Joe Keatinge's Comics & Stories

STUFF I WROTE: May 2013

Here’s what I’m rolling out this May, courtesy of Image and Marvel Comics:

IMAGE

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS 3
story ALEXANDER GRECIAN, KURTIS WIEBE & JOE KEATINGE
art / cover RILEY ROSSMO
MAY 22
40 PAGES / FC / M
$4.99
GOLDEN-AGE FORMAT
Inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead, artist extraordinaire, RILEY ROSSMO, interprets stories from three of today’s top writers. From KURTIS WIEBE (PETER PANZERFAUST) comes a heartbreaking love story—in this world or the next. JOE KEATINGE (GLORY, HELL YEAH) offers up Day of the Dead 3000. As Ultra Muertos falls at the hands of Mother Slaughter, his grandson takes over the mantle with a death wish for all-out apocalypse! And New York Times bestselling author ALEXANDER GRECIAN (PROOF) tells a tale of ghost children.

—————————————-

Yeah, my story is gonna stand out a bit. Seems like everyone else are doing these quiet love stories or people reconnecting with family from beyond the dead. My story is… not. It’s essentially me writing 70s comics, 3/4ths Kirby, 1/4th R. Crumb. I wanted to try writing an issue of 2001: A Space Odyssey. So, I did.

also from Image…

Actually, Ricken’s cover is such a massive spoiler that we solicited it with some art from Andre that won’t be on the final cover, but here goes…

HELL YEAH 10
story JOE KEATINGE
art ANDRE SZYMANOWICZ & FABIO REDIVO
cover RICKEN
MAY 22
32 PAGES / FC / T+ 
$3.50
“DEATH OF PLANET EARTH,” Conclusion
2013’S SUPERSPLOITATION REVENGE EPIC REACHES ITS GRAND FINALE (for now)! 
Planets are blown up. Destinies are realized. The good guys don’t win.
BONUS: WHAT IS JOE KEATINGE & JAMES HARVEY’S NULL/VOID?! (Find out!)
SERIES ONE CONCLUDES

—-

First thing, no — HELL YEAH is NOT ending. Frankly, this books not one that can come out every month just due to behind-the-scenes issues that are boring. So, we’re going to have to do it in chunks. The format will be altered in the future, but I’ll get to that when the time comes.

Second thing — James Harvey is awesome.

AND THEN…

MARVEL

MORBIUS: THE LIVING VAMPIRE #5
JOE KEATINGE (W)
RICHARD ELSON (A)
Cover by DAVID LOPEZ
VIVA LA REVOLUCION!
• As Brownsville gets more treacherous, Morbius takes matters into his own hands!
• Which Morbius will survive? The man or the vampire?
• Find out why Morbius is the breakout hit of Marvel Now!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

—-

MORBIUS makes a massive mistake at the end of #2 (out this week!) and the full repercussions are felt in this issue. It’s gonna be nuts. #4 is also a big, big issue, one that fully explains some of the things you probably even didn’t realize were mysteries in issue one. You’ll see what I mean.

IN EXISTENCE NOW: Hell Yeah #6

This comic book is back.

NEW READER FRIENDLY JUMPING ON POINT BLAH H#R372r2r

Written by me. Art by Andre & new inker Fabio Redivo. Letters by COMEBACK’s Ed Brisson. Covers by RICKEN. Colors by Jason Lewis. Edited by Ron Richards. Good times by all.

Also features a letters page, TIGER LAWYER and a new comic written by Chris Sebela. All for $3.50. CHEAP.

Here’s a big ass preview.

STUFF I WROTE: March 2013

Look like we’re hat tricking it up once more, with comics coming out from Image, Marvel and DC!

First up…

DC

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #18
Written by JOE KEATINGE
Art by FEDERICO DALLOCCHIO
Cover by RYAN SOOK
On sale MARCH 20 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• Writer Joe Keatinge and artist Tyler Kirkham turn the spotlight on STARFIRE!

—-

The artist is Federico Dallocchio.

Anyway, yeah, this companion piece to last issue’s Arsenal story is happening. Starfire blows stuff up. Things ensue.

