Recently I had the great privilege of speaking to a man who’s played with so many of the toys in the Superhero sandbox as well as video games and creator owned properties. His stories and runs are considered classics by so many of comic fandom: Mr. Greg Rucka. He took time out of his busy schedule to let me pick his brain about some of his past work as well as his exciting new comic book Dragon Age: Magekiller…

Graphic Policy: Before we start sir, I just want to state what an honor and a privilege it is to be able to speak with you today.

Greg Rucka: Thank you that’s very flattering.

Graphic Policy: I know it’s pretty early there in Portland (Oregon), how’s it going today?

Greg Rucka: Not too bad. I’ve had my caffeine (laughs) and pouring myself more of it as we speak, you and I will have a fun talk, and I’ll get back to work.

Graphic Policy: Oh absolutely. So I’m excited to get to talk to you about Dragon Age today..

Greg Rucka: Sure.

Graphic Policy: Okay first off, I am not too familiar with the Dragon Age world or its characters, but I read the book and I loved it. It just sucked me in right from the get go. What I liked the most was how from the beginning and for most of the issue, you used the character’s internal narration to start the story. So having not known these characters myself, that gave me a good crash course introduction to these characters in a very fun and fast paced way without being “dialog heavy”. It immediately made me invested to their world and what their mission was. Just very well done.

Greg Rucka: Oh that’s good to hear. Thank you.

Graphic Policy: So in the open of the book particularly the two main characters (Marius and Tessa) are those existing from the Dragon Age franchise?

Greg Rucka: You’re speaking of Marius and Tessa, and no they have not appeared anywhere else. Marius was however mentioned briefly in a short story that was done a couple of months ago about a character who has appeared already in the Dragon Age: Inquisition video game. He’s part of a character named Calpernia and her back story. He (Marius) was made part of her back story as a result of my current work on Dragon Age: Magekiller, and that’s how the franchise tends to build that tapestry. It’s all part of one universe, so I’m very glad to hear your initial positivity. The goal of the book is, one to appeal to fans of the franchise and those people who have played the games and are invested in the universe, who can read this and enjoy it. Then second is, you should be able to come to it knowing nothing about Dragon Age and having played the games or ever read the novels or even seen the animation or anything like that and still find it a good rewarding story. So again that is very heartening to hear your reaction. I appreciate it.

Graphic Policy: Well I am just very pleased with it and I certainly will be picking it up. Could you tell me if it’s an ongoing or limited series? 

Greg Rucka: We’re doing five issues. Frankly with my schedule the way it is, I can give them (Dark Horse Comics) five now. There is an intent to more, maybe later on down the line. I believe BioWare and Dark Horse are in discussion on how they would like to progress. So this is really sort of five issue single story that introduces these characters and takes them, those who are familiar with the game to just prior to the events of the most recent game Dragon Age: Inquisition to almost the end of that game. Recently there has been additional downloadable content for the game and the last DLC takes place maybe two years after the end of the current game, so our story ends well before that point. We designed it that way so it doesn’t interrupt the lead into the 4th Dragon Age game that will be coming out God knows when. (laughs)

Graphic Policy: Well that’s great for fans to know. I noticed you using gamer slang like “DLC” there, are you a gamer yourself?

Greg Rucka: Oh Yeah! When it comes to gaming, you name it, I’ve done it. I’ve table top role played, I’m a board gamer and of course video gamer. I will tell right now the big carrot I have for myself today, is that if I finish the work I have I can get back to playing some more Fallout 4.

Graphic Policy: (laughs) That’s great. I’ve heard that’s spectacular and I’m thinking of picking it up myself soon. 

Greg Rucka: See I’m old school, I’ve played the original Fallout and Fallout 2. I’ve survived in the wilderness for a long time so to speak, before Bethesda got the licensing and did Fallout 3. I liked one and two and enjoyed three. I’m not too sure what they’ve done as I haven’t had the time completely sit down and enjoy it, but it’s thoroughly impressed me so far. I’m a big fan of BioWare titles even going back to Baldur’s Gate for PC.

Graphic Policy: I remember that game too! Had a lot of fun playing it.

Greg Rucka: Exactly and one of the reasons I’m such a fan of BioWare games is that they tell these wonderfully rich stories and are highly story driven and you see that, especially in the Dragon Age franchise. I appreciate it. I’m a big story guy. I’m not necessarily wowed by games with the first person POV or sandbox features. I’d rather have it presented in a way that will show why it matters to me.

Graphic Policy: I like story driven games too. In general I just think the way the whole entertainment industry has blown up, and being to see all these properties that I was and still am a fan of is absolutely amazing. It seems everywhere you look now, there it is. Whether it’s on merchandising or tv or video games, I never saw it coming. To that point to you think this trend will ever bottom out, or is it going to continue to grow?

