Gregory Rucka (born November 29, 1969) is an American writer known for the series of novels starring his character Atticus Kodiak, the creator-owned comic book series '' Whiteout'', ''

Queen & Country ''Queen & Country'' is an American comic book published by Oni Press and written by Greg Rucka with various artists illustrating. It was inspired by the British ITV television series ''The Sandbaggers'' (1978–1980), which was created and prima ...

'', '' Stumptown'' and '' Lazarus'', as well as lengthy runs on such titles as '' Detective Comics'', ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'' and '' Gotham Central'' for

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, and '' Elektra'', ''

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...

'' and ''

The Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

'' for

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...

. He has written a substantial amount of supplemental material for a number of

' line-wide and inter-title crossovers, including " No Man's Land", "

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...

" and "

New Krypton "New Krypton" is a 2008–09 comic book story arc featuring character Superman, published by American company DC Comics; it was written by Geoff Johns, James Robinson and Sterling Gates, with art by Gary Frank, Alex Ross, Renato Guedes, Jamal ...

". Rucka made his debut as a screenwriter with the screenplay for the 2020 film '' The Old Guard'', based on his comic book series of the same name.

Early life

Greg Rucka was born in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and raised on the

Monterey Peninsula The Monterey Peninsula anchors the northern portion on the Central Coast of California and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and the resort and community of Pebble Beach. History Monterey Monterey was founded i ...

of California, in an area known to the locals as "Steinbeck Country". Rucka is Jewish. He first discovered comics at the Nob Hill Market in Salinas, California, where at age five, he first saw digest-sized black and white reprints of Stan Lee and

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...

's work on ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...

'', which he convinced his mother to buy. He began writing at a young age, and at age 10, he won a county-wide short story contest. He graduated from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

with a BA in English. He then enrolled in the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

's Master of Professional Writing program, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts. He names

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), BBC radio comedy, ''The H ...

as his biggest influence."The Third Degree: Greg Rucka". '' Jupiter's Legacy'' #2 (June 2013) Image Comics. p. 27. Before becoming a professional fiction writer he worked in a number of other occupations, including house painting, restaurant work,

emergency medical technician An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics are ...

, security guard, technical writer, and fight choreographer.

Career

Rucka's writing career began with the Atticus Kodiak series. Kodiak is a bodyguard whose jobs are rarely as uncomplicated as they at first appear. The series to date consists of ''Keeper'', ''Finder'', ''Smoker'', ''Shooting at Midnight'', ''Critical Space'', ''Patriot Acts'', and ''Walking Dead''. These works garnered Rucka much critical acclaim and comparisons to the elite writers of crime/suspense fiction. The "Atticus" novels are notable for their realism and attention to detail, which is partly a product of Rucka's fight training and experience as an EMT. He has written six non-Atticus books: ''Fistful of Rain,'' ''Alpha,'' ''Bravo,'' ''A Gentleman's Game,'' ''Private Wars,'' and ''The Last Run''; the latter three are tie-ins to his comic book series ''

''. In 1998, Rucka entered the comics industry with '' Whiteout'', published through

Oni Press Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's merger with Lion Forge Comics. The merged company, Oni–Lion Forge Publishing Grou ...

. ''Whiteout'' focuses on a murder in an

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

base. It was followed by a sequel, '' Whiteout: Melt''. The majority of Rucka's work throughout the 2000s was for

, where he was involved with their main trinity of characters:

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

, Batman and

. Rucka wrote Batman on a regular basis in the '' Detective Comics'' series following the events of " No Man's Land'". He wrote the novelization of the year-long arc. While writing ''Detective Comics'', he created a number of background characters that led to the co-creation of '' Gotham Central'' with co-writer

Ed Brubaker Ed Brubaker (; born November 17, 1966) is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and screenwriter who works primarily in the crime fiction genre. He began his career with the semi-autobiographical series '' Lowlife'' and a number of serials i ...

