Transitions - Prog 5 - Ray Wonsowski

Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends...

Continuing the prog-rock-fueled adventures of the Wonder Twins, Zan and Jayna...Having escaped a Thanagarian warship, the Twins crashland in WWII Norway.  Accompanied by the Haunted Tank, they discover a Nazi death camp's mass grave, overseen by the Red Skull....

Note: Zan and Jayna should look 16 or 17 throughout, as Exorians have incredibly long lifespans. This week's page inspired by "Goodbye, Blue Sky", by Pink Floyd.

Panel 1 - Foreground, a scared, ragtag bunch of Nazi soldiers point their rifles at a strange bunch of allies coming over the top of a snow-covered bunker: ZAN, JAYNA, BUCKY BARNES (wielding a machine gun), NAMOR the Sub-Mariner, and the ghost of Gen. STUART (waving his saber).

CAPTION: Norway, 1945

CAPTION: Did you see the frightened ones?  Did you hear the falling bombs?

Panel 2 - NAMOR, ZAN, and JAYNA, their heads above the sea water, shielding their eyes with their hands or arms from the atomic bomb explosion over the distant horizon.

CAPTION: Bikini Atoll, 1957

CAPTION: Did you ever wonder why we had to run for shelter...

Panel 3 - JAYNA, wearing a tie-dye purple and white tank top and bell bottom jeans, and ZAN, wearing a purple Nehru jacket and small sunglasses, can be seen in a crowd of protesters marching on a beautiful sunny day, all shouting. Signs read such slogans as "Stop the Killing" "Out of Vietnam" and "End the 'Nam".

CAPTION, Washington D.C., 1968

CAPTION:  ...When the promise of a brave new world unfurled beneath a clear blue sky...

Panel 4 - A humongous flying saucer hangs in the sky over Metropolis. MONGUL stands on a levitating platform, holding an unconscious SUPERMAN by the throat, but something on the ground has caught his eye.

CAPTION: Metropolis, 1979

CAPTION: Goodbye, blue sky...

Panel 5 - Standing in front of the Hall of Justice, in their classic outfits, looking up defiantly, are BLACK VULCAN, ZAN, JAYNA, and SAMURAI, and behind them, standing 50 feet tall, APACHE CHIEF, all ready to take the challenge to Mongul.

CAPTION: ...goodbye...

...to be continued...

Transitions – Telephone of DOOM! – MK Stangeland Jr.

(5 Panels)

Panel 1: REED RICHARDS and SPIDER-MAN are in REED RICHARDS lab.

RICHARDS (1): Victor may be a terrible person, but he has my pity.

RICHARDS (2): It truly is sad that he’s so devoted his mind to such selfish pursuits.

Panel 2: SPIDER-MAN and DEADPOOL – SPIDER-MAN is sitting on top of a light pole eating a hot dog, while DEADPOOL is hanging from a web wedgie.

SPIDER-MAN (1): I’m not sure what to think.

SPIDER-MAN (2): We all know what kind of guy Dr. Doom is, but here’s Reed talking about how he pities the man and how sad it all is.

DEADPOOL: (Yellow Text Box) I think I’m starting to ride up here.

DEADPOOL (2): (Yellow Text Box) Well, more ride up.

Panel 3: DEADPOOL and LOKI – LOKI has a miniaturized DEADPOOL trapped inside a snow globe. DEADPOOL is dressed up to look like LOKI.

DEADPOOL (1): So then, he tells me how sad Mr. Fantastic thinks Dr. Doom is and how pitiful the whole situation is.

DEADPOOL (2): (Yellow Text Box) Did I get that backwards?

DEADPOOL (3): (Yellow Text Box) I think I got that backwards.

Panel 4: DR. DOOM in front of a large computer array, the likes of which you classically find inside of mad scientist and evil villain lairs. LOKI appears on the largest screen.

DR. DOOM (1): WHO DARES CALL DOOM!?

DR. DOOM (2): And how did you get this number?!

LOKI (1): Hello, Victor.

LOKI (2): I thought you might like to hear that Reed Richards has been talking smack about how sad and pitiful you are.

LOKI (3): Though I think we both knew that already.

