Arkham Asylum - 'Twas - R.A. Wonsowski

Layout:

1111

3345

6677

Panel 1 - long shot of Arkham Asylum through the iron gates at night.

CAPTION:  'Twas the night before All Saints'

And all through the Asylum

Something amiss with the crazies,

Across genus and phylum.

Panel 2 - JONATHAN CRANE reaching through the bars of his cell door.  He is screaming as if his life depends upon it.

CAPTION:  The Scarecrow was screaming 

As he clawed at the bars.

Panel 3 - POISON IVY is smashing her flower pots and seedlings in mason jars with a broken chair leg in her cell.  In the corner, we see the discarded chair minus a leg.

CAPTION: Dear Pamela Isley

Killed her plants in their jars.

Panel 4 - HARVEY DENT sitting on the concrete floor of his cell, naked and drooling as he rolls a pair of bone-coloured dice, blankly staring at nothing.

CAPTION:  Two-Face, now coin-less,

Fumbled dice on the floor.

Panel 5 - JOKER cowers in a corner, sitting in a fetal ball on the naked mattress of his bunk, tears falling from his eyes.

CAPTION:  And the Joker...well, let's say

He's not laughing anymore.

Panel 6 - a dark dungeon-like basement.  Bloody writing in a spiral written on the floor, mostly runic, except one bit that reads "yarva".

CAPTION:  All because some madman

Etched signs in the cellar...

Panel 7 - same as Panel 6, except from the darkness we see the red glowing eyes and Cheshire grin of a familiar DEMON...

CAPTION:  And let Hallowe'en turn into
A terror tale for the teller.

(...and here's the rest...) 

You see, a recent addition
To the list of Arkham's guests
Was a vicar, and a descendent
Of the mad Herbert West.

Through priestly conviction
And the patience of a saint
He made his way to the basement,
And using his blood for paint,
Inscribed incantations
In spirals and curves
While he jibbered in Latin
And gestured in swerves.

But what to his wondering eyes should appear?
A caped 8-foot Demon who grinned back with a leer.
His yellow carapace skin so oily and wan,
He knew in a moment, he summoned Etrigan.

"Pater West," the Demon canted
"What is it you want?
I have a human cage
To torment and taunt."

The priest wanted revenge upon the Gotham congregation.
Their children were vanishing, and Gordon's investigation
Led them to a loose floorboard or two in the pews,
Revealing Father West's collection of little shoes.
"Police feet are beating, like a poor drummer drumming.
Etrigan, you must stop the GCPD from coming!"

The Demon tut-tutted, and strategized a plan,
Then said to this very un-Christian-like man:
"I'll do as you ask, but understand, there's a fee.
So don't get too attached to your humanity..."

Up the stairs, through the madhouse, he bounded the floors,
Unlocked all the locks and threw open the doors,
He bound up his favourites in dark admiration,
Calling them by their villainous appellations:
"Now Joker, now Riddler, now Ivy and Two-Face!
Now Penguin, now Grundy, now Firefly and Clayface!
Dash every cop head against every brick wall!
Now dash away, dash away, dash away ALL!!!"

His coursers, they flew like bats from a cavern.
They burnt down a precinct, killed two in a tavern.
They overturned cruisers and set them on fire,
Bane strangled a bike cop with his spare tube and tire.
And Etrigan just watched from atop Arkham's roof.
If you've wondered if Gotham's insane, here's your proof!

Sooner or later, though, the fun comes to an end,
Whether Gordon's boys in blue, or his other long-eared friend.
The night went from evil, to bad, to untoward,
And honestly, Etrigan began to get bored.
So wiggling a finger up into his nose,
The Demon went back to the priest and his woes.

But I heard him exclaim as he dragged West out of sight:

"Happy Hell-owe'en to you all,

I'm taking the vicar for a bite...."

The Spectre - Hits the Fan - Ray Wonsowski

Layout:
123
444
444

Panel 1 - establishing shot: inside the Ha-Ha-Hacienda.  It is abandoned, and is decorated with the requisite pranks, toys, and giant Joker cards.  BATMAN crouches down close over the naked body of Crispus Allen (we do not know if he is unconcious or dead).  ETRIGAN watches from behind.

BATMAN:  He's its host.  How could he possibly get separated from it?

ETRIGAN:  The spectral agent of the Deity - suffers from a crisis of identity...


