The Flash in "Bottleneck" by Danial Carroll

PANEL ONE, WIDE
Wide angle of Barry's bedroom. In one strobed blur, Barry has thrown the bedsheets off, turned off the alarm clock, run in to and out of the adjacent bathroom (going from unshaven to shaven in the process), and run in to and out of the wardrobe (changing from boxer shorts to work clothes). The final "strobe" is him tightening his tie.

CAPTION: A system is only as fast as its slowest component.

SFX/SHEETS: WHOOSH

SFX/ALARM: MEEP MEEP ME--

SFX/BATHROOM: VZZZZZ


PANEL TWO, WIDE
From in front, we see Barry sitting in his car on a highway. There is a long line of cars behind him, showing that this really is some heavy traffic. His car is filled with boxes of paperwork--this being the reason he couldn't just run to work. He is propping his head up with his arm and rolling his eyes.

CAPTION: When fast meets slow, it is called a "bottleneck".

BARRY: ->sigh<-


PANEL THREE
Barry is stooped over a kettle in the office tearoom, waiting for it to boil.

CAPTION: As The Flash, I rarely run into such problems.

BARRY/WHISPER: Just boil already.


PANEL FOUR
As of Barry's POV, we see a computer screen with a quarter-filled load bar and a big label reading, "Loading. Please wait..." From each side of the panel we see Barry's hands clutching at the air.

CAPTION: But as Barry Allen...


PANEL FIVE, WIDE
Close-up of Barry's eyes, sullen, overlaid with a sequence of clock hands ticking second-by-second towards 5pm.

SFX/CLOCK: TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK

CAPTION: ... The Bottleneck is my Arch-Nemesis.

Eric O’Grady in "And The Winner Is..." by Danial Carroll

PANEL ONE, WIDE
Wide view of a fancy function room filled with many round tables. At each table is a team/group of Marvel's heroes, all in costume. Popular teams such as Avengers and X-Men should be in the foreground, and lesser-knowns at the back. Somewhere in the middle are the Secret Avengers. There is Sharon Carter, Eric O'Grady, Black Widow, War Machine, Moon Knight, Valkyrie, and Beast, whose exclusion from the X-Men tables will make sense due to Schism.

CAPTION: The 50th Annual Superhero Awards


PANEL TWO
Captain America is standing on stage behind a podium. He is opening an envelope.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: And the winner of Most Heroic Size-Manipulator goes to...


PANEL THREE
Close up of Cap, smiling.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: Stature!


PANEL FOUR
In the background we can see Cap shaking Stature's hand as she approaches the podium. In the foreground is the Secret Avengers' table. The crowd in between are cheering and clapping. Eric is looking to the stage with has his arms up in disapproval. The rest of the table are looking at him--Sharon is scowling.

SFX: CLAP CLAP CLAP CHEER CLAP WHOOOOO CLAP CLAP CHEER

ERIC O'GRADY: Are you serious?
ERIC O'GRADY: Boooooooo.

SHARON CARTER: Eric!


PANEL FIVE
Close on just the group now. Eric has turned to face them.

ERIC O'GRADY: Seriously! What's she got that I don't?

BEAST: Tact.

VALKYRIE: Altruism.

WAR MACHINE: Morals.

BLACK WIDOW: A sense of decency--


PANEL SIX, WIDE
Extreme close up of Eric's eyes, looking extremely surly.

ERIC O'GRADY/COLD: You can stop any time.

Rocket Raccoon and Groot in "Let Go" by Danial Carroll

PANEL ONE, WIDE
Groot sits by a small stone grave on a grassy hill. The gravestone reads, "Rocket Racoon". Around him are all the Marvel cosmic characters as well as various other anthropomorphic creatures. They all look sad.

CAPTION: 2020

CAPTION: The oldest tree on Earth is around 5000 years old.


PANEL TWO, WIDE
Same shot, except that Groot is on his own. The grave is partially overgrown with greenery and moss. So is Groot.

CAPTION: 2270

CAPTION: With such a life-span, time has a much different meaning.


