Gwen Stacy - Anniversary - Ben Rosenthal

1.  A shot of Gwen Stacy’s tombstone at night.  A shadow is cast across it.

2.  Reverse of Panel 1.  The shadow revealed to be that of Peter Parker looking down with sorrow.

3.  Back to the framing of Panel 1, with flowers being placed on Gwen’s grave.

4.  Reverse panel once more.  Peter is walking away, head down and hands in his pockets.

PETER

For you, Peter.

Why Gwen Stacy?

There use to be a rule in comics – you can bring anyone back from the dead apart from Bucky, Uncle Ben and Jason Todd.  Yeah, that rule didn't last long.

I would like to hypothesise a new rule – you can bring anyone back, but shouldn't bring back Uncle Ben or Gwen Stacy. 

Gwen was THE girl for Peter Parker. Smart and beautiful, theirs was a classic high school romance, and even though they had their ups and downs everyone could tell they would be together forever.  Even Norman could see it.  Kidnapping Gwen to lure Spider-Man out for a final confrontation he knocked her off the top of the Brooklyn Bridge.  In a desperate attempt to save her Spidey shot a web, catching Gwen by the ankle as she fell.  However the sudden change in motion also caused Gwen’s neck to snap posing the question that many have had for the decades since – did the force of the Goblin hitting Gwen off the bridge at a fast pace kill her, or was it Spidey’s own webbing that sealed her fate?

Either way the Death of Gwen Stacy was the first time a major character died in the comics medium.  It is known as being the comic that ended the Golden Age of comics, and also lead to the original death of Norman Osborn.

What do the tenured writers have in store for Ms Stacy this week?  Will they show how they would bring her back? Keep her dead or flash back in time? 

Remember, if you have a page long strip on Ms Stacy post it below in the comments section of this post, and receive valuable feedback from the TB Tenured Writers.

The Umbrella Academy – The Day the Earth Stopped Yawning – Brian Manton

Ideally a two page splash to follow U.A. title page conventions, but one page so that I'm sticking to the TB rules :)

Panel 1 is full page bleed.
All other panels are of equal size and inset at bottom of the page.
This is set when the children are around 14.

Soundtrack: J.S. Bach - Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor BWV 582 http://youtu.be/F51uHpH3yQk


1.

TITLES:

The Umbrella Academy, featuring a very loud rumbling noise, in:

THE DAY THE EARTH STOPPED YAWNING

Being part one of six in the story: Passacaglia in Pubescence


TEXT:  The Grand Canyon, Arizona.

CAP:  95,040 feet across at its widest point.

CAP:  95,039

CAP:  95,038

CAP:  95,037

CAP:  Oh crap!

Wide aerial view of the Grand Canyon.  What would otherwise be a placid vista is now a tumultuous (un?)natural disaster.  The canyon is closing in.  Rockslides violently cascade downward. Cliff faces crack under godlike pressure. Dust plumes reach into the endless sky.


Note: The following inset panels are set miles apart across the canyon floor.

2.
Spaceboy strains against the canyon wall as it advances towards him. Rubble falls around him.
(Canyon wall panel left)

3.
The Séance dances a Native American rain dance.
The Kraken blasts some falling debris with a shotgun, preventing The Séance from being crushed.

4. 
Sir Reginald Hargreeves (a.k.a. The Monocle) stands relaxed in the middle of the canyon. Vanya stands to the right, slightly behind him, staring at her feet.  Dust clouds waft past in the BKG and lower FG.

5.
The Rumour holds her hands around her mouth, screaming at the top of her lungs, trying to be heard over the calamity.  Boulders pound onto the ground around her.

6.
The Horror braces the canyon wall with massive tentacles.  It cracks and crumbles.
(Canyon wall panel right)

The Umbrella Academy - "The Shower Scene" - by R.A. Wonsowski

Layout:
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Setting:  a city park at sundown.

Panels 1, 2, and 3 are the left-side, dead-center, and right-side views of the same scene (imagine a camera panning from left to right, in a circle, counter-clockwise, so that panel 1 is 9 o'clock, panel 2 is 6 o'clock, and panel 3 is, well, 3).  Across the top third of these panels is stylized sheet music:

(Of course, leave off the titles, and this would be cool in that Gabriel Bá flourishing calligraphy, but at the very lower right of panel 3 should be a caption box crediting Bernard Herrmann.)