Panel 2 - close-up on ETRIGAN as he thoughtfully elucidates...

ETRIGAN:  The Presence has no longer need for a clumsy vengeful tool - and so decreed the Spectre "Spirit of Redemption", the Almighty Fool...

ETRIGAN:  And during this spiritual changing of the guard - the host, at his weakest, went down, and hard...


Panel 3 - ETRIGAN pokes BATMAN in the chest, who has a "don't touch me" look on his face.  ETRIGAN, however, is dead serious.

ETRIGAN:  Thou knowest the clown has magicked before, but lacks the discipline - He nearly beat us last time, and more - we can not let him win.

ETRIGAN:  Be not concerned with reason, it matters not the wherefore's or what's - No time, creation trembles...


Panel 4 - bottom 2/3 of the page.  The JOKER is now the SPECTRE.  The green cape swirls about his white,  almost skeletally skinny, body, and the hood covers the eyes as always, but the blood-red rictus is laughing maniacally as he juggles moons while standing in Jupiter's Great Red Spot.

CAPTION:  (Etrigan) ...The Spectre's gone completely nuts...

...to be continued...

Etrigan EXTRA - Ray Wonsowski

I live in Paraguay, a small South American country wedged in between Brazil and Argentina.  7000 miles to the north, in New York City USA, is my brother Peter, also known as "pw!"

Peter made his bones in the ska music scene, and is usually connected with the "Pez kid" of the band Less Than Jake.  He's designed toys for little kids and album covers for Adam Arcuragi and other musical artists.  Today, he is a busy-as-heck graphic artist, and recently made his comic book debut,
doing covers for "Strawberry Shortcake" and colors for Javier Grillo-Marxuach's RAMIEL, both published by APE Entertainment.

To celebrate my first Thoughtballoons pick, he most kindly did this piece based on my script this week:

ETRIGAN:    If I was devil, a deal could be negotiated.  But a demon, such as I, is privately motivated... 

Panel 4 - ETRIGAN blows a tight jet of hellfire from his pursed lips, setting the floating rum circle to swirl aflame. 

You can check out his original artwork at http://www.peterwonsowski.com/, or his comic work at http://ape-entertainment.com/.

Big thank you's to my brother across the equator and many miles, for taking the time out of his busy life to put this together.  Miss ya, bro.

And thanks to all of the guys at Thoughtballoons, for inviting me into their playground.

See you next script!

The American Zombie.

Etrigan: First Day On The Job - Niel Jacoby

1111
2233
4567

Panel 1: Young Etrigan has just become a rhyming demon, and is being introduced to the ranks of the other rhymers by a head honcho demon, who should tower over the rest.

Head Honcho:
TO ETRIGAN, WHO'S NEW, I INTRODUCE
YOU DEMONS WHO ARE IN THE RHYMING GROUP.
YOU ALL, I HOPE, WILL FIND A SHARED ACCORD
A COMMON GOAL TO STRIVE TOGETHER TOWARD.
A RHYMING DEMON'S DUTY IS TO RHYME,
YOUR DUTY IS TO RHYME ALL OF THE TIME.

Panel 2: Close on young Etrigan, who is nervous.

Head Honcho(Off-Panel):
SO, ETRIGAN, PERHAPS YOU'D CARE TO TRY?

Panel 3: Etrigan is even more nervous.
Head Honcho(Off-Panel)
HURRY, BOY, MY PATIENCE'S END IS NIGH.

Inset Panel(inset into panel 3): Divided diagonally into 2. In one, Etrigan is thinking. In the second, a lick of demonic flame appears over his head, as he looks like he's had a great idea.

NO COPY

Panel 4: Etrigan has put on a pair of demonic sunglasses, and is pointing at the assembled rhymers.

Etrigan:
ALL OF YOU RHYMERS, I'M QUITE GLAD TO MEET,
IF ONE OF YOU BAD SOULS... COULD PLEASE DROP ME A BEAT?

Panel 5: One of the rhymers starts beatboxing.

SFX:
PSH-A-TCH-PSHPSH-A-PSH-A-PSH-TCH
PSH-A-TCH-PSHPSH-A-PSH-A-PSH-TCH

Panel 6: Etrigan begins to rhyme, while the Head Honcho facepalms.

Etrigan:
WELL, MY NAME'S ETRIGAN AND I'M HERE TO SAY
I PLAN TO SERVE SATAN'S WHIMS IN A COOL NEW WAY
LUCIFER MAY BE THE PRINCE OF LIES,
BUT ETRIGAN IS THE KING OF FLY!

