INKTOBER-John Hughes's Day Off by James Hughes-David Press.

This is based off a profile of John Hughes, the American Film Director of Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller, and you know the rest. He was, apparently, an avid sketch artist and in this article from Vanity Fair David Kamp shows off some of his notebooks. This script is based off of the Kamp article and a Grantland piece Hughes’s son wrote.

PAGE ONE.

1.1: Let’s open up with three rows. The way I pictured this was the top and bottom tier will be two panels with the middle tier having three panels. Of course, things are totally up to your interpretation.

We’re opening on WRIGLEY FIELD and instead of a baseball game happening the field is covered in ice. Narration will be from the text of James Hughes’s story—mostly paraphrased.

1. CAPTION [JAMES]:         My father was from Detroit, but was a Chicagoholic.

1.2: Close on a pair of seats, just out in right field, where we can see JOHN HUGHES and his youngest son JAMES HUGHES. On John Hughes’s lap is a notebook.

2. CAP:                                   For him, writing was a way of life. Even when he was directing the Brat Pack movies of the ‘80s.

1.3: Close on the notebook: where we can see this image from James’s story. If you can, let’s try a sneak at the field where we can see the familiar colors of the CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS playing the DETROIT RED WINGS in a game of ice hockey. Here it is: /2013/05/grant_e_hughes-nb01jr_576111.webp

3. CAP:                                   After he left public life he never stopped his compulsive scribbling.

1.4 CUT TO: A jazz club and a spotlight stage where we can see a SAXOPHONIST [http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/photos/2010/03/john-hughes-slideshow-201003#8].

4. CAP:                                   He used Smythson and Moleskine notebooks. They were filled with memoirs, agendas, op-eds,

1.5 CUT TO: REDWING FARMS, in Northwest Illinois where John Hughes and his wife Nancy spent the last ten years of their non-public life. There are no photos of this farm—mostly because Hughes wanted his anonymity and people gave it to him—but we can see Hughes back standing in the field surrounded by Apple Trees.

5. CAP:                                   and plans for the farm…

1.6 CUT TO: A shoebox filled with notebooks. Looks like this: /736x/4f/07/af/4f07af103929d3cdc876d21c95cdc7f9.webp

6. CAP:                                   When he died in August 2009 my brother and I found over 300 notebooks filled with drawings that were similar in style to Saul Steinberg and R. Crumb.

1.7: A dark box where we can see the face of John Hughes.

7. DISPLAY LETT:               John Hughes, 1950-2009.

8. CAP:                                   On the day he died, there were some photographs and some notes a couple of steps away from where he collapsed. One thing is clear: my father only stopped writing when his heart stopped beating.

--END--

Inktober - An Odd Circumstance - Perry Kent

I'm afraid that my script has little to do with the image that inspired it. But the image is so good, that I felt I must share it anyway. The image in question comes from .

Panel One

Interior, dimly lit coffee house situated in a much larger complex like a mall. The motif appears to be something out of a 40s noir. A woman in a red dress and red hat sips on a coffee. She is seated on a couch with a man in a three piece suit. The man nervously darts his eyes around as he talks.

1. MAN: You ain't gonna believe me. This is just too… It couldn't be.

Panel Two

The woman in red lights holds a cigarette out, which the man dutifully lights.

2. WOMAN: What do you mean, honey?

Panel Three

A detailed view of the coffee house as the man sees it. The dimly lit coffee-house is even darker, with shadows falling across everything in a noir style. The only other two people in the coffee-house are another woman, in a dark blue dress-suit, seated at a small table with a cup and a male barrista dressed like a classic bartender with a vest and white collared shirt.

3. MAN: Last night we were in our Prius on our way to a comic convention. But now...deep shadows, 1940s clothing, your sultry tone, and smoking.

4. MAN: Neither of us smoke. I don't even know why I have a lighter!

5. MAN: It's like we've wandered into a noir film. Except we're drinking coffee instead of whiskey.

Panel Four

The woman blows a curl of smoke as she rolls her eyes.

6. WOMAN: Don't be ridiculous. You can't drink whiskey at 10 in the morning.

7. WOMAN: Besides, don't noir films require a criminal element?

Panel Five

The man and woman look over at the counter with startled surprise.

8. SFX (OP): SMACK!

Panel Six

A small man in a three-piece suit yells at the barrista angrily, his fist still on the counter between them. Behind him stands a taller, more muscular man with a scar across his face. The barrista leans away in fear.

9. ANGRY-MAN: You think you can get out of it that easy?!

-END-

Inktober – Calvin Random Chess – MK Stangeland Jr.

(I started looking through Inktober images when I came across this by CHRIS VENDRICK and knew immediately that I had to try to use it. Especially when it reminded me something that at least used to be a thing on Wikipedia (It’s been years since then so I don’t know if it exists anymore or has been forgotten) that I believe was called ‘Calvin Random Chess’.)

(5 Panels)

Panel 1: Title Panel, reading “CALVIN & HOBBES”. A charred battlefield positioned between two really cool looking medieval fortresses. A couple of large, towering figures the resemble some of the roles taken by pieces on a chess set occupy the field.

