Six Years of Thought Balloons

Six years, eh?

Six years is a long time, and with one page of comic script from our various writers, it makes for a lot of words.  I thought about trying to count them all up, but in considering the best approaches for such a course of action, I deemed it enough to recognize the total as a lot.

Because while the sheer volume of work we've produced here is something worth celebrating, I think it's worth remembering that Thought Balloons is more than the sum of its parts.  We have a dedicate group of tenures throwing down quality scripts week in and week out.  We have some absolutely amazing alumni doing all kinds of exciting things, both in comics and without.  And a combination of both groups are working on a pretty exciting project that we can't wait to tell you all about once it's a little further along.

It's all come from this little website.  Ryan's hope to have a place to script and level-up has continued to grow and blossom, chugging away six years after the fact.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I love Thought Balloons.  This place means the world to me, and with the amount of time I've spent writing, commenting, and thinking about it, I hope you'll understand when I say that this place is a digital home for me.

Like any good home, it's a place to learn and to grow.  Everyone's welcome, and it'll take you places and show you things you'd never expect.  And when you're really lucky (and I think we have been), you'll meet some of the most excellent people around.

So to help celebrate our sixth anniversary, we're going to be writing about Home and what that means to each and every one of us.  It might be where we were born, where we live, where our hearts are, or any other interpretation that may tickle our fancy.  As always, we'd love to see your take in the comments below.  Like any good home, there's always room for more here, you know?

Doctor Doom - Other People's Toys - Travis M. Holyfield

Panel 1.  DOOM stands on a deserted flight deck of a space station. Holographic displays show star systems and technical specifications. Doom stands with his hands behind his back, peering at the technology around him. 

DOOM: A moon-sized satellite equipped with a superlaser,  A weapon designed to kill planets. 

DOOM: Crude. A blunt-force solution to a problem of precision. 

Panel 2.  Closer on Doom. We can see over his shoulder to an empty walkway. 

DOOM: Still, it  is a tool. One that can perhaps stem the tide of Incursion. 

DOOM: Doom shall have it.

Panel 3.  Doom shifts slightly, and in the space over his shoulder we can see a dark form is standing on the walkway.

DOOM: Doom suggests you step aside.  

Panel 4. We pull into the figure, to reveal DARTH VADER. Vader ignites his lightsaber. 

DARTH VADER: Step aside? 

DARTH VADER: You underestimate the power of the Dark Side... 

TO BE CONTINUED...

Why Thought Balloons? - Travis M. Holyfield

It feels somehow inappropriate for me to be the one closing off this week. I'm still  the new guy. Everybody else has already said it, and said it better, and said it with more heart. Asking me, "Why Thought Balloons?" is probably asking the wrong person. But I'll give it the goold old college try.

Why Thought Balloons? Because comics are fun.

That's how I approach them. When I read them. When I make them. When I talk about them (and I talk about them a LOT). Comics can make you feel happiness, and sadness and anger and joy and pain and fear and they can challenge you and they can lift your spirits and they can set your imagination right off. And they're fun.

I've had nothing but fun with Thought Balloons. It makes me write SOMETHING even when I don't feel like it. And it gives me a chance to play with Other People's Toys. I get to write a page with Ms.  Marvel without feeling like I'm writing fanfiction. (Not that there's anything wrong with fanfiction.) It lets me think about characters I normally don't think about because nobody's paying me to think about them, and it challenges me to do something with them the way I do things. (I wrote a page on Squirrel Girl, for crying out loud.) And I have fun.

I never rewrite for Thought Balloons (That probably shows). What you see from me is always first draft, right out of the barrel. I don't overthink it, and I just try to have fun. And so far, so good.

Comics are fun. Thought Balloons is fun. There you go.

\

P.S. If you enjoy comics, aqnd you enjoy fun, consider checking out my comic DOBER-MAN on Comixology. It's only 99 cents! https://www.comixology.com/Dober-Man-1/digital-comic/93554

Deadpool - Serious - Arby Moay

Panel 1

We look at the back of a man, standing, whose head had just been sliced clean off with a sword. In the space between where the neck and head split, we see Deadpool's eyes. He is pissed.

CAPTION (Yellow): Life, sometimes, is terrible...