AND THEN…

IMAGE

GLORY #34
story JOE KEATINGE
art / cover ROSS CAMPBELL
MARCH 27
32 PAGES / FC / T+
$3.99

“THE END”
100 Years Later. Goodbye.
FINAL ISSUE

—-

After a solid year, the conclusion’s here. Ross and I talked to Chris Sims all about it in this Comics Alliance exclusive exit interview. 

Man, I’ve had that solicit written in my head since about March.

BUT DON’T WORRY ‘CAUSE…

HELL YEAH #8
story JOE KEATINGE
art ANDRE SZYMANOWICZ & FABIO REDIVO
cover RICKEN
MARCH 13
32 PAGES / FC / T+
$3.50
“THE DEATH OF PLANET EARTH,” Part One
ALL-NEW STORYLINE! ALL-NEW DYING!
Everything has gone horribly, horribly wrong.

—-

Man, that Ricken, am I right? So good.

Also, DEATH OF PLANET EARTH is a Big Deal for this series. Expect a lot of death.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST…

MORBIUS: THE LIVING VAMPIRE #3
JOE KEATINGE (W) • RICHARD ELSON (A)
Cover by DAVID LOPEZ
Variant Cover by TOMM COKER
• The hot new new horror book continues!
• Morbius gets closer to two people who don’t know the dark, deadly secret he carries.
• How does a fugitive remain hidden if his face is everywhere?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

—-

Morbius does get close to two people who don’t know the dark, deadly secret he carries and oh, man, it all goes to Hell pretty quick here. 

THAT’S IT FOR MARCH. BYE.

STUFF I WROTE: January 2013

Man. 2013 already.

ANYWAY, CRAZY BIG MONTH! Lots of comics coming out.

First up, over at IMAGE COMICS.

THE RETURN OF HELL YEAH!

HELL YEAH #6 (RES)
story JOE KEATINGE
art ANDRE SZYMANOWICZ & FABIO REDIVO
cover RICKEN
JANUARY 16
32 PAGES / FC / T+ 
$3.50
“THE LOST SUPER-VILLAINS OF MARS,” Part One
ALL-NEW STORYLINE! ALL-NEW COVER ARTIST! SAME MULTIVERSE-SHATTERING ACTION!
Twenty-five years ago Earth’s first superheroes appeared, but no one knew about the villains. They’ve been hiding, waiting, planning and all these years later, they’re coming. 
From Mars.
PLUS: HELL YEAH is packed to the brim with even more backup stories than ever before, featuring the most exciting up-and-coming talent today, including another exciting installment of TIGER LAWYER! No interior ads - HELL YEAH is all-comics, all the time!

——

Yeah, it’s one of those “jumping on points” as our second arc starts. This is going to be the format of the book for the foreseeable future - five issue chunks with a break and possibly something extra in between. Really stoked to have Ricken on board.

Speaking of Ricken.

GLORY #32
story JOE KEATINGE
art ROSS CAMPBELL, OWEN GIENI, EMI LENOX, GREG HINKLE, SLOANE LEONG & JED DOUGHERTY
cover RICKEN
JANUARY 23
32 PAGES / FC / T+ 
$3.99
“WAR TORN,” Part Two
The dawn before war. Glory and her allies face inevitable death. With only hours left to live, everyone’s final moments are revealed in short stories illustrated by some of the greatest new talents in comics, including OWEN GIENI, GREG HINKLE, SLOANE LEONG, JED DOUGHERTY and a very special crossover with EMI LENOX’s EMITOWN!

—-
Yeah, seriously. GLORY’s having a crossover with EMITOWN.

And yeah, a whole bunch of our favorite up-and-coming artists are joining us to tell a bunch of two-page stories featuring all your favorite character’s preparing to die in February’s GLORY #33.

