Red Hulk - Jump On Point - R.A.Wonsowski

(...ok, here's another weird one...)

Layout: double-page splash with 6 circular insets, linked by red lines to their character in the splash.

Splash -  A morning raid, chaos on the docks amid the cranes and containers at the North Korean port city of Rajin/Najin...North Korean soldiers are knocked back concussively, flying everywhere; a few struggle to find their feet.  There are two impact points - One is a crane housing in its base, the supports crumpling and exploding in a blaze of fire, bodies flying, a rocket's exhaust trail leads backward to the silhouette of a tugboat afloat on the Sea of Japan, where it originated.  The other is a crater caused by RED HULK, crouched from his sticking the landing, fists clenched, face darkened in inked blanks, his expression unreadable.  AGENT VENOM is in the foreground, firing two Desert Eagle pistols into soldiers off panel, but the muzzle flash is visible.  DEADPOOL is off to the side in the background, leaping around like a crazed Batroc, Uzi in one hand spitting bullets and mowing down soldiers, the other waving a katana.  ELEKTRA is back to back with RED HULK, her sais are in her belt loops, and she is wielding a heavy machine gun, and handling it expertly, cutting more soldiers in half.  From somewhere above, from an unseen airship, DEATH'S HEAD II rappels down midfield, firing flechettes into soldiers, as well.  Captions are from Ross's point of view.

DEATH'S HEAD II:  Seven kilometers straight below us, yes?  Access port is somewhere...


Inset 1 - Close-up, DEATH'S HEAD II.

CAPTION:  Stumbling across this alien "freelance peacekeeper" was ridiculously good luck.  Turns out the NK military eggheads stumbled across A.I.M.'s old research on the Minion Project.


Inset 2 - Close-up, DEADPOOL, who is grinning gleefully behind his mask.

CAPTION:  It was that chucklehead Wilson who volunteered us for this op.  Normally, he's a taco short of a combo plate, but the idea of human experimentation snapped to attention right quick.


Inset 3 - Mid-shot, FRANK CASTLE, a shoulder-mounted RPG-launcher visible.  He is on the tugboat, and his inset link points to its deck.

CAPTION:  Castle seconded in the next breath, when he found out slavers were producing the teenaged experimental stock.


Inset 4 - Close-up, AGENT VENOM.

CAPTION:  Corporal Thompson was the dissenter.  Pragmatic, doesn't trust anything that smacks of the off-earth, but his focus on the mission is laser-like; he and his "partner" both, cold and professional.


Inset 5 - Close-up, ELEKTRA.

CAPTION:  Ms. Natchios is here for personal reasons.  Someone named John Garrett is mixed in this somehow, and there's a storm raging beneath her calm, pale exterior.  And that's alright...


Inset 6 - Close-up, RED HULK, face silhouetted as he looks out from beneath his brow, the battle-rage upon him, but grinning toothily with anticipation for the coming fight.

CAPTION:  I've got enough anger for all of us.  And sometimes...

CAPTION:  ...sometimes I like to share it with bastards like these...

The Spectre – Marvel vs. DC: Frank’s Castle – MK Stangeland Jr.

An incident has resulted in a partial merging of the DC and MARVEL universes, with the METROPOLIS-NEW YORK-GOTHAM tri-city area being the ‘hub’ that currently connects the two worlds. It has also resulted in FRANK CASTLE, THE PUNISHER, becoming the new human host for THE SPECTRE.

This page takes place aboard the Justice League Satellite.

(5 Panels)

Panel 1: Interior view of the satellite command center. In the center of the room is the astral form of DR. STRANGE.

Surrounding the astral DR. STRANGE are CAPTAIN AMERICA, WONDER WOMAN, THOR, GUY GARDNER, BEAST, THE FLASH, CAPTAIN MARVEL (CAROL DANVERS), STEEL (JOHN HENRY IRONS), AGENT VENOM (FLASH THOMPSON), and BLUE BEETLE (JAMIE REYES). A text box stating their superhero identity should be present next to each of the characters to help ensure the reader knows who each of these people are in case they're not familiar with them all.

