Chris Thompson - You basically started your career behind the scenes at Image Comics. How has that informed what you’re doing now, and what lessons did you learn that you’re hoping to apply on the creative side?

Joe Keatinge - Well, I worked at the third largest published in the United States for over half a decade in almost every capacity or at the very least closely alongside those I didn’t, like accounting, production and management. It was an experience that has shaped the entire way I look at my career. Every single co-worker or creator I dealt with informed the way I look and deal with the industry today. I’m very thankful to Eric Stephenson and Erik Larsen for bringing me on board and keeping me there for so long. I’m looking forward to working with them in this capacity for even longer.

I learned a lot of lessons. I learned comics is the most beautiful medium our reality has to offer, even if its industry can be brutal. I saw how people fall from not keeping their nose clean or by being an asshole. I saw the importance of not freaking out about the future and accepting things like digital will be part of it. That the industry is in a state of evolution, not death. That great stores will continue to succeed as they look toward tomorrow and you need to do the same, whether you’re doing it as publisher or creator. I learned you need to pay it forward. That people will do you favors, that people will help you along your way and that you owe it to both them and the medium to help the next person in. “Don’t be a dick” is a good way to sum it up. “Be true to yourself and your beliefs” is another. “Nobody owes you anything, so work harder” does the job as well.

I learned Jack Kirby said ‘comics will break your heart.’

I learned it’s worth the risk.

CT - What’s it like working with Rob Liefeld? Did you have a lot of input in terms of who you’d be collaborating with and the direction you wanted to go?

JK - Rob’s very much a guy you want in your corner. I think people get an erroneous perception of him, but in my experience there’s not many other people I met more enthusiastic about the comics medium in all its various forms. He’s not just a guy who likes superhero comics – he likes and supports a huge variety, regardless of genre or format. I think this should be a lot more obvious in an era where Ross Campbell is drawing Glory and Brandon Graham & Simon Roy are working on Prophet.

Personally he’s been a huge part of my entire career, even before I worked at Image Comics. He’s helped out and advised a lot along the way.

Working with him as part of the Extreme line has expanded upon all this. He’s a huge cheerleader of what we’re doing. A very encouraging guy who offers a lot of great feedback and support.

As far as input – Rob and Eric Stephenson, who is editing the line, have given us a tremendous amount of freedom. They approved our pitches, read our scripts and look over our art, but they didn’t want us to maintain status quo. They wanted us to create toward tomorrow. It’s a situation not often afforded in a licensed/work-for-hire type situation. Their confidence in all of us is very much appreciated and not an honor I take lightly.

CT - Where do you stand on the whole gender in comics debate? I’ve seen you say that you don’t like the term ‘strong women’, but obviously there’s a need for those kind of role models today. Is there any concern over the fact that you and Ross are both men?

JK - I think you misunderstood what I said. I don’t dislike the term ‘strong women.’ I have a problem with it being a compliment as if it’s not the standard. Every single woman in my life is strong. I was raised by women who gave me an example of how to be a better human being, period. Every single woman character in comics or any form of entertainment should be equally ‘strong.’ I’m tired of that being an exception. It needs to be the damn rule. I want comics to reflect the diversity in gender, sexual orientation, race and so on we see in actual reality. That’s the way I want characters to be in comics I read and demand in the comics I create.

I’m not sure of the specifics involved in the ‘gender debate’ you’re mentioning. If you mean characters, well, I think I made that pretty obvious. If you mean creators, I feel the same. I want comics by every type of person in every type of genre in every type of format, because I truly believe there’s no medium better suited to allowing someone to bring out their personal vision with more intensity or intimacy than comics. So, yes, I want just as many women as men creating comics.

I don’t even get how that’s even a debate any more. Is anyone looking at the work of Sara Pichelli and not thinking it’s some of the most brilliant illustration and storytelling in mainstream comics? You know why I think Kate Beaton is one of the funniest people on the planet? Because her comic strip is one of the funniest comic strips on the planet. Look at someone like Little Thunder, who came out of no where with her series, Kylooe, and devastates everyone else creating comics with every single volume. How about Francois Mouly and the way she’s changed editing in every capacity from RAW to Toon Books to The New Yorker? I could list more names like Eliza Frye, Emi Lenox, Colleen Doran, Marian Churchland, Meredith Gran and Sarah Glidden forever. All these women and many, many more are doing great works and I love said works. Why? Because they’re by incredible creators. Gender doesn’t come into it at all for me. Are there really people in 2012 who have a problem with these brilliant creators creating because they have vaginas? If so, those people can go drown themselves. Harsh? I guess, but welcome to Get The Hell Over It.

CT - In addition to Glory you’re doing Hell Yeah which sounds quite big and conceptual. Do you deliberately look for projects that allow you to speak to certain themes or issues?

JK - The only thing I look for deliberately in any project is whether or not it’s something I would enjoy doing. That’s it. I don’t go after preaching certain issues or relaying specific themes. Stories and characters that excite me always come first. I believe themes and issue should evolve naturally from there. I am writing Hell Yeah, because it’s a story thats been with me for a really long time and one I’m very passionate about. Glory was a huge opportunity to work on a project and create the type of comic I wanted my currently hypothetical daughter to read when she hits her mid-teens.

I’ll create the creator-owned titles I’m driven to create. I’ll be thrilled to work with the work-for-hire comics I’m given the opportunity to collaborate on.

I create comics because I love comics more than any other medium. That’s it. Simple as that.

CT - Where are you looking to take Glory, and what else is coming up for you next? You sound like quite a busy guy at the moment.

JK - I’d rather avoid things plot-wise on Glory. I saw Jonathan Hickman’s recent ‘non-preview’ of The Manhattan Projects and it brought up a great point in terms of how we sometimes know too much about a comic book before it’s released. I’d really like to bring more of that into my own titles. That said, Glory‘s currently being misconstrued as a Wonder Woman homage. Over the next several issues, we’ll be shattering that notion. I think it’ll be an impossible comparison after issue #25. I want her to be her own character. She’s not my pastiche. She’s something different. I think that’s what comics needs more than another take on an established character.

As for me, well, I already have a lot in the works. Which reminds me, I need to e-mail Joe Eisma…

Thanks for chatting with us, Joe. You can hear (and see) more from Joe Keatinge over at his Tumblr page.

Glory #23, the first issue of the relaunch, is available this week from Image Comics (£2.20/$2.99)