Panel 2

Deadpool stalks towards a dude leaning on the closed doors of a car. The dude is pointing a pistol at Deadpool and shooting. Deadpool just shrugs off the bullets entering his body.

CAPTION (Yellow): Even I'm sane enough to realize that sometimes.

SFX (gunshot): BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

CAPTION (Yellow): And sometimes, the monsters of this world don't need super powers. 

Panel 3

Deadpool sticks his sword through the dude's head.

CAPTION (Yellow): Sometimes, the most ordinary human can do the shittiest thing...

Panel 4

Deadpool opens the car door at the back seat and takes out a baby whose eyes glow red, and have glowing patterns in his arms. A half-eaten chimichanga rests in the dashboard of the car that Deadpool hasn't yet noticed.

CAPTION (Yellow): ...to the most innocent.

CAPTION (Yellow): It's times like these where I just --

Panel 5

Deadpool notices the chimichanga and perks up, baby is in his left arm, while his right arm reaches for the food.

DEADPOOL: OOOHHH! CHIMICHANGA!

CAPTION (Yellow): Wait. What was I thinking about?

CAPTION (White): I don't know, but you sounded so serious about a panel ago.

Why Thought Balloons? - Arby Moay

I spent only a brief moment here on Thought Balloons, but, nevertheless, I had a wonderful time here. I was fresh out of college and searching for work when I came on board, and, honestly, as the weeks turned to months, I had been feeling purposeless and useless. That's what Thought Balloons gave me -- a sense of purpose. Sure, it wasn't actual work, but it had been a thing that I had to do. And there were people actually reading what I'm too, and criticizing me as well, so that was very exciting.

I'll keep this post brief as well, but let me just say that Thought Balloons definitely revitalized my desire to one day have a comic published. I'm still looking for money and artists, but with Oni Press' open submissions...

Anyways, congrats to the site for five years of history! Here's to hoping for five more! And may all of us here, not just the past and present tenures, but for those participating in the comment sections as well, may all of us be one day get a publication.

Huzzah!

- Arby Moay

Why Thought Balloons? - Brian Manton

Before joining Thought Balloons I wasn't writing every week, let alone every day. That weekly deadline might seem like a small thing but it brought about big changes. It was a starting point to build from. The benefits of having like-minded writers to learn from and with cannot be understated. I've learned a lot since that time so I thought I'd use this post to pass on some second hand advice that I've picked up over the years.

- The best way to improve at anything is regular deliberate practice. Write every day and focus on what you want to get better at. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/

- If you are not good at creating self-imposed deadlines, try joining a writing group (like Thought Balloons!) so that you have someone to be accountable to.

- Read widely from all mediums and genres. You can learn from everything - even bad writing.

- If you think you don't have time to write, watch this video:

- Don't spend too long reading about writing. It's easy to get caught up in process stuff. Allow yourself to indulge in it only on days when you've already put in your writing time.

- If you do spend more time thinking about writing than actually writing, read this book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/1936891026

- If the process of writing comes easy to you, be thankful that you are one of the lucky few Ray Bradbury-types who sit down everyday and enjoy writing every word.

- If, on the other hand, writing feels like a constant process of frustration and humiliation... don't worry. You are not alone. “When I write, I feel like an armless, legless man with a crayon in his mouth.” ― Kurt Vonnegut

- It's never going to get easier, and you need to be ok with that. You need to want to do it anyway.

This is all advice that I still struggle with at times - but I have improved, bit by bit, and Thought Balloons was instrumental in starting that process.

- Brian Manton

The In-Between - a proposal - Ray Wonsowski

This is one I've been mucking around with for the last couple months. Really cemented when I heard B.B. King died. It's hardboiled mystery, with a novice view of the aetherworld.

PAGE ONE

Panel 1- open mouth on a pale face. A trickle of blood runs from the bottom lip.

CAPTION, ARBOGAST: (white font on black) ...OK, imagine this...

Panel 2- zoom out, now we see the face, sort of. A bullet's exit wound is where his left eye should be. The other eye has dilated.

CAPTION, ARBOGAST: ...you're a detective, the kind you swore you wouldn't be. Working the "cheat beat". Messy divorces, philandering husbands, adulterous wives, you're a peeping Tom with a license...