Greg Rucka: Oh no, I think that there is a whole enormous discussion we could have with this, we could talk about how there is this need we all have to play these games. Or we could state how we are all essentially carrying around super computers in our pockets, to play a game at a moments notice. We could talk about the neurological dopamine feed that you get as a player, when you hit the button and instantly get a reward. I think though if we talk about the economic side of this, which is society, live in a world where entertainment as a whole is owned by a rather small number of corporations and as a fan sometimes you can get very cynical where it comes off as a money grab. However that being said, I think the way society has changed and the way technology has changed, there’s almost no going back from this. Truth be told I love it. I think for me, that goes back to the whole table top gaming thing, where it starts as one quest with one artifact and it just expands and continues to grow. There’s a semblance of pleasure in seeing that. You could take for instance, the Star Wars movies. Sure you could take them just are they are, but then you also have novels, short stories, video games, cartoons, comic books that all expand on the myth and the universe. If you take what Jason (Aaron) is doing in the monthly Star Wars comic and what Kieron (Gillian) is doing with the Darth Vader book, it really is all wonderfully additive stuff. So I just don’t see it stopping for that reason. The only way it’s ever going to slow down is if there’s no profit to be made from it. There is always the risk of killing the “Golden Goose” but in the case of Star Wars, it’s an enormous Golden Goose. It could be done if there was abuse of the franchise and other well-known franchises. I don’t think we will see it anytime soon. To their credit, one of the things I appreciate about BioWare is that they don’t over saturate and market an abundance of unneeded content. They make sure the quality is consistent and that’s always a good thing to see. The only other issue I could see with this boom as a whole, is if there is too much stuff out there. In all honesty there is only a finite amount of consumer cash out there. You know as well as I do, with the case of comics. You have to pick and choose and really narrow down your focus for that week in the face of overwhelming choices.

Graphic Policy: (laughs) Oh yes, all too well. Every Wednesday is new comic book day. It’s grueling. 

Greg Rucka: So you get it.

Graphic Policy: Yes I do. Funny point is that I come from the “dark ages” when all this wasn’t as socially acceptable as it is now and it gives me a chip at times even to the point where my girlfriend will say “You know, you’re a nerd snob”. I get what she means because I might be guilty of being that person who sees a really young kid in a Deadpool beanie and I’ll roll my eyes. It’s a wonderfully weird time for this culture but to me it’s still weird. I just have to remember everyone has their place and need to reel it in sometimes. (laughs)

Greg Rucka: Exactly. Your attachment, all fandom is individual. We find our points of connection differently. For example, my son’s affection for Star Wars isn’t exactly the same as mine and my daughter’s affection for Star Wars won’t align with mine or his. Fandom at it’s best is all-inclusive and at its worst it can lead to a “gamer gate” effect where it becomes artificial gate-keeping. Just because someone likes the same thing you do but for reasons you may hate, doesn’t make their reason any less invalid or authentic. It behooves us all to remember that.

Graphic Policy: I will do well to remember that. I feel enlightened. To your point I mean I am such a big fan of all your previous work in comics that when this opportunity to speak to you came up, I jumped at it. Now not being a previous fan or having a preconceived notion of what Dragon Age entails I wanted to learn more. I will say that it does indeed have crossover appeal to me, and since I like the way your characters and story has been presented that I might pick up the game now. To your credit was that the intent to get that crossover audience and how does that figure you into crafting and expanding upon the Dragon Age world?

Greg Rucka: Of course! First thing I wanted to make sure that the comic was faithful to the source material and presented in a way where the story is compelling enough to make people want more.

Graphic Policy: For me it certainly has been. Like I said I am a very story driven person. Sure I like art too but not at the sacrifice of the story. As long as the story is at a certain level of quality, I’m sure to continue reading. That having been said, I’ve never heard of Carmen Carnero before but I really enjoyed the art it’s very fluid.

Greg Rucka: Well Carmen (Carnero) is relatively fresh, she’s out of Spain. I worked with her on Cyclops, which was a book I did and she’s really dynamite. Seeing how quickly she’s growing and getting stronger and stronger in her work. That’s the beauty of comics. Comics are interesting because to me as an individual I always appreciate the art. It is a visual medium. It’s not a prose medium. The art has to carry the story, it’s just how it is. Now in a weird way I’d never like the art to be so pretty that it detracts from the story, but it has to do its job. Carmen is very good at this and getting even better. That’s a very exciting aspect for me to see her progress.

