5 Writers Whose Work Was Shaped By Amazing Pre-Comics Careers

2. Greg Rucka - Fight Choreographer

Tom King Batman CIA
Image Comics

Greg Rucka is known for his acclaimed work on DC titles such as Wonder Woman, Lois Lane and Gotham Central, as well as creator owned books Queen and Country and Lazarus. Before making it big in comics, Rucka authored a series of novels based on an original character named Atticus Kodiak. These novels were inspired by three of Rucka's jobs before becoming a writer: bodyguard, emergency medical technician and theatrical fight choreographer.

It is the latter of these three professions that had the most interesting impact on Rucka's work today. It is no surprise that experience as a fight choreographer would come in handy when you write comic books filled with fights for a living.

It is common place for comic writers to supply reference images to their artists. Rucka takes this concept to the next level. For a thirteen page fight sequence in the Image series Lazarus, the writer actually choreographed and filmed a fight sequence for artist Michael Lark to work off of.

Contributor
Contributor

Kody Schmitt is a freelance writer and musician from The Ozark Mountains of Southwest Missouri. His writings have appeared everywhere from pop-culture sites to political journals and regional news media. He is the lyricist, composer and bassist for the long-running theatrical power metal act Death May Die. Kody is always on the hunt for artists to collaborate on comics with, so feel free to hit him up.