Panel 3 - zoom out further. WIDOW is knealing on the ground, the DETECTIVE, his name is B.B. ARBOGAST, has his head in her lap, turning he blue dress black from the blood pooling around her. A small .22 lies on the ground by their side. Her face is speckled by light blood spatter. Tears run down her cheeks as blood rushes from his face. Her dress and coat should be conservative, but cheaply gotten. He's in a button down Oxford and khakis, running shoes on his feet. ARBOGAST is definitely dead.

CAPTION, ARBOGAST: ...then in walks that Case, the once-in-a-lifetime rainmaker. A government whistleblower, with two file boxes full. You're even in the mood to celebrate as you lock them up the office...

Panel 4 - zoom out further. POV from above, a beat COP rushes to the WIDOW, radio held to his lips, frantic for back up. A pair of translucent white bare feet peek in from the lower right corner.

CAPTION, ARBOGAST:  ...and you're shot in the back of the head as you walk to your car.

Now, the case that Arbogast really needs to solve is his own murder. Because his soul will not rest until he does.

A ghost, and he doesn't know the first thing about being one.

Welcome to the world In-Between.

Happy anniversary, you all are the best.

Why Thoughtballoons? - Ray Wonsowski

Because Grandpa Joe, who bought me my first comic book, a Detective Comics, Batman facing off against the Riddler...

Because trading comics with my high school buddy Greg. I traded my entire Firestorm run for his complete set of John Ostrander's Suicide Squad and some choice John Romita Jr Daredevils (pretty sure I got the better side of that deal).

Because the 90s, when so many comics were style over substance, and I still managed to find Vertigo, the British Invasion days, and you know who I'm talking about: Gaiman and Moore, Morrison and Milligan, and my hero Warren Ellis (we'll be coming back to him later).

Because when I screwed up my relationships, lost jobs, and the band broke up, I could disappear into Jack Kirby and Frank Miller, Walt Simonson and Denny O'Neil.

Because Comics Fortress in Somerville NJ, who introduced me to Warren Ellis's Transmetropolitan, at the exact moment that I needed it most, restoring my faith in both people and the medium I love.

Because when I was far from home, southeast Asia or South America, digital comics were my bridge back home, Aja's Iron Fist and Abnett & Lanning's Marvel Cosmic, and Warren Ellis taking over Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-men, and Ed Brubaker's Captain America saga.

Because, thanks to comics, I can share Chris Nolan's Dark Knight and Marvel Studio's Avengers films with my wife. I can imagine and play and watch and CREATE with my kids.

Thoughtballoons is how I give back.

Because you will never find a writer's circle like this one. This is where we break our teeth. This is where we throw our ideas and see what sticks. We research, plot, write, edit, and by God write again, even if we ask ourselves, "Who the hell is that character?!?" because By GOD Comics!  We have to find a mental image for the artist to draw, and dialogue that sounds right to the ear.

Because I want to thank each and every Thoughtballooner that's graced this site, for their craft, their dedication, their critiques, constructive feedback, and most importantly, their friendship.

It's funny, we have all been spread around this crazy earth, and the writers here,  I can share the work of a friend with just a click, as if he just passed me his notes from across his desk.

So, thank you, guys. I know this is quite a bit longer than expected. But I want to thank you with all the gratitude in the world for including me in your world.

Take a bow, gents. You deserve it.

Nick Fury- Changing Of The Guard - Niel Jacoby

1 - 1994. Classic Nick Fury, the one David Hasselhoff played in that TV movie, has grown old. He's sitting in his office in SHIELD HQ, tired after a long day of work. The trophies of his old adventures are on his walls and desk, gathering dust. There's a G-man standing in front of the desk. We can't see his face, but his body language is comfortable. He's not cowed by the legend of Nick Fury.

G-Man: I'm glad you're taking this well. The guys back at State warned me about old soldiers, said they don't respond well to being asked-

Nick: To turn in the gun and badge? Yeah. I've had to decommission a few antiques myself.

2 - The G-Man is waving off Nick's comment about turning in the gun and badge as he(the G-Man) starts boxing up Nick's old war trophies. We see his face, and it's a young Phil Coulson. We see Fury in profile. He's not sad, or angry, just tired.

Coulson: You can keep the gun and badge, we've got more guns than we know what to do with, and you'll need the badge to use the SHIELD gym. Keep in shape during your retirement. Hit the sauna, play some squash, canasta, whatever you old folks do.

