THE BEAT: Joe I hear you are coming out from behind your sunglasses and really connecting with your readers. What happened?Joe Casey: I have to stand up, Heidi, because you know I’ve never been interested in social media as a platform for any real interaction. My work has always been my platform. But I realized that, to me, this newsletter format is more akin to creating actual content, rather than trying to condense a rambling idea or worthless perspective into 150 characters or whatever today’s limitations are. And, since my timing was always impeccable, I thought I’d jump on the Substack bandwagon (only a few years later, the real money was being made there). Then again, it’s not about money.
THE BEAT: So Substack, huh? What will we see in this newsletter?
Kathy: Twice a week, every Monday and Thursday, I’m going to throw my fevered brain at the damn thing and see what happens. I’m going to dig into my personal archives and find stuff that no one has ever seen, some of which dates back to 1980! There will be a lot of behind-the-scenes material – both on my famous projects and on projects that for one reason or another have never seen the light of day. I’ve got some comic book related think pieces ready to go. I might even randomly interview some people I’ve always wanted to talk to. To me, it’s a vast landscape ready to be exploited.
THE BEAT: How much of writing this newsletter was about losing a reliable promotional outlet like X/Twitter, and how much was just trying to spill the tea?
Kathy: Well, here’s the thing… Of course, I use the newsletter to announce new projects as they come out. I don’t think I have much choice in this regard, as the state of modern comics marketing is completely broken. I mean, it’s the worst I’ve ever seen. The whole song and dance of “spreading the word” has become confusing for creators…and publishers, in particular, seem to have a hard time adapting to whatever new world we live in now. It can be a little frustrating. So there is this aspect. Then, like I said, the newsletter format allows for 1) more original content creation and presentation, and 2) more control over how you get out into the world. It’s a lot like publishing my own mini fanzine…it’s actually a lot of fun and a great way to blow off steam.
THE BEAT: Will we watch tea?
Kathy: I think it’s safe to say you’ll see a lot of so-called tea. I don’t gossip in public, that’s not my style…but there are certain things, certain events, certain eras in our recent history that I have witnessed firsthand and participated in regularly. So why not talk about them? Maybe put them in some context. Provide some perspective. In fact, one of the first things I’m going to do over the next few months is explore/excavate my experiences writing Uncanny X-Men during the prime “NuMarvel” days of the early 2000s. I’m going to delve into that period and the comic books that came out of it.
