Still: YouTube

Penny Arcade has released the debut teaser trailer for Automata, a robot detective series based on their popular webcomic, with Hellboy’s Doug Jones as the investigative automaton.



The series, which got over $500,000 on Kickstarter, takes place in an alternate Prohibition-era America where robots (called automatons) are the new liquor. Hated, feared, and regulated. No one can make new robots... and the ones that already exist, like Jones’ Carl Swangee, are treated as an underclass by humans.


Along with his partner, New York private detective Sam Regal (Basil Harris from Grimm), Carl’s tasked to spy on a wealthy businessman’s wife. Upon her murder, Sam and Carl find themselves entrenched in an investigation ripe with sex, intrigue, and lies. You can check out a sample of the comic to see how similar the series looks, as directed by Van Alan.

Image: Penny Arcade, Kickstarter


Automata recently premiered at SeriesFest in Denver. It currently has five episodes, running about 10 to 12 minutes each. They’ve all been released to Kickstarter patrons, but no word when they’ll go out to the general public. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more.



[YouTube]