. His Batman work includes such story arcs as "Bruce Wayne: Murderer?" and " Bruce Wayne: Fugitive". as well as the ''Batman: Death and the Maidens'' limited series. From October 2003 to April 2006 he wrote ''Wonder Woman'' after having previously written the character in the '' Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia'' original

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

. From 2002 to 2004, he did some work for Marvel, including the start of the third volume of ''

'', '' Elektra'' and the mini-series ''

Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra ''Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra'' is a four-issue comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics written by Greg Rucka with art by Salvador Larroca. Marvel characters Daredevil and Elektra are introduced to the Ultimate universe in the series ...

''. He has worked for Image Comics. The first volume of his series ''

'' concluded in July 2007 with issue #32. He co-wrote ''

Countdown to Infinite Crisis ''DC Countdown'', commonly referred to as ''Countdown to Infinite Crisis'', is a one-shot publication and the official start of the "Infinite Crisis" storyline. It was released 30 March 2005, sold out, and quickly went to a second printing. When t ...

'', a one-shot and the official start of the ''

'' storyline, with

Geoff Johns Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and Superman, has drawn critical acclaim. He serv ...

and

Judd Winick Judd Winick (born February 12, 1970) is an American cartoonist, comic book writer and screenwriter, as well as a former reality television personality. He first gained fame for his stint on MTV's ''The Real World: San Francisco'' in 1994, before f ...

. Rucka's work on both ''Wonder Woman'' and ''Gotham Central'' ended in 2006. Although he was not involved in the main storyline of ''Infinite Crisis'', he did write

The OMAC Project ''The OMAC Project'' is a six-issue American comic book limited series written by Greg Rucka with art by Jesus Saiz and published by DC Comics in 2005. Overview The book is one of four miniseries leading up to DC Comics' ''Infinite Crisis'' ev ...

which built towards the event, focusing on Batman's distrust of other superheroes. This led to the revival of '' Checkmate'', a UN authority that oversaw superheroes including

Sasha Bordeaux Sasha Bordeaux is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was at first primarily associated with superhero Batman, and she has subsequently evolved an association with Checkmate in two of its i ...

, an integral character of The OMAC Project. He was a co-writer on the weekly series '' 52'', which he co-wrote with Geoff Johns,

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, humanist philosophy and countercultural leanings. Morrison has written extensively for th ...

, and Mark Waid. This series chronicled in real-time the year following ''Infinite Crisis'', and saw Rucka focus on Renee Montoya of ''Gotham Central'' and the creation of the new Batwoman, Kate Kane. Rucka returned to the Batwoman character frequently over the years in a ''52'' sequel ''The Crime Bible'' and '' Final Crisis: Revelations'' before returning to the character in ''Detective Comics'' with artist J. H. Williams III, as well as reviving Renee Montoya in the book's second feature with artist

Cully Hamner Cully Hamner (born 1969) is an American comic book artist, known for his work on such books as '' Green Lantern: Mosaic'', ''Blue Beetle'', ''Black Lightning: Year One'', and '' Detective Comics''. He is also the co-creator and illustrator of the ...

. Rucka wrote the screenplay for the "

Crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. S ...

" segment in the direct-to-DVD anime '' Batman: Gotham Knight'', in which

Crispus Allen Crispus Allen is a fictional character in the DC Comics fictional universe, universe, mostly commonly depicted in association with Batman. The character appeared on the first season of ''Gotham (TV series), Gotham'' and was played by Andrew Stewar ...

, a character he created, appears. In 2009, Rucka and artist Eddy Barrows took over ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics ...

'' as the title moved its focus from Superman to Kryptonian heroes Nightwing and

Flamebird Flamebird is the name used by six different fictional comic book characters who have appeared in books published by DC Comics, specifically from the ''Superman'' and ''Batman'' mythos. The primary character to use the Flamebird name is Bette Kane, ...

in the aftermath of the "

" story arc. As well as writing ''Action Comics'', Rucka co-wrote the main ''New Krypton'' 12 part series with ''Superman'' writer James Robinson. At Wondercon 2010 Rucka announced he would part ways with DC Comics to focus on his own projects, in part because of DC's failure to keep him on as writer of '' Wonder Woman: Earth One'' as promised. Rucka then wrote ''

'' for Marvel Comics. On July 11, 2011, Rucka launched the

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be c ...

