Evan Narcisse and ABEL's Batman: Gotham Knights – Gilded City has delighted fans who can't get enough of the world introduced by the new video game. Taking place before the events of Gotham Knights, the story follows Batman and the rest of the Bat-Family and looks back at the history of Gotham City and its rogues. The series also introduces a mysterious, masked hero known as the Runaway, who serves as Gotham's original protector.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, artist ABEL discussed his experience working on the series while the game was still in development. In addition, the illustrator revealed some of the unexpected inspirations that played a part in creating the look of Gotham City's past. For those who'd like to find out more about the Runaway, ABEL revealed how he and Narcisse worked together to design the character.
CBR: Thanks so much for your time, ABEL. What drew you to the project?
ABEL: I'm glad to talk to you, guys! When I came aboard the project, it was awesome to know that it would be a tie-in comic book for the Gotham Knights game. I've always loved video games, and although I haven't played much lately, it would be amazing to do a comic book related to them. It's Gotham City, the Bat-Family, and all the guys! Besides that, working on a 19th-Century Gotham got me. It's a very charming era to work on, and it's very cool to imagine the darkness of Gotham City in such a glamorous century.
Working on Batman: Gotham Knights - Gilded City before the video game was released must have been an interesting experience. Were you in contact with the developers of the game? What type of materials were shared so you could recreate the world from the game?
It was very interesting indeed! I've got every reference and concept I needed from the start, and all characters and costumes make a good link to the game. I watched trailers and a few gameplays to catch the mood of the game, and I think it helped a lot to make me feel comfortable to create from what was already set.
As an artist, which is the one character from Batman: Gotham Knights - Gilded City that you found the most fun to tackle and why?
Batman is always the right answer, I think! I love how we can explore each character's uniqueness when we see them in action. Robin and Nightwing are very cool figures with acrobatic skills, and we have a lot of it in the comic. But I must say that it was so cool to figure out the uniqueness of Runaway, their fighting style, and how they move in the shadows. Definitely my favorite!
What were some of the references you used to create the architecture of Gotham City in the past?
I really like to bring some film references into comics, and I thought of Gangs of New York all the time. But I tried to keep in mind one thing: how [does] this 19th century Gotham become that dark and modern Gotham City we all know? So, trying to achieve such a resemblance between past and present, I was always looking at old photos of a growing New York and trying to match them with what we have of Gotham in comics and film.
The fight scene between Batman and Nightwing in Batman: Gotham Knights - Gilded City #2 is a fantastic moment for fans. How did you and Evan Narcisse approach this scene? Was it laid out beforehand, or did you have more flexibility in deciding how it flowed across the pages?
I think this scene is especially great because we see Batman and Nightwing talking to each other, both with words and strikes (or blocks, sometimes). Evan [did] a great job here to give us the depth of this fight, so he outlined each panel, pointing out the key actions, and I followed it with a fair share of fun, playing with camera angles and fighting poses. I felt very comfortable with the directions Evan wrote in the script, because everything in this scene made so much sense.
In a previous interview with CBR, Evan Narcisse explained how he provided a sketch of the Runaway. Tell us more about how you added to The Runaway.
It seemed to me that Evan had a clear idea of what he was thinking for Runaway when he sent me the sketch with some key features, such as the machete, the throwing knives, and the hat with the feather. All I had to do was polish this concept and add some fancy details, worn-out clothes, and an extra belt for more throwing knives (and because I think two belts look cool!), and that was a lot of fun to do. I think we got to a final version pretty quickly because Runaway was already there.
Batman: Gotham Knights – Gilded City #2 is on sale now.