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Gotham City (ˈɡɒθəm ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman/ Bruce Wayne and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, the city was first identified as Batman's place of residence in Batman #4 (December 1940) and has since been the primary setting for stories featuring the character. Gotham City is traditionally depicted as being located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Gotham's look and atmosphere was primarily influenced by New York City. Architect Hugh Ferriss’ designs also influenced the look and emotional feel of Gotham City, particularly in its later depictions. Bill Finger said that he chose the name "Gotham", and not New York, so that all readers in any city could identify with it. Locations used as inspiration or filming locations for Gotham City in the live-action Batman films and television series have included St. Louis, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, New York City, Newark, London, Glasgow, Hong Kong, Detroit, and Liverpool. In Jim Steranko's History of the Comics, writer Bill Finger, on the naming of the city, said, "Originally I was going to call Gotham City 'Civic City.' Then I tried 'Capital City,' then 'Coast City.' Then I flipped through the New York City phone book and spotted the name 'Gotham Jewelers' and said, 'That's it,' Gotham City. We didn't call it New York because we wanted anybody in any city to identify with it." "Gotham" has been a nickname for New York City that first became popular in the nineteenth century; Washington Irving had first attached it to New York in the November 11, 1807, edition of his Salmagundi, a periodical which lampooned New York culture and politics. Irving took the name from the village of Gotham, Nottinghamshire, England: a place inhabited, according to folklore, by fools. Gotham City, like other cities in the DC Universe, has varied in its portrayals over the decades, but the city's location is traditionally depicted as being in the state of New Jersey.

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