DR. STRANGE: I have a little good news, and a lot of bad news.

Panel 2: Close up on astral DR. STRANGE as he reports.

DR. STRANGE: We can’t stop Castle directly. The Spectre has made him far too powerful, and the focus of Frank Castle’s mind makes him more dangerous than you could possibly imagine.

DR. STRANGE (2): It’s been difficult enough to simply observe him without drawing his ire.

DR. STRANGE (3): Right now, he’s punishing the tri-city area one criminal at a time. He’s taking a sadistic amount of glee in watching each of them be punished for their crimes.

Panel 3: View of the observers that allows us to see both GUY GARDNER and AGENT VENOM.

AGENT VENOM: Sounds like Frank’s finally snapped.

GUY GARDNER: Guy dresses up with a skull on his chest and calls himself ‘The Punisher’?

GUY GARDNER (2): Doesn’t sound like he had much to snap.

Panel 4: CAPTAIN AMERICA points in the general direction of GUY GARDNER and AGENT VENOM.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: Shush it, you two.

CAPTAIN AMERICA (2): Strange, continue.

Panel 5: Close up again on astral DR. STRANGE as he continues to report.

DR. STRANGE: That, sadly, is the good news. It’s drastically slowing his progress.

DR. STRANGE (2): It is my suspicion that once he finishes with the cities, he will increase his reach and extend his punishment to the rest of the globe.

(END PAGE)

The Punisher - Guest Posts

The talented -play-at-home all stars have been at it again with this week's choice of the Punisher. It's great to see the community building and more people just lobbing up a comment in the WHY...? post and having as much fun as we are.

This week we were joined by Danial Carroll, Marc, and Ivan Antonio who all brought something different to the table of Frank Castle. Hit the jump to read their great scripts.

The Punisher - Cleansing Rain - Matt Duarte

The Punisher in “Cleansing Rain” by Matt Duarte

This scene takes place in the world of Punisher MAX. There are no superheroes to be found here, just Frank Castle, his guns, and the scum of the Earth. The narration is by Frank Castle.

Panel 1

Description: This is an image as seen through binoculars. There’s two guys standing in a park at night, drug dealers, talking to two very nervous teenagers. There’s some drops of rain falling in the scene.

Panel 2

Description: Also seen through binoculars. It is now raining very heavily. The two drug dealers from earlier are running away from the park, in the direction of the viewer of the binoculars (Frank).

PUNISHER (Caption): I’ve never been a big believer of the “cleansing rain” concept.

Panel 3

Description: This panel is seen through a windshield of a car. The rain is falling heavily on it, with the wipers on. We can see the driving wheel, with two big hands holding it. The two drug dealers from earlier are getting into a car.

PUNISHER (Caption): The way I see it, all that water does is move the filth around to other places.

Panel 4

Description: This panel is also seen from the same view as before, though the car is now in a different place. The two drug dealers are parked in a suburban home, getting off the car and into the house. It is still raining heavily. They are trying to cover their heads as they run, and you can see that they are both carrying weapons in their waist bands.

PUNISHER (Caption): It has it uses though. If all the filth is in one place, the cleanup goes a lot faster.

Panel 5

Description: This panel is seen from a scope, though it is not circular, but rectangular. We can see a window, with the two drug dealers from earlier, giving part of their earnings to a big fat guy, the leader of this little gang of drug dealers. He is wearing ostentatious jewelry, and is waing around an assault rifle recklessly. There is still rain falling, though not as much as earlier.

PUNISHER (Caption): There’s also the filth that is just too thick for plain rain to get rid of.

Panel 6

Description: Same window as before, though we are not seeing it through the scope anymore. All three of the drug dealers are looking out the window, with horror in their faces, and screaming in terror. About to fly in the through the window is a rocket that has just come out of rocket launcher, with smoke trailing behind the shell.

PUNISHER (Caption): The kind that needs something a little stronger to remove it.