SFX: FTAP!

Panel 7: Close on Head Honcho, facepalming.

Etrigan(OP):
WHEN I SAY ETRIGAN, YOU SAY ETRIGAN!
WHEN YOU SAY ETRIGAN, I SAY ETRIGAN!
ETRIGAN!

[Crowd(OP):
ETRIGAN!

Etrigan(OP):
ETRIGAN!
(repeat and fade off-panel)]

Head Honcho:
OH MY LORD SATAN, THE BOY IS YOUNG, I KNOW,
BUT HE'S GOT SUCH A LONG, LONG WAY TO GO.

Etrigan - Angel and Demon - J.D. Coughlan

For those unaware, Zauriel was a character created by Grant Morrison, a fallen guardian angel who spent some time on the JLA.

Panel 1: Large. Zauriel's orrery. Etrigan comes smashing through the window, breathing flame. Zauriel is taken by surprise, but still grabs for his sword.

ETRIGAN: Hear my words, angel-who-fell! I bring news straight from Hell!

Panel 2: Zauriel brandishes his sword fiercely.

ZAURIEL: Etrigan!

ZAURIEL: What unholy purpose has brought you here?

Panel 3: Close on Etrigan as he grins.

ETRIGAN: The Masters of your old dominion, from whence you were cast due to opinion...

ETRIGAN:  ...hath conspired with darkest damnation and both decided, to my elation...

ETRIGAN: ...in a move most uncommon...

Panel 4: Very close on Zauriel's horrified face.

ETRIGAN (OP): ...I am to be your guardian demon!

END OF PAGE

Etrigan – Beware My Power - Shaun Richens

PAGE 1.

4 PANELS.

1. Peering down towards the Earth. The Sun and Moon circling it.

         CAPTION:

         In Brightest Day, in blackest night.

2. We pull closer in on Earth and now see a Green streak powering towards it at immense speed.

         CAPTION:

         No evil shall escape my sight.

         CAPTION:

         Let those who worship evil’s might.

3. Inside of Earths atmosphere, the green streak has taken a human like form and nosedives towards the ground through the bright, blue morning sky.

         CAPTION: Beware my power.

4. A Green Lantern is kneeling on the ground, his head down, back to us hands out in front of him for support. Dust kicked up all around him from his impactful landing. Standing tall and impressive in front of him is the Demon known as ETRIGAN.

         CAPTION:

         Etrigan must fight. 

Etrigan- The Devil Made Me Do It -Dan Hill

Page One

Panel One
We open on a WIDE PANEL, an establishing shot of Paris circa 1940. The panel is dominated by the Arc De Triomphe in the centre of the page. Nazi banners and regalia are everywhere, fluttering in the afternoon breeze as people go about their business the best they can.

CAPTION:  Paris, 1940.

CAPTION (ETRIGAN):  There are monsters here--

CAPTION (ETRIGAN):  --but I seek only one.

Panel Two
CUT TO another WIDE PANEL, an establishing shot of a basement somewhere underneath the streets of Paris.

The basement has stone walls and is lit by mounted paraffin lamps. Against the back wall sits a solitary coal stove. A MAN stands in front of it, his back to us. He’s wearing a shirt, an apron and cotton trousers.

Behind him, scattered casually are the bodies of three young men, partly covered by flickering shadows.

CAPTION (ETRIGAN):  Amidst the chaos he toils away.

CAPTION (ETRIGAN):  A metropolis lost to despots makes for easy prey.

Panel Three
CUT TO a  TIGHT SHOT on the man, now facing us. This is MARCEL PETIOT, a man in his mid to late forties with a shock of black hair, bushier in the middle than anywhere else, giving him an eccentric look.  

Marcel wipes his hands with a bloody rag.

CAPTION (ETRIGAN):  This man has let the devil on his shoulder have the final say--

CAPTION (ETRIGAN):  -- a battle I fight myself with each passing day.

Panel Four
CUT TO a CLOSE UP on the stone floor of the basement. In the background we can see the bodies of the young men. In the foreground of the panel sits a small pile of their possessions-- identification papers, a few coins, curled photographs of loved ones and even a yellow patch in the shape of the Star of David sporting the text ‘JUDE’.

CAPTION (ETRIGAN):  He feeds on the weak and the lost.

