At VicSage.com, Eric Newsom kicks off the first installment of a five-part interview with Greg Rucka about The Question. The first leg focuses on the Denny O’Neil/Denys Cowan series from the late ’80s, and touches upon the decision to kill off the character in 52:
EN: Any thoughts on Denny’s decision to “kill” the Question, to separate from the Ditko version, in light of the fan wringer you’ve just been through?
GR: Eh…you know, it’s a different thing, what Denny did to launch the series and what we did in 52. Part of what we were doing in 52 was talking about death in the DCU, as much as we were talking about legacy.
In all honesty — and I’m sure this’ll warrant some comments — but, to my memory, at least, we started 52 knowing that Charlie was going to die, but we hadn’t actually committed to handing the mantle to Renee. It was a logical story, and I maintain it is a good and valid story, but that was something we approached quite cautiously.
EN: It won’t only warrant comments, it’ll warrant future interview questions!
GR: And I think it was DiDio who pointed out that, if we were going to remove the Question, we had to replace him with another, and as soon as he said it, it became a no-brainer, because he was right.
But yeah, those questions, I suppose, are for next time.
I will say that…I mean, everyone thinks that the process, that these decisions, they’re made in some smoke-filled backroom.
EN: The room from Citizen Kane. That’s what I always imagine the DC offices like.
GR: And they’re not. There’s so much that goes into the process at every stage, and we really do try to consider — yeah, that’s the room, right next to the one marked “The Man” — everything we do, and we try to consider it very carefully. I’m not saying that’s always the case for every title, but for 52, at least, we were very considered in everything we did.
We never approached the characters lightly. And it’s funny, because everyone said “Oh, they’re using B-List characters,” but none of us — not Grant, not Mark, not Geoff, not Steve, not Keith, not Mike, and not me — not ever for a minute looked at the characters like that. We love these characters, and we always wanted to do right by them, to serve them well. That’s the job, and frankly, it’s an honor, and it’s the least the characters deserve.
Much more at the link, of course.
