Now that 52 has almost ended, CBR presents a remarkably content-laden interview with Greg Rucka:

The biggest thing about “52” for all of us, and none of us went into it naively, was that none of us knew exactly how hard it was going to be. I think we tried to equate it to other work we had done, and what we discovered is that it is unlike anything and consumes every aspect of your life.

I’m walking through my house as I’m talking to you, and there is “52” stuff everywhere. Underneath this “National Geographic” I have pages from week 51, 50, 47. I have full scripts for 52, full inks for 45. I have rough pencils for 51. I have breakdowns by Keith for 49 and then I’ve got another draft of week 52’s script. And that is just the top of the stack.


Much more, including Rucka’s assessment of the teams strengths and weaknesses, and this:

RT: Was there any talk of you guys still working on “Countdown” or did they know that you would say “Hell no!”

GR: There was no discussion at all.

RT: They didn’t want you to open fire on the DC offices or anything.

GR: I think that was part of it. [laughs] I think part of it was they knew we were a little busy. I also think they knew it would kill us. The mere fact that Keith is willing to do it speaks to his masochistic streak. He goes two years in a row on weekly comics! This guy is either a madman or enjoys being hurt. I think that when they decided to do “Countdown” they knew they needed Keith, everybody else is replaceable.

1 COMMENT

  1. Keith Giffen is such a freaking hero. As if giving the Martian Manhunter his thing for Oreos wasn’t legacy enough — now he goes and does this.
    That guy is so interesting. Someone should write the biography of Keith Giffen. I first really got interested in him during the silly incarnation of the JLA (JLI and JLE). Then he did Heckler and I sort of had him pegged as the funny man of comics. Then Trencher was just sort of… different. Since then he’s shown so much more breadth. And maybe he’d shown it before, but that’s when I first really saw him.
    Giffen’s probably the first creator who managed to become a “star” in my young eyes, over and above the characters themselves (which had always been the stars for me before), and it’s been really fascinating to watch him since then.
    P.S. Rucka is pretty great too, though.