLAS thread :

I have to say I'm shocked Michael Lark felt compelled to leave Gotham Central, especially after reading his comment how he would love to do the book forever.

So what's stopping him? is the series being canceled? Why did he feel the need to leave a series that he and the writers were getting alot acclaim from critics and fans...?

Obviously money played a part of it, sad to see that was the case. Five years from now Lark will be scratching his head why did he leave Gotham Central?

Hope Marvel has a good project for him, because I personally think he just tossed out half his career and made huge mistake.

As for a replacement, Lieber seems like a logical choice.

[SanityOrMadness]

*waits for a colourist to complain about the lack of respect shown to (who DOES colour GC anyway?) inherent in the "1/3rd" bit of the front-page blurb*

[Jack Lazer]

I was at WW Texas and the info I heard (not from Lark himself) was that DC had to drop the page rate to keep the book going.

[SpyGuy]

Originally posted by MattBrady
What does that mean for Gotham Central? One of DC’s lower-selling monthlies, the series is critically acclaimed, and is reported to be one of the publisher’s trade success stories, that is, the trade paperback collections of Central sell as well as – or better than – the monthly series, in part, justifying the monthly’s continued existence.

So if the GOTHAM CENTRAL trades sell so well compared to the actual monthly series, why hasn't DC solicited the second trade before now? The trades are almost two years behind the monthly series, while Marvel collects their stories only a month or so after the last issue in a particular arc or mini-series.

And while I'm thinking about it, would GOTHAM CENTRAL sell better as a trade-only series? True, those six-month waits to stockpile issues for a new trade would be agonizing, but dumping the poor-selling monthly might improve the overall bottom line and extend the long-term life of the series. This is only speculation on my part, mind you, based on the apparent consumer shift from increasingly expensive monthlies to WFTT (Waiting For The Trade).

[Ben Herman]

Originally posted by MattZitron
Damn, I'll miss lark.

He made the series fantastic,

I first got into Gotham Central due to Michael Lark's work. Having read, and very much enjoyed, the adaptation he drew of the Raymond Chandler novel The Little Sister, I picked up this series so I could get a regular dose of his noir-inspired illustration. So, yeah, I will miss Lark.

But that said, once Lark's art brought me on-bard, I quickly came to enjoy both Rucka & Brubaker's writing, and the cast of characters. I will definitely be sticking with GC after Lark's departure.

And, yeah, the suggestion of Steve Lieber to be the new artist is a very good one!

[The Funketeer]

Then I'll just have to fourth Lieber! I'd love to see more of his stuff (monthly woo hoo!) and I think he and Rucka already work very well together.

[blankpoint]

Johnston is pretty clear on the fact that Lark is taking over Daredevil, which makes sense.

As for artists, we can hope for Sean Phillips, Duncan Fegredro (always get the spelling wrong), Cliff Chiang, that guy who's doing the Green Arrow covers (assuming his ill-conceived series written by BOB HARRAS is scuttled)

I have firmly believed that this series should be a mid-priced series of quarterly OGNs, which would take away the need for forced cliffhangers every 22 pages. As a retailer, I think I would sell more, and it would increase the demand for the series. My situation is not the same as most, however. Because I promoted the book VERY heavily in its first year, it enjoys healthy monthly sales at the store, around what Detective sells -- about 20 copies an issue.

[UnstableMolecule]

My choices:

Cliff Chiang -- he did the "Josie Mac" backups, and sometimes does Human Target.

Steve Leiber -- although can he still do a monthly?

Alex Maleev -- isn't he off Daredevil soon?

I also liked that other guest artist Gotham Central has had. I think his name was Greg Scott?

[Drew Melbourne]

Did they decide that Ryan Sook was too slow for a regular series? He'd be my first choice for GC. Though Lieber's not a bad pick. And Edwards has really knocked the ball out of the park with THE QUESTION...

[Ben543250]

Originally posted by Cray_ws
Obviously money played a part of it, sad to see that was the case. Five years from now Lark will be scratching his head why did he leave Gotham Central?

Hope Marvel has a good project for him, because I personally think he just tossed out half his career and made huge mistake.

Greg Rucka said:
but at the end of the day, it comes down to one factor more than anything else, which is Michael always has to do what is the best thing for his career and for his family. Nobody is ever going to hold that against him. Nobody.

Guess they should have added "except Cray_ws."

[BriGuy]

Originally posted by Drew Melbourne
Did they decide that Ryan Sook was too slow for a regular series? He'd be my first choice for GC. Though Lieber's not a bad pick. And Edwards has really knocked the ball out of the park with THE QUESTION...

Beat me to it. I was gonna say Sook too.

[Donster]

As much as I like reading Gotham Central, I've been buying it moreso for Lark's art than for the writing. If the new regular artist doesn't appeal to me, I'll drop the book, even though it's been a favorite DC title along with Promethea and 100 Bullets. Of the artists others have mentioned, Tommy Lee Edwards and Duncan Fegredo would be ones I'd stick around for. John Paul Leon, Stuart Immonen (like he drew some Hulks and Fantastic Fours but not Ultimate FF) and Guy Davis would also interest me. None of the past fill-in artists or others mentioned in this thread so far would make me continue with Gotham Central.

As for what I'd like to see Lark do at Marvel, I wouldn't mind him on Daredevil but think I'd prefer to see him draw a Nick Fury/S.H.I.E.L.D. series.

[Mr Chainsaw]

Man. Michael is going to be missed. This is right up there when Tony Harris left Starman and Darwyn Cooke/Cameron Stewart left Catwoman. Those art styles were just as important to the tone of those books as the writing was.

Some choices for artist should including the following:
Steve Lieber
Greg Scott (who has done a pretty good job filling in for Lark already)
Peter Sneljberg (the spelling is probably wrong)

[fuzznugget]

Lieber! Lieber! Lieber!

Yes let's get Larry Leiber to pencil!!!!!

[kalorama]

Tommy Lee Edwards, John Paul Leon, and Duncan Fegrado all sound fine to me. Don't see enough of any of those guys, IMO.

[GeorgeG]

For Sook fans, he can't do it. He couldn't do the monthly Detective Comics--that's why there was the shakeup there. Couldn't do Hawkman--hence Joe Bennett on the title now.

[Easy Reader]

Aww Man!

This is the most upsetting news i've heard this week!

Wait, Bush got elected again didn't he? Dang!

Okay, second most upsetting news of the last week!

I got hooked on both Lark and Brubaker on the SCENE OF THE CRIME mini a few years ago...

It's sad that DC couldn't pay him a decent salary.
I think he will be a wasted talent at Marvel...
My best bet is that he's going to become the next regular artist on Daredevil... I don't see anything else that would fit his style.

Has to who could be an adequate replacement, I got a few names I would like to see on GOTHAM CENTRAL, but the problem is that, if DC couldn't afford to pay Lark (who is one of my favorite artist, but is far from being a hot high profile artist), how could they afford to "hook" another popular artist?

Jean Paul Leon, Tommy Lee Edwards, Peter Snejberg (my 1st choice) or even Darwyn Cooke would be interesting artists to follow on G.C.

[COREMARK]

This is really sucky news, but as long as Brubaker and Rucka are still writing Gotham Central, I'll still be buying this excellent book. As for a replacement artist I'd also love to see Cliff Chiang, Steve Leiber, or Brian Hurtt (Skinwalker/ Three Strikes).