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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2019 5:34:35 GMT -5
What follows is a pedantic topic, but one posted in the spirit of fun. For whatever reason, I always presumed Gotham City to be located in the state of New York. I certainly know it's on the East Coast. Like Metropolis. I was re-reading Knightfall. The state police are called out at one point. And they don't appear to be New York State Police. This is what New York State Police wear:  The state troopers who showed up at Arkham Asylum had brown uniforms on. I Googled "state police brown uniforms". A few came up, but the closest uniform match to what was in the comic belonged to the Minnesota State Patrol. Minnesota is obviously a Midwestern state. I'd have to check to be sure, but I think it was implied (or stated) that the original Batman's adventures took place in New York. I'm also sure someone implied Chicago at one point. But that brown state trooper uniform in the story appears to belong to the Minnesota State Patrol. According to Google, the distance from Minnesota to the East Coast is £1,370+ miles. And, as stated, Gotham has been referenced as an East Coast city. Unless that's a mistake and the Dark Knight is really the Minnesota Dark Knight. ;-) It doesn't matter. This is a semi-serious topic. Perhaps the colourist on the comic simply went with "generic brown state trooper uniform", but after my Googling, I learnt that there are no brown state police uniforms on the East Coast. So, where is Gotham? I need to know! |
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2019 6:18:58 GMT -5
Here's an article on DC geography based on the "semi-official" geogrpahy that was part of the Mayfair Games DC Heroes RPG released in the 80s... linkHere's a map from the game...  it places Gotham in New Jersey and Metropolis in Delaware. -M |
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2019 7:43:09 GMT -5
That is interesting, thanks.
Although my topic was semi-serious, it seems that quite a bit of fiction goes for the generic brown sheriff uniform/generic brown state trooper uniform. Or maybe the Minnesota State Patrol just happened to be offering help in Gotham during "Knightfall"...
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2019 11:47:26 GMT -5
That is interesting, thanks. Although my topic was semi-serious, it seems that quite a bit of fiction goes for the generic brown sheriff uniform/generic brown state trooper uniform. Or maybe the Minnesota State Patrol just happened to be offering help in Gotham during "Knightfall"... You have to remember most comic coloring before the age of computers was done on the quick to meet deadline and expediency, not accuracy was the goal. Very few colorists (and only a few pencillers) would take time to research accuracy on things like uniforms and such, so generic standards that they could do quickly to meet deadlines were the norm and accuracy to a specific time or place were the exception. It's like artists who have a library of standard poses they recycle again and again, generic uniforms to be recycled were a pretty standard practice, and trying to tie a setting to a specific time or place based on things like that is most often an exercise in futility. -M |
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2019 12:15:36 GMT -5
It is an exercise in futility, although as stated in my initial post, I'm only being semi-serious.  The brown uniform seems to be the go-to uniform for county sheriffs and state troopers in fiction. Rarely see a deviation from that, I feel. |
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Post by Prince Hal on May 13, 2019 13:48:23 GMT -5
It is an exercise in futility, although as stated in my initial post, I'm only being semi-serious. The brown uniform seems to be the go-to uniform for county sheriffs and state troopers in fiction. Rarely see a deviation from that, I feel.  There are probably no more elaborate statie uniforms than those of Rhode Island. Its official name,the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation, is also the longest of any state. And a third irony, "Little Rhody" is the smallest state in the US. ![]() |
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Post by profh0011 on May 13, 2019 13:52:56 GMT -5
On the other hand... Gotham City is a fictional city, and therefore, it's not beyond reason that the particular State Troopers called in ALSO belong to a FICTIONAL organization whose colors are whatever they decide them to be.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 13, 2019 22:03:14 GMT -5
Deny O'Neil always said Gotham City was the worst elements of NYC, while metropolis was uptown, metaphorically.
Most artists wil use whatever they know of have in their swipe file/research file. Illinois State police wear khaki shirts and greenish pants, with "Smokey the Bear" hats. That's common for a lot of police forces, state and county, because they often get them from the same uniform supply companies. The artist probably went with whatever was worn in their locale, or what they saw in Hollywood (which the Il State Police are all over The Blues Brothers, since it is set in and around Chicago).
Gotham PD's uniforms have been all kinds of styles, over the years.
In general, though, Gotham City and Metropolis are on the upper East Coast (New York environs), Central City, Keystone City and Midway City are in the Midwest (Hub City, too, which is based on East St Louis, IL), and Coast City and Star City are on the West Coast. James Robinson's Opal City was supposed to be East Coast; but, it always had more of a Pacific Northwest or Northern California feel, to me.
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Post by Cei-U! on May 14, 2019 7:42:16 GMT -5
Star City started out as an East Coast city (implicitly a Boston analogue), while Keystone City was in Pennsylvania a.k.a. the Keystone State.
Cei-U!
I summon the imaginary Atlas!
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 14, 2019 11:46:40 GMT -5
I feel like Gotham has actually be specifically placed in New Jersey in actual comics as well... Bludhaven, too. Metropolis has definitely been placed near DC, but I'm not sure the I'm actually seen that in a comic. It's always fun to try to use clues to figure out that stuff!
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Post by String on May 17, 2019 18:28:20 GMT -5
Wait, so Snyder had it right in Batman v. Superman, that Metropolis and Gotham are basically across the bay from each other?
I don't have the long history reading DC of course so I've never had the impression those two cities were that close together. If anything, I've always thought Gotham was more akin to being where Chicago is located, in those parts.
So where is Bludhaven? Above Gotham or below Metropolis?
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2019 19:35:19 GMT -5
Wait, so Snyder had it right in Batman v. Superman, that Metropolis and Gotham are basically across the bay from each other? I don't have the long history reading DC of course so I've never had the impression those two cities were that close together. If anything, I've always thought Gotham was more akin to being where Chicago is located, in those parts. So where is Bludhaven? Above Gotham or below Metropolis?  Below Gotham City |
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Post by Cei-U! on May 17, 2019 19:38:33 GMT -5
Wait, so Snyder had it right in Batman v. Superman, that Metropolis and Gotham are basically across the bay from each other? I don't have the long history reading DC of course so I've never had the impression those two cities were that close together. If anything, I've always thought Gotham was more akin to being where Chicago is located, in those parts. Even in the mid-1950s, Gotham and Metropolis were depicted as close enough that people in the latter could see the Bat-Signal in use, and multiple Bronze Age stories mentioned that you can see the waterfront of one city from the other but you have to drive around the long way by land. And it was Central City that was the Chicago equivalent (though Cary Bates later identified Central as occupying the same area that Athens, Ohio does in the real world).
Cei-U! I summon the Baedecker's Guide to Earth-One!
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Post by Cei-U! on May 17, 2019 19:40:34 GMT -5
Wait, so Snyder had it right in Batman v. Superman, that Metropolis and Gotham are basically across the bay from each other? I don't have the long history reading DC of course so I've never had the impression those two cities were that close together. If anything, I've always thought Gotham was more akin to being where Chicago is located, in those parts. So where is Bludhaven? Above Gotham or below Metropolis? Below Gotham City Given that Metropolis has always been depicted as a seaport, this map can't be right.
Cei-U! I summon the questionable source!
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Post by Graphic Autist on May 17, 2019 19:51:13 GMT -5
On the other hand... Gotham City is a fictional city, and therefore, it's not beyond reason that the particular State Troopers called in ALSO belong to a FICTIONAL organization whose colors are whatever they decide them to be. This gets my vote for best and logical answer to the original question asked here. |
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