Nick: Canasta?

3 - The New Nick Fury leans on the doorframe as Coulson keeps boxing up Nick's memorabilia. New Nick is the Sam Jackson Fury we know from the movies, though not yet bald. Think Pulp Fiction, but after a visit to the barber. New Nick is crossing his arms, just as comfortable as Coulson in this office. Fury is still at his desk, and has started pouring himself a couple fingers of good whiskey.

New Nick: Yeah. That's a thing retirees do, I think. Oh, how rude of me. Hi, Nick, I'm Nick.

Old Nick: Canasta's a card game. Who plays cards in a gym?

4 - New Nick takes the tumbler of whiskey off Old Nick's desk and drinks it himself. Coulson has finished packing up Old Nick's desk, and is taping up the last box.

Coulson: Who cares where they play?

Old Nick: It doesn't matter, I'm just saying, wh-

Coulson(Interrupting): There. Now get your crap out of my office.

Old Nick: Your office? I thought he...

5 - Close on New Nick's hand as he pulls out a postcard-sized blueprint of the SHIELD Helicarrier,

New Nick(Off Panel): The job just can't be done from an office this size anymore. We're phasing out all the old relics. Phil here is manning Ground Control, while I man the mobile base. An aircraft carrier the size of a medium-size city. Tacoma, for instance.

6 - Old Nick carries the last of his boxes out of his office. We can see Phil and New Nick sharing whiskey over Old Nick's shoulder. Old Nick is still tired, but now he's a bit heartbroken, too.

Caption(Old Nick): They used to say old soldiers never die. But I guess the world moves too fast to let us fade away these days.

Why Thoughtballoons? - Niel Jacoby

When Grant asked me about participating in Thoughtballoons' fifth anniversary, the hardest part was this. Talking about what Thoughtballoons meant to me. It involves a whole lot of talking about myself, and I've never been good at that. But there is one thing Thoughtballoons taught me: just how desperate I can get when I'm getting near a deadline. I can't count the pages that I half assed by throwing together a half-baked crossover and calling it a night. And that's it, really. Thoughtballoons is something I did, that I'm glad I did, but that I don't do anymore.

Sorry if you expected more after a week of nostalgic retrospectives.

- Niel Jacoby

Moon Knight - Oath - Shaun Richens

Heavily inspired by the Ellis/Shalvey run. 

PAGE TWENTY - 20.

6 PANELS.

PANEL 1.

Moon Knight - In his white suit, jacket off resting over his knee, sleeves rolled up, white gloves speckled with red blood droplets. We are in the back of MK’s black car. It’s predawn but the early morning light can’t puncture the blackout windows.

NO TEXT.

PANEL 2.

Cut to EXT: MK’s black car driving towards the end of a pier. Tyres rumble across the wooden slats.

NO TEXT.

PANEL 3.

The car comes to a dead stop a few feet from the pier’s edge. The sun breaks the horizon with a thin shock of orange.

NO TEXT.

PANEL 4.

Small panel. Close in on MK’s leg as he steps out of the car.

NO TEXT.

PANEL 5.

Small panel. Close in on MK’s hand as he reaches to unlock the boot of the car.

NO TEXT.

PANEL 6.

Page wide panel. Looking into the trunk of MK’s car over his shoulder. WARD the priest from earlier is bound and gagged. One eye swollen and bruised. Tears run down his cheeks. We can barely see his clergy outfit underneath the thick chains wrapped around him. Thirteen different padlocks are locked at varying sections of the chain.

MOON KNIGHT: Shhh. Shhh. The night is over. As is your time to talk.

Why Thoughtbaloons? - Shaun Richens

Thought Balloons: What it means to me? Or One Sappy Comic Writer’s Journey Into The Past - By Shaun Richens.

The date says 11/10/10 but I must have come to the article nearly a year later, and it’s all thanks to Josh Flanagan over at iFanboy that I found this wonderland of comics writing.

I was at a point where I was looking at comics, not just as something I enjoyed, but perhaps as something I wanted to, dare I say it, make. Now I already knew, despite that B in A-Level art, that I was never guna make it as an artist. However, thanks to the staggeringly brilliant Irene Holley, my college English teacher, I had a newfound passion for writing - something I hadn't had since my days of writing fanfics about The Hobbit and Lord of The Rings, well before I even know what a fanfic was - and I thought “hey, maybe I could give writing a go”. The only issue? Where the hell to even start.

