Beat: Joe I hear you’re actually coming out from behind your sunglasses to connect with your readers. what’s happening?
Joe Casey: I have to go there, Heidi, you know, I’ve never been interested in social media as a platform for any kind of authentic interaction. My work has always been my platform. But for me, I’ve found this newsletter format to be closer to creating actual content, rather than trying to summarize superstitions or worthless opinions into modern limits such as 150 characters. Ta. And since my timing is always perfect, I thought I’d jump on the Substack bandwagon (just a few years after I started making real money). Again, this is not about money.
Beat: Substack, right? What can you find out in this newsletter?
Casey: Twice a week, every Monday and Thursday, I’m going to focus my heated brain on this damn thing and see what happens. I’m going to dive into my personal archives and pull out things that no one has ever seen, dating back to 1980. There will be a ton of behind-the-scenes material, not only for my famous projects, but for projects that for whatever reason never saw the light of day. I have some manga-related ideas ready to present. You might even do a few random interviews with people you’ve always wanted to talk to. To me, this is a vast landscape ready to be exploited.
The Beat: How much of starting this newsletter is a reaction to the loss of reliable promotional channels like X/Twitter, and how much of it is just to spill the tea?
Casey: Well, here’s the thing… Of course, when we have a new project, we announce it through our newsletter. I don’t think I have much of a choice in this regard, as the state of modern comic book marketing is completely broken. I mean, it’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen. The whole song and dance of “getting the word out” has become a very confusing mess for creators…and publishers in particular seem to be struggling to adapt to the new world we now live in. is. We do important work for these publishers, so this can be a little frustrating. There is that aspect as well. And, as I mentioned earlier, the newsletter format allows for 1) more original content creation and presentation, and 2) more control over how you get it out to the world. It’s a lot like publishing my own mini-doujinshi…it’s actually a lot of fun and a great way to let off a bit of stress.
Beat: So, would you like some tea?
Casey: I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that there will be 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 often participated in. So why not talk about them, perhaps putting them in some context? Provide some perspective. In fact, one of the first things that will be covered regularly over the next few months is an investigation/excavation of when I was writing UNCANNY X-MEN, way back in the heyday of “New Marvel” in the early 2000s. I will be delving into that era and the comics that came out of it.
