Frog-Man - The Madding Crowd, Part 9 - R.A. Wonsowski

Layout: best way to think about this is as a page out of one of those newspaper comics anthologies, three 4-panel strips one on top of the other, like so:
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Panel 1- Night. Foreground, the CREEPER (with Jack Ryder's mind still inside) is on a rooftop, elbows rested on the ledge, and peering through binoculars in our direction. Background, a frog-like shape bounds from one building back toward the building the CREEPER's on.

NO COPY

Panel 2- Same as Panel 1, but FROG-MAN has landed on our building.

NO COPY

Panel 3- FROG-MAN has walked up and is standing next to CREEPER, who is still staring intently through his binocs. They're both looking towards us.

FROG-MAN: Hey.

CREEPER: Hey.

Panel 4- Same as Panel 3, except CREEPER has lowered his binocs and turned to address FROG-MAN.

FROG-MAN: Whatcha doing?

CREEPER: Well, I...

Panel 5- same as Panel 4.

NO COPY

Panel 6- same as above, but CREEPER looks at us in a very Ferris Bueller-like deadpan fashion.

NO COPY

Panel 7- Same as panel 4.

CREEPER: I'm trying to find a way into those labs.

FROG-MAN: What's in there?

Panel 8- CREEPER has put the binoculars back up and is looking back in our direction. FROG-MAN has crossed his arms.

CREEPER: My other half. The crazy half.

FROG-MAN: You mean you with the candy-apple red back hair is normal?

CREEPER: Says the GEICO gecko's thyroidally challenged cousin.

Panel 9- FROG-MAN gestures nonchalantly as if he was going to make a casual point. CREEPER yells at him, a little scared but more insulted, as he points towards us.

FROG-MAN: Y'know, fifteen minutes could save you--

CREEPER: And second of all, shush! There's people in there looking for me.

FROG-MAN: Really?

CREEPER: Yes!

Panel 10- FROG-MAN cups his chin thoughtfully as he cogitates. CREEPER continues to yell at him angrily.

FROG-MAN: And you're trying to find a way in?

CREEPER: Yes!!

FROG-MAN: Besides, say, their front door?

CREEPER: YE...!

Panel 11- FROG-MAN crosses his arms again, regarding CREEPER thoughtfully. CREEPER is caught short mid-rant, a look of "waitaminnit" on his face as he is confused by his own comic book logic.

NO COPY

Panel 12- CREEPER walks away off-panel, fuming, tossing his binoculars over the side of the building. FROG-MAN gestures apologetically with open arms, shoulders shrugged.

FROG-MAN: Just saying...

CREEPER: Isn't there a Cajun chef with a deep fryer looking for you?

...to be continued...(promise, fight scenes coming soon)

Frog-Man – Backup – Travis M. Holyfield

Panel 1: The villainous ANI-MEN stand in front of a bank that they have just robbed. Smoke pours from the broken windows, and the street around them displays the destruction they have wrought. From left to right they stand – BIRD-MAN, CAT-MAN, FROG-MAN, and APE-MAN. They are facing directly towards us, reacting to something off-panel.  

BIRD-MAN: AGAIN with this loser? This is the third time this week!

CAT-MAN: He must like the feeling of his face hitting the street.

FROG-MAN: I’m going to rip that mask right off his head and cram it down his throat.

APE-MAN: Whoa! Hold on a minute, fellas! He’s got backup!

 

Panel 2: A perfect mirror of the previous panel, and now we can see what the villains were reacting to. Lined up to face them, and in the same poses as their criminal counterparts, are NIGHTHAWK, HELLCAT, THE FABULOUS FROG-MAN, and GORILLA MAN.

NIGHTHAWK: Let’s get ‘em, Defenders!

HELLCAT: No. No no no. I am NOT joining the Defenders again.

FABULOUS FROG-MAN: Your time of comeuppance is at hand, evildoers! I have assembled the perfect team to counter your villainy!

FABULOUS FROG-MAN: BEHOLD! THE AVENGING ANI-MEN!

FABULOUS FROG-MAN: (Ehr. And Ani-Lady.)

GORILLA MAN: Kid, how did you even get my number?

Frog-Man – The Dark Frog Strikes – MK Stangeland Jr.

(5 Panels)

(Note: All panels except PANEL 5 should be done in Black and White in a style that mirrors what’s associated with FRANK MILLER.)

Panel 1: The swamp – FROG-MAN’s eyes can be seen poking out of the water and looking at the reader, hidden amongst the plentiful plant life around him.

TEXT BOX: The Frog – the underestimate hunter of the animal kingdom.

Panel 2: View to show what FROG-MAN is looking at – it’s a couple of generic criminal thugs with automatic rifles.

TEXT BOX: Possessing tongues with unnatural reach.

Panel 3: Close up on one of the criminals as a large frog’s tongue wraps around his neck – the gruesome nature of him suddenly being choked should be played up for a parody effect.

TEXT BOX: And uncanny aim.

Panel 4: The crook with the tongue around his throat is yanked backwards as he’s being pulled through the air towards the water. The other thug is looking on in horrified surprise at what’s happening.

SFX: crack!

TEXT BOX: And once caught, death is inevitable.

