Talking Archie’s ‘Kardak The Mystic’ With Joe Corallo And Butch Mapa

Diamonds are (allegedly) a girl’s best friend, but it’s a ruby that’s captured Kardak’s attention in writer Joe Corallo and artist Butch Mapa‘s upcoming one-shot, Kardak the Mystic. With colors by Ellie Wright and letters by Jack Morelli, find out whether the ruby leads him to good or ill in the following interview with Corallo and Mapa (along with an EXCLUSIVE preview of the art):

Rachel Bellwoar: Kardak the Mystic has a long history in comics (having debuted in 1939’s Top-Notch Comics #1). What sets him apart from other magicians or makes him a character worth rebooting (versus conjuring up a new magician)?

Butch Mapa: Unlike his Golden Age contemporaries, Kardak is in the unique position of still being under the purview of his original publisher, which I think gives his stories an authenticity that no other character can rival. Save for Zatara, but his own daughter is more popular than him anyway. Shots fired.

Joe Corallo: I think there are a number of aspects to Kardak that make him worth rebooting. Personally, I feel that it’s important to highlight the legacy of a publisher like Archie and a great way to do that is to remind people of all the fantastic characters they’ve created for decades.

Additionally, I think supporting characters like his fiancé, Lorna, add a great deal to Kardak and help to make him stand out. Many characters in comics are defined not just by who they are, but who they interact with, and Kardak is no exception.

Bellwoar: As explained in the press release for this one-shot, Kardak of old was a “superhero magician.” Will that still be the case and what was it like reinventing his origin story?

Corallo: Somewhat! Reintroducing a character like Kardak here involved an origin story to set him up to be more of a superhero magician. Think of this as more of an Amazing Fantasy #15 than an Amazing Spider-Man #3.

Bellwoar: It sounds like Kardak is going to be going from struggling magician to a very popular one in a short amount of time. How did you approach that journey, in terms of his appearance and clothing?

Corallo: The design credit here goes to Butch. That said, I made it a point to write scenes with varying crowd sizes for Kardak’s shows to stress the evolution of his fame. And of course, stopping by a shop that may be more than it seems to pick up an accessory is part of showing that, and crucial to the plot, too.

Mapa: While we didn’t want to make his wardrobe changes too drastic — it’s important for a debuting (or re-debuting, in this case) character’s design language to be consistent — Kardak and Lorna do undergo some changes as their story unfolds When they start out, I wanted them to be wearing something that looked like they ordered magician/assistant costumes off the internet. And as they gain fame and experience, we see them modernize and tinker with their looks.

Bellwoar: While we know Kardak’s career rise is due to the cursed ruby he recently acquired, his fans are supposed to believe he’s talented. Did that impact how you chose to portray his act, in making it believable that he could be pulling these tricks off on his own?

Corallo: For sure. We never portray Kardak as being incompetent, just that his act was stale and not gaining traction. I don’t think a story like this works if he’s genuinely bad at what he does. What makes the situation more tragic is he knows he has the ability to perform, but the lack of enthusiasm by the audience and Lorna drags him down, too. I was just at a comedy show the other night before this interview, for example, and there were multiple jokes that didn’t land despite how inherently funny the acts were. Talent is only part of the equation.

Mapa: In some ways, my job as a storyteller is the direct opposite of a magician’s. My goal is to present things in a clear and simple manner; a magician’s is to confuse and misdirect. I think that would create a fascinating push-and-pull if Archie ever did a Kardak mini-series. For a shorter story like this, Kardak’s magic is presented at face value to his audiences. But Joe does come up with some interesting ways Kardak combines his powers with “normal” magic that were fun to draw!

Bellwoar: Kardak may be the title character but it sounds like his fiancée, Lorna, is going to be equally important. Can you tell us anything about her and whether you referenced back issues of Top-Notch Comics when coming up with her design?

Corallo: It was important for me to have Lorna be a major part of the story. She stood out to me when reading through the Golden Age appearances, and to loop back to the first question, she is part of what makes Kardak stand out from other comic book magician heroes. In this story, I wanted to make sure she had a strong personality with her own wants and needs that she expressed to Kardak. They’re a team and have similar goals, but like any couple, they’re also their own people.

Mapa: I briefly considered using a throwback style for this issue, but decided against it as it went against the spirit of what we were trying to do, which was to modernize Kardak for newer audiences. Accordingly, I’d say that there’s very little direct influence with Lorna’s character from those issues, other than perhaps a wink with her hairstyle.

Bellwoar: In Kardak’s case, there’s a price to pay for turning invisible but, if there were no consequences, is that a superpower you’d like to have?

Corallo: Couldn’t hurt, right? I mean, I suppose it could. That’s an accident waiting to happen. That said, I’d probably be more comfortable with invisibility than a number of other powers. I always liked phasing or teleportation, but I feel like the accident risks are just way too high. Flying too, but again, too risky. Maybe invulnerability would be nice? I feel like any of these powers could be monkey-pawed into a big mistake, though.

Mapa: There are definitely lots of social situations where I’d want to give the ol’ “Kardak Goodbye!”

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Joe and Butch!

Kardak the Mystic one-shot goes on sale August 14th from Archie Comics.