Greg Rucka, the best-selling writer behind fan-favorite runs on Wonder Woman, Checkmate, and Gotham Central, pulled no punches during his interview with John Siuntres‘s venerable Word Balloon podcast yesterday. During the 2-hour conversation, Rucka revealed that during his years at DC, he felt abused and regularly lied to, with a “toxic” work culture that contributed to his own mental health struggles.
On the podcast, Rucka described suicidal ideations, which he said sprung out of trauma related to his time at DC. He leveled blame at former DC executives Dan DiDio and Geoff Johns, calling them “bad actors” and characterizing the environment at DC as abusive and manipulative.
“It was toxic when I was there and remained toxic until Dan DiDio left,” Rucka told Word Balloon. “It was an abusive, manipulative environment. Geoff Johns was an incredibly manipulative person to me; [he] used me, lied to me, played me off against people. DiDio did the same thing. I was made promises repeatedly, and they were always broken. When I left in 2009, I was mentally ill. I was severely depressed — suicidal. I nearly took my life. That’s all the direct result of the way I was treated from 2006 through 2009. It was done with malice. The people I’m speaking about are bad actors. I’m not in a place where I will ever defend them again; they did what they did with malice aforethought.”
Rucka has periodically returned to DC since he left in 2009, most notably with a year-long run on Wonder Woman at the start of DC’s “Rebirth” initiative in 2016. With each return, Rucka said he left feeling betrayed and abused. That said, he has a lot of enthusiasm for the current DC management. It’s that enthusiasm that has brought him back for the miniseries Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Justice League, which features art by Rucka’s frequent collaborator Nicola Scott.
“It’s a different company right now,” Rucka said. “[Batman Group Editor Rob Levin said] ‘it’s different now. Editorial gets along and we communicate.’ I said, ‘Alright, I’ll believe that when I see that, but I’m happy to talk.’ And then I got to see it. Rob is absolutely correct. There are three group editors that I am in communication with, and they talk to each other so much it’s almost a problem. It creates an environment…that’s putting out some of the best stuff DC’s done in the last 10 to 15 years.”
In Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Justice League, the titular villains “assemble a team of misfits and oddballs” to rob the Justice League Watchtower — the most secure satellite in the DC Universe. The action-comedy leans into Rucka’s strengths; after all, he is a crime novelist at heart.
Besides his work at DC, Rucka is known for creator-owned titles like Lazarus (with Michael Lark), Black Magick (with Nicola Scott), Stumptown (with Matthew Southworth), and Whiteout (with Steve Lieber). The final Lazarus series, titled Lazarus: Fallen, is now underway at Image Comics.
During the interview, Rucka also said that the rights to Lazarus have reverted to its creators, and that they are entertaining trying to make a live-action or animated adaptation…but that they likely won’t be shopping it around again until the series ends.
Rucka also teased a return to Black Magick, his creator-owned series with Scott, following the conclusion of Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Justice League.
“The plan, tentatively…is that when she finishes the mini, she will jump back into Black Magick,” Rucka explained. “Ideally, the goal is to finish the run. We’ve got another 16 issues or so to go, and we’ve always known the beginning, the middle, and the end.”
He also said A24 is developing a TV series based on Black Magick but “it’s going to be a different animal.” This is the third time the series has been optioned.
I was buying the Wonder Woman series for the Cho covers and the Liam Sharp art. the story was slow moving and way too drawn out. After Cho left because of Rucka futzing with the cover art , i left too. I go out of my way not to buy any book with Rucka’s name on it.
Greg, just know this one fact, No Company and I Mean No Company can sell Omni’s/Compendiums like DC. Gotham Central sells at least twice a month. I know it is so f-ing weird, very weird. But these “Big Book” buyers are loyal to a company, and DC now has the majority of these buyers. I believe it is because the cost of these books. But who really knows. And Geoff seems to suck as a boss and/or a friend. It sucks because he is a talented writer. But I can guarantee your “Big Books” will do 3X times the number at DC, then Marvel. And 2X the number then Image.
I’ve been lucky enough to meet Greg and he’s one of the nicest people in comics.
Michaels, if you were buying Wonder Woman for the Frank Cho covers, you were never going to enjoy a Greg Rucka book.
Bobby, I doubt very much that any of the creative talent on those omnis sees much (if any) money from them. It’s work for hire.
I was devastated to learn that Greg struggled that much. I’m just glad that he’s still with us.
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