Living in the age we do I of course turned to Google, which lead me very quickly to the article I opened with. A few clicks later and my entire comic based life was pretty much changed forever. All of a sudden I had access to hundreds of page of comic scripts, from writers trying to do what I wanted to do, not waiting for permission, just doing it, writing, and writing damn well. Within a few weeks I’d ravaged the vault, read everything and was greedily waiting for new pages of script to go live. I’d go through old comments sections and learn just as much from the others guys’ advice as I would from the scripts. Thoughtballoons was, and still is, the holy grail for new comics writers. I think even seasoned veterans could learn a trick or two from the TB archives.

July 29th 2011, I stepped into the ring for the first time in the comments section. It was Captain America, Steve Rogers, the Marvel comics iconic war hero and I was taking on the challenge of writing him. Rereading the script now it’s rough and hard to put myself through, but it still holds a little magic for me. Thanks to the support of the always positive and helpful Thought Balloons community I took my first step towards becoming a comic writer. It floors me to this day knowing that my first piece of script feedback was from Mr Ryan “Dark Horse Comics” Lindsay.

Between the comments section and what was to come, the Process Podcast happened - an in depth breakdown cast, where all things writing process were discussed. Hosted by T Balloons very own Ryan K Lindsay as well as Jeremy Holt, Kurtis J Wiebe and for a while Ed Brisson. This is comics podcast gold. This was crack to me at the time - I still get the itch to go back and listen to old episodes. It was the rocket fuel I needed for the next step.

Bounty of The Beast, what a heavy metal title. I still like that a lot. I may have to use that in the future. On Sunday February 19th 2012, that was the title of my first tenured piece. A cross country road trip story, wherein Ghost Rider collects demonic bounties for Hades’ head honcho - Satan. This will always be one of my proudest moments as a writer. Yeah the script is a C- at best, but to be welcomed into the fold here was such a defining moment for me. To have peers in the industry I love, people I respect and look up to inviting me to join them - it’s the thing that keeps me writing until this day.

Curt Pires, Ed Brisson, Kurtis J Wiebe, Ryan Ferrier, Michael Walsh, Jeremy Holt, Brian Level, Fabian Rangel Jr, Paul Allor, all of you writing here with me this week - the list could go on for another hundred names. Thought Balloons opened my mind to more creators once I discovered it than I’d found before it. And not just any creators, the kind of guys and gals who've gone on to become the next big thing, the kind of creators I aspire to be.

Without this site, and all of you beautiful b*stards I wouldn't be half the creator I am today. I’m not sure I’d even be creating at all. So always and forever thank you, thank you all.

Here’s to another five years.

P.S. Go read my Peanuts page from 2013 - perhaps still my favourite thing I've written.

- Shaun Richens (May 2015 - From a small flat in London)

Unknown Soldier - Escalation - Dan Hill

Panel 1

Wide panel. An establishing shot looking out across Kandhaq. We’re focused on an area that looks like Tahrir Square. There are thousands of people protesting. Above them, speaking on a small makeshift stage, is the female UNKNOWN SOLDIER (from here). Her head is swathed in bandages, and she’s dressed in the clothes we last saw her in. She punches a fist to the heavens.

Letterer’s Note: The Voice captions are black background with white text.

1 CAPTION/The Voice: You were stupid. You demanded revolution.

2 CAPTION/The Soldier: It was needed.

Panel 2

Wide panel. The crowd is being dispersed and broken up by SOLDIERS brandishing riot shields and batons. This isn’t a simple sweep and clear. This is skulls being smashed, blood being spilt -- absolute carnage. Somewhere in the chaos the UNKNOWN SOLDIER is dragged away by CIVILIANS as she tries to pull herself free, wanting to join the fight.

3 CAPTION/The Voice: They have too much to lose, a single voice holds no sway.

4 CAPTION/The Soldier: Nothing changed.

5 CAPTION/The Soldier: I failed.

Panel 3

A thin, wide, horizontal panel. Nothing but black. Text in white.