CAPTION (ETRIGAN):  I have been tasked with retrieving him, no matter the cost.

Panel Five
CUT TO a shot facing Marcel. He’s standing in front of an open doorway, continuing to clean his hands. The doorway leads into a smaller coal cellar. It is cloaked in darkness. We can see nothing beyond the doorframe.

CAPTION (ETRIGAN):  There are monsters here, but I seek only one.

Panel Six
Fixed panel. Behind a clueless Marcel the hulking form of Etrigan steps out through the doorway and out of the darkness, eyes burning ruby red.

CAPTION (ETRIGAN):  Tremble and quake, o servant of Neron.

Etrigan - Dirty Demon - Grant McLaughlin

1 - An outside shot of a convenience store.  Although it is daytime, you can see fire and light emerging from the windows and doors.

ETRIGAN: I have always loved to fight
All of Hell's many denizens.
Demons, devils, monsters, wights -
Not a question of "if", but "when".

2 - Interior shot.  Etrigan is looking upwards and posing dramatically, spitting hellfire from his mouth.  He looks the worse for wear: his clothes are ripped, little remains of his cape, and he is bloodied and bruised, as if coming from a difficult battle.  There are not many people left in the store, but any who are are rushing out at full speed.

ETRIGAN: While I relish shedding their blood,
It is not always roses and dells.
Their viscera, innards, and cruds
Can have a most loathsome smell.

3 - Despite his injuries, Etrigan calmly walks through the aisles.  Show that the store has also taken some damage: spilled products, small fires, destroyed sections, and the like.

ETRIGAN: Thus, it is more than just my hands
That will not easily come clean.
As if bound by iron bands,
Enslaved to those infernal machines.

4 - Etrigan walks toward the counter, pointing at the teenage cashier who is huddling on the floor behind the counter.

ETRIGAN: The quest falls to you, young porter,
To solve my dilemma and quandry.

5 - Switch angles to a worm's eye view type thing.  The cashier looks up in terror.  Etrigan stands at the counter, holding out a twenty dollar bill.

ETRIGAN: Would you have change in quarters,
So that I may do my laundry?

Etrigan - Silence is Golden - Ben Rosenthal

1.  Jason Blood kneels, hand flat on the ground in the dark woods.  He is looking up, blood pouring from his mouth. We see from behind a shadowed arm holding something wet and dripping. Jason Blood looks at this person with hatred.

2.  A reveal of the shadowed person.  It is Lord Satanus, holding the tongue of Jason Blood, smiling evily.

3.  A close up of Jason’s hands, stained with blood.  He is writing something in the ground as Lord Satanus talks. We make out the words ‘Rise, the Demon Etrigan” scrawled in the dirt.

4.  Blood transforms into Etrigan, and is lunging at Lord Satanus.

Etrigan - Guédé Bokor Zydeco - Raymond Wonsowski

(Like all of us, I'm sure, we all have a few "dream projects".  One of mine is to do a Vertigo reboot of The Demon, set in New Orleans.  The central plot of the series would revolve around the return of Morgainne de la Fey, which would be heralded by three "harbinger-bearers":  Klarion the Witch-Boy, the illegitimate son of Vlad Tepes, and this character...

Rouleaux is a vodun Bokor.  If you need a parallel, in voodoo, a "houngan" would be like a priest; a "bokor" would be a sorceror.  He can access the "loa" or spirits of both good and evil, "serve with both hands" as they say, and are rumoured to be born into great "ashe", or power...)

Setting:  Interior, an abandoned plantation house - main salon.  Everything should look delapidated or rotten, except for a clean cube of butcher's-block (this is Rouleaux's altar) with meter-square sides.  At the foot of the altar are piles of skulls, mostly human but some are animal as well.  They are covered in, and coloured by, years' worth of candle wax.  There are presently about a dozen candles burning on the skulls now.  On the altar should be the following:  A bottle of amber rum, a small mound of fresh cigars, a straight razor with a dirty blade, and an old, small portable radio with a cassette player (artist should somehow indicate that drum music is playing from it).  Three young and buxom red-haired women in loose white robes lie semi-conscious on the floor.