The End.

The Punisher - The Pun-Isher - Ben Rosenthal and Danial Carroll ART!

Click the image for a much larger one!

This page has the esteemed honour of being the very first thoughtballoons art page so far in our illustrious history. Ben Rosenthal provided the script, which you can see here, and a pretty constant play-at-home scripter, Danial Carroll, handled the art duties. I think the team up works great and I also hope to see plenty more artists come along and help us out. We've got plenty of words on the site, we could always use a few more pictures.

The Punisher - Blood Simple - Max Barnard

The Premise: The Punisher went blood simple, taking out anything he saw in a deluded rage brought on from his years of endless assault against criminals. Marian, a pure-hearted New York rookie cop, has encountered the now distraught Frank Castle in an abandoned warehouse.

----------------------------------------------------

Page One - 6 Panels

1-- An exterior view of a dishevelled warehouse on an anonymous street at night, with boarded-up windows and a half-destroyed sign that we only know ends in "ORP". Other than this sight all we can see is a lamppost, illuminating the panel, and a police car parked near the entrance to the warehouse.

TEXT BOX/NARRATION - When I got the call I couldn't believe it.


2-- We're now inside the darkened warehouse. Through a single beam of light coming through the window we can see Marian, a young, neat and prim police officer, who at best can only be described as looking average, standing alone and strong. There is literally nothing else you can see other than that and the window responsible for the aforementioned beam of light.

TEXT BOX/NARRATION - Frank Castle is turning himself in. But only if it's me (and ONLY me) who comes to collect him.


3-- Marian whirls round, drawing a stun gun from a holster on her waist (motion lines galore?), aiming it at Frank Castle, who is sitting on the floor next to a small lamp, which is just about illuminating his form, and a pistol.

SPEECH BUBBLE/MARIAN - FREEZE!

SPEECH BUBBLE/FRANK CASTLE - ->hhh<-

SFX/LAMP - klik!

4-- Nothing in the scene has changed, save Marian's hands shaking some small amount.

SPEECH BUBBLE/FRANK CASTLE - You're late, officer.

SPEECH BUBBLE/MARIAN - GET UP! Y-You're under arrest!

TEXT BOX/NARRATION - Somehow I didn't even consider...


5-- Frank has his hand on the pistol on the floor, and is beginning to lift himself up off the ground.

SPEECH BUBBLE/MARIAN - GET YOUR HAND OFF THE GUN! MOVE IT! I-I'M WARNING YOU, CASTLE!

SPEECH BUBBLE/FRANK CASTLE - You're a good cop. The least corrupt I could find. Heck, you're practically a saint...

SPEECH BUBBLE/MARIAN - W-what?!

TEXT BOX/NARRATION - That when it comes to dealing with Frank Castle...


6-- The Punisher is now standing up, brandishing the gun handle first at Marian, who is so surprised that her stun gun has fallen out of her hands. A small detail is that we can see some small tear streaks dried on Castle's face.

SPEECH BUBBLE/FRANK CASTLE - I've gone too far. I've killed innocents. So now I need you, an innocent, decent police officer, to finish me. Put a bullet in my brain, Officer.

TEXT BOX/NARRATION - You never know what's going to happen.



[Bonus note: The rest of this storyline would be a locked room debate with Marian wrestling with the request she's just been given, something that could even have the effect of turning her herself into a new Punisher. With that potential ending to the story I suppose you could consider this a first page of a #1, a new Punisher series giving us a new Punisher with a different angle. Which I, at least, think would be bloody captivating!]

The Punisher - Punish Me! - Rol Hirst

Panel One.

Night time. A haggard-looking, middle-aged man sits across the table from us in a diner. He's Jerry, and he's telling his shameful story. He looks like a man on the verge of a breakdown, running shaky fingers through his thinning hairline, unable to make eye contact with us. We can’t yet see what's on the table in front of him.

JERRY: Fourteen years – what is that, the seven year itch times two? But me and Sooze, we just weren’t connecting any more, you know?