PANEL THREE, WIDE
Same shot again, except the gravestone has partially decayed and crumbled.

CAPTION: 2770

CAPTION: Though one fact remains...


PANEL FOUR, WIDE
The grave stone has now completely crumbled and the grassy hill is no longer grassy. Groot has risen and is walking away, though still looking a little sad.

CAPTION: 3770

CAPTION: There comes a time when you just have to let go.

GROOT/WHISPER: I am... Groot.

Cthulhu in "Rubble and Dust" by Danial Carroll

PAGE ONE (three panels)


PANEL ONE, HALF-PAGE SPLASH
A man stands on the edge of a lookout. Before him lies the ruin of a large city. Most of the city is rubble and the buildings that are still standing have large sections missing. A giant bipedal creature, the size of the tallest visible skyscraper, is ambling between them. It is green, bat-winged, and has a face full of tentacles--Cthulhu.

CAPTION: This is what has become of the world--reduced to nothing more than RUBBLE and DUST.

CAPTION: It has been this way now for over a year…
CAPTION: Ever since that ABOMINATION and its ARMY revealed themselves from beneath the waves to wage war on humanity.


PANEL TWO
As of the man’s POV, we see a close-up of Cthulhu carelessly brushing past a building, its wall collapsing.

CAPTION: I call it a WAR…
CAPTION: However--truth be said--it was more like a MASSACRE.
CAPTION: For the most part, the attack was unexpected, unprovoked, and particularly brutal.


PANEL THREE
Close on the man’s face, looking saddened.

CAPTION: There were some who were forewarned of this APOCALYPSE, however--
CAPTION: --A select few who were SENSITIVE ENOUGH to hear the creature’s calls through their DREAMS.
CAPTION: I probably wouldn’t have believed it possible...

CAPTION: … if I hadn’t been one of them.

Spider-Island - Longing - Danial Carroll

PANEL ONE, WIDE
Close up on the lower half of a pretty woman’s face. She is talking into a cellphone.

WOMAN: Hey, it’s, umm…
WOMAN: It’s me.
WOMAN: I…
WOMAN: ->sigh<-


PANEL TWO, WIDE
From behind, we see that the woman--a blonde--is sitting on a sofa in a large living room. Over her shoulder, a large-screen TV displays a News Anchor. In the upper corner of the screen is an image of Spider-Man with the label “Spider-Island” clearly visible. In the lower corner of the screen it says "Mute".

WOMAN: Have you heard about Manhattan?
WOMAN: They’re calling it “Spider-Island”.
WOMAN: They could probably use your help.

WOMAN: If you do come up, I’d…


PANEL THREE
Close on a white-gloved hand holding a cellphone. Upon its screen reads “Voicemail” and below that, it says “Speaker: On”.

PHONE/WOMAN: I’d like to see you.


PANEL FOUR
Marc Spector is crouched upon a rooftop. He is wearing his Moon Knight gear, but has the hood pulled back so we can see his face. He is holding a cellphone in his hand. He looks sad, almost teary.

PHONE/WOMAN: I miss you, Marc.

The Riddler - Better Left - Danial Carroll

[I started researching riddles this week, and found that I really, really don't like them, so instead, I decided to research Edward himself. It turns out, he was a really curious kid--incessantly asking questions and such--so I figured that this trait has probably never left him. So, when I think of enquiring minds, I automatically think of...]


PANEL ONE
Edward Nigma is walking up to a large columned building. A sign nearby reads, "Gotham City Library".

CAPTION: Ever since I was a child, I have questioned the world around me.


PANEL TWO
He is now seen entering a dark doorway, next to which is a small sign reading, "Grimoire and Occult".

CAPTION: Curiosity is my muse.


PANEL THREE
He is seen pulling a large, leather-bound book from the shelf.

CAPTION: Some questions, however...


PANEL FOUR
Edward is at a reading-table. His head is upon the table, eyes vacant and dilated, drooling. He has dropped the book, the spine of which reads, "Necronomicon".

CAPTION: Are better left unanswered.