Panel 1 - We are looking from over ETRIGAN's shoulder, seeing what he sees:  Levitating one or two feet above the hardwood floor is a large boa constrictor, looped in a loose knot.  Levitating about six inches above the snake is the Bokor ROULEAUX, sitting cross-legged.  He is a large African, dressed like Baron Samedi, but bare-chested:

and his bare feet are cut and bleeding.  He is holding a bottle of dark rum in one hand, the neck broken jaggedly.  His other hand, his index and middle fingers had been dipped in the rum and is writing magick script, hanging in the air, with the dark liquid.

ROULEAUX:  The loa have revealed your true ancestry, daemon.

ROULEAUX:  Etrigan.  Son of Belial.  Spawn of Lilith, the raan-va-dhath of the Pit.  Second generation of Ashteroth the Daemonfather himself.

ROULEAUX:  I have your line, hellspawn!




Panel 2 - The yellow, claw-like hand of ETRIGAN, yanks the rum from ROULEAUX's hand by the broken neck.  ROULEAUX is surprised, ETRIGAN is smirking.

ETRIGAN:  Well...

ETRIGAN:  If I was devil, a deal could be negotiated
                  But a demon, such as I, is privately motivated... 



Panel 3 - ETRIGAN draws a wide rum ring in front of him in the air from the bottle, facing ROULEAUX.

ETRIGAN:  And it seems we have the pleasures of meeting before us
                  The Baron himself, far from the deadlands mortals fear.


Panel 4 - ETRIGAN blows a tight jet of hellfire from his pursed lips, setting the floating rum circle to swirl aflame.  His hand gestures to the redheads on the floor.

ETRIGAN:  With three fleshy treasures, here - forgive us this chorus...



Panel 5 - The burning circle has now become an orange glowing sigil: the vede of the death loa Maman Brigitte:

The glowing sigil reflecting off ETRIGAN's toothy smiling face accents his demonic nature.

ETRIGAN:  Tell me, does your lovely wife, the Maman Brigitte, know you're here?



Panel 6 - We see ROULEAUX's face contort in fear as he tries to turn away from ETRIGAN and the sigil, which has two chalky arms with bony hands and long nails reaching through the spaces in the sigil (we don't know if he's afraid of what comes from the sigil, or the Demon behind it).  ETRIGAN's arms are thrown wide, his head is thrown back as he laughs...

MAMAN BRIGITTE:  (from the sigil) ...ssssSaM-M-Me-Diiii...

ETRIGAN:  HAAhahahahahaaaa!!!

(to be continued...)

Why (the Hell) Etrigan?

I happen to be a HUGE fan of Jack Kirby (who ISN'T a fan of the King?), but specifically, I think his true genius was in the work he did for DC in the 1970's.  Not only did he give us Darkseid and the NEW GODS saga, he told dystopian parallel tales in both O.M.A.C. and KAMANDI...and then he gave us a little taste of Hell...



Etrigan is the son of Belial, and thus a demon prince.  To forstall the fall of Camelot, Merlin (Etrigan's half-brother!) bound him to a "cage of meat", Jason Blood.  With the Demon inside of him, Blood is effectively immortal, and uses Etrigan's knowledge to his benefit as an occult archaeologist, and usually working on the side of angels, keeping evil effectively in check.  As Merlin's sibling, Etrigan has knowledge of magic; when pushed, he can breathe dragon-like jets of hellfire on his foes.  And in all of humanity, he hates his "cage" the most, and likes to psychologically keep him off-kilter.

What makes Etrigan a challenge to write is that when Etrigan was "promoted" in the infernal heirarchy, he became a "rhymer".  The more complicated the rhyming, it is assumed, the greater the influence a demon has in the underworld.  When your poets consist of the likes of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Matt Wagner, Garth Ennis, et al, we can assume his ranking is high indeed.

Even when Blood lets the Demon take over, it's in verse:
Yarva Demonicus Etrigan.
Change, change the form of man.
Free the prince forever damned.
Free the might from fleshy mire.
Boil the blood in heart of fire.
Gone, gone the form of man,
Arise the demon - Etrigan!
          (usually only the last two lines are necessary for the change)




Today, Paul Cornell chronicles the adventures of Etrigan in the excellent Demon Knights of the New 52, taking the character back to his Camelot roots, but he also has been known to pal around with Batman, Swamp Thing, Lobo...or whoever he feels like giving hell...

So, my scriveners, weave your pages
In verse and poems or popular tunes
As Etrigan fights evil with evil through the ages
And within our humble Thought-Balloons.

          ..."the American Zombie"

Self-Portrait, as the Demon ETRIGAN