6 TEXT/The Voice: This isn’t about you. It never was.

Panel 4

Wide panel. Tight on the UNKNOWN SOLDIER as she looks out of the panel towards us, a dark background behind her. Her eyes stare at us from beneath the bandages, her teeth gritted in the midst of an angry sermon we’re not privy to.

7 CAPTION/The Voice: Cast out revolution.

8 CAPTION/The Voice: Bury your ego.

Panel 5

Wide panel. We ZOOM OUT to see she’s flanked by others, all dressed in civilian clothes, their heads swathed in the iconic bandages of The Unknown Soldier. Some brandish ASSAULT RIFLES. All of them face us. A strip of text runs across the bottom of the image, telling us we’re watching a news broadcast.

The text reads: “Unknown Soldiers release manifesto online - group calls for end too --”

8 CAPTION/The Voice: And carve change into the flesh of history.

Why Thought Balloons? - Dan Hill

When thinking about what Thought Balloons meant to me, I always came back to the things it taught me. Plus, everyone likes listicles. So, here are three valuable things Thought Balloons gave me:

1) Economy - When you only have one page, space matters. You can tell a complete story in one page, or hint at a larger one, but you have to be ruthless. For a page to hit, it has to be pared down to its base components.

What idea are you trying to get across in the page? What larger themes, stories or character beats, are you hinting at? All of these elements have to be taken into account and then ratcheted in on. There's no space for fancy flourishes or sprawling monologues.

This brings me to dialogue. Never at a premium anyway in comics, it has even less room with one page. Every word counts.

Cut, and cut some more, cut until only the essential survives.

2) Consistency is key - Writers write. Some of it may not see the light of day, some of it moves around and changes in the future, but finishing and consistency is key.

With Thought Balloons one page had to go up every week without fail. What this kind of deadline does is begin to strip away any pretensions you have about the work. You can't be too precious. Sometimes the page will work, firing on all cylinders, sometimes it won't, and the words will just sit there like ab-rollers, pristine copies of War and Peace, and other things you thought were a good idea at the time. Deadlines are agnostic. The work has to go out anyway.

The notion of a weekly deadline also gives you another valuable writing lesson -- the key to leveling up your skills is consistency. Finish.

Done is the engine of More.

3) Camaraderie - When you're in the trenches with someone week in, week out, bonds start to form. This can be seen in the larger comics community too. Team #makecomics is a big family, one that wants to see everyone do their best work.

Thought Balloons taught me the value and importance of feedback. Writing is a solitary game. Sometimes we can be too close to a script, not seeing problems and potential changes because we're a slave to our individual visions. But a fresh set of eyes can cull the weeds, see heretofore invisible patterns, and make you aware of alternative approaches.

When you find those who bring out the best in your work hold them close. They'll be your allies in the battles that lie ahead.

My stint at Thought Balloons introduced me to a bunch of like-minded people who I now consider confidantes, collaborators, and most of all, friends.

It taught me that I can do this.

We can do this.

- Dan Hill

Thought Balloons Year 5 – Baker & Grodd’s Homagetastic Adventure! – MK Stangeland Jr.

(Originally, I was planning on taking a page from Ben Rosenthal’s book and re-working a page I previously wrote but was unhappy with.

But then, when I thought about it, I realized the correct answer for this week would be to pay another visit to what I think has managed to become my signature duo here at Thought Balloons, the unlikely but always fun pairing of Animal Man and Gorilla Grodd.

Notably, this particular script is heavily based on a particular newspaper comic strip you may well recognize – bonus points to the first one to correctly guess which one!)

(4 Panels)

Panel 1: DARKSEID overlooks his minions as he prepares for war.

TITLE TEXT BOX: Baker & Grodd by Stangeland Jr.

ANIMAL MAN: (Text Box) We have a massive problem. Darkseid is getting ready to attack Earth. Again.

Panel 2: Human citizens as they go about their daily lives.

ANIMAL MAN: (Text Box) And we have no idea who to trust or how to stop him this time.

GRODD: (Text Box) BAH! Foolish weakling. I already have a solution!

Panel 3: Three gorillas fly through the air, SUPERMAN style, complete with capes. GRODD should be among them, and have a SUPERMAN style ‘G’ on his chest.

GRODD: (Text Box) KRPTONIAN-POWERED SUPER GORILLAS!!