JERRY: I can’t remember the last time we went out on a date or even sat and watched a DVD together… and as for sex…

JERRY: I’m not making excuses. I know it was wrong. I knew it every second I was with Kelly… but she made me feel good again. Even when I was feeling bad about going behind Sooze’s back, I still felt better… more alive that I had in years.

Panel Two.

Wider angle so we can see the table now. Jerry’s coffee sits untouched. He pushes a gun towards us. He’s looking at us now, imploring us…

JERRY: I bought this gun to make amends. Not to protect myself from Sooze – she’s past trying to hurt me. That one time she did, she’d just found out about the affair… she wasn’t thinking straight.

JERRY: If that little kid hadn’t got in the way, I’d have got what was coming to me right then and there. But he did. And now we both have to live with the consequences.

Panel Three.

Now we see the diner table from side on. Jerry pushes the gun towards the man sitting across from him: Frank Castle, the Punisher. We can just make out his skull shirt peeping out from under his trenchcoat. He’s frowning: stock Frank Castle expression #1. He reaches to take the gun.

JERRY: But I can’t do it. I just… I don’t have the strength. That’s why I came to you.

Panel Four.

Close on the Punisher. He stares at Jerry’s gun in his hand.

FRANK: You did the right thing.

Panel Five.

Castle stands up and steps out of the booth, away from Jerry, slipping the gun into his belt as he goes. Jerry calls after him, shocked.

JERRY: What… wait… where are you going? You can’t just…

Panel Six.

Close on Jerry, distraught, in the doorway of the diner now, calling after the Punisher.

JERRY: You… You’re the Punisher…

JERRY: Punish me!

Panel Seven.

The Punisher walks away, leaving Jerry behind him in the diner doorway, a broken man.

FRANK: I am.

The Punisher - Bad Company - Simon McDonald

1. Frank Castle is standing over the gravestones of his family, arms hanging loosely by his sides, a handgun clasped in his right hand. It's a gloomy, fairly archetypal day for a visit to the cemetery; overcast, threatening rain. His jacket is zipped up; the insignia that strikes fear into the hearts of criminals is hidden - this is not the appropriate place for it.

HENRY TRAVERS

[off panel]

It's difficult, isn't it?

2. Frank turns his head; an old, frail looking man, visibly struggling to remain upright even with his walking stick, is approaching him, a sad smile on his face.

HENRY TRAVERS

Being alone.

3. Frank, not one to engage in such discussions, refocuses back to the gravestones. But Henry Travers doesn't take the hint and takes up a position beside Frank, held up precariously by his walking stick.

HENRY TRAVERS

My Claire...

She's been gone seven years now, and still I wake up every morning expecting to see her by my side.

I still find myself making tea for two.

4. We're looking at the graves; at the gravestones of Maria Elizabeth Castle, Lisa Barbara Castle and Frank David Castle Junior.

HENRY TRAVERS

[off panel]

We never had children.

Tried, sure; a number of times. I suppose it just wasn't meant to be.

But we had each other and that's all that mattered, and then one day...

5. On Henry; he's tearing up at the memories.

HENRY TRAVERS

One day she just left me.

Passed away in her sleep.

I said Good Night to her and when I woke up there was no Good Morning, there was nothing, there was just...

Just me.

6. Henry's looking at Frank, who has remained stoic throughout this conversation.

HENRY TRAVERS

But see, I'm an old man.

You, you're young enough to find someone again. Young enough to find a few more years of happiness.

You don't want to live your life alone, son.

Not if you can help it.

7. Tight on Frank. Cold, emotionless.

FRANK CASTLE

I'm not alone.

8. He holds up the gun for Henry to see.

FRANK CASTLE

I've got all the company I need right here.

END.

The Punisher - Pretty Funny - Ryan K Lindsay

1. Frank Castle stands on a pier dock. There’s a boat on fire in the water, dead bodies on the dock and in the water, and a flaming plane just crashing into the water about 100m away making a big splash. Frank has one gun in his hand, his other hand is quite clearly broken, fingers protruding everywhere like someone just tried to assemble a quick hand out of whatever they could find. We can’t see Frank’s face, he is looking out at the plane.