''Lady Sabre and the Pirates of the Ineffable Aether'', a steampunk adventure series illustrated by

Rick Burchett Rick Burchett (born March 9, 1952) is an American comic book artist known for his work on such characters as Batman and Superman. Career Burchett began his artistic career in St. Louis, Missouri, and did his early professional comics work at Fi ...

. New installments appear every Monday and Thursday. In May 2013, Rucka launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the publication of a print edition of ''Lady Sabre'', and achieved their initial funding goal of $27,500 within eight hours. He wrote the creator-owned series, ''Black Magick'', which was drawn by

Nicola Scott Nicola Scott is a comics artist from Sydney, Australia whose notable works include ''Birds of Prey'' and ''Secret Six''. In 2016, she and writer Greg Rucka relaunched ''Wonder Woman'' for DC Comics Rebirth Archive requires scrolldown. and crea ...

and published by Image Comics. The Rucka/Scott creative team produced a new ''Wonder Woman'' series for DC Comics in June 2016 as part of the

DC Rebirth DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 initiative in May 2016 as its launching point, DC Rebirth restored the DC ...

relaunch. Rucka concluded his run on ''Wonder Woman'' as of issue #25. In 2017, Rucka wrote the creator-owned series ''The Old Guard'', which was drawn by Leandro Fernandez, colored by Daniela Miwa and published by Image Comics. In March 2017,

Skydance Media Skydance Media, LLC (formerly known as Skydance Productions) is an American production company based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by David Ellison in 2006, the company entered a five-year partnership to co-produce and co-finance films with ...

picked up the rights to adapt the comic into a film with the same name. Rucka wrote the film's script. The film was released on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

in July 2020. In July 2019, Rucka began writing the ''Lois Lane'' 12-issue limited series with artist

Mike Perkins Mike Perkins is a British comic book artist known for his inking work and full art duties on comic books such as ''Captain America'', '' Ruse'' and Stephen King's ''The Stand''. Career Mike Perkins began drawing at a very early age. After att ...

. In December 2019, Rucka began writing a second volume of ''The Old Guard'' called ''The Old Guard: Force Multiplied.''

Appearances in media

Rucka was featured as a character in the ''

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...

'' comic book mini-series '' Dying in the Gutters'', where he accidentally killed comics gossip columnist

Rich Johnston Richard Johnston is a British comics creator, columnist, and founder of the comics news site ''Bleeding Cool''. ''The Comics Journal'' described Johnston as having claimed to be "the oldest extant comics news reporter on the Internet." His pas ...

while attempting to kill

Joe Quesada Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books ...

over his perceived role in the cancellation of '' Gotham Central''.

Personal life

Rucka, his wife, author

Jen Van Meter Jennifer Van Meter is an American comic book writer best known for her Oni Press series '' Hopeless Savages''. Early life and education Van Meter was born and raised in Fresno, California. She graduated from Vassar College with a Bachelor of Ar ...

, and their two children, lived in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, and live in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. Rucka names ''

The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Harrison Ford, Teri Garr, and Robe ...

'', '' Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' and '' The Silence of the Lambs'' as his favorite films. He enjoys the music of

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

Lester Bowie Lester Bowie (October 11, 1941 – November 8, 1999) was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and co-founded the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Biography Born in ...

, Joe Jackson,

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", " Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Th ...

, and

Melissa Ferrick Melissa Ferrick (born September 21, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter. Her song "Drive" (2000) is considered a lesbian anthem. She is a music professor at Northeastern University and at Berklee College of Music. Early life Ferrick was ra ...

. His other hobbies include role-playing games, computer games, playing the guitar and collecting action figures.

Awards

Wins

*2000 Eisner Award for Best Limited Series (for '' Whiteout: Melt'') *2002 Eisner Award for Best New Series (for ''

'', with Steve Rolston) *2004 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story (for '' Gotham Central'' #6-10: "Half a Life", with

Michael Lark Michael Lark (born 1966) is an American comics artist and colorist. Lark has provided pencils for DC Comics' ''Batman'', '' Terminal City'', '' Gotham Central'' and '' Legend of the Hawkman''. His work for Marvel Comics includes '' The Pulse'' a ...

