It’s that time of the month again, and we at DCWorld are launching the semi-final for September’s HOF chapter.  Here is the first entrant for the September Hall of Fame, Donal Logue.

When you first think of a detective in Gotham you don’t automatically think of Harvey Bullock. His character first appeared in Detective Comics #441 in July 1974 and was created by Archie Goodwin and Howard Chaykin, as “Lt.Bullock”. Bullocks character was not developed until he was brought back and further developed by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Newton, starting with Batman #361 (1983).
In the story entitled “the most successful species” Bullocks method of doing so is to pretend to be extremely clumsy, which meant spoiling anything Gordon was trying to do, seem like an accident. After inadvertently giving Gordon a heart attack he changed his ways and his character later developed into a well meaning cop. Harvey also formed a close bond with Robin, because of their mutual love of old movies.

The Detective Harvey Bullock I know and admire is the one from the television series Gotham and played by the extremely talented Donal Logue. Partnered up with Detective James Gordon (Ben McKenzie)  who has an idealistic way at looking at the city of Gotham. Bullock soon shows Gordon it’s seedy underbelly. He is portrayed as a cop that is willing to bend, maybe even break the law to put the lowlife of Gotham away. Harvey also can give off a reluctance to get involved with some cases, especially if it’s around lunch time.
What I found particularly interesting at New York PaleyFest in October 2016 Donal Logue was asked about his the character development of Harvey, because by the beginning of season three of Gotham he had become one of the legit characters in Gotham. In Donal’s own words this is how he sees Bullock,

It’s so interesting and wild that I probably have my own take on Bullock it seems to differ from what people tell me all the time what their take on Bullock is. Bullock was kind of beaten up and crusty and crabby but was always kind of doing the right thing. Jim came in and it really reinvigorated Bullock to believe again and try to save Gotham, and to go deep for Gotham. But the funny thing was Jim was the one who became Bullock-esque and started and from season one partnering up with Penguin and doing all these things. Bullock is now running after him now to try and save his friend from self-destruction. I weirdly think, i might be wrong but Bullock is Gotham in a way. He is settled into Gotham, he is a middle aged man he’s seen a lot come before. He stays in Gotham, I know there’s been an evolution, but as opposed to the kind of arcs that the other characters are on I think Bullock kind of stays he’s kind of a loadstone that you can set your clock to Gotham wise. Bullock hasn’t had any dramatic turns that the other people in Gotham have had.”

So why have I nominated Donal Logue – Detective Harvey Bullock for the Hall of Fame?
One of my favourite episodes of Gotham in season 1 is ‘Spirit of the Goat’ directed by TJ Scott and written by Bruno Heller. This episode showed you a great back story and Bullock is faced with traumatic memories of a similar case from the past. You get to meet ex partner Detective Dix who calls Bullock a ‘white Knight’ much to Jim Gordon’s surprise.
With his connections to organised crime, the crime bosses Carmine Falcone and Fish Mooney with whom he trades police favours in exchange for information. This makes me believe he knows the City of Gotham inside out. Even when Commissioner Loeb demotes him at the beginning of season 2 Bullock decides to quit the force and become a bartender, which doesn’t last long as ‘the Maniax’ escape from Arkham Asylum.

Harvey Bullocks endless amounts of whit and Bullockism’s throughout the seasons of Gotham gives this dark gritty show comedic lightness. But it’s his friendship and partnership with Detective James Gordon that makes him an unsung hero of Gotham. When Gordon got framed for murder and sent to Blackgate, Bullock didn’t give up in finding a way out for Jim. He got back in contact with Falcone to break Jim out of Blackgate. Towards the end of season 3 when Jim had the Alice Tetch virus, Harvey kept Jim in control and reminded him what a good cop he was, in fact the best partner he has ever had.

With being promoted to Captain of the GCPD whilst Barnes was put into Arkham Asylum he took on the responsibility very seriously as he felt he was the senior guy at the GCPD even though it stressed him out.

Donal Logue’s versatility and talent makes him one of the most respected and beloved actors working today. I certainly could not think of anyone else to play Captain Harvey Bullock in the DC Universe.

Are you a Gotham fan?  Do you think Donal Logue deserves to join Robin Lord-Taylor in the Hall of Fame final in December? You can vote in September’s Hall of Fame semi-final here.  Every vote counts so make sure you have your say!