Phonogram - Dawn of the Phonomancers - Danial Carroll

PAGE ONE (seven panels)

PANEL ONE, WIDE
We see a wide view of the main stage at the Big Day Out. There is a crowd of thousands standing before it.

CROWD: Hilltop! Hilltop! Hilltop! Hilltop!

PANEL TWO
Closer on the stage, we see Suffa, Pressure, and DJ Debris, of the Hilltop Hoods, walking out on stage. Their hands are in the air, greeting the crowd. Suffa has a mic to his mouth.

SUFFA: What's up, Sydneeeeey!

PANEL THREE
Close on Suffa, pointing to his left.

SUFFA: Pressure MC, what time is it?

PANEL FOUR
Close on Pressure, mic to mouth. His hand is gesturing in the standard hip-hop fashion.

PRESSURE (1): Quarter to midnight, a sea of slaughter I’m in flight,
PRESSURE (2): Red running water getting caught in the rip tide.
PRESSURE (3): Cars out of order man I thought I could hitch hike,
PRESSURE (4): Sporting a chainsaw for I’m avoiding a fist fight.

PANEL FIVE
We see both Pressure and Suffa singing out to the crowd. The lyrics they are singing are superimposed across the whole panel:

They built my city on top of a grave,
Now the dead roam the street like a rotting parade.
Quarantined and forgotten for days,
These are the stories of those who have gotten awaaaay.

PANEL SIX, WIDE
From behind them, we see Pressure and Suffa waving out to the crowd.

SUFFA: Sydney, you've been--
PRESSURE: What the fuck?

PANEL SEVEN, WIDE
Closer on the crowd, having all turned into zombies.

CROWD (1): Brains.
CROWD (2): BRAINS!!
CROWD (3): Huurk.
CROWD (4): Gluuuuur.

Atomic Robo - Entangled - Danial Carroll

PAGE TWENTY-TWO (two panels)


PANEL ONE, INSET TOP-LEFT
Close on Robo. He looks worried. If a robot could sweat, he would be sweating.

ROBO: Come one, Robo, you've faced extradimensional creatures before...


PANEL TWO, FULL-PAGE SPLASH
Robo stands on the top of a tall building, looking out at a partially destroyed city. Amongst the buildings of the city are three identical, giant monsters. Doesn't really matter what they look like, but I'm picturing Cthulhu in my head. Robo should look tiny in comparison, near the bottom of the page. His shoulders are slumped.

ROBO (small): ... just never quantum entangled creatures.
ROBO (small): ->sigh<-

CAPTION: To Be Quantinued...

Thunderbolts - Worthy - Danial Carroll

*Layout*

[This page catches our would-be heroes in the midst of a massive battle in Central Park with various elemental demons (rock, fire, wind, and water). The Avengers have also been fighting, but have just lost their last man...]


PAGE FIFTEEN (six panels)


PANEL ONE
Songbird is in flight. She looks horrified at what has just occurred.

SONGBIRD: Oh, my god. Thor is down!


PANEL TWO
Songbird is now swooping down. Below her we can see the damage of the battle, both fallen heroes and demons alike.

SONGBIRD: Thunderbolts, we need to fall back.
SONGBIRD: Regroup on Man-Thing.


PANEL THREE
Juggernaut is plowing through a group of demons.

JUGGERNAUT: We're just gonna leave?

COMM/SONGBIRD: We're not going to win this. We have to find backup.

JUGGERNAUT: Who needs backup? I could do this all day.

COMM/SONGBIRD: Cain!--


PANEL FOUR
In the distance, Moonstone is landing, looking towards us. Silhouetted in the foreground we can see Man-Thing's hand reaching for Mjolnir.

MOONSTONE: Uh, guys? What's he doing?


PANEL FIVE, TALL
Full shot of Man-Thing, holding Mjolnir at his side. Small arcs of electricity are jumping to the ground and up Man-Thing's arm. Despite this, he looks his usual stoic self.


PANEL SIX, WIDE
Wide view of the scene. Man-Thing is in the center with the rest of the team circled around him. A few meters out, the mass of demons are surrounding them. Spreading out from the ground where Man-Thing stands is a web of electricity. Every plant in the area is now covered in arcs of such.

