Rucka on Convergence, Renee, Kate and Why He’s Back at DC

DC Comics will be bringing back some characters that haven’t been seen in the new 52 in April and one of the most intriguing returns is that of Renee Montoya along with the writer most associated with her Greg Rucka.

I chatted with Rucka about Renee, his return to DC and what we can expect from the mini-series and some other things.

Q. Greg its been almost 5 years since you left DC Comics and wrote Renee Montoya and now you’re writing her again - how did that happen?

Dan called and offered me the job. It’s kinda that simple. I mean, the longer version of the conversation was that Dan prefaced the offer saying something like I was the first person he thought of for the book, and he wanted to offer it to me even though he fully expected I would say no. I gave it a little thought, and I said — half-jokingly — that I’d do it if Cully would draw it. Dan responded by saying that he’d call Cully.

Not so fast!

Cully and I had a chat, then, and he was very enthusiastic, and frankly I didn’t need a big push to take the job. Sometimes, you know, you’re lucky and you can walk away from something you’ve worked on feeling that you’re finished, even if the character is going to be moving on — there’s a sense of closure in some way. That’s been very rare for me. I can’t speak for others, but it’s been extraordinarily rare that in my work for hire career that I’ve been able to leave a character cleanly, if that makes sense. Then you add in the fact we’re talking about Renee… the truth is, I didn’t take very much convincing.

Q. You and I have had conversations through the years about the highs and lows of working with a major publisher like DC. Now you’re back and you recently said you’d be open to working on a Batwoman book - what’s different now than a few years ago?

Well, I think we’ve both moved on — I wouldn’t say “matured” but we’ve had some water under the bridge. I think DC tried some things that worked for them and they’ve tried some things that didn’t work, and God knows I can say the same about me. When I answered before about how the job came about, I’m not including a very long series of conversations over the years with Dan in particular — and with some others — about why I left when I did, what I felt needed to change for both myself and my relationship with DC. In many ways, this is the culmination of that work, and I’m grateful for that, and that Dan, in particular, was willing to make some commitments that I really needed to feel safe going back into that particular four-color jungle.

Q. You’ve written the bulk of Renee’s stories. What is it about Renee that makes her an appealing character for you to write?

You always ask these questions that look like total softballs and absolutely aren’t, you know that, right? What is it about Renee? I wish I could say one single thing. I adore her, she’s a sister I don’t have, I guess. I admire her humanity, her humanness — her foibles and her strengths. I love her complexity, and her humor, and her perseverance. She is, to me, exceptionally heroic, but in a manner we do not see often at places like DC or Marvel. Her heroism is quiet, and very private. Her belief in doing right and helping others is so all-consuming it nearly destroyed her (or at least was one of the elements that lead to that near self-destruction).

And she is — at least to me — entirely plausible, entirely believable. Her world may be fantastic, but her place in it is so beautifully grounded. There’s an every(wo)man aspect to her character that I find infinitely appealing.

Q. Where is Renee when Convergence starts? What’s her situation and status?

It’s a pre-New 52 Gotham City that has been sealed away from the rest of creation for about a year or so, her time. And the situation could be worse… but it could be a hell of a lot better. She’s in a dark place: not necessarily violent, but she’s dealing with a looming, inevitable personal tragedy, and she’s coming up to the breaking point.

Cover of The Question #1 by Cully Hamner

Fortunately, she’s got some people who love her watching her back while she’s trying to do the same for someone else.

Q. With the cover of the second issue of the mini revealed we found out that Renee was being joined by Helena Bertinelli and Kate Kane which caused much fan excitement - what was thinking there?

