BEHIND THE PAGE: RAGS MORALES

[MattBrady]

by Vaneta Rogers

Whatever happened to Rags Morales?

It's a common question on message boards and in local comic shops. After the success of Identity Crisis, the seven-issue mini-series he penciled for DC Comics with writer Brad Meltzer in 2004, Morales was a sought-out, fan-favorite comic book artist.

But after stints on Wonder Woman and JSA that saw fill-in artists having to come in and help out, Morales didn't seem to have any work being released. Although originally announced as penciller on Detective Comics, the gig was eventually given away to someone else, and fans of the artist have only seen his work on a couple issues of JSA Classified and a few pages in JLA #0 and Action Comics Annual #10.

"What happened" is as much a story of personal derailment as professional. As is often the case with artists, Rags Morales discovered that his work was only as focused as his life. And when a divorce interrupted his second try at having a stable family, it interrupted his art too.

But now Morales has been announced as penciller on Batman Confidential in a story starting later this year and is planning a Wildstorm project that has him excited about his work again. And as he puts the derailment behind him and works to get things back on track, Newsarama talked to Morales, spending some time taking a look back at his career, his life and what comes next.

Newsarama: You grew up in New Jersey, and you're still there, right near where you grew up, aren't you?

Rags Morales: Yeah, relatively. About 40 minutes away.

NRAMA: Is there a reason you never left the area?

RM: Well, finances being what they are, you try to find someplace cheaper as you go along as an artist -- and as a comic book artist in particular, you don't have the big bucks that you'd love to have. So right now I'm kind of stuck in the little area that I thought was going to be a place to raise my second family, but it didn't come to be.

NRAMA: When we were talking earlier, you said you live close to your sister and your dad. Are you still pretty close to your family?

RM: Yeah. And my mother lives in Virginia Beach, so I don't get to see her too often, but I do see my sister on a regular basis, as well as my dad.

NRAMA: So you grew up in a family of four?

RM: Mmm hmm. [laughs] Just a little four-piece set. And I was your typical kid -- you know, short hair, short pants.

NRAMA: [laughs] When did you start reading comics?

RM: I was raised in suburbia in New Jersey. I was born in Manhattan, and we moved out when I was four. So right away, even at that age, the first thing that struck me was the lack of ethnicity. It wasn't as diverse as I was used to. So I had a hard time making friends, and comic books became my companion -- you know, stumbling on Batman, Neal Adams, that kind of thing.

NRAMA: Lack of ethnicity? What ethnicity is your family?

RM: Puerto Rican, with Indian on my mother's side -- Comanche/Apache.

NRAMA: So did you feel out of place in suburban New Jersey?

RM: Well, I didn't feel out of place -- it made me "different" though. It was a pretty WASP-y neighborhood.

NRAMA: What were the first comic books with which you identified as a young kid?

RM: Oh, Batman, of course. Batman and Captain Marvel. It wasn't so much the writing, 'cause I was more into whoever grabbed my eye artistically. It fell along the lines of the illustrator types, like Neal Adams and John Buscema, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, Jim Aparo -- that's basically what my style derives from.

NRAMA: At what point did you start trying to draw some of that stuff?

RM: My mom says I started when I was three.

NRAMA: That's so young!

RM: Yeah, my father knew exactly what I wanted to be.

NRAMA: Did you go through all your childhood saying you wanted to be an artist?

RM: Yeah, actually. And my mom was always telling me I wasn't an artist because I wouldn't get paid.

NRAMA: She wasn't discouraging, was she?

RM: No, no. She wasn't. It was more of a reality check. I don't know what kind of an attitude I had as a kid. Perhaps I might have been a little bit too lofty for my age. But it was really more like -- hey, you're a kid now, and if you want to be an artist, you've got to work for it. But to be discouraging? No, not at all. We would go to the Bronx and visit family on weekends, and if I had nothing to do, my parents would pull out a paper bag with a pencil and paper and give it to me, and I would draw. My mom was always the one who would give me markers and pens and pencils and pads and things like that. My folks were always very encouraging.

NRAMA: Did it always concentrate on superheroes, or were you into drawing other things as well?

RM: Yeah, for the most part, I drew superheroes. I was always big on anatomy. And when you have illustrators to follow, the first thing that pops into your young mind is how well they handle light source and muscle details and things of that nature.

But it didn't stay superheroes. Keith Giffen has a great quote where he says, "we lose our audience when they lose their virginity." And I was no different. So when I was in junior high, I got away from comic books and started following illustrators: Norman Rockwell, Winsor McCay, Charles Dana Gibson, James Montgomery Flagg, John Singer Sargent, Joseph Clement Coll -- anyone with three names.

NRAMA: So this was around high school age that you were more into illustration work?

RM: Yeah, yeah. I was very much into pen and ink illustration. I dabbled a bit in painting, but I never really got too far with that. In fact, I wish I had more time actually to pursue oil paints and things like that. I have the equipment and the books -- I just don't have the time.

NRAMA: And after high school, you went to the Kubert School, right?

RM: The Joe Kubert School, yeah. The "Joe Kubert School of Comic Book Knowledge," we call it. When I was in junior high, my mom enrolled me in something there called Saturday morning sketch classes. The old school, at that time, was a mansion, and the mansion is now the dorms. But yeah, I used to go there on Saturday mornings as a kid. And we met Joe. And Joe's one of the greatest communicators of the art form. If nothing else, aside from his incredible talent as an artist and his skill, his ability to communicate was really invigorating, and if anybody ever has a chance to sit down next to Joe at a convention or something, do yourself a favor and just listen to Joe. He knows how to get a point across and make it stick.

NRAMA: Somewhere when you were going to school is when you got your nickname Rags.

RM: Yeah, well, in humor class -- my humor teacher was John Troy -- and he had us do a daily syndicated strip. And it was an exercise in writing. Of course, when you're 19, what the hell do you know? You know? [laughs] Being that the only thing I knew about was wanting to be published, I did a strip called "Rags to Riches." And the main character was Rags, and it was basically about me and my friends. It had very little to do with drawing and more to do with, you know, stupid things ... like drinking. [laughs] And so, when I finally got my first gig, I wanted to come up with a pen name. Ralph is harsh as a name. So I thought, what the hell -- Samuel Clemens was Mark Twain, so why don't I become something else? And Rags popped in, I liked it, it sounded good, and I kept it.

NRAMA: It certainly stuck. Does anyone still call you Ralph?

RM: Ironically, I have so many names actually. My father's name is Ralph as well, and my mother wanted to name me Anthony. So they compromised, and my real name is Ralph Anthony. And because there were two Ralphs in the household, my mother and my sister and my mother's side of the family -- everybody calls me Anthony. The only one who calls me Ralph is my father. So I have that, plus the pen name, and then there are a bunch of stupid nicknames. So, yeah, I have those names.

NRAMA: You've got a tattoo, right?

RM: I have a tattoo. It's a personal tattoo.

NRAMA: Personal. That's a hint not to ask what it means.

RM: Yes.

NRAMA: And there's a picture of you that was always used next to your name where you had long hair.

RM: Yeah, my John Oates days. [laughs]

NRAMA: But now it's shorter. A lot shorter. And didn't you have a few earrings back then too?

RM: I used to.

NRAMA: What happened? You got all cleaned up and mature looking.

RM: I turned 40. [laughs] You know what? When I was a kid, it was vogue to pierce your ears. Back then, it was the left ear pierced, you were straight, and the other ear was questionable, you know? So I've had my left ear pierced basically since junior high. Then I got older and got two piercings in my left and one in my right ear, and all kinds of craziness. But by the time I got to the point where my oldest daughter was in softball, I was at one of her practices and was watching her coach, who was six years younger than me, with the receding hairline and the spiked hair and the gut. And I said, boy, this looks totally ridiculous to me. So I thought, somewhere out there, I look ridiculous to someone else. So I decided it's time to put them away.

NRAMA: I understand. I'm 41, so I've got the same thing going on. We have to look the part.

RM: Right, right. Don't you hate it? We're still 19 in our minds, right?

NRAMA: I'm still a kid!

RM: Exactly. We don't need to grow up. Screw that.

NRAMA: At least you have comic books. You have fun in your job and do something you've enjoyed doing since you were a kid. Or do you have fun?

RM: Well, of cour ... uh ... mmm ... errr ... well ... [laughs]

NRAMA: Not exactly convincing, Rags.

RM: It's a sad day when your hobby becomes your career -- when things are being done by demand. The urge to do it when I was younger was that I did it when I wanted to, if I wanted to. It's fun when you're inspired to do stuff and you have all the time in the world to do it. But when you sit down and you have deadlines and bills to pay and demands and there are all kinds of expectations from editors and the fan base, then it becomes pressure.

In that way, it can be depressing. But at the same time, I really get a kick out of seeing it in print and seeing people's reaction. So that's when it becomes fun for me. That's what I love to see at a convention.

NRAMA: One of the first things you did professionally, as a comic book artist, was the Dungeons and Dragons books -- Forgotten Realms.

RM: Forgotten Realms! Yeah! Very good. Hey -- you did your homework. Yeah, I broke into the business in '89, and my first job was DC Comics. In fact, my first editor that I interviewed with was Mike Carlin. And Mike said I was OK, but he thought I was a year away. Not to be daunted, I hit all the editors that I could. And luckily, I did some character designs for the TSR line of licensed books, and they liked them enough to give me the first issue of Forgotten Realms. And from there, as soon as I got my first issue done on time and to their specifications, I immediately got offered a contract. And I spent two years doing Forgotten Realms.

Then when TSR went off to do their own thing apart from DC, I decided to try to find work elsewhere, and it took me about six months to find Black Condor. I did 10 issues of Black Condor, which was my shot at mainstream.

NRAMA: Then you worked for Valiant Comics for a couple years, right?

RM: Yeah. Four years at DC and two years at Valiant. It was mostly a few issues here and there. But at Valiant is where I met my buddy Tony Bedard, and he and I became fast friends. You know, I'd hang out in the city with him, and I met his wife, and I eventually got to meet his son when he was born. He's one of the more important people to me professionally, because when the impact of the speculation boom happened and everything was imploding, the plethora of specialty shops started closing down their businesses. And all the abundant titles that were all over the place started filtering out -- before you knew it, things were just really being condensed. And after my exclusive contract was up with Valiant, I was basically unemployed for a year.

NRAMA: Tony's the one who brought you on board doing the interiors of the Hourman ongoing for DC, which started your long career there, right?

RM: Yeah. When I was unemployed, I did some teaching at the local college, did some Dungeons & Dragons cards and did some illustration work for Harper-Collins just to stay afloat. And then sometime later, Tony was an associate editor at DC Comics. And Tony was really good about whoring me to editors at DC, and they decided to give me a shot.

But you know, at the time when I left Valiant, the rumor was that I was high maintenance as an artist because of some personal things that I had going on. See ... I've been married twice.

NRAMA: And divorced twice.

RM: Yeah, yeah. So by the time I got Hourman, I had gotten through a lot of personal things. And was motivated into turning myself from a big question mark in people's minds into the shining star of the book, as Tony would say. I really just grabbed that book and ran with it, and busted my fanny to get it done and do it well. We were looking mostly to get the kind of attention that Starman was getting at the time -- you know, that cult following. But it never really developed it, although we had a core group of very passionate fans who enjoyed it and Tom [Peyer]'s writing, which was just fantastic on that series.

NRAMA: It was based on Hourman III, who was an all-powerful robot from the 853rd century with a timeship, but he gave up much of his power so he could learn to be a superhero in our current time. The title was a lot of fun.

RM: It really was. It's one of those quirky books. It wasn't a normal superhero book.

NRAMA: Yeah, it jumped from century to century and had guest stars coming in and out all the time. It was really different. He what, hung out at a local joint with Snapper Carr ...

RM: The Mad Yak! Yeah, the Mad Yak. The great hang-out. But you know, it was really cool. I liked that. I thought Tom had written the best supporting cast since the Spider-Man titles. It was just great. Like Riker and Sticky, that was my invention. I wanted to flesh out Riker a little bit more, so I said, why don't we have him have a snot-nosed son who's like Generation X to the hippy generation like Riker is? And Tom liked it, so we ran with it. And then Bethany was a great character.

NRAMA: Bethany Carr. Snapper's ex-wife and Hourman III's love interest.

RM: Ironically, Bethany actually looks like my second wife.

NRAMA: How did that happen?

RM: After Hourman was canceled, I had been doing some JLA stuff and [laughs] -- oh boy, now we're really getting personal. I met my ex-wife at a bar. I used to live above a bar after my first divorce. And I used to DJ at this bar, just for kicks. My basement was the coolest basement in all of New Jersey, so I would work during the day, and at night I would come down and spin tunes. And that's where I met my ex-wife. At this point, Hourman had already been canceled, and I was just getting started with negotiation on Hawkman after wrapping up Hourman. So it was this little area of fluff where nothing was set in stone yet. And she looked just like Bethany, and that just knocked me out.

NRAMA: Another "look" you established was Hourman III's alter ego. The android thought he should have an "out-of-costume" identity like other superheroes, and his alter ego was this curly-haired young guy. I've always suspected -- was that you?

RM: [laughs] That was actually Tom Peyer when he was young!

NRAMA: I would have sworn it was a version of you. It was Tom?

RM: Yeah, yeah. He wanted it to look like him when he was a young lad. But I guess when you draw, you have a tendency to put yourself into everything you draw. So it's kind of like a strange little hybrid of what Tom looked like and me. [laughs] If Tom and I had a baby, it would be Hourman's alter ego.

NRAMA: And next was Hawkman. How many issues was that?

RM: That was the longest thing I ever did. That was 21 issues. And everything was -- pardon the pun -- flying pretty nicely with me on Hawkman. I had a new relationship, we were getting serious, and by the time we had a baby, things were going well. At least I thought so. Hawkman was a really good title for me. And that's after Mike Bair became my permanent inker, and Hawkman was one of the most stable books, with no creative change for quite some time.

NRAMA: You finished that run with a big crossover -- Black Reign.

RM: Yeah. When we did “Black Reign,” which was the final arc of our run, with me, Mike and Geoff, everything was just firing on all cylinders. I was peaking as an artist. And it was from there that I landed Identity Crisis, thanks to Brad, who put me on it.

NRAMA: Between “Black Reign” and Identity Crisis, you think you were peaking?

RM: Yeah, that's when I felt like I was the blue-chip outfielder, coming in from the minors. I felt like I'd spent enough time on my drawing to come into the "Big Show." And “Black Reign” was so well-received, and we really worked hard on it. We busted our tails. That was a crossover arc between Hawkman and with Don Kramer when he was doing JSA. So we all had to be in synch. We were just flying high. And when I got done with “Black Reign” and started Identity Crisis, I was on the ground running. I was just like, "keep it going... keep it going."

NRAMA: Well, it's my opinion that Identity Crisis played to your strengths. But as an interviewer, instead of me saying what I think, I'll just ask you -- what are your strengths? And do you agree that Identity Crisis played to those?

RM: Yeah, yeah. You know what? It played to all my strengths. When Brad gave the OK to hire me, he had seen something I did. It was Hawkman #17, I believe. That particular issue, he saw the Shadow Thief. And he liked my take on the Shadow Thief. The Shadow Thief had always been this character that somehow melted into the shadows, but he was always drawn in a way that popped him out. And when I handled him, he was in the shadow and always the shadow. So when you saw him as Carl Sands in the shadows, you would see his face, but that was all you could see was his eyes, his nose and his mouth. That was kept in shadow too, but everything else was black. He had melted into the blackness. And so there had been no separation between Carl Sands and his alter ego. Brad liked that idea. He thought it was an intelligent approach.

He saw me as understanding the nuances of the character and what makes that character. I think that's one of my strengths. I've always been an emotional artist. And I've always been good at developing an eclectic cast of supporting characters.

NRAMA: Wait, stop. An "emotional artist." What does that mean?

RM: Uh, I think I want it to read emotion well. From anger to confusion to joy, you know? Mike Bair had said that he thought I had one of the greatest angers on paper, which is one of the greatest compliments to me. And Identity Crisis was first and foremost a very intimate type of story. So, yeah, I guess all those years of following Norman Rockwell and all those illustrators that taught me about visual representation within one scene meant I was able to incorporate that knowledge and background into those scenes. Identity Crisis was a huge exercise in doing that kind of approach.

NRAMA: Obviously, it was a big whodunit. But it also took superheroes and looked at what's behind the mask -- the emotional background, the families, the secret identities.

RM: I tell people who don't read comics -- if you just take away the capes and make them all cops, Identity Crisis is a story about a cop's wife getting killed.

NRAMA: That's true! But it was such an emotional story. You made me cry during that funeral scene, you know.

RM: Awwwww. Well, thank you for that.

NRAMA: It's your fault!

RM: And Brad's. But you know, when I was drawing that, I was listening to the band Live, and the name of the album was "Throwing Copper." So that whole funeral scene was all that -- you know, lightning strikes and that very deep, mellow, emotional music as my back-drop. I often play music to get me motivated, because when you draw these kinds of things for 17 hours a day, you have to shut out the outside world to really concentrate and just really melt into the story. And music can really help with that. And "Throwing Copper" was a really great CD for me to listen to. But it drove my wife nuts at the time!

NRAMA: [laughs] So somber!

RM: Yeah, it was really somber. The whole scene of Ralph falling apart. That's one of my favorite scenes. It really is.

NRAMA: There must be more than one favorite scene in that series. It was uniquely powerful that way.

RM: Yeah, yeah. They all seem to be the ones that are the most emotional, you know?

NRAMA: Yeah, sure.

RM: Outside the fight sequence. That was definitely a favorite.

NRAMA: With Deathstroke against the JLA?

RM: Yeah. We were like the choreographers for this great fight scene that everybody enjoyed. But the emotional scenes, you know, from Ralph holding Sue's carcass, to Batman holding Robin at the foot of his father's body, to Ralph falling apart at the funeral, to even the confrontation between Jean and Ray toward the end of the series -- those are probably the most significant aspects of that whole run.

NRAMA: OK, then from there, you were assigned to do Wonder Woman, right?

RM: Yeah. Coming out of San Diego that year, after Identity Crisis, I said, "give me the next big thing -- I want to know what's happening." You know, when you work at home, you don't have the luxury of being in the publisher's offices and knowing what the scuttlebutt is. At the time, I had no clue. I didn't know anything about 52 or "One Year Later" or any of that stuff. I just knew Identity Crisis. It was such a huge success that I anticipated something spinning out of it, but I didn't know exactly what. So they said, you know, we're going to be doing something interesting with Wonder Woman. So I said, OK, give it to me. And we got started, and I felt like I was hitting the ground running with this one. And again getting personal, I was trying to get my ex-wife to model for Wonder Woman, because she has a lot of those qualities about her.

NRAMA: So she was kind of a cross between Bethany and Diana, huh?

RM: Yeah! But um, it worked out for me. I was very invigorated by it. Although I thank god that Greg [Rucka] had her blindfolded the whole time because, looking back, I don't know if I could handle my ex-wife looking at me. [laughs]

NRAMA: Well, you drew, #219, which was ...

RM: I started on #215.

NRAMA: Yeah, but I'm saying #219 was a big deal, because that's where Wonder Woman made the choice to kill. When she broke Max Lord's neck. You drew it.

RM: Yeah, yeah. It was good. I don't like things to be wrapped nicely and sweet all the time. I think there's a time for disruption. You can't have growth without it. And I thought to have one of the big three do something like that, I was like, hell yeah! Absolutely! I hated Maxwell Lord anyway. I always did. I thought he was a snot. So I was like, hey, you know what? Good. He turned out to be a punk? Let's take him out. And I liked the ramifications of that on a person like Diana who has so many different hats to wear, from hero to ambassador to princess to icon -- all the weight on her shoulders -- having to struggle with that decision. And having the strength and the conviction to say, "You know what? I did it. I can't change it. And you know what? I would do it again." So, I thought Greg did a great job with that.

NRAMA: But somewhere in there, we kind of lost you, didn't we? Weren't there some fill-in artists that had to help out?

RM: Yeah. It was toward the end of the “Bronze Door,” the first three issues that I did, when my divorce was basically inevitable. Um ... and I was dealing with a whole lot of, struggle with that, internally. And when you have someone that you admire so much become your model for a character and having to do that character ... I never thought it would be so difficult. But it was. It was exceptionally difficult for me. Having to keep the peace with my ex and, at that point, we had a daughter, and that was a priority. Unfortunately, I was not able to maintain a monthly schedule. So I had done fine for 10 years since my unemployment after the speculation boom, but I just couldn't at that time, and it all came down to ... just ... a sad part of my life.

NRAMA: So it affected the amount of time you could dedicate. Did it affect the work itself? The quality?

RM: No. That's the one thing that, for me, was easiest to maintain because that's what kept me afloat. Kept me going. My love for the art form, my love for the work. Like I said, even when things weren't going swimmingly, I would put in 14 hours a day doing the best that I could. And at that time, I refused -- and I think I'll probably go down like this -- refusing to concede on quality. I can't go down as a hack artist. I will take shortcuts. I will simplify. But they will be good shortcuts, and they will be sound simplifications. They will not be anything that I just don't care about. Nothing is that bad in my life that it's going to take away from me the very essence of me as a person.

NRAMA: So the next thing after Wonder Woman was the JSA arc with Paul Levitz, is that right?

RM: Yes, after Wonder Woman, DC had gotten the notice that I was struggling and that I was going to be struggling for the foreseeable future. So they tried to accommodate me by giving me things that were less deadline heavy. They wanted to put me on Detective Comics, and I said, well, you know this is the kind of character I could probably get lost in -- just try to heal myself in this very moral-driven type storyline. Bruce Wayne is essentially an unaffected character. I mean, he's affected, obviously, but he hides it well, and he bolsters himself well from it. I needed that kind of character. Because when you draw, you draw from within. It comes from the inside and comes out on the paper. So for me to feel better about my situation was for me to become a character like Bruce Wayne and have that kind of stoic kind of thing.

But at the time, the title wasn't ready for me. Paul Dini had just gotten married, there were contract negotiations between him and DC, and the stories weren't written yet. So to keep me busy, they gave me Paul Levitz's run. And as much as I admire Paul -- I think he's a tremendous writer and a wonderful person -- it wasn't what I was looking for. And I tried to work with it, and I tried to do the best that I could. But again, scheduling problems still popped in, with the trouble with my ex. And getting used to a new routine with my daughter and everything was no way to handle a book that was reliant on the artist to bring forth the best of someone who hadn't written something in 20 years. It was Paul's coming out party, and I did not show up. And that's my fault. I had trouble with another title. I like the JSA, I like the characters and I like the fan base, but unfortunately, I was not in a situation where I could handle it. And unfortunately, it suffered for it. Although it was a pretty darn good storyline. It was pretty neat. I like the revelation of Courtney and the layers given to Ted. It was all great. Just ... unfortunately, I didn't show up.

NRAMA: This was the first time that you had to juggle raising a kid as a single dad with your job as an artist, because you share custody, right?

RM: Yeah, I do. I had to learn parameters, and what was expected of me, and what I should expect of the situation. And unfortunately, it's a horribly painful experience, having to deal with someone with whom you don't see eye to eye anymore, especially when you have a child involved. That took some time to finally get to the point where we were able to say, OK, this is what it's going to be. I will do my agreed part, and you will do your agreed part. And that's what started the turnaround for me.

NRAMA: The turnaround? So are things "turned around" for you heading forward?

RM: Yes. I had to struggle, but it's gotten to the point where there's nothing left to lose personally; there's only things to gain. And professionally, coming out of the JSA arc and having Batman pulled away from me and having to look for work, just shows how quickly things can change. And, you know, nothing is set in stone. DC did what they needed to do, and I agree 100 percent with that. They had to move on, and I had to move on in my own way. I was able to pick up with Mike Carlin again.

Yeah, and it's funny, if you remember, I told you that the first interview I had was with Mike Carlin? And he told me I was a year away. After Identity Crisis finally made it big, I told him, "You know, you were wrong. I wasn't a year away, I was 15 years away."

NRAMA: That's great, Rags. But Mike's the one who got you on JSA Classified for the Doctor Mid-Nite story with Scott Beatty?

RM: Yeah, he had enough faith in me to put me on those two issues. But he put the first issue in the can before they started thinking about when they could put it out. [laughs] And after that, I had planned to do some Wildstorm stuff.

NRAMA: Yeah, you and Scott had publicly mentioned a desire to do a Wildstorm project together.

RM: Yeah. But that was originally something that was in the future, although if I would have pushed it to come sooner, it would have been there. Scott liked working with me on the JSA stuff, so the story he had going on with Wildstorm was something he really wanted me to be involved with. And I would have sooner, if Tony had not called.

NRAMA: Tony Bedard.

RM: Right. Tony Bedard called me again. He had been trying to get some steady work writing, and he wanted to do something with me for years. And we just couldn't get our schedules to meet. Finally, he gave me a call. And I feel like I owe Tony a lot from my emerging days in the industry. I didn't want to let him down. I felt really badly that we were never able to get our schedules to meet.

So Tony called, and it was the opportunity to 1) Work with Tony, and B) Do a Batman arc. It's for Batman Confidential. And even though I had treated the Dr. Mid-Nite arc as kind of a Batman-ism for me, and I was able to get my Batman mojo, so to speak [laughs], it wasn't quite the same. I saw this golden opportunity to work with Tony, but there was this whole Wildstorm thing. So I got in touch with Wildstorm, and Ben Abernathy, who's the editor, was very gracious to move back the Wildstorm project until I was done with Batman Confidential. And I told Tony I could do it, and Mike Carlin was the editor, and he had been the editor on JSA: Classified and I guess he saw that I could do a book timely enough that he felt comfortable giving me a project like this.

NRAMA: And sometime in here, you did those 12 pages for the Action Comics Annual.

RM: Just as I'd agreed to do the Batman thing, and while I was still wrapping up JSA: Classified, I got a call from Geoff Johns. Geoff said he was doing the annual, and he said, "You're on my short list of people I really want to do this annual. I'll give you 12 pages. It's not a whole lot, but I want you to be part of it. Richard Donner's co-writing it, and the Kuberts are in there." And I said, "Done!" It's my chance to finally be on a level playing field with my mentor. Adam actually taught me in school during my first year. He taught me narrative. So it was a way to -- in some way -- come full circle. So I knew that I absolutely wanted to do this, and Mike [Carlin] said he could hold off the deadline for the Batman stuff long enough and gave me his blessing, so all of the sudden, I had multiple projects at the same time. So I went from JSA: Classified, to doing 12 pages for Geoff, and now I'm working on Batman Confidential.

NRAMA: So you're working -- we've just only been seeing bits and pieces of it?

RM: Yeah. And the thing was that, through it all, this just shows the kind of company that DC is. They're very gracious, they're patient, they're understanding -- they are firm, in the fact that they need to make sure their job's done. But at the same time, once you're family, they treat you like family. They may kick you in the ass every once in awhile when you need it. But they'll give you a hand-out when you really need it. So I never really suffered any lapse of time between projects. There was a break between the JSA arc and the JSA Classified projects, and I had no idea what was happening, but immediately they had something for me. They're a good company. They're a good company.

NRAMA: And you're DC exclusive.

RM: Yeah, I'm exclusive through 2008. So that Batman arc and the Wildstorm project, which is an eight-issue mini-series, should take me through there.

NRAMA: Can you talk about the Wildstorm project?

RM: It's going to be really cool. It's going to have ripples that reach out through the Wildstorm universe. I would like to tell you more -- you know me ... I'm a blabbermouth -- but it's one of those things that where I just want to get through the Batman Confidential arc before I get into that. Scott and I have chatted and fleshed out a couple of ideas. Some character designed has started. But I don't want to say too much about it just yet.

NRAMA: So you're drawing Batman. You mentioned earlier that the stoicism was going to be a welcome change.

RM: You always want to do the things that you love, and I love Batman. Maybe I don't need Bruce Wayne as much as I thought I would have at one point. But it's been great drawing the characters and the supporting cast. He's my first favorite. Batman's "the bomb" to me. It's a chance to finally get to play with the toys, you know, like the big toy store that you always visited when you were a kid. It's my chance to put my imprint on the Batman universe. So without question, it's something that's important to me.

NRAMA: Tell us something that happens in the first issue of your Batman Confidential arc.

RM: Dr. Leslie Thompkins is being confronted by a bunch of mobsters in her free clinic. Due to the person that's with her, they back off. And that person is ... somebody who hasn't been used since a Batman Special back in the '80s done by Mike Barr and Michael Golden, again one of my favorite artists. It's a character called the Wrath -- he was the villain in this. And essentially, we are doing that story that is a continuation of that story. You have to read it. It's going to be rock-your-socks for four issues straight. It's going to be great.

NRAMA: You say that Batman was a favorite from when you were a kid, so it sounds like maybe you're getting back to the place where you're having fun again.

RM: Well you know what? Like we've already discussed, it's part personal, part professional. Those go hand in hand. And when you're a healthy artist, you're a productive artist. And everybody knows all the stories of the suicides and the drug addiction and the alcoholism that goes on in the art world. Things aren't always going to go well for you, and you need to buck up, grab your boot straps and do your best to go trudge through it, and hopefully that kind of angst and anger and depression is the kind of thing that you're going to pull through and it's going to make you a better artist, or it's going to drag you down.

NRAMA: So you didn't let it drag you down?

RM: I think I'm made to be tougher than that, so I'm hoping that this period I'm going through now is going to last and keep me productive. Because I've got good stuff going and I'm doing some of my best work lately, so I'm happy about that.

[PreCrisisDC]

Sorry to hear about the divorce but am glad to Rags is doing better, one of the nicer people I have met in the industry. Looking forward to more of his work!

How could I have forgotten to give Vaneta her kudos!!! Excellent as usual.

[rwe1138]

Great interview.

[whitemarkd]

I agree, fantastic interview - kudos, Vaneta!

[rodolfo leon]

Vaneta keeps hitting them out of the park!

beautiful interview. nice to see Rags being so candid and open over his situation!

[jlm1955]

Great interview.

I have been a fan of Rags work since Black Condor and have always felt a Alan Davis/Neal Adams vibe in his work (realism with a sense of being fluid).

I had wondered why he fell off the radar and glad to here that he is back with some regular work due to come out soon. I hope he stays exclusive with DC for a lot longer.

Having been through similar issues that Rags had dealt with I can sympathize with how that can thrwo a monkey wrench in your life.

[LikeaPhoenix]

You go through life and bad things happen, so do the good ones (thank goodness for that). You just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and continue on your journey. If it doesn't kill you , it will make you stronger. My Gosh, I sound like a fortune cookie! But you know what? It's true. I've had my share and boy did I!

Welcome back! Your talent has been sorely missed! I remember the scene with Ralph Dibny facing the Justice League. It was incredibly moving. It made me cry!

[apoehler]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

RM: Dr. Leslie Thompkins is being confronted by a bunch of mobsters in her free clinic. Due to the person that's with her, they back off. And that person is ... somebody who hasn't been used since a Batman Special back in the '80s done by Mike Barr and Michael Golden, again one of my favorite artists. It's a character called the Wrath -- he was the villain in this. And essentially, we are doing that story that is a continuation of that story.

I like Rags' art but frankly I wasn't sold until I saw this. Hopefully they'll reprint that Batman Special and flesh out the TPB with this arc, because that Special is awesome front to back. The Wrath was a great concept that could really work well today.

[Crump's Brother]

Thanks, Matt and Rags.

Good to hear that Rags will be coming back into the comics-fold. I'm a little disappointed it's in Batman: Confidential, since I'm not really interested in that series. I might give it a shot, though. It's still very early, but Rags' style makes me think his work will be remembered and looked to for a long time.

[Ravengregory]

That was a good interview

[kingofcities]

Terrific interview as always. Rags is the man and has been ever since Black Condor. And he just gets better and better. I want to know more about this Wildstorm book!

[Anubis82169]

Rags is one of my top favorite artists on the scene today & I have loved his stuff since The Black Condor. I only wish that DCD had used HIS artwork as reference for the Identity Crisis figures. Rags is seriously one of the most under-appreciated artists out there.

GREAT article!

[ROBRAM89]

I adored his work on Identity Crisis, and I've been waiting for him to do something else. Not to typecast him, but I'd love it if he were on JLA with Meltzer.

[Ragnarokker]

I'm glad they took a new picture of him. I had this perpetual image of Rags Morales looking like Tony Orlando thanks to the jheri curl wizard photo.

[bcondray]

Incredible!!!!!!!

To the interview, the interviewee and interviewer!

Glad to have Rags back.

I very much liked his work on WW...

[j3h]

Originally Posted by apoehler

I like Rags' art but frankly I wasn't sold until I saw this. Hopefully they'll reprint that Batman Special and flesh out the TPB with this arc, because that Special is awesome front to back. The Wrath was a great concept that could really work well today.

The special is reprinted in the "Batman in the Eighties" trade.

I'm looking foward to Rag's sequel to this.

[olly-mac]

A great interview and a great artist. I always wondered why Rags never got the attention earlier on. I particularly liked Hourman, a character that could so easily be reintroduced into the current (fluid) DCU. Furthermore, the character of Snapper Carr was well defined and a lynchpin for the series. If Jimmy Olsen must die, why can't Snapper Carr "live" and once more become more prominant. The Rick Jones of DC.

[Kevenn]

What a remarkably personal and honest interview. I wish the best of luck to Rags.

[Silverager]

The Wrath! I loved that story, I can't believe it has taken this long for that character to make a return. I am really looking forward to this arc! Rags is top notch.

[JLAJRC]

All the talk about Hourman 3 and you realize that he was a great, underused character. I always felt one of Johns biggest mistakes was killing him off in JSA. He could easily have been an awsome, second-tier character. Don't get me wrong, the first two Hourmans are nice, but I'd rather have the andriod back. Maybe he could be a Metal Man or something.

[jedifish]

Good interview V.

Looking forward to more work from Rags.

And people should really check out the Hourman series. Excellent stuff.

[Kolimar]

Originally Posted by PreCrisisDC

Sorry to hear about the divorce but am glad to Rags is doing better, one of the nicer people I have met in the industry. Looking forward to more of his work!

How could I have forgotten to give Vaneta her kudos!!! Excellent as usual.

Big ditto.

[PaulCrocker]

Fantastic interview! Way to go 'Rama! Loved this!

[jacobi]

Wow that was not your typical comic artist interview. Great job.

[Xero]

I can't believe someone actually brought back the Wrath, he was a kickass character.