Graphic Policy: I’m looking at the cover of issue one right now, and it does just that. It immediately grabs the reader, which is great. The other thing I appreciate greatly is that the art is presented by looking at it, with a video game style to it, so the reader could associate it with the video game right away. Was that on purpose?

Greg Rucka: Yes. That was very intentional. I wanted people to make the connection. I’ve read more than one comic that was supposed to be “based” off of the video game and right off the bat it will have things in it that you cannot do in the game. That drives me crazy.

Graphic Policy: Like any of the Arkham books that tie into the video game. They tend to do that and it can be irritating. 

Greg Rucka: It does! That actually bugs me too. So I made a point that anytime in the book where I have a character using a spell in my story, that it must be conceivable within the confines of the game. So ideally even if you haven’t seen it before but if you read the book and have played the game you can say right away “Oh that’s a fire trap spell”! So they can get it and make the connection valid. I mean it doesn’t have to be perfect but there should at least be points of reference.

Graphic Policy: Absolutely. I think the attention to detail enriches the experience more.

Greg Rucka: Thank you.

Graphic Policy: So I came across a quote you had in another article, and I’ll paraphrase here but you described Marius as “The Tiventer Boba Fett” and I think that is just bad ass I must say…

Greg Rucka: Yeah that I’ve got to give credit where credit is due. That was the core idea presented to me and that was presented to me by Mike Laidlaw, who is one of the head muckity mucks on the game. So he presented it to me from the guy who was the lead head writer on the game and was him who presented the idea of a Tiventer Boba Fett. They wanted Marius to be a guy who hunts mages, but doesn’t use magic. When they suggested that to me, I thought it was fantastic and wanted to do that. So you get a good idea like that and suddenly you’re off to the races.

Graphic Policy: Yeah I have to say I really enjoy that twist. It was very well done. It’s also especially cool that even his partner (Tessa) doesn’t use it as well, it adds to it. The other thing I noticed is Marius is written to seem like a very cold character and only self-serving, but when the threat of children being endangered, he springs to their aide. He was all over it, even though it turns out to be a ploy, you still see there is some level of soul to this character. He’s not just the typical 90’s construct of a bounty hunter that has no depth and is decked out with ridiculous pouches and an overstock of guns and it works really well. Like I said this is my first foray into the Dragon Age property and thanks to you it won’t be my last.

Greg Rucka: Well that’s terrific and great to hear.

Graphic Policy: I have to ask though, is it easier and less daunting to write video game characters rather than something based off of a DC or Marvel property?

Greg Rucka: That’s an interesting question. In the case of Marius and Tessa, they have only appeared in Magekiller so I wasn’t in danger of portraying them in a way that was in violation of how anyone else has ever done them. They are my additions to the cannon. So I was the guy who decided how they talked and the way they act. When they interact with characters from the games, then it becomes very crucial that I get those portrayals correct so they are accurate and fair. To a point if you stare at it too long it can become paralyzing. For example I when I’m writing Batman, if I have to approach it as having read every Batman comic ever written and unify every single take into my version of Batman, then I’m going to fail. One it’s not even possible, two no one has that much time even without a deadline. (laughs) Lastly, to be frank, not everything that has been done is good. So the most daunting thing, and this is universal is and I try not to think about it too long for self paralysis reasons. At the end of the day my goal is do a take that the majority of fans will appreciate and enjoy. I want them to come away feeling respect for the thing they love. There’s no way that I’m going to deliver something that will make everyone happy. In fact, no creator can. I suspect that if someone ever managed to do it, then they are cheating. It all goes back to that case of individual fandom. My goal is to have delivered something that more people like it than don’t.

Graphic Policy: Well I think it’s safe to say you’ve accomplished just that many times over.

Greg Rucka: I appreciate that. That really is it. That’s what it comes down to. Right now I’m just really enjoying working on my own stuff.

Graphic Policy: I greatly appreciate your time, this has been fantastic. From a personal standpoint as a fan, I can’t tell you how awesome this is. Last question and I shall leave you to your work. When you are not immersed in writing groundbreaking comic books, who is Greg Rucka and what does he like to do?

Greg Rucka: (laughs) Oh man, you’re very kind. Well let’s see, I try to catch up on my reading, try to spend some time with my family, catch up on my sleep. Mostly I’m just trying to get ready for the next project, the next thing that has to be done. There’s actually not a whole lot of downtime. I wouldn’t mind a vacation soon. It’s been terrific talking to you and if you ever want to follow-up, don’t hesitate to email or call. We could do it again soon.

Graphic Policy: It would be great. I would love to work with you again. I know you’re very busy having your hand in a lot of pots so to speak. Plus you need free time for gaming which I respect very much. 

Greg Rucka: (laughs) I really appreciate that. This has been a pleasure talking to you. Have a good day.