In the center third of the triptych, scenic background, is the appropriate p.o.v. of the WHITE VIOLIN, slashing across her Strad's strings with her bow, every stroke a lash of violence.  Her face should, however, show an eerie calm.

In the lower third, foreground, are any number of PASSERS-BY on the street, their throats ripped open, blood spraying from their jugulars.  A few are clutching at their necks, others are collapsing.  Far right of panel 3, a young child grasps her throat in tearful, screaming panic; she is intact, but she knows with a child's knowledge that she is next.

The only copy in the triptych is the sheet music.


Panel 4 - Close-up:  The rictus-like grin of the WHITE VIOLIN, the tip of her tongue slightly beyond the edge of her teeth, licking the catgut strings of her bow.

CAPTION:  Number 00.07:  Vanya Hargreeves.

CAPTION:  Second Movement...

CAPTION:  To be continued...

The Umbrella Academy - Remembrance Of Things Past - Niel Jacoby

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Panel 1: The Rumor stands in front of the wreckage of the statue of The Horror that stood in front of the mansion.

Caption(The Rumor): I USED TO COME HERE TO REMEMBER MY BROTHER.

Panel 2: Flashback to a previous adventure, one that hasn't been seen in the series before, when Horror was still alive.

Caption(Rumor): REMEMBER ALL THE FUN WE HAD TOGETHER.

Panel 3: A title card for THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY, in an 80s Saturday morning cartoon style. IT should read:

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY
and
THE WHISPERER IN THE DARKNESS

Caption(Rumor): I REMEMBER A LITTLE LESS EACH TIME. DETAILS BLUR, REMARKS GO UNANSWERED, PEOPLE DISAPPEAR.

Caption(Rumor): BUT AS HARD AS I TRY, I CAN'T FORGET THE ONLY ONE I REALLY WANT TO.

Caption(Rumor): THE ONE WHERE WE HAD TO KILL HIM.

Umbrella Academy – Umbrella Academy, Inc. – MK Stangeland Jr.

(5 Panels)

Panel 1: REGINALD HARGREEVES is in a meeting room with the members of the UMBRELLA ACADEMY.

REGINALD: Children, I have an important announcement for you today.

Panel 2: View of the children of the UMBRELLA ACADEMY with their pre-announcement reactions. Generally, they’re not favorable ones.

REGINALD: I have brought a new partner onboard to assist here at the Umbrella Academy.

Panel 3: Back to REGINALD, who is oblivious to how the children are reacting.

REGINALD (1): He is a researcher I believe I can hold in the highest regard, and with his background in biology, I believe he will be able to help us gain a greater understanding of your powers.

REGINALD (2): If I may introduce…

Panel 4: View of a doorway, where ALBERT WESKER is standing. The lighting and panel angle should make him look particularly malevolent.

REGINALD: (Off-Panel) Mr. ALBERT WESKER.

WESKER: Hmm…Hell-o, child-ren.

Panel 5: LUTHER HARGREEVES leans aside and whispers to one of the children next to him.

LUTHER: I think he might be evil.

(END PAGE)

Umbrella Academy -Destination Destiny -Dan Hill

My understanding of Umbrella Academy comes from a single read of the first trade a few years back. Apologies in advance if this has been covered in the subsequent series.

PAGE TWENTY TWO

Panel 1

Tight on a teenage SPACEBOY as he sits buckled up in a flight seat. He’s at an akward angle to us, his back (and the back of the seat) are on the bottom of the panel, orientation-wise. He’s wearing a 60’s era space suit, his head sticking out of the top of it. He’s not wearing a helmet.

Note: the two captions here are in different colours to separate them.

http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/352/cache/history-human-space-suits-alan-shepard-mercury-freedom-7_35267_600x450.jpg

JOURNALIST (CAPTION): “What was the appeal of space? For you personally, I mean.”

SPACEBOY (CAPTION): “Paris. It started in Paris.”

Panel 2

We stick with the same viewpoint here. Spaceboy is now turned towards us slightly.

SPACEBOY (CAPTION): “I saw that...ship just blast off into the unknown.”

Panel 3

The same viewpoint, a look of awe now etched on Spaceboy’s face, as he turns towards us fully.

SPACEBOY (CAPTION): “For all my strength, for all my power that damn ship was in a realm that seemed beyond my grasp.”