Panel 4: Inlaid within the corner of PANEL 3. GRODD and ANIMAL MAN are discussing the issue. ANIMAL MAN is wary of GRODD’s plan, GRODD isn’t keen on ANIMAL MAN not liking it.

ANIMAL MAN: I’m not sure you’re taking this seriously, Mr. Grodd.

GRODD: I’m taking it seriously like you would not believe!

(END PAGE)

Thought Balloons, 5(ish) Years Later – MK Stangeland Jr.

If there’s one thing that great writers have in common – the true greats we think of when we think of great storytellers – it’s that they write. Certainly, there are great stories where their author put one out and did something else with the rest of their life, but the people we think of as the truly great writers? They didn’t stop at one and done then coast off that lone success the rest of their life. They kept going.

Lois Lane - Friends Indeed - Grant McLaughlin

Lois Lane was the first character I wrote a Thought Balloons script for as a play-at-homer - a script I'm still quite fond of - so I wanted to take another crack at writing her this week.  I'll leave it to you to decide whether I made the right decision.

1 - Clark is preparing some food in the kitchen.  Let's say he's checking on the oven, with the counters filled with all kinds of finished or in progress foodstuffs.  Also important to note that Clark should be wearing a dorky apron of some variety - perhaps a [insert suggestion here].  Clark is checking the oven, but he looks towards the doorway with some concern as he calls out to Lois.

CLARK (1): Lois, could you whip up some of your Peachy Keen Margaritas for Bruce and Diana tonight?

CLARK (2): Lois?

2 - Move to the living room.  Lois is sitting on a couch, being sad - maybe with her feet up on the couch, holding her legs to her body.  Clark looks out through the kitchen doorway into the room.

CLARK: Is everything alright?

LOIS: No.

3 - Clark has joined Lois on the couch, his arm around her.  She rests her head on his shoulder, still a little upset.  He wears a look of concern, resting his head on hers in turn.

LOIS (1): I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist.  I've covered some of the most important world events of our generation.  I'll go to any length to get a story.

LOIS (2): ...

LOIS (3): But for all that, I don't have any of my own friends.

4 - Clark sits up straighter and looks directly at Lois, surprised.  Lois, also sitting up and looking at Clark, is resistant to his words.

CLARK: What?  That's ridiculous.  You have plenty of friends!

LOIS: We're having Batman and Wonder Woman over for dinner.  Pretty sure they're not here to see mild mannered Lois Lane.

5 - Clark takes Lois' hands in his own and looks kindly and earnestly into her eyes.

CLARK (1): Lois.  Honey.

CLARK (2): They may have met me first.

6 - Flash forward to dinner that evening.  Lois, Bruce, and Diana laugh heartily at some joke that Lois obviously told them (all holding a peach coloured drink in their hands).  Clark is slightly apart, clearing the table after whichever course they've just finished, a small, satisfied smile on his face.

CAPTION (CLARK): But we both know they like you better.

Why Thought Balloons? - Grant McLaughlin

I still remember when Ryan asked me to join.  I felt like a rock star.  I felt like I had finally arrived.  Of course, like most things, that was only the beginning.

Thought Balloons is where I learned to write comics.

Thought Balloons led me to the supportive community that is comics.

Thought Balloons introduced me to some rad folk who I'm proud to think of as good friends today.

Thought Balloons is a lot of things to a lot of people.  You simply need to look at the entries of our past and present tenures to see that fact.

Thought Balloons means a lot to me.  It means a lot to all of us.  I want to do everything in my power to keep it on course, but I also want to keep sharing this place with others.  The prompts, the deadlines, and the practice are all integral parts of this site, but what keeps Thought Balloons going is that aforementioned community.  I'm going to keep telling everyone I can about this place.  I believe it can be an invaluable tool in one's development as a writer, if one wants it to be.  I know it has been - and continues to be - for me.

This week is all about celebrating who are we and what we've achieved, but don't worry, we haven't forgotten about where we're going.  There are some big plans for Thought Balloons' Year 5, but let's save those for another day.

I'm honoured to take up the reigns from Ben.  I know I can't take his place as the site's puppet dictator, but I'll do my best to captain this ship in its ongoing journey.  I'm ever so proud of where we've been and I'm looking forward to where we're headed.

I hope you'll join us.