Panel 5: Close up on DR. DOOM, in a classic ‘hands up in the air as he shouts in anger’ pose.

DR. DOOM: RICHAAAAAAAAAAAAAARDS!

(END PAGE)

Transitions - Long Live the King - Grant McLaughlin

1 - A balcony on a sumptuous, Middle Eastern-esque palace.  A king (or sultan, I suppose) and his son stand on the balcony, looking out over a beautiful, amazing city (think a richer Disney Alladin's Agrabah).  Both king and prince wear mourning black.  The King looks pensive, the son looks impatient / sour.  The pair would be on the left third or so of the panel, with the city they're looking over taking up the lion's share of the space (and the majority of the word balloons floating above them).

KING (1): I've ruled this kingdom a long time.

KING (2): With your brothers' recent passing, you are now next in line for the throne.

KING (3): One day soon, all this will be yours.

PRINCE: Yes.

2 - Close-up on the prince's sword as he slides it out of his sheath.

PRINCE (off-panel): Perhaps even sooner than you think.

3 - The prince has his sword drawn, advancing; the king stands with his back to the balcony railing, a saddened look on his face.

NO COPY

4 - A far shot of the balcony.  The two figures are in silhouette.  One stands on the balcony, looking over the edge; the other has gone over the balcony's side and is falling to his death.

CAPTION: "You proud fool."

5 - The King sits in his throne room, doing some kingly business.  Perhaps he is listening to the supplicants of citizenry or speaking with foreign diplomats.  Perhaps he wears a new scar on his face.  Either way, the King wears an expression that is a mixture of tired and sad.

CAPTION: "Your brothers at least had the good sense to combine their efforts."

Transitions - There It Is! - Hansel Moreno

One of my favorite Spider-Man villains is The Spot. His powers are ridiculous, his costume equally so. Below is a simple grid layout that I send to artist that reflects my script. This is always open to artists’ notes.

Panel One: The Spot, with a gloveless hand, paces in his current hideout. A shabby motel room with a rabbit eared tv, a dingy bed and a bathroom with a missing door

Panel Two: The Spot pauses his pacing and scratches his head.

Panel Three: The Spot turns his back to the readers and points his Portal Box/Gun to the nearest wall and projects a portal.

Panel Four: The next panel shows a Police station evidence locker enclosed by a large metal cage. The cage is filled with hand guns, knives, and several odds and ends from various crimes. The Spot pops his head in and with a quick swivel surveys the area.

Panel Five: The Spot and his portal disappear in the next panel as a cop walks by the cage.

Panel Six: The portal reopens and the hand swipes something quickly from an unorganized pile near the floor.

Panel Seven: The Spot is back in his run down hotel room holding his missing glove. He breathes a sigh of relief.

Why Transitions? - Hansel Moreno

“Why this transition?” is something I find myself asking often when reading a comic. I was a casual reader until about nine years ago. I would pick up a trade from a library or a second hand store now and then but comics weren’t staples in my life.

When I started reading comics weekly they became more than entertainment. They became charts and maps to be studied. I saw how different artists and writers crafted their stories and guided us (the audience) to the ending they envisioned. Page and panel layouts, color schemes, font choices, every little detail added so much to the book.

I’ve been writing for about two years and as much as I enjoy reading scripts, examining thumbnails and fawning over the finished art I am still getting accustomed to having others interested in my scripts. When I was invited by Grant to contribute to Thought Balloons I was beyond excited. It was difficult to narrow down my theme for the week but I looked back over my notes on the scripts I’m currently mulling over and picked out what was troubling me.

“Why this transition?”

In writing my scripts I aim for short, compact stories. I cut down my scripts to the shortest page count possible without sacrificing story quality. This is mostly out of necessity as I do not have the budget to tell a sprawling epic story. Often transitions in comics are at the page turn. Get to the end of the current page spread, turn the page and new chapter, new setting. Transitions are useful when switching between characters or locations. They can be subtle, jarring, a pause in the story or a jump into the middle of the action. Once in a while there is a chase scene or montage that requires multiple settings in one page. When these scene jumps are executed well it creates a fast pace in the story that could otherwise meander.

I hope we can show the effectiveness of transitions in these next few scripts.

Thanks to Grant and the crew for letting me explore this current obsession.