JUGGERNAUT: This is gonna hurt, ain't it?

GHOST: I believe so, yes.


[The very next page would be a splash of Central Park with a huge lightning bolt shooting upwards from the T'bolts assumed position, several of the demons seen shooting up within to convey a sense of power.]

Invincible - Parody? - Danial Carroll

[I apologize for this lacklustre page, but I'm on vacation at the moment and just whipped it up quickly in between all the fun... plusidontlikethecharacter :P]


PANEL ONE
Close on Mark, out of costume and shouting I'm anger.

MARK: Are you KIDDING me!?!


PANEL TWO
From Mark's POV, we see a man in a tailored suit. He looks apologetic, but also resigned. This is Mark's attorney.

ATTORNEY: I'm sorry, but the court ruled in their favor.

ATTORNEY: It was changed JUST enough to avoid infringement.


PANEL THREE
Close on Mark again, even angrier this time.

MARK: That's BULL$#!?. I want an appeal!

MARK: I don't CARE if they changed the costume and added a few extra powers--


PANEL FOUR
Mark has slammed a comicbook onto the table, the title of which reads, "Superman".

MARK: --That's still ME, dammit!!

Green Lantern - Unimaginative - Danial Carroll

[WARNING: The following script may contain sexual references and is recommended for mature audiences :P]


PANEL ONE
This panel is simply a closed bedroom door. The balloons are coming from within.

WOMAN: Oh...
WOMAN: Yeah...
WOMAN: ->NNNPH!!<-
WOMAN: ->SIGH<-


PANEL TWO
Same shot of the door. Again, the balloon is coming from within.

WOMAN: My God, Hal, you're AMAZING!


PANEL THREE, HALF-PAGE SPLASH
From a low angle, we see Hal from the waist up. He has no clothes on, save for his ring, which he is holding up in a fist. It is glowing.

HAL: Nah, Baby, I just have a good imagination.

X-Men: First Class - Distractions - Danial Carroll

PANEL ONE
Close up on Beast. He is in a laboratory, looking directly at us in strong concentration.


PANEL TWO
Same shot as the last, except that we can see Cyclops entering through a door in the background.

CYCLOPS: Hank?

BEAST: Just a moment, I'm at a crucial point.


PANEL THREE
Beast has turned to face Cyclops, who is a little closer now.

BEAST: Now, Scott, what can I do for you?

CYCLOPS: NASA called. They want to know how the designs are coming along.

BEAST: Ah, yes, Apollo 11.

BEAST: They're coming along just fine. Should be ready within--


PANEL FOUR
Beast has spun back towards us with haste.

BEAST: It's back!

CYCLOPS: I don't understand what you see in it.


PANEL FIVE
From behind Beast, we now see that he is sitting before a 60's-styled TV set. On its screen can be seen the original USS Enterprise.

CYCLOPS (OP): That show will never take off.

BEAST: Shhh.

Zatanna - Career Woman - Danial Carroll

PAGE ELEVEN (three panels)


PANEL ONE, INSET
We begin with a close up of Zatanna's hat, sitting upside down upon a wooden bedroom dresser. The scene is illuminated by soft, yellow candlelight.


PANEL TWO, INSET
Close up of Zatanna, untying her hair. She looks not so much saddened, as tired--worn out.


PANEL THREE, SPLASH
Wide view of Zatanna sitting upon a stool at the dresser. Her hair is now out and she is placing the tie next to the hat. She is looking into a mirror whose base is lined with lit candles, though she is not looking at herself. Following her eyes, we can just make out that behind her, in the darkness of the room beyond, there lies a person asleep in her bed.

ZATANNA: ->sigh<-

Steve - Reflection - Danial Carroll

So the set up? Being a Page One, there's not really anything for me to set up. Basically, I'm a big fan of post-apocalyptic tales (Fallout 3, The Book of Eli), and this is my attempt at one...




PAGE ONE (four panels)


PANEL ONE

In night tones, we see a close-up of a hand holding a dictation machine—aka a Dictaphone.

