Killeroo – Blood Worth Bottling – Brian Manton

1.

Close on Killeroo, lighting a cigarette.

Killeroo:  I mean, you've got to see this from my point of view.

2.

Same shot. Killeroo exhales smoke.

Voice (OP):  I can't move.

Killeroo:  Think about it...

3.

Same shot. Killeroo is disgusted by the thought of what he is saying.

Voice (OP):  I... I can't feel my legs.

Killeroo:  I just waltz in to the nearest boozer and say... that?

4.

Wide shot. Killeroo leaning against a WELL.

Voice (from inside the well):  Please, just go get help!

Killeroo:  Not happenin', Tim.

Killeroo - Saltwater Mambo - R.A. Wonsowski

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Panel 1 - In the background, we see a small, one-street outback town.  Looks kinda like something out of a Sergio Leone spaghetti western.  One clapboard building has a painted sign that says "SALOON" with the requisite swinging doors.  Foreground, a wooden painted sign that reads "Welcome to SALTWATER.  Pop. 419"

SoundFX (from saloon):  KSSHH!!  BLAM!  BamBAM!  OW, demmit...


Panel 2 - Same as Panel 1.

SoundFX (from saloon):  kaBLAM!! *whud*  kchak-CHAK!  whBO-O-OM!  OHMYGOD!!


Panel 3 - Same as Panel 1,except the doorway and windows flare bright white and yellow.

SoundFX (from saloon)  buh-WHOOOOMMM!!!


Panel 4 - Same as Panel 1.

NO COPY


Panel 5 - Same as Panel 1, except, pushing open the saloon swinging door as he exits, is a bloodied-but-unbeaten KILLEROO.

NO COPY


Panel 6 - Same as above, except a KILLEROO is walking toward us, he's in between us and the sign.  He is dragging behind him the corpse of a recently beaten-the-hell-outta SALTWATER CROCODILE MUTATE, wearing street gang clothes and bandana.

NO COPY


Panel 7 - Same as above, except KILLEROO is standing in front of the sign, as he seems to be writing on it with his blood covered hand.

NO COPY


Panel 8 - Same as Panel 1, except KILLEROO is exiting stage left, dragging the MUTATE corpse behind him.  The sign now reads "Welcome to SALTWATER.  Pop. 419 398"

KILLEROO:  ...croc wankers...

Killeroo - Wallaby Champ - Niel Jacoby

Panel 1: top down view of a ring of motorcycles, forming an impromptu arena. Kangaroos and their motorcycles are on the viewer's right, with wallabies and their motorcycles on the viewer's left. Killeroo and the Wallaby Champ are the only animals in the ring, with the rest of their gangs on the outside. They're staring each other down.

Caption(Killeroo): WALLABIES. THE SMALLEST MACROPODS IN THE WASTELAND DOWN UNDER. BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE THEM ANY LESS OF A THREAT.

Caption(Killeroo): WHAT THEY LACK IN BULK, THEY MAKE UP FOR IN TECHNICAL SKILL. THEY CAN MAKE THE LARGEST ANIMAL BEG FOR MERCY.

Panel 2: We see the bloodied face of Killeroo. He's taken a beating, but he's still fired up.

Caption(Killeroo): ONE FALL EACH. THE NEXT ONE DECIDES IT ALL.

Panel 3: We see The Wallaby Champ, holding up countless belts made from the pelts of his previous opponents. He also shows signs of having taken a beating, but he's playing to his gang.

Caption(Killeroo): I'M ABOUT TO BE THE FIRST ANIMAL TO TAKE DOWN THE WALLABY CHAMP.

Killeroo - Desperate Times - J.D. Coughlan

Panel 1: Killeroo sits in front of a cluttered desk in a small, cheap-looking office. He looks annoyed.

KILLEROO: I'm sick of this small-time indie stuff. You're supposed to be my agent; get me something big, with Spider-Man or Batman or something!

Panel 2: Killeroo's agent sits on the other side of the desk. He is a skinny, sweaty man dressed garishly. His body language and facial expression are over-confident.

AGENT: Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! I'm not made of Spider-Mans! You gotta work up to his level.

AGENT: Right now, your choices are either: stay in a well-respected but low-paying indie comic... or do some really tacky mainstream stuff.

Panel 3: Two-shot of Killeroo and his agent. Killeroo looks defeated.

KILLEROO: Fine! I'll take whatever I can get.

AGENT: I dunno, mate, this is really tacky. Very cliched, stereotypical Aussie crap. I don't think the writer's even heard of you...

KILLEROO: I said fine!