Uhm… logic? Not in terms of sales or anything like that, but in terms of Renee’s life, who her friends are, where she is. Helena and she are — in my mind — exceptionally close; they’ve forged a friendship that is bulletproof, and even if they’ve never said as much to one another, I don’t think there’s a doubt to either of them that they would lay down their lives for the other. It’s the kind of friendship that will sustain — they could go years without speaking, seeing each other, and then pick up like it was only an hour ago they last spoke. The last story I wrote with Renee was “Pipeline,” and in many ways that was a story about their friendship, and the lengths they would go for one another. It’s worth remembering that, at the end of “Pipeline,” Helena — our good lapsed Catholic girl — was willing to pretty much damn her everlasting soul to spare Renee. Renee (our even more lapsed Catholic girl) was willing to do the same.

Cover of Convergence: The Question #2 by Cully Hamner

As for Kate… everything between Renee and Kate notwithstanding, I cannot imagine a Kate Kane who wouldn’t come to Renee’s aid at the drop of a hat. And I wasn’t going to miss a chance to write Kate again. In for a penny, in for a pound, after all.

Q. The characters have such a passionate following among fans - why do you think they resonate so deeply?

I think there are a couple of reasons, and I think very few of them have anything to do with me, honestly. I think there’s an obvious — and very real and necessary — issue of representation and visibility, of course. I think the importance of seeing vital, active, heroic, flawed women in all entertainment can’t be overstated. That’s obvious enough. I think Renee’s position as a woman of color — and I’ve always worked very hard to remember in my writing of her that she is the child of immigrants, that she is Latina — is crucial. I think seeing queer characters is crucial, especially when sexuality is not a focus of character but an element of their identity, their believability as human beings. I think, in that, Renee and Kate both are standard-bearers to an extent, certainly in the mainstream of comics.

But genuinely, I think it’s because these are just terrific damn characters. They’re wonderful. They’re people you would love to hang out with and shoot pool with and go to the movies with and drink beer with and eat pizza with. Hanging out with Renee and Helena? That would simply be fun, you know? I think Kate’s less fun to hang out with — she suffers the Bat Curse, after all, so while she can laugh, she can smile, she’s always haunted in a way that Renee isn’t, that Helena isn’t. All three women have their ghosts they carry, their own baggage — I would never diminish that — but Kate’s carrying a tragedy very similar to Helena’s, but in a much more… burdened way, I think.

And I think it goes back to what I said earlier — again — that certainly Renee, but to similar extent Kate and Helena — they’re very relatable. Their circumstances may be extraordinary, but their voices, their desires, their needs… we understand them, and in many cases we share them, regardless of our own ethnicity or orientation or religious background (or lackthereof) or position.

Q. The fans of these characters are sure to pick this up - but what about people who don’t know Renee - what’s the hook for them to jump on board?

It’s part of the Convergence event with three of the most bad-ass characters in the DCU. Plus Two-Face. And Cully Hamner is drawing it. And Laura Martin is coloring it. And that alone is worth the price of admission.

Q. Renee Montoya doesn’t seem to appear to have books in the post Convergence DC line-up Any chance we will see her again?

You’re probably asking the wrong guy about that. But I’d guess yes. I’d take that bet, yeah.

Q. And finally, Renee has more visibility than ever due to her being a part of the Gotham cast - have you watched the show? Any thoughts on the character there?

I haven’t watched the show, to be honest. I’ve heard from people who love it and I’ve heard from people who hate it, and I just haven’t taken the time to watch, so I cannot have any opinion. That said, I’m beyond thrilled that both Renee and Crispus are walking and talking, that they’ve made that jump. But — for my own purposes — I just don’t watch a lot of television anymore, and I’ve been avoiding almost all of the superhero shows. I’ve got to be honest and say that I’m very raw there, I’m not sure why… I fear that I would be too easily wounded in seeing Arrow’s version of Nyssa, for instance, or Crispus on Gotham. So it’s self-protection as much as anything else.

Victoria Cartagena as Renee Montoya on Gotham

Now, with that said, I have heard Victoria Cartagena’s comments about playing Renee — and going back and reading Gotham Central — and it’s got to be some of the most flattering words I’ve ever had turned my way. She is so clearly invested in Renee, and that delights me absolutely.

Thanks Greg.

Convergence: The Question #1 is on sale April 8.