Panel 5: EUGENE PATILIO (FROG-MAN), but with the head part of his costume off – is sitting and reading a comic that looks like a grimdark style FROG-MAN comic. He looks aghast at what he’s reading.

Standing over his shoulder is DEMOLITION MAN (DENNIS DUNPHY).

DEMOLITION MAN (1): Hey, they gave you your own comic?

DEMOLITION MAN (2): Can I see it?

FROG-MAN: I really don’t think you want to.

(END)

Frog-Man - Fitting in - Ben Rosenthal

1.  From behind Ollie Osnick as he sits in the vastness of the Negative zone, staring out into space.  His arm is missing, so this is modern day Ollie after the fight with Venom and the fall of Prison 42.

VOICE (off panel)
Do you ever think you will get home?


2.  From front on.  A pair of legs either side of him.

VOICE (from the pair of legs on Ollie's left)
You have family that wonders if you are alive or dead.
Friends as well.

OLLIE
I ran away years ago. They would have found me by now if they cared.
I would have returned if I did.


3.  A the two men who were standing next to Ollie are now sitting next to him.  To the left (the one who was speaking off panel) is Frog-Man with Toad on his right.  They are dressed as when they were all members of The Initiative.

FROG-MAN
This is the arm thing, isn't it?
I think you're just afraid of how people will look at you.  That you won't fit in.


4.  A close up on Frog-Man.

FROG-MANOne arm or five--


5.  A wide panel, front on showing Ollie sitting by himself.  He is thinking - a small spark of positivity as lit.

CAPTION (FROG-MAN)
--you always were a Misfit.

Frog-Man - Hopalong - Grant McLaughlin

1 - Frog-Man skitters across the ground, bouncing a couple times as he slams into a wall.  His costume is burned, charred, and generally messed up to show how much he's gone through already.

VILLAIN (off-panel): Stay down.

SFX: SLAM!

2 - Shot from Frog-Man's prone form looking up towards the oncoming villain: Electro!

ELECTRO: I've already taken out Spider-Man and Daredevil.  What chance could you possibly hope to have?

3 - Focus on Frog-Man as he tries to get up.  He's down on his face and trying to push himself up with his arms.  Again, he and his costume are in a bad way.

FROG-MAN (1): You're right.

FROG-MAN (2): I'm not half the hero they are.

4 - Frog-Man has made it up to his knees.  Even the effort to do that looks like it's taken a lot out of him.

FROG-MAN: But I am the Fabulous Frog-Man.

5 - Frog-Man is up to a pseudo-crouching position.  Electro is approaching, striding confidently towards the downed hero - perhaps charging up some electricity to attack with.

FROG-MAN: And as long as I live and breath.

5 - Frog-Man turns his position into an attack, leaping towards Electro in an attempt to use his own body as a battering ram.  While somewhat surprised, Electro looks ready to meet him.

CAPTION (FROG-MAN): I'll keep trying.

Why Frog-Man?

When it comes to what I think of as some of the best comic book characters, the heroes and villains that I'm routinely most excited about reading, I rarely turn to the best and brightest.  No, I am far more drawn to the mediocre and the middling.  They aren't the greatest, strongest, smartest, or any of those -est words you'll think of, but they are perhaps some of the most dedicated.

Their time will never truly arrive.  They'll never make it to the top of the totem pole.  They're doomed to spend the rest of their existence playing second fiddle (if they're lucky) to those around them.  Some of them know this in the core of their beings.  Others have no idea and never will.  But in each and every case, they go out there and give it their all anyways.

I first came across Eugene Patillo, the Fabulous Frog-Man, in the Spider Island: Avengers one-shot and loved the ridiculous and hilarious portrayal that Christopher Yost gave the character.  He was hapless, kind of pathetic, and strangely charming.  Despite being a perennial loser, he had an upbeat outlook on life, believing that everything would work itself out in the end.

Beyond the great amount of humour associated with him, Frog-Man is a prime example of the phenomenon I describe above.  The son of failed, small-time villain Leap-Frog, Eugene decided to "borrow" his father's suit to make up for all the misdeeds of his parent by becoming a superhero.  He has one of the most ridiculous names, the gaudiest costumes, and the least respect of any hero you can think of (that is, if anyone bothers thinking about him at all), but none of that matters, because Eugene's going to go out and be the best hero he can be.

Day in and day out, he will be there, doing his best.  His name isn't going to make the papers.  He isn't going to be trending on social media.  But that isn't why he does it.

He does it because that's who he is.

Frog-Man's never gotten a moment in the limelight.  To be perfectly honest, he probably never will.  All of his stories involve him achieving victory through dumb luck at best or thoroughly embarrassing himself at worst.  And yet, he never gives up.  He always puts that suit back on.  He always goes out to do his part to make the world a better place.  It may not be the biggest contribution, but it's his.

And no one can ever take that away from him.

Frog-Man is a joke to many, but his commitment to his hopes and dreams are laudable as hell.  He's never going to give up and never going to say die.  If that's not something we should all be trying to live up to, I don't know what is.

Plus, there was that one time where he defeated Flag-Smasher by throwing up on him.  That was hilarious.