Panel 4: Large. Killeroo stands in the middle of an action shot, grumbling and fuming. He is wearing one of those bush hats with the things hanging off them, and wields a boomerang. A scantily-clad woman, actually called Sheila, stands next to him, over-acting. In the foreground, an anthropomorphic koala laughs maniacally over some kind of doomsday machine.

SHEILA: Eeeek! Crikey, Killeroo, our shrimp's on the barbie now! Koala Kommander's gonna destroy the world's supply of Fosters!

KILLEROO: (small) I'll never badmouth indies again...

END OF PAGE

Killeroo – Mad Marsupial – Shaun Richens.

PAGE FIVE – 6 PANELS.

5.1

Wide panel. We are on the side of a long dirt road in the Australian outback. The sun is just setting. Two dead bikers lay dead next to their rides. A third rider, LOBO, stands next to his hands raised high in the air.

This last remaining biker, Lobo, wears a dirty pair of black jeans, leather biker boots, a vest top that may have been white a long time ago, but is now a grey mess with holes in, and a leather waistcoat over the top. A badge stitched onto the waistcoat bears the symbol of a pichfork. With his arms raised his hairy beer belly hangs out. The shit-eating grin on his faces reveals that he only has a handful of teeth left and they are rotten and yellowed.

These men were/are the Pitchfork Pricks. A biker gang so vile they make the Vikings look like the Brady Bunch.

LOBO:

Haha. Well hot damn son.

5.2

Close up on LOBO. He tongues a gap in between his teeth as he speaks and wipes sweat off his forehead just above his eye.

LOBO:

It’s a fair cop mate. Ill bloody give ya that.

LOBO:

I’ll come along quite like.

5.3

Still close on Lobo. He is putting a big fat cigar to his lips. Holding a zippo lighter in the other hand close to the tip as he tries to light it.

LOBO:

Shame you had to kill me boys. But better them than me though, hey?

5.4

Lobo’s eyes have gone wide, his mouth a gasp. The cigar and zippo fall away.

SFX:

Bam bam.

5.5

Full body shot of Lobo. He clutches at his stomach trying to hold his guts in as blood pours from the shotgun wound in his torso.

LOBO:

*Wheeze*

5.6

Reveal of KILLEROO. He rests his shotgun like so on his shoulder. A small smile plays across his face.

KILLEROO:

Seems you pissed off the wrong people Lobo.

KILLEROO

Bounty’s tripled if I bring you in dead. 

Killeroo – Not Called Ninjas For Nothing – MK Stangeland Jr.

(5 Panels)

Panel 1: KILLEROO is lying face down on the ground, he’s just out of the water on a shoreline near NEW YORK CITY. While he’s alive, it’s clear that he’s received quite the beating, and looks bloodied up and filthy. A ninja star might stick out of his back somewhere.

KILLEROO: (Text Box) Something is very wrong with this picture.

Panel 2: KILLEROO has just barely picked his head up out of the sand to try to get some sense of where he is.

KILLEROO: (Text Box) Where did I go wrong?

Panel 3: Flashback panel, with KILLEROO in Australia. He looks fine and is reading a piece of paper.

NARRATION: One week ago…

KILLEROO: Turtles? They want me to kill mutant turtles? Like those slow shelled reptiles?

Panel 4: KILLEROO smirks to himself as he throws the crumpled up paper over his shoulder.

KILLEROO: That’ll be the easiest job I ever done.

KILLEROO: I can’t believe how much they’re offering for it.

Panel 5: Back to the scene from panels 1 and 2. KILLEROO lets his face fall back into the sand.

KILLEROO: (Text Box) Oh, right. I remember now.

(END PAGE)

Killeroo -Bad to Worse -Dan Hill

PAGE TWENTY TWO

22.1

WIDE PANEL, a beautiful golden beach, waves lapping at the shore, a cloudless sky on the horizon.

Paradise, yo.

NO COPY

22.2

WIDE PANEL, as before, only this time KILLEROO lands with some impact onto the golden sand. He’s wearing tactical gear, a tattered parachute trailing behind him, and he looks suitably bruised and battered.

In the background we see a trail of black smoke threading through the sky and downwards towards the sparkling blue ocean on the horizon.

    SFX:            BOOMF

22.3

CLOSE UP on KILLEROO’s face in the surf and sand. He’s not a fan of sand or having his plane blown out of the sky so he looks pissed off.

    NO COPY

22.4

KILLEROO is on his back now, propped up slightly on his elbow.

    KILLEROO:        Oh, sod off.

22.5

WIDE PANEL, heading towards the tiny atoll is an armada of grinning genetically altered sharks (they look like DC’s Killer Shark).

Oh, and they’re all riding jet-skis. The one in the middle is the leader because he has a rocket launcher.