Phonogram - Unity - Max Barnard

The Premise: Phonogram is this perfect concept for stories, this simple idea of music = magic. I was tempted, upon missing this week long ago, to do a story using the characters from the books, but that's not Phonogram, not really. The characters are just examples of how the world they're in, the music they experience, can affect people. So instead we have an idea formed almost half a decade on, that of music as literal protest against those who seek to oppress the very people they
serve. And indeed music as a great unifier.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

#.1

A person sits in front of a television, in a somewhat delapidated room, their expression unseen, as the screen shows the bloated pustule that is the face of one David Cameron, with the simple BBC news ticker below his visage read simply " Cameron in for 2nd term". It doesn't matter what the person looks like, anything unassuming would do the job (after all, in many ways they are so many of us), but really I give free reign to you, the artist, to do as you like. I would, however, edge towards the person being in the young adult, 18­25 range, if such a thing can be conveyed, simply for the relevance to those most affected by this recent political outcome.

CAPTION: And so it happens. We lose our rights and have our faces stamped on by those we ourselves have voted for.

#.2

A view of the person's upper body and face, leant forward, with a tight­lipped anger on their face. Think less rage and more... A frustration with the news they have seen.

CAPTION: Well...

CAPTION: *I* didn't vote for them.

#.3

They are up, throwing a beaten­up jacket on, moving with determination and purpose. Hard to convey in a static movement, but the sort of positioning one would have when marching, or even bounding across a room, would probably do well here.

CAPTION: It might technically be fair, democratic, even, but to so many of us it's nothing but a sign of the unfair things to come for us.

CAPTION: The young, the poor, the old, the unwell, we're all in for it.

#.4

And out the door of the flats they live within, a ratty backpack and headphones added to their person, striding down a street in residential London, one of the areas prone to increased gentrification, like Hackney, if you need a strong visual reference.

Our person's eyes are glowing white with the brimming magic filling their ears.

CAPTION: So we do what we can to fight back against it.

CAPTION: Bringing a bit of our own little brand of magic along the way.

#.5

Our person approaches the thronging crowd, now in central London, where our most recent protests garnered the most attention. They are chanting, unified, in one purpose. People of all religions, colours, and creeds. A varied mass of the young, rebelling against a system victimising them.

CAPTION: 'Cause we are the world, and we are the people.

CAPTION: And we will be heard.

#.6

And now our person is in amongst them, one of the many, chanting along, fighting for what they believe in through the power of the song flowing through the crowd, their eyes all lit up with the magic of music, as characters in the world of Phonogram are wont to do when at their most powerful. This is a surge of that, spread amongst many. Protest music.

CHANT(*): WE'LL BE TOGETHER AGAINST THIS! WE'LL BE FOREVER AGAINST THIS!

Why Thought Balloons? - Max Barnard

I was definitely an odd example of a Thought Balloons writer. Inconsistent, self­deprecating, and susceptible to over­stacking pages, I probably came off as the rough diamond of the opening crew of this establishment, all the way up to my death in December, 2011, when I myself dispatched the named Judge Dredd to execute me for my flaws.

Wait, I died? I... I feel cold. Something's wrong. Is... Is anyone there?

*shudder*

Anyway, I'm back for the 5th anniversary of this fine establishment, and what to say? It's amazing to me that TB has continued on this long, and more so that so many people have gotten involved over time. All have given their own little touch to the weekly challenge, and that in itself is a whole thing, for each to have their own voices and own growth in something that could easily be dismissed as fan­fiction for script­writers. But then, much like fan­fiction, it's all a means of growth as a writer through a familiar means, and we can see how that constantly here, especially with our more successful alumni.

I myself miss the discipline of the regular writing, and it's something I'm trying to capture to this day with various podcasting projects (the only place I've really maintained constant creativity over the last half­decade), but man, seeing those who remain doing this stuff endlessly, tirelessly... It's exhausting, isn't it!

So here's to Thought Balloons, to Ryan, Matt, Niel, MK, Grant, Ben, Brandon, Dan, Danial, J.D., Rol, Shaun, Si.... Holy crap, there's so many of ou that it's just impossible to name you all, isn't it. I  mean... It's still a boys club, but what a boys club it's become!

Because I couldn't end the post without the gentlest of jabs, could I?