DICTAPHONE: I’m not entirely sure why I’m recording this…

DICTAPHONE: For future generations? Or perhaps just catharsis.

DICTAPHONE: Either way, I feel it’s a story that needs to be told.


PANEL TWO

We now see a darkened room with moonlight coming in through an un-curtained window. There’s a 23-year-old man (Steve) sitting in a chair, holding the recorder. He has stopped the playback.

SFX/DICTAPHONE: CLICK

STEVE: Hmpf, that’ll do.


PANEL THREE

Closer on Steve. He has started the Dictaphone recording, notable from a red LED now visible.

SFX/DICTAPHONE: CLICK

STEVE: I can still recall the events of that day--five years ago now--with the vividness and lucidity of this morning’s.

STEVE: Being the most traumatic day of my life, I guess it’s no wonder.


PANEL FOUR

Close-up on the Dictaphone again, the red LED glowing brightly.

STEVE: It was November 14, 2012…

STEVE: … which was a Wednesday.

Ms. Marvel - Fallen Angel - Danial Carroll

My inspiration for this week's page is rather tangential. I read Ms. Marvel #1 quite a while ago, and sadly, the only thing I remember from the whole issue was my shock at seeing Jessica Drew smoking. So this page is kind of my response to that...

PANEL ONE

Close up of a feminine hand holding an unlit cigarette. This is the hand of Carol Danvers, aka Ms. Marvel.

CAROL: Do you mind?

PANEL TWO

Leonard Samson is sitting upon an a chair in his office. He is wearing a suit and has a notepad on his lap, informing us that at this moment, he is working his psychiatry job. He has a pen in one hand and is gesturing continuation with the other.

LEONARD: If it helps you relax...

PANEL THREE

Close on Carol's lips. She has the cigarette between them and the flame of a lighter is seen approaching the far end.

CAROL: It's not like it can HURT either of us, RIGHT?

PANEL FOUR

Close on Leonard. He looks disapproving.

LEONARD: I assume this new-found habit comes courtesy of MS. DREW.

PANEL FIVE, PAGE WIDTH

We now see a wide shot of Carol, laying on a psychiatrist's couch. She is in civilian clothing and is blowing a stream of smoke into the air. She appears annoyed at Leonard's remark. Her eyes are red and puffy from crying, and there is the slight shimmer of tears around them and down her cheeks.

CAROL: Would you prefer I take up DRINKING again, LEONARD?

CAROL: You might recall how THAT turned out last time.

PANEL SIX

Leonard is now learning forward on his chair. He looks sorry.

LEONARD: Ok, ok...

LEONARD: So why don't you tell me what brings you here.

PANEL SEVEN

Close on Carol. Her hand is holding the cigarette just away from her face, as tears now stream down her cheeks. She is visibly distraught.

CAROL: He's dead, Leonard...

CAROL: ... and it's all MY fault.

From here, Carol would lay on a sob story via flashback of falling for a non-powered "civilian" and then him being killed due to some villain chasing her... or something (I hadn't thought THAT far ahead :P )

Layout

PAGE ONE (seven panels)

Omega Red - Alpha - Danial Carroll

[Ok, so I may have cheated slightly on this one as it's actually the first page of an Omega Red one-shot I started writing back when I was just getting into this comic-writing game. Anyway, just wanted to say that it helps if you read the captions with a Russian accent :P]

PAGE ONE

PANEL ONE, PAGE-WIDTH

We see an establishing shot of a seedy-looking bar/tavern at night. A black-haired woman is approaching the door.

CAPTION: I love the Tavern…

PANEL TWO

A glass of clear liquid sits on a bench-top with a strong, pale-skinned hand wrapped around it.

CAPTION: Bar.

CAPTION: Pub.

CAPTION: Saloon.

PANEL THREE

Reveal Arkady Rossovich, drinking from the glass just shown. He isn't in his Omega Red costume, just a plain white singlet.

