In 2003, a series I created with artist, Ashley Wood, debuted from the short-lived Mature Readers imprint of Wildstorm Studios (at that point, an imprint of DC Comics). It was called AUTOMATIC KAFKA and it was f**king weird, perhaps the most “out there” superhero comicbook that was being published in the mainstream at that time. Since I broke down issue #4 of that series in a previous newsletter, it got me thinking… and remembering…
Its bizarre origins were rooted primarily in an original, creator-owned pitch I came up with four years earlier, in 2000. It was called $TRANGE CREW and it was meant to be a series that allowed me to indulge in my love of several of my favorite series growing up, including Thriller (by Robert Loren Fleming and Trevor Von Eeden) and Doom Patrol (by Grant Morrison and Richard Case) among others.
For anyone out there who’s actually read AUTOMATIC KAFKA, you’ll see quite a few of the characters in this document that ended up populating that series.
As you’ll see, the pitch is somewhat pithy in tone. I honestly don’t think I ever even showed this to anyone (publisher, editor or otherwise). Instead, I kept it in my back pocket… and when the opportunity came up for Ash and I to collaborate on a new series for Wildstorm, I pulled this pitch out and used it for the backstory basis of what became AUTOMATIC KAFKA. The titular “$trange Crew” became “the $tranger$”. I added a final member to the old team, the Constitution of the United States. The focus of the series shifted considerably, and it found a narrative voice that I think went beyond its original influences. I’d also written multiple comicbook series in the intervening four years, so I was pretty goddamned warmed up by the time I got to AUTOMATIC KAFKA. In fact, I’d go far as to say I was, as they say, on fire. I was still relatively young, still thinking of myself as a punk writer, still ready and willing to f**k some sh*t up.
But we’ll get to more of that in the next newsletter. For now, let’s enjoy this “proto-Kafka” pitch in its original form (along with accompanying Ashley Wood visuals of the characters as they would eventually be depicted in AUTOMATIC KAFKA)…
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“I am an idea… you are an idea… we are all ideas”
$TRANGE CREW
created by Joe Casey
This is a book about cool characters doing cool stuff. That’s what kids want from their superheroes. But enough with Superman and Batman and Spider-Man. Those guys are fine for the old-time fans out there. But these characters are meant to be Twenty-First Century superheroes. New icons for a new generation. Pure in design and intent, these characters break from the old traditions in exciting ways, while never losing their superhero roots.
Because $TRANGE CREW is a superhero comic, through and through. But this is not a Lee-Kirby superhero comic, nor is it a DC Silver Age-styled comic. This book is Something Else. Not an homage to the past, but a glimpse into the future. Taking everything that stinks of the Here and Now and slamming it together with the best that the superhero tradition has to offer.
This quick pitch is meant to give an idea of the characters involved. In the interests of brevity, we’ll save the story stuff for later (if there is a later). Because these days, if you don’t have the characters, you don’t have anything…
THE WARNING – The man behind it all. He’s got more money than God, and twice the ego. Makes Bruce Wayne look like a panhandler. If the Crew needs a submarine, he’s got it. If they need a VTOL jumper jet, he’s got it. He’s a visionary. A gamblin’ man. Why else would he put together a Crew of super-powered “ideas” (his term for these operatives) to tear ass around the globe…? Because the world needs superheroes, and he’s the only one with enough dough to provide ‘em.
SAINT NICK – The world’s most accurate sharpshooter, and king of the one-liner. This guy never wastes a bullet. If he’s facing five opponents, he fires five shots, and you’ll be lookin’ at five dead bastards. “Merry Christmas”. Ah-nold would be proud (although Nick speaks better English).
HELEN OF TROY – The sexiest chick in comics. She’s a practitioner of the world’s oldest profession… and she’s a witch, too (just don’t call her that). Now, we’re not talking about ol’ Salem kind of magic here… we’re talking about control over perception, control over probabilities, control over the natural (and unnatural) world. And to top it all off, she drives a bitchin’ car…!
AUTOMATIC KAFKA – A gun-metal black android badass. Think of a walking stealth bomber and you start to get the picture. The Warning won him in a bet with a high-ranking Pentagon official (who must remain nameless). Ironically, he’s perhaps the most emotional… the most human of all the Crew members. He’s a dancer… a romancer… willing to suck the marrow out of life and eat the bone afterwards.
SPASTIC BEN – A three-month old baby with telekinetic, “reality-bending” powers. Engineered by the Warning to act as a human smart bomb. The last resort of any confrontation. He can only be used once, since the use of its powers – much like a bee using its stinger – kills it. This is why the Warning is constantly acquiring new infants to transform into the latest Spastic Ben model.
copyright © 2000 Joe Casey
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Interesting that, since I didn’t have any concrete plan as to where this pitch was meant to go, I was really just talking to myself here. It’s like I’m hyping myself up, encouraging myself that this is, in fact, a worthwhile idea. Also interesting is that Automatic Kafka (the character) was fourth on the bill, so to speak. But I do remember that the character -- even as I originally conceived him -- held a lot of fascination for me, even back then. And, of course, that fascination would find full expression just a few short years later.
But, like I said, we’ll talk about that in the next newsletter…
Joe Casey
USA
I bought the serie at the time, and I love it! Your work on the idea of "Post Superhero" is very inspiring, I love Butcher Baker too!