The Copperhead Kid is the informal title for a series of interconnected short stories I've been writing. I began writing the series in 2019, and so far five stories have been completed and published as prose pieces in comic books published by AHOY Comics. Each of these five stories was subsequently shared on this blog:
"The Last Ride Of The Copperhead Kid" grew out of a sudden urge I had to write a Western. At first, I wasn't even going to try to sell it, figuring it was too straight for a modern professional market. I certainly didn't have any intention of continuing it as any kind of series.
 |
| Illustration by Ed Catto |
But I wound up offering it to AHOY. Surprise! The AHOY folks loved it, bought it, and published it. AHOY's Tom Peyer even told me he wished more writers would try pure genre pieces. That wish may have been subject to change over time, but in 2019, it inspired me to start thinking about attempting more genre fiction.
I wasn't thinking of any sort of Copperhead Kid sequel. But I had a Batman fanfic piece called "The Undersea World Of Mr. Freeze," a story I quite liked but which had no plausible path forward. Why not repurpose one of its scenes--a fight scene!--into something else? How about a 1930s pulp hero story? And, what the hell, why not connect it to the Copperhead Kid's continuity, but with different characters, decades after the events of my Western story?
Hijinks ensued.
 |
| Illustration by Shane White |
That was the real start of the idea for a Copperhead Kid series, individual tales loosely connected across generations. We met the Kid's daughter. We met the Kid's grandson. We met his great granddaughter, and his great-great granddaughter. As the stories were written, I began to think more and more of bringing them all together as a longer narrative.
I haven't gotten very far with that idea, but I have been pulling at its threads. Here's a list of some of the potential future entries:
And Starring As The Copperhead Kid....
Bride Of The Copperhead Kid (or: The Copperhead Kid Takes A Bride)
The Copperhead Kid's New York Adventure
Copperhead Ace And The Sky Over Germany
Bullets From The Copperhead Detective
The Casebook Of Dr. Copperhead
A Planet Of Serpents
The Maltese Viper
Copperhead, LLC
Night Of The Living Copperheads
Gather The Copperheads
Return To Copperhead Ridge
Beware The Copperheads!
 |
| Illustration by Ed Catto |
All very much a work in progress. I've started "The Copperhead Kid's New York Adventure" and "Bullets From The Copperhead Detective," but nothing's quite set yet.
The idea remains. The Copperhead Kid will return. The Kid claimed that he ain't no hero. But the Kid and his successors could never stand bullies. My mom always wanted me to finish writing The Copperhead Kid. I should do that. I should do that soon.
Justice strikes. It will strike yet again. Beware the Copperheads. If you're a bully, man, you won't even know what hit you.
 |
| Illustration by Ed Catto |
No comments:
Post a Comment