CAPTION: Pivnaya

PANEL FOUR, HALF-PAGE SPLASH

From in front of Arkady, a wide angle reveals the dingy room behind him, full of drunken patrons; standing, sitting, playing pool. He is grinning slyly.

CAPTION: The intoxication of the people in these places--

CAPTION: --prevents them from noticing the life-force I’m draining…

CAPTION: … little by little.

Why Omega Red?

Omega Red (aka Arkady Rossovich) has always held a place in my heart, in that he was my first-ever comicbook villain. Back in the early ‘90s, my first and only comic was X-Men #4, which featured Omega Red as the lead antagonist. I’ve since learned that this was in fact his first ever appearance, so if you think about it, Arkady and I joined the world of comics together.

He was quite the villain too: He has a Healing Factor to rival Wolverine’s, only Red's needs to be recharged from time to time by draining the life-force from others, and is therefore referred to as his “Death Factor”. He is also able to secrete pheromones that are deadly to anyone in his immediate vicinity, and has long Carbonadium tentacles that he can extend and retract through openings in the undersides of his wrists (both the pheromones and tentacles act as conduits for his Death Factor). Basically, he’s just a serious bad-ass!

I believe that Omega Red is a sorely under-rated character, and if he could only break free of living in Wolverine's shadow, would be able to move on to bigger and better things.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - TMNT MAX - Danial Carroll

PANEL ONE, WIDE
Establishing shot of an expensive mansion. Armed guards, some with dogs, patrol the grounds. Think True Lies.


PANEL TWO
Two guards are patrolling together, passing under a tree. They have a dog with them.


PANEL THREE
The dog is being pulled into the air via a long garrote wire around its neck. The guards are staring in shock.

GUARD: Wha--


PANEL FOUR
Close up on one guard, holding his neck. We can see a ninja star protruding from between his fingers. Blood is spraying from the severed carotid artery.

GUARD: ->GLKK<-


PANEL FIVE
Close up on the other guard. He has his radio to his mouth, about to speak. He looks terrified. Behind him, in the darkness, we see two black glistening eyes and the shine of a blade approaching the man's neck.


PANEL SIX
Wide shot, showing the dog hanging dead from the tree, the first guard dead on the ground, and the second guard on his knees, clutching at his slashed neck, his hands and clothes already soaked in blood. There is no sign of their assailants.

TMNT - Eventually - Ryan K Lindsay & Danial Carroll

TMNT in Eventually

Words by Ryan K Lindsay

Art by Danial Carroll
- - - Click for larger view - - -

My script for TMNT this week, titled 'Eventually', is a love song to Donatello. He was always my favourite and he earned this place because of his brains. Who wouldn't want to be the smartest person in the room? This brainiac also got a bo staff - easily replicated with a broom handle. I WAS Donatello, man.

I wanted to mix that love for Donatello with a slightly ninja-noir vibe. Think Brubaker's run on Daredevil, if you will.

Then Danial filled my email with some very cool art and the cycle was complete. It's always interesting to see your works trasferred to the visual and this is definitely a treat. I'd love to keep Danial on retainer to draw all my scripts. Maybe one day, for now we can all enjoy his new webcomic, (in)sanity. Check it out, it's Lovecraft goodness.

Thor - Whosoever - Danial Carroll

PANEL ONE

We are looking up at Thor standing upon a small hill. He is holding his arm up, commanding a lightning bolt to Mjolnir. Electric energy surges all around him.

CAPTION: People look to me for my power.

PANEL TWO

Thor and Hulk are lunging at each other. Thor has Mjolnir swung back, ready to strike, while Hulk has his fist clenched, preparing a punch. An earth-shattering collision is imminent.

CAPTION: My strength.

PANEL THREE

Thor is standing before a mass of Skrull. He has thrown Mjolnir into the fray, cutting a path right down the middle. Skrull bodies are flying aside from the force.

CAPTION: My grace under fire.

PANEL FOUR

Close up of Mjolnir, sitting on the ground at a slight angle. This panel should be highly detailed and elaborate.

CAPTION: And yet, they can't even pronounce my name...

CAPTION: MJOLNIR!!