) *2004 Harvey Award for Best Single Issue or Story (for ''Gotham Central'' #6-10, with Michael Lark; tied with

Gilbert Hernandez Gilberto Hernández (born February 1, 1957), usually credited as Gilbert Hernandez and also by the nickname Beto (), is an American cartoonist. He is best known for his ''Palomar''/''Heartbreak Soup'' stories in '' Love and Rockets'', an alterna ...

and

Jaime Hernandez Jaime (sometimes spelled Xaime) Hernandez (born 1959) is the co-creator of the Alternative comics, alternative comic book ''Love and Rockets (comics), Love and Rockets'' with his brothers Gilbert Hernandez, Gilbert and Mario Hernandez (comics), M ...

for '' Love and Rockets'' #9) *2010

GLAAD Media Award The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their liv ...

for Outstanding Comic Book (for '' Detective Comics'') *2011

Eisner Award for Best Short Story The Eisner Award for Best Short Story is an award for "creative achievement" in American comic books that has been awarded every year since its creation in 1993. The Eisner Award rules state that "A short story must be within an anthology of bigg ...

(for "Post Mortem" from ''I Am An Avenger'' #2, with

Nominations

*1999 Eisner Award ** Best Limited Series (for '' Whiteout'', with

Steve Lieber Steve Lieber (born May 19, 1967) is an American comic book illustrator known for his work on books such as ''Detective Comics'' and ''Hawkman'', and the critically acclaimed miniseries '' Whiteout'', which was adapted into a 2009 feature film sta ...

) ** Best Writer (for ''Whiteout'') *2000 Eisner Award ** Best Graphic Album: Reprint (for ''Whiteout'', with Steve Lieber) ** Best Writer (for '' Whiteout: Melt'') *2002 Eisner Award ** Best Continuing Series (for ''Queen & Country'', with Steve Rolston) ** Best Serialized Story (for ''

'' #1-4: "Operation: Broken Ground", with Steve Rolston) ** Best Writer (for ''Queen & Country'') *2003 Eisner Award ** Best New Series (for '' Gotham Central'', with

and

) ** Best Serialized Story (for ''Queen & Country'' #8-12: "Operation: Crystal Ball", with Leandro Fernández) ** Best Writer (for ''Queen & Country'' and '' Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia'') ** Best Writer (for ''Queen & Country'') *2003 Harvey Award for Best Writer (for ''Gotham Central'', with Ed Brubaker) *2004 Eisner Award ** Best Continuing Series (for ''Gotham Central'', with Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, Brian Hurtt, and Stefano Gaudiano) ** Best Continuing Series (for ''Queen & Country'', with Jason Alexander, Carla Speed McNeil, and

Mike Hawthorne Mike Hawthorne is an American comic book artist known for his work on books such as ''Deadpool'', '' G.I. JOE: Origins'', ''Queen & Country'', '' Conan: Road of Kings'', and his own creator-owned book, ''Hysteria''. Career Hawthorne is the crea ...

) ** Best Serialized Story (for ''Queen & Country'' #13-15: "Operation Blackwall", with Jason Shawn Alexander) ** Best Writer (for ''Queen & Country'', ''

'' and ''

'') *2005 Eisner Award for Best Writer (for ''Queen & Country'' and ''Gotham Central'') *2007 Harvey Award for Best New Series (for '' 52'', with

, Mark Waid, and

Keith Giffen Keith Ian Giffen (born November 30, 1952) is an American comics artist and writer. He is known for his work for DC Comics on their '' Legion of Super-Heroes'' and ''Justice League'' titles as well as for being the co-creator of Lobo. Biography ...

) *2011 Eisner Award for Best Limited Series (for ''Stumptown'', with Matthew Southworth) *2014 Eisner Award for Best New Series (for '' Lazarus'', with

)

Bibliography

Video games

*''AR-K: The Great Escape'' (writer) *'' Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow'' (story designer)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rucka, Greg 1969 births Living people 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American writers 21st-century American screenwriters Writers from San Francisco American bloggers American comics writers Jewish American writers Emergency medical technicians Hugo Award-winning writers Marvel Comics writers University of Southern California alumni Vassar College alumni