CALVIN: (Text Box) The super violent and super bloody battle for ultimate domination continues.

Panel 2: WHITE PAWNS and WHITE KNIGHTS charge across the battlefield atop ferocious super-tiger attack mounts.

CALVIN: (Text Box) The White Army marches forward, undeterred as they crush all in their path!

Panel 3: An army of BLACK KNIGHTS stand resolute opposite the direction the WHITE ARMY is coming from. A handful of BLACK BISHOPS and BLACK ROOKS – which look like giant castle golems – stand behind them.

CALVIN: (Text Box) Yet the Black Army remains undeterred, as they wield a secret weapon given to them from on high!

Panel 4: A BLACK KNIGHT stands in an awesome-looking combat pose as it holds a machine gun and fires at an off-panel target.

CALVIN: (Text Box) They have machine guns!

Panel 5: CALVIN and HOBBES on either side of a Chess board, CALVIN on BLACK side and HOBBES on WHITE. The pieces on the board shouldn’t match up with what you’d expect from a typical Chess set in way that’s reminiscent of CALVINBALL.

CALVIN: Wow, I never knew Chess could be so much fun.

HOBBES: I don’t think we were ever actually playing Chess in the first place.

(END PAGE)

Inktober - Roots - Grant McLaughlin

There were a lot of options for me to choose from, but I've been particularly impressed with Inktober output this year. This one may not be the flashiest or wildest one he's done (that would likely be a tie between the spirit samurai and some of the monsters he's penned), I couldn't help but be taken in by his use of negative space and contrast. I love the white trench coat, but I love the black grit on the shoulder even more. My script might be one path that would lead to this image. Jason may have a different name in mind, but I will call this gentleman Donovan.

1 - A large dining room.  Donovan sits at an expansive table with half a dozen associates. The table is far too large for a group of this small size. They all seem to be getting on well enough, but there is a certain distance between them - both physically and emotionally. Donovan is clearly the alpha, dressed better and looking more assured than anyone else (although the whole group is well-dressed). In the background, a woman wearing a trench coat and one of those Russian hats (like the woman in the image) walks towards the table. She holds a white trench coat in one arm. If possible, frame this to far off from the diners to emphasize the distance between everything and everyone.

CAPTION (DONOVAN): My hands are clean.

2 - Close on Donovan as the woman leans towards him and whispers in his ear. He leans close, listening attentively.  assistant at him, whispering in ear

CAPTION (DONOVAN): Far more so than I ever could have dreamed.

3 - Donovan puts his napkin on the table as he gets up, excusing himself.

CAPTION (DONOVAN): But the work remains dirty.

DONOVAN (1): Excuse me for a moment, gentlemen.

DONOVAN (2): Duty calls.

4 - Donovan is outside of his large home, walking along the snow covered lawn as he puts on his white trench coat. The woman walks alongside, if slightly behind him. A small outbuilding sits in the near distance.

CAPTION (DONOVAN): This would be a harsh reality to some.

5 - Inside the outbuilding, on a man tied to a chair. He is gagged and beat up. The room is dark, but a rectangle of light emerges from the bottom of the panel, falling along and illuminating the man. He looks tiredly towards the light's source.

CAPTION (DONOVAN): But I believe it's important to remember where you came from.

DONOVAN (off-panel): Well, well, well...

6 - On Donovan standing in the entranceway to the outbuilding. The framing and setup is not unlike Jason's original image, but the coat remains pristine and white for the moment. Donovan is about as upset, but he isn't visibly holding a gun. Instead, he's flexing his knuckles, readying to use them. The woman continues to flank / follow him.

CAPTION (DONOVAN): Particularly for occasions requiring that personal touch.

DONOVAN: What do we have here?

Why Inktober?

For those unfamiliar, Inktober is an annual event where artists from around the globe create an ink drawing every day for the month of October (thus the name) and post it to social media with the #inktober hashtag. The drawing can be as eloborate or as simple as the creator wishes. The important thing is to practice and improve, bit by bit.

The parallels may not escape you.

The internet tells me that the whole thing was started by Jake Parker in 2009 as a challenge to himself to improve his inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. I think those are laudable goals, but what really appeals to me about the whole thing is the plethora of art that spills onto the web throughout the month. There's all manner of amazing stuff as artists experiment, try new things, and just have some fun.

My only complaint - if I were to have one - is that there isn't much room in Inktober for the writer. But that's really only true if you're lacking for imagination. Last year I decided to play along by writing a new page of comic script every day (a practice I'm doing again this year), but I figured for our purposes I might try something a little different.

I want to celebrate Inktober here at Thought Balloons by getting writers involved with the whole thing. So this week, jump on your social media of choice and track down some of those amazing Inktober pieces, find one that resonates with you, and write a script inspired by it. It can be a direct continuation of the image. It can be based on the feeling the image creates in your mind. All that matters to me is that you find something you like and have fun with it.

So Thought Ballooners new and old, find something you like and make something of your own from it. And most of all, don't forget to credit! :)