Newsarama have recently spoken with writer Fabian Nicieza on what is being dubbed bookend's to Tony Daniel’s Battle for the Cowl miniseries which will see the family of Batman (and others) vie for the opportunity to wear the cowl and call themselves “Batman” in the absence of Bruce Wayne, that turned into Gotham Gazette - Batman: Dead? and Gotham Gazette - Batman: Alive?

NRAMA: Was the overall approach, that is, a look at Batman's absence DC's idea, or was it something that you wanted to look at?

FN: It's been a real team effort. Mike had the basic game plan to do two one-shots that framed Cowl and call them Gotham Gazette, I came up with the headline concept of Dead? and Alive? to frame the thematic approach to the stories. We discussed a man on the street perspective, but then decided it would work best from the points of view of characters we know. We discussed options on various characters we could spotlight and I pitched who I thought would work best and why for the kinds of mini-stories we wanted to tell.

NRAMA: So how does the city react to Batman's absence? I guess, before you answer that one, we should probably talk about how the city "knows" Batman is around in the first place... There've been many views of how Gotham reacts to Batman over the years, so in your view, and as a foundation for Gotham Gazette, how does the city "know" its protector?

FN: I'm sure everyone has their own take on that question, but I think of Batman an urban legend that everyone knows exists but most people either don't want to believe or refuse to believe unless they see it with their own eyes.

It's like being told that Dick Cheney has a heart. I'm sure he does and his cardiologists all know it's there, but for many people, the jury is still out... [laghs]

With Gazette, we're dealing with characters who all know Batman exists, so the stories are really more about how his loss affects them personally or professionally. In Batman: Dead? Each one of them starts from a standpoint of loss, either the loss of Batman or, as importantly, each comes from a position of having lost something, which is thematically reflected by Gotham's loss of Batman. To the second one shot, Batman: Alive? each character finds a ray of hope, so again, that is reflective of things going on in Cowl that affect the lives of the characters and the city.

NRAMA: For the common Gotham City resident, how does the absence of Batman affect them? Do they even know?

FN: I think based on events in Cowl #1, many "civilians" will suspect something is wrong. Then many bad guys will know something is definitely wrong...

For the entire interview, head on over to Newsarama.com

(Source - Newsarama.com)