and finally…

DIAS DE LAS MUERTAS #1 (of 3)
story ALEX LINK, CHRISTOPHER LONG, DIRK MANNING
art / cover RILEY ROSSMO
JANUARY 9
40 PAGES / FC / M
GOLDEN AGE FORMAT
$4.99
Inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead, artist extraordinaire, RILEY ROSSMO (DEBRIS, GREEN WAKE, COWBOY NINJA VIKING, REBEL BLOOD) joins forces with nine different writers over three issues to tell tall tales from beyond the grave!
This issue’s writers are ALEX LINK (REBEL BLOOD), CHRISTOPHER LONG (X-Men Unlimited, Hiding In Time, Easy Way) and DIRK MANNING (NIGHTMARE WORLD, Write or Wrong). Future issues will feature stories by ED BRISSON (COMEBACK), ALEX GRECIAN (PROOF), JOE KEATINGE (HELL YEAH), JEFF MARRIOTTE (FADE TO BLACK), KURTIS WIEBE (PETER PANZERFAUST) and JOSHUA WILLIAMSON (XENOHOLICS).
In this issue: A mariachi falls in love with a woman who strongly resembles his lost love, a father is abused by a poltergeist, and a girl who’s mother died when she was born visits the land of the dead in her dreams.

NOTE: Due to the special nature and size of this book and in order to maintain an on-time shipping schedule, this book will be solicited BI-MONTHLY. 

——

Also NOTE I DO NOT have a story in this issue, but I WILL be contributing a story to either #2 or 3. Not sure how that plays out just yet. Really stoked to be part of this. Riley’s someone I’ve wanted to work with for a while.

That does it for Image.

Over at Marvel Comics…

MORBIUS: THE LIVING VAMPIRE #1
JOE KEATINGE (W) • RICHARD ELSON (A)
Cover by Gabrielle Dell’otto
Variant Cover by Ed McGuinness
Young Baby Variant by SKOTTIE YOUNG
Blank Cover Also Available
Morbius….the hunted, haunted fugitive.
Morbius…the dead souled scientist.
Morbius…the Living Vampire.
Somewhere inside Doctor Michael Morbius is a good man who just needs a second chance. After escaping from The Raft in Amazing Spider-Man 699.1, Morbius is scraping desperately through each day trying to carve out a life in a world that has turned its back on him. However his redemption…may be worse than his sin.
NOW Morbius returns in this long-awaited ongoing series, where the line between hero and villain becomes brutally and bloodily blurred.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

——————-

So, holy crap. The first issue of my first Marvel ongoing series, spinning out of last month’s Amazing Spider-Man #699.1 (which I also wrote). Pretty damn stoked.

Hey, check out this Skottie Young variant cover.

IN EXISTENCE NOW: Glory #29

SHE’S BACK!

GLORY #29 arrives this week, featuring not just the return of the series, but also the backstory on just why Glory’s little sister is so damn violent. 

Pick it up at all finer local comic book emporiums!

HELL YEAH IS A BOOK NOW.

With a spine and everything.

It looks like this:

It’s really surreal for me, even moreso than the GLORY TPB. These characters have been in my head for many, many years. Andre and I have been talking about doing it since around 2008, 2009. So, it’s a long time in the making.

And despite it debuting after GLORY, it was - well, is - my first stab at writing an ongoing series, warts and all. Like a lot of people say about their early works, it’s a tough one for me to go back and read, because all I see are the flaws. The things I would have changed. The lessons I learned that I would apply now. Before this I wrote stories that were no more than eight pages. While the basic mechanics are similar, overall it’s radically different. 

So, you know, we were learning what we were doing along the way. In public. On an Image book. During Image’s strongest year in years. Kinda felt like those dreams where you’re naked in Math class, but it’s real. Looking back on the first issue I see a group of guys who weren’t quite sure what they’re doing, but were putting a hell of a lot of passion on the page. I see a writer struggling with what to reveal and what not to reveal, who could have used an editor. I see an artist getting nervous with the new spotlight. A colorist learning his craft. All in all, the transition from that first issue to the fifth is pretty jarring, in what I think is a good way. The quality takes a massive jump. The writer got an editor. The artist got his confidence. The colorist really got it together.

It’s a raw book, to be sure, but one I’m proud of. Without Hell Yeah, there is no Glory, no Morbius: The Living Vampire, no Intergalactic, no the-other-stuff-I’m-working-on-but-can’t-get-into-at-the-moment. There is also no Hell Yeah #6, which is coming together right now and is easily the happiest I’ve ever been on the series. The lessons learned by everyone in the first five issues have definitely been taken to heart and is resulting in a tighter, stronger read. One I’m personally stoked by.