SFX: Crsplanksh

2. Frank is walking away, towards us.

Frank: Guess you should have answered that call.

3. Frank is still walking away, he’s just that bit closer to us. It’s over, they’re all dead and he can leave now.

4. Frank is closer again but this time looking down at one of the bodies. One of the dead bodies is not so dead and the guy is saying something.

Guy: Was that a joke?

5. Frank shoots the guy in the head twice.

SFX: Blam! Blam!

6. Frank is closer to us still, the smallest smile on his face. 

The Punisher - The Pun-Isher - Ben Rosenthal

A few years ago I wrote some sketches. Some were filmed, and some were not. The following is one of a series of 6 sketches that were not. Eager to get some use out of old material, I have re-written the first script in comic form. If you're lucky, I may post the other 5 movie scripts.

The following takes place in an alternate reality. In this reality, Frank Castle’s family was killed in an entirely different way...


1. A side view of the fridge section of a supermarket. We can clearly see rows and rows of different cheeses stacked in its shelving. In the middle of the isle is MAN 1. He is yelling, with a look of pure anger on his face, at the cheese. In the background is MAN 2, walking up to MAN 1. He is dressed in typical supermarket worker attire.

MAN 1
YOU FLITHY, DISGUSTING, BOTTOM FEEDING, B#$%T C$#@ SMOKER.

MAN 2
HEY!

2. The panel shows both men, from chest up, looking at each other.

MAN 2
Why are you yelling at cheese?

MAN 1
Because I’m lactose intolerant!

3. Both men are laughing hysterically. Their hands are on their bellies, heads are thrown back and mouths open wide. A tear may even appear on one of the men’s faces as they are laughing so hard. However, a red dot is visible on MAN 1’s forehead, but neither individual has noticed.

MAN 1 and MAN 2 (joint speech bubble)
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

4. Same framing as the previous panel, except MAN 2 is looking across in shock as MAN 1’s head has been blown away. We can still see the body of MAN 1 from the chest up, as the shot has only just been fired.


5. A wide panel. The Pun-Isher is standing menacingly with a cold, heartless stare. He wears a black trench coat, with a back t-shirt. There is a skull of a clown painted on this shirt. The smoking gun tells us that this is the man who shot MAN 1.

TEXT BOX
When his family was killed by a joke gone wrong, Frank Castle swore he would never let anyone make bad jokes again. Vowing to avenge his family by killing those who mis-use the power of the punch line, he became THE PUN-ISHER.

TEXT BOX
See, violence IS funny. Kids, try this at home.

Why The Punisher?

Picture this – you are enjoying a day out at the park with your family. Your children play as you hold the love of your life close in your arms. Her warmth and your children’s joy help to silence the horrors of war for just a little while. That is until you stumble upon another type of war. Witnessing a mob-hit, you watch helplessly as everything you have ever dared to love is gunned down before your eyes. Criminals take everything from you. You want to return the favour.

This is the reality which Frank Castle lives in. Driven to avenge the death of his innocent family, Frank is a man obsessed. He will bring down every criminal, crime boss and drug dealer...and will die trying.

While we have dabbled with villains here at thoughtballoons, it has all been pretty PC. Having The Punisher as this week’s character, I’m hoping our team of fantastic scribes plunge to the darker depths of their minds. Could they show the serial killer Punisher portrayed in Garth Ennis’ MAX run? Will they favour the black humour side of the character? Or will they completely sell out and do a FrankenCastle story? Only one way to find out True Believers, and that is to visit back each day this week as we bring you...The Punisher.

If you're interested in reading some other awesome Punisher stories, written by some other people who are also good, then click some of the links below, and each click and purchase (and you can purchase anything, so long as our link to Amazon is your portal) will help us here at thoughtballoons make a little scratch to get by. Thank you in advance:

The above post is Dolph Lundgren approved