Following up directly from the last newsletter, this is where the rubber actually met the road, the moment when the comicbook series known as AUTOMATIC KAFKA came into physical being.
Unlike the $TRANGE CREW pitch written in a vacuum a few years earlier, this document was written specifically to pave the way for eventual publication. To the best of my recollection, the idea of Ashley Wood and I doing a series for Wildstorm’s newly initiated “mature readers” imprint, clumsily named “Eye of the Storm”, was, in a very real sense, a fait accompli.
I’d been writing books for Wildstorm for several years at that point, and it was arguably my best work in comicbooks that I’d done so far: Mr. Majestic (co-written with Brian Holguin)… Wildcats Vol. 2 (and its follow up, Wildcats Version 3.0)… an Authority annual… a few fill-in issues on series like Gen 13… all of this was engendering a fair bit of trust in me on the part of editorial. And so, this was less of a pitch to convince anyone that the idea was worth publishing, as it was merely a document to let everyone in the loop know what this series was going to be, a subliminal statement that could easily be translated as: “Hey, this is what we’re doing.”
As I wrote about in the previous newsletter, I basically took my original $TRANGE CREW pitch, remixed a few elements and added a few new ones and we were off and running. Although, even I wouldn’t have been able to predict just how experimental this series would end up being.
Regarding what you’re about to read, I’ll admit there seems to be a fair bit of gleeful optimism baked into the tone of this document. As cynical as I usually was -- even way back in the early 2000’s -- when you’re talking about a prospective new comicbook series, you want to expect the best and never assume the worst.
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AUTOMATIC KAFKA
created by Joe Casey and Ashley Wood
A new monthly, mature readers superhero title, taking full advantage of the new freedoms this new “rating” will provide.
With Ash onboard as our resident artistic genius, this book will range from being wildly experimental at times to being the slickest, most commercial-looking book on the market. Trust me, modern audiences have NEVER seen superheroes like this. To put it simply, this will be a multi-media comic unlike anything ever experienced before in the mainstream.
But, make no mistake, this is definitely a superhero book. But superheroes unlike any that WildStorm (or any other publisher’s) readers have ever seen. The characters depicted in AUTOMATIC KAFKA will be as book about the first, true Twenty-First Century superheroes. New icons for a new generation. Desperate souls reflecting these desperate times. Pure in design and intent, these characters break from the old traditions in exciting ways, while never losing sight of their superhero roots.
THE BACKSTORY
The $TRANGER$ were the preeminent superhero team of the 1980’s. Where the WILDC.A.T.S. and STORMWATCH were either covert operatives or a government-sanctioned task force, the $TRANGER$ were full-on, colorful, larger-than-life superheroes in the grand tradition. They had a luxurious, hi-tech headquarters, they fought world-threatening super-villains. They were rich, they were popular, they were glamorous, they were mostly loved by the masses… they were cultural icons.
And then they broke up.
The various team members went their separate ways, but as the series will demonstrate, their lives are inevitably linked… leading to a final destiny that none of them could possibly predict.
THE CHARACTERS
AUTOMATIC KAFKA
Our tragic hero star of the book. A gun-metal black android badass. Think of a walking stealth bomber and you get the picture (in fact, he was developed and built using stealth bomber technology). The Warning (more on him later) won him in a bet with a high-ranking Pentagon official (who must remain nameless). Ironically, he is perhaps the most emotional… the most human of all the cast members that appear in this series. Adjusting to life after the $TRANGER$’ breakup has not been easy for him. In fact, his post-superhero career has consisted primarily of a decade-long wasted party. A “lost weekend” to end all lost weekends. As the series begins, Automatic Kafka has finally tracked down a substance that will finally allow him to achieve the buzz he’s been craving for years… nanotechron (basically heroin laced with nanotechnology). Despite the fact that he’s probably the most stylish dresser in comics, his fashion taken from the latest men’s magazines, Auto Kafka is a lost soul searching for some meaning in life. As a card-carrying member of the baddest motherfuckin’ superhero crew of the Eighties, Auto Kafka had a social structure to hang his parties on. He had the proper balance between work and play. One gave meaning to the other. Now he needs to find something new in life. He’s certainly equipped for it… he has built-in weaponry in his forearms (retractable lasers and guns and shit like that). His hands and feet can actually shape shift (to a limited degree), and, of course, he’s radar-invisible (love that stealth technology!). This guy is an action figure waiting to happen.
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
The main cast of supporting characters are drawn from Auto Kafka’s backstory, most notably his former comrades in the now-defunct $TRANGER$ superhero team. This colorful cast of characters includes the handsome billionaire financier, THE WARNING (this guy makes Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark look like bums), the alluring sex witch, HELEN OF TROY (quite a sight to behold in her flying convertible), the quick-witted sharp shooter, SAINT NICK, and the whisky-drinkin’, parody-of-a-patriotic hero named THE CONSTITUTION (and a steady succession of teenaged sidekicks, all named -- appropriately enough -- THE DECLARATION). At this point, we won’t even get into the infant A-Bomb known as SPASTIC BEN (an artificially-engineered infant that can detonate on command)…
… these are perhaps the oddest collection of heroes ever seen in a superhero comic. A major undercurrent of the series will piece together their sprawling, shared history, as well as move each character along through the major plotline.
THE FIRST STORY
The first arc (entitled, METAL MACHINE MUSIC) will introduce us to Automatic Kafka and the cast through hallucinogenic flashbacks, as our hero finally scores a few grams of nanotechron in the hazy slums of Mexico City. We will also deal with his attempted recruitment into the covert arm of the National Park Service, already seen in the pages of WILDCATS.
The reasoning behind this recruitment will be a major subplot of the series… the NPS has regularly been recruiting super-powered individuals for its covert ops since its inception. Automatic Kafka is merely the latest in a long line. But, there is another reason… one that affects our hero personally, one that will, by the end of the first year, have everyone asking, “Where is Saint Nick?”
In dodging the NPS’ somewhat sinister offer, Automatic Kafka (acting on advice of his former mentor, the Warning) feels his only choice is to hide in plain sight, which kicks off his journey into the wild world of product endorsement. This ain’t just about heroes slugging it out with villains, guys (although there will be plenty of that for all the wrestling fans out there). This series will have a socio-political bent to it, treating these fantastic characters with extreme verisimilitude as well as absurd surrealism. Luckily, superheroes can accommodate both things equally.
Future stories will include single-issue, experimental flights of fancy as well as full-blown historical flashback issues (for instance, issue #5 will give readers an assload of history on the Constitution). But with each issue, these characters who have worked so hard to disassociate themselves from each other will be drawn back together in the most unexpected ways, with Automatic Kafka the constant focal point. Only an artificial being could provide the reader identification in a series this bizarre…
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Right.
There were a lot of things that were weird about this, beyond the comicbook itself. I don’t know how confident I was that this imprint was going to succeed, but I guess sometimes, you just have to bear down and go for it, regardless of the obvious folly involved. But, c’mon, the idea of publishing a mature readers’ imprint without the resources to properly market it… was pretty much doomed from the get-go. If I recall, it lasted about three years before the whole thing quietly imploded.
Not to mention, AUTOMATIC KAFKA was never collected in any kind of trade paperback edition. That seems crazy to me, even now. It’s almost as though… DC Comics isn’t as interested in making money as you’d think they’d be.
Joe Casey
USA
Good Lord Joe! How did I miss this baby back in the day. I have just managed to buy issues 1-3 on eBay! I will search for the others. Thanks for opening this up for me.