Panel 4

The rest of the page is taken up by this huge panel. We’re looking out of a viewing port from Spaceboy’s POV. We can see the curvature and surface of Mars in its beautiful, rust-coloured glory spread out before us. Above it the infinite void glistens like diamonds on black velvet.

SPACEBOY (CAPTION): “Beyond my imagination, even.”

SPACEBOY (CAPTION): “I had to go there.”

Panel 5

Inset panel on the bottom right of Panel 4. A close up on Spaceboy from the neck up as he smiles.

SPACEBOY (CAPTION): “Whatever the cost.”

The Umbrella Academy - Man's Best Fiend - Grant McLaughlin

1 - Number Five is tied to a chair in a dark room, blindfolded.  His body is bloodied and bruised, but his spirit remains defiant.

NUMBER FIVE: Is that the best you've got?

2 - A table filled with torture devices (and makeshift torture devices).  Knives, saws, pokers, prodders, and pretty much anything you can imagine would be lying there.  They are far from clean, with many showing noticeable wear and rust.

NUMBER FIVE (off-panel): This is a joke.

3 - Number Five continues to yell towards his aggressor.  A shadowed figure (said aggressor), cloaked in shadow, walks up behind Number Five.

NUMBER FIVE: Do you have any idea of what I can do to you?!

4 - Close-up of Number Five's face - specifically the blindfold.  Be close enough that the next panel the repeats this angle will only get one eye.  The aggressor has his hand around the blindfold and is in the process of taking it off.  The aggressor's hand is monstrously huge, clawed, and covered in hair.

AGGRESSOR: Believe me.

5 - Reveal panel.  Our mystery aggressor is none other than Number Five's pet dog, Mr. Pennycrumb!  Only Mr. Pennycrumb is now a huge, mutated beast of monstrous (humanoid) proportions.  His body is covered in terribly scars and burns.  Some body parts have been replaced in favour of cybernetic limbs.  He has a crazy look in his eyes and bares his fangs menacingly, spittle dripping from them.  As well, he still wears the blue collar that Number Five bought him in Dallas.  He looms over Number Five, holding the blindfold in his hand.

MR. PENNYCRUMB: I know all too well.

6 - Close-up of Number Five's now uncovered eye.  It is wide with horror.

NUMBER FIVE (quietly): ...Mr. Pennycrumb.  But you were...

7 - Mr. Pennycrumb snarls maliciously.  He reaches behind him towards the table full of torture tools.

MR. PENNYCRUMB: Never mind the past.  This is about the here and now.

8 - Mr. Pennycrumb's monstrous hand reaches over the bloody table from panel 2.  It hovers above, casting a huge shadow over the implements.  Mr. Pennycrumb's word balloon grows jagged and larger as it goes from left to right to illustrate his increasing rage.

MR. PENNYCRUMB (tail-less): And let me tell you...

9 - Shot of Number Five, echoing the first panel.  Only this time, he looks quite terrified - that spirt isn't doing so well.  Mr. Pennycrumb stands before him, but he is off-panel.  Instead, Number Five is engulfed by the enormous shadow that Mr. Pennycrumb casts over him.  Things look bad.  Mr. Pennycrumb's word balloon is large and full-on jagged, as his rage is being unleashed.

MR. PENNYCRUMB: Things are going to get rough!

The Umbrella Academy - The Middle Ground - Ben Rosenthal

1.  A close up of The Séance (Klaus Hargreeves).  He sits in an alley in the rain.  Water pours down on him, but he is too lost in his thoughts to care. 

CAPTION (Klaus)

I was never The Monocal’s favourite.

Nor his least worthy.

2.  Same framing as Panel one, but Klaus is now looking to the rain.  He is lost in memories and looks much older than we last saw him.

CAPTION (Klaus)

And that’s the worst part.  Being number four of seven means I never excelled or was despised.  I simply existed.  Stuck In the middle where nobody took notice.

3.  Klaus is beginning to stand now, but we are still tight on his chest up.

CAPTION (Klaus)

I thought death would bring something different.  Either Heaven or Hell awaited, and both rejected me.

4.  A full body shot of Klaus standing in the alley.  A sword had gone clean through his stomach.  It is soaked with blood, as are Klaus’ clothes.  He seems unaffected.

CAPTION (Klaus)

And now here I am, stuck in the middle again.

5.  Klaus has pulled out the sