Rachel Pollack (b. August 17, 1945 – d.April 7, 2023) was a writer of science fiction and comics and a noted essayist on transsexual issues.
Professional History
Pollack started writing science fiction in the 1970s and was an expert on tarot. She was first introduced to the comic book industry when she helped Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean create a Vertigo tarot card set. Gaiman consulted her for questions on tarot for his own work. She became acquainted with more of DC's editorial and eventually landed the writer job for Doom Patrol (Volume 2) after Grant Morrison left the series. She developed the trans character Coagula. The series was ended two years later. She published some other select stories for DC and various imprints, like Time Breakers (Volume 1) for Helix and the starting run of New Gods (Volume 4). After that, she focused on writing novels and essays as well as teaching.
She passed away of Hodgkin lymphoma in April 2023. For DC Pride 2024, DC published a special celebratory issue, which reprinted Doom Patrol (Volume 2) #80 and Vertigo Visions: The Geek #1 and included new stories and art about her character, Coagula.
Work History