This takes place before Hex was given the Mark Of The Demon.
Panel 1: Hex and the Doctor are in the front of a stagecoach in the pouring rain. Hex is shotgun, and the Doctor is at the reins. The Doctor is old and short, but still able-bodied enough.
Caption: EARLY IN HEX'S LIFE AS A HAND FOR HIRE, THOUGH BEFORE HIS TAKING OF THE BOUNTY-HUNTING TRADE OR HIS STINT IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY, HE FOUND HIMSELF IN THE UNENVIABLE POSITION OF ESCORTING A CERTAIN DOCTOR TO HIS NEWLY-PURCHASED LABORATORY IN THE WASHINGTON TERRITORY, WHERE, UNBEKNOWNST TO JONAH, THE DOCTOR WOULD CONTINUE THE EXPERIMENTS THAT LED TO HIS BEING CHASED FROM HIS NATIVE LAND.
Caption: WASHINGTON TERRITORY, JANUARY 1854
Hex: WHAT I CAN'T QUITE UNDERSTAND IS WHY, AFTER THE TROUBLE YOUR LINE OF WORK BROUGHT YOU BACK IN... AH, WHEREVER THE HECK IT WAS--
Doctor: SWITZERLAND.
Panel 2: Close on Jonah. He's a little peeved at being corrected.
Hex: ...THANKS.
Hex: --BACK IN SWITZERLAND, WHY, AFTER ALL THAT, YOU WOULD BOTHER COMING HALFWAY ACROSS THE GLOBE TO START UP ON IT AGAIN.
Panel 3: Close on the Doctor's face: determined, intense, with a gleam in his eye that could be madness or the thrill of scientific discovery.
Doctor: MY YOUNG COMPANION, THE MARCH OF PROGRESS DOES NOT HALT FOR THE SIMPLE-MINDED, FOR THE BRAYING CROWDS, FOR THOSE WHO LET THE FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN SHROUD THEM FROM THE BRILLIANT GLEAM OF POSSIBILITY!
Doctor: NO, THIS CANNOT BE STOPPED, AS THE SEAS CANNOT BE ABSORBED BY THE MAN WHO STICKS IN HIS FACE AND DRINKS DEEPLY, AS THE WINDS CANNOT BE DRIVEN OFF BY THE GOSSAMER THREADS THAT CALL THEMSELVES HAUTE COUTURE IN THIS BACKWARD, UNCULTURED BURROW, AND AS THE MOVEMENT OF THE EARTH CANNOT BE CONTROLLED BY SOME CONFOUNDED CONSTABLE NO MATTER HOW HARD HE SWINGS HIS CUDGEL!
Panel 4: Jonah, seemingly unfazed and even bored, gazes ahead into the rain.
Hex: AND OF COURSE, AN... UNCULTURED YOUTH SUCH AS ME COULD NOT GRASP THE SCOPE OF THIS ASTOUNDING...
Inset panel: Hex is searching for a word.
Hex: THING... THAT YOU'VE DEVOTED YOUR LIFE TO STUDYING?
Panel 5: The Doctor guffaws, head thrown to the raining sky.
Doctor: HA! AS I LEARNED LONG AGO, THE WORLD WILL NOT BE READY FOR MY CREATION UNTIL SUCH TIME AS I FORCE THEM TO ACCEPT ITS UNDENIABLE REALITY!
Inset panel: Close on Hex glaring at the doctor. Hex is not pleased. He's more than a little tired of the Doctor.
Hex: ...THAT'S A NO, I WOULD ASSUME.
Panel 6: Half-page. The stagecoach(should be small in comparison to its surroundings) drives through the pouring rain of a dark night lit only by a single, searing strike of lightning. Make it look haunting, desolate.
Doctor: IF IT NEEDS TO BE PUT INTO SUCH... ROUGH TERMS, I SUPPOSE A "NO" WOULD SUFFICE.
Doctor(Muttered): ALSO, IT'S 'SUCH AS I'. BUT I DIGRESS.
Caption: AND WITH THAT, THE TIME FOR CONVERSATION HAS CEASED, AS THE ONLY ACTION REMAINING IS TO CARRY EVER FORWARD TO THE ODD AND OMINOUS FATE THAT AWAITS...
TITLE: JONAH HEX AND THE FRONTIER PROMETHEUS
Caption: VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN AND HIS MONSTER CREATED BY MARY SHELLEY
God bless the public domain.
HA! Not only a cool mash-up, but I love Hex's deepening boredom. I also like that you set it before Hex's signature marking. I get the feeling this would fit in well with what Joe Lansdale did with the character in the 90's.
ReplyDeleteI betcha Doug Mahnke could draw the hell outta this...
I do love Frankenstein, so I liked the reveal (I didn't catch the clever clues), and the potential possibilities.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem a tad dialogue-heavy, but with nothing much going on visually, I suppose it could work.
Normally I'd also say that Hex isn't this chatty, but since it's his younger days I can accept it. Good stuff.
My inner-English major loves this idea. I'm with R.A. that it's maybe a little on the wordy side, but I'm willing to let that slide due to the inclusion of Mary Shelley's characters.
ReplyDeleteI will admit that this strikes me as a Doctor whose a little more in line with the movie / comic versions of the character than the original book, but considering this is a comic script, I think that makes perfect sense!
Nice meshing of concepts and characters.
ReplyDeleteIt is a tad heavy on the dialogue side of things but works as a great setup and tease for events to come.