Posted on: January 23rd, 2012 HELL YEAH – An interview with Joe Keatinge
[interviewed by Curt Pires}
Joe, 2012 is looking to be a big year for you. You’ve got two projects (GLORY, HELL YEAH) coming out in the next couple of months here. For viewers who maybe aren’t up to date, Tell us a bit about these projects. Why should we be excited?
You’ve mentioned before, that Hell Yeah is sort of this idea in your head that has been percolating for about 20 years now, tell us a bit about that. What is the Untold history of HELL YEAH?
I don't remember how I started reading comics. There's pictures of me two years old with comics around. They were just always there. However, once Image came along I got inspired to make them not just something I did as a reader, but as a creator. I drew in sketchbooks constantly, making my own comics with my own superheroes who were largely versions of Image heroes. The main character started off as an awful parody of the Maxx, called Faxx, and over time it turned into this superhero doing every day stuff. I got really fascinated by the idea of superheroes doing more than just saving cats out of trees, as the Image characters didn't adhere to any of the same rules the Marvel and DC guys did. Eventually over time it gave me the idea to do this series, then called Zero Crisis, which eventually turned into a one-act play I wrote, director & co-starred while in college. Then eventually I started actually working in comics, which lead to working at Image, which lead to Erik Larsen & Eric Stephenson really pushing me to write, which lead to me trying to do Hell Yeah with another artist, which was a pretty horrible failure, which lead to me thinking it was dead, which lead to me working on PopGun, which lead to me meeting Andre, which lead to me seeing he was pretty much the perfect person on Earth to collaborate with in terms of style and what comics he dug. All this brought us here and now.
Who were some of the creators that inspired/influenced you on these projects, or just as a creator in general?
Savage Dragon 21
Oh, man. This list is pretty massive, so I’ll have to edit it down here. The original Image seven were all huge in their own ways. For instance, Youngblood #6 and Savage Dragon #21 were big in terms of showing me that parameters on superhero comics never had to exist. You could do anything. Jim Valentino was big for me then too, but in recent years has become one of the main people I go to for advice or another perspective on all things related to my career. Michael Allred’s Madman #1 from Tundra was hugely inspirational too. It showed me that superheroes could be something else entirely, with more influence from David Lynch and The Hernandez Brothers. In fact, all three Hernandez Brothers are big, as are Hugo Pratt, Moebius, Jack Kirby, R. Crumb, Winsor McCay, George Herriman, Herge, Joost Swarte, Geof Darrow, Yves Chaland, Osamu Tezuka, Carl Barks, CC Beck, Al Columbia, Daniel Clowes, art spiegelman, Paul Pope, Jerry Robinson, Katsuhiro Otomo, Naoki Urasawa, Pat McEwon, Frank Miller, Alan Moore, everyone involved with ‘Air Pirates Funnies’, Steve Ditko, Wally Wood… seriously, this list could go on forever. There’s over a hundred years of amazing work out there.
I love all kinds of comics. It makes no sense to limit what type of comics you read in terms of genre, creator or where and when they’re produced.
In more recent years I’ve been inspired by new talents like Little Thunder and Manuel Arenas. Both of them have done so much in their work that completely inspires me to do better.
There’s an awful lot else outside of comics that really inspires me. Guys like Quentin Tarantino, Stanley Kubrick, Fritz Lang and especially Georges Melies really get me going. Same with Ernest Hemingway, Umberto Eco, John Le Carre, John Kennedy Toole. It can come from anywhere.
How did you and Andre hook up for HELL YEAH ?
He was published in PopGun and at one point I was discussing what I was working on with my co-editor, Mark Andrew Smith. He suggested I give Hell Yeah another go with Andre Szymanowicz. Andre and I got to talking and over a long period of time agreed that we should make this happen. So, we did.
Lets talk about GLORY , how did you get involved in this project?
Eric Stephenson e-mailed me about this idea he had about revamping the Extreme characters. We talked things over, I wrote up a short pitch, he dug it, I wrote up a longer pitch, he dug it, sent it over to Rob and he really dug it. That’s really about it.
Is there any truth to the rumour that BRUTAL , evolved from an early pitch for the GLORY series with artist FRANK CHO? Tell us a bit about this unseen wonder.
Is this really a rumor? I’m pretty sure I’ve stated it publicly, but yeah, originally Frank and I were asked to pitch for GLORY. It didn’t get very far as a GLORY pitch as it immediately turned into something so far removed
from the original character that it didn’t seem to make a lot of sense to do as GLORY. Whenever you finally see BRUTAL, you’ll see it pretty much exactly what we came up with. Not an awful lot that was changed. I had my own pitch for GLORY that is exactly what the book is now and I’m very happy they went for it. I’m loving writing GLORY.
What sort of role does music play in your creative process? It seems like for some people music is huge , and an essential element that sort of bleeds into the work , and informs it . Would you say that’s the case with yourself?
Musics huge for me. It’s a very core part of my creative process. I don’t necessarily listen to music as I write, especially dialogue, but in the process of plotting or even sometimes editing I tend to listen to alot of stuff. Usually it’s instrumental. Something about vocals just throws me off. It can be an odd mix. Different issues of GLORY have been conceived listening to soundtracks like Tron: Legacy & The Voices of Light alongside Karma to Burn. Yeah, I don’t get it either. HELL YEAH has included inspiration from Kanye West, The Dandy Warhols and the best new band in Portland, The Spookies. BRUTAL has thus far been entirely WWE entrance themes. I don’t know that there’s a logic here. It gets even odder as in some cases the music I’m inspired by can be wildly different from what I listen to for fun. Not exactly sure what that’s all about.
That Shit Cray
What is the comic at the moment, that you find yourself rushing to the store to pickup the day it comes out ?
It was the reprints of Tezuka’s Black Jack, but that’s recently run out. It’s one of my favorite comics of all time and I think one of the greatest examples of done-in-one storytelling that still builds a larger world. I’m also in love with each and every issue of Matt Fraction, Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon’s Casanova, now from Icon. This long wait between issues is driving me nuts, but I know it’ll be worth it. They never disappoint. That being said, in terms of something that comes out on a consistent basis, I’d still have to go with Savage Dragon. I’ve been with that book since day one and have purchased every single issue. Erik is constantly trying new things. It never gets old. Even his okay issues blow so much away.
Other than Glory and Hell Yeah , what do you find yourself working on /gearing up for in 2012. Can you tease any future projects for GKS readers?
Morning Glories’ Joe Eisma and I have both hinted we’re concocting something together. I’m pretty sure I’ve let slip cartoonist Zack Soto and I are too. I wouldn’t be surprise if Roman Muradov & I do something together sooner than later. And I just got a very interesting e-mail from Kevin Mellon. I’m not looking to stop creating. More will always be on the way.
A big thanks goes out to Joe Keatinge for talking with us today. If you want to connect with Joe , check out his Tumblr: joekeatinge.tumblr.com or follow him on twitter : @joekeatinge