In a way, I view this as our band’s first EP. The bootleg cassette tape you had to be at one of our basement shows to buy. Do you guys remember cassette tapes? 

Regardless, it’s a beginning. A sometimes rough, always passionate love letter to everything we love about comics. And movies. And music. And pop culture. And women. And family. And everything.

Ten bucks. Five issues (two of which are oversized). Intro by Michael Allred. Sketch gallery.

Out now.

Check it out. 

STUFF I WROTE: December 2012

This one’s a little more surreal than usual. 

First up, over at our regular Image Comics stop…

GLORY #31
story JOE KEATINGE
art ROSS CAMPBELL & ULISES FARINAS
cover NATE BELLEGARDE
DECEMBER 19
32 PAGES / FC / T+ 
$3.99
“WAR TORN,” Part One
The entire first year of Joe Keatinge and Ross Campbell’s GLORY saga has been leading to this: Glory vs. Silverfall. PLUS: a special flashback sequence illustrated by Ulises Farinas finally revealing why Glory was near death when Riley found her.

——

“WAR TORN” is THE BIG ONE. The story arc the entire series has been leading up to. We’re going to get a whole new perspective on stuff brewing from our very first issue and finally tie off a lot of threads that have been hanging there for almost a year.

HELL YEAH #6 is being resolicited for JANUARY. Not only will this catch us up, but it’ll give us a chance to properly advertise our all-new cover artist, Ricken, and give retailers a better idea of the art time, which is certainly looking better than ever now that Fabio Redivo has taken over inks. 

And now, for something completely different.

From Marvel Comics.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #699.1
Dan Slott & Joe Keatinge (W) • Al Barrionuevo (A)
Cover by STEFANO CASELLI
• As Doctor Octopus’ schemes take shape, MORBIUS THE LIVING VAMPIRE returns with a Vengenace!
• Will he be able to resist the siren song of blissful bloodsucking or will Spider-Man sling him straight back into the slammer?
• Your first look at next month’s all-new Morbius ongoing series.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

—-

You guys have no idea how surreal/appropriate it is my first published work at Marvel is an issue of Amazing Spider-Man.

Check me out at age four.

Little dude knows what’s up.

It’s like he’s Babe Ruthing a home run he won’t hit for another 26 years.

And yes, I can confirm that is definitely a Spider-Man sweatshirt.

Anyway, yeah, well beyond stoked about this. It’s a big lead in - more or less an issue #0 - for the ongoing Morbius: The Living Vampire series I’m doing with illustrator Rich Elson. 

It’s gonna be good, folks. 

INTERVIEW ABOUT EVERYTHING

Earlier this morning Comic Book Resources posted an interview with me spotlighting Hell Yeah and Glory, wherein I debuted Hell Yeah’s new series cover artist, Ricken, and discuss building toward the ending of Glory. I also get into my thoughts on Dave Sim’s Cerebus and even drop a few announcements.

A few things have changed since this interview was conducted:

1) Obviously, my Marvel work got announced - an issue of Amazing Spider-Man, leading into writing an ongoing Morbius: The Living Vampire series. 

2) The Madman/Hell Yeah crossover illustrated by Michael Allred/Madman isn’t going to make it in the CBLDF Liberty Comics anthology, but will happen after he gets ahead on his Marvel work. That being said, I do have a NEW story with another artist I’ve long admired. More on that soon.

IN EXISTENCE NOW: GLORY VOL. 1 TPB + HELL YEAH #5

Holy crap it’s a big week for stuff I write.

FIRST UP:

LOOK OUT! It’s the first collection of my run on GLORY, with collaborator/illustrator, Ross Campbell. This thing collects our first six issues and includes every single cover, as well as a sketch gallery! Best of all? It’s only $9.99. What a fine deal!

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE!

LOOK OUT AGAIN! It’s the last issue of HELL YEAH’s first arc! BONUS: It’s the first issue with the series’ new inker, Fabio Redivo, and editor, iFanboy’s Ron Richards! A lot of shit goes down in this issue, setting up the book’s very different direction starting with #6.

STOKED.

Lemme know what y’all think.