    NO COPY

Killeroo - Stylin' and Profilin' - Grant McLaughlin

1 - Close-up of Killeroo's eyes.  He's wearing sunglasses, but he's lowered them with one hand to get a better look at what's in front of him.  His eyes betray an expression of mutual parts confusion and disbelief.

KILLEROO: What are you?

2 - Over the shoulder shot of Killeroo, looking upon the Spruce Moose.  The Spruce Moose is like Killeroo, but as his name suggests, is part moose instead of part kangaroo.  He is also impeccably well-dressed, wearing a three-piece suit, fancy dress shirt, matching pocket square, some exciting socks, and some boss dress shoes.  Not necessarily this, but in that kind of ballpark.  He could even have some thick rimmed glasses, moose facial hair, and possibly a cigarette in his mouth.  He is pretty easy going, leaning casually against his equally fancy car, possibly with his jacket over his shoulder, suspenders showing.  You get the idea.

SPRUCE MOOSE: I'm the Spruce Moose, and buddy, you need my help!

3 - The Spruce Moose opens the passenger door to his car, motioning for Killeroo to get in.

SPRUCE MOOSE: Hop in and I'll explain everything on the way.

4 - Killeroo is standoffish, not having any interest in this weirdass moose who isn't explaining anything.

KILLEROO: Listen, mate.  I don't know what your story is, but I don't need no help from nobody --

SPRUCE MOOSE (interrupting): You've misunderstood

5 - A small, vertical panel that is just sfx.

SFX: KLIK!

6 - Repeat panel 4, but Killeroo isn't nearly as standoffish anymore, seeing as the Spruce Moose has pulled a gun on him, pointing it directly at his face.  Killeroo raises his arms in an act of non-agression, signalling that he'll do what Spruce Moose wants - at least for now.

SPRUCE MOOSE: I said, "Hop in."

Killeroo - The Stones of Karantjiirinja - Ben Rosenthal

I have a 40 page Killeroo story coming out later this year.  As such I thought it would be cool to give you page one of my story - The Stones of  Karantjiirinja.  

PAGE One     

            

1.  Night.  The moon looms large over scrubland.  In a clearing within the scrub is a small beaten down shack to the left of the panel.  Just off centre of the panel, to the right are silhouettes of three men against the large moon.  They are walking towards the shack.  One carries a shovel (Sid), one a chain (Bob) with the leader empty handed (Jacko).  They are walking single file and are all between the 30-40 age bracket.  They look like your typical Australian outbacker – flannel shirts and by no means in good health.  Jacko has a beer gut and looks like a bully. Sid is very skinny and frail looking with Bob thin, but not so much as Sid.  All are  35-40 in age.

SID

You sure about this Jacko?

2.  A close up of Jacko – he is the leader of the group.  Big and burly, he looks confident of his decision to walk towards this shack.

JACKO

You heard the man, Sid.  You really want a freak like that on the loose?  What if it decides to attack someone at night, eh?

3.  A close shot of the other two men.  They do not look as confident as Jacko.

SID

No, but I mean...some half animal half human thing?  Sounds like the kinda thing we should just leave alone.

BOB

The old shack has been abandoned for years anyway.  Let’s just head back to the pub yeah?

4.  Jacko is standing by the front door of the shack facing Bob and Sid.  Their backs are to the reader.

JACKO

If you ladies wanna head back to the pub that’s fine.

5.  A front shot of the three getting ready to rush the shack.  Behind them is the large, imposing silhouette of Rufus.

JACKO

I’m gonna snag me a freak.

-----

Ans as an added bonus here is some preview art for the story, drawn by the uber talented  Emmanuel Hernaez.

Why Killeroo?

Created by Darren Close, Killeroo first appeared as a one page insert in an Australian comic magazine, in 2003. Close with the help of a number of other Oz writers and artists produced Killeroo Book 1, which led to many of those artist being hired by DC, Marvel and Dark Horse.

Killeroo is Rufus - a genetically altered humanoid kangaroo with anger management issues who travels the outback.

Close has had this to say about the success of his creation:

"Killeroo started out as just a one-page university magazine strip, but over the years has become something of a proving ground for Australian comic creators - many of which have gone onto become pros. I’ve really enjoyed the collaborative process of working with writers and artists on half a dozen Killeroo books, with many more currently in development."

With Killeroo: GANGWARS (and anthology of short stories written by some of Australia's best up and coming writers and artists - including Thought Balloons alumni Ryan Lindsay and Simon McDonald) fast approaching release and another 40 page tale written by Thought Balloon's own Ben Rosenthal coming out before the end of the year, Killeroo is certainly a character to watch.

How will the writers from different parts of the globe interpret this Australian creation?  FInd out all this week!

And if you would like to read more of Rufus and his journeys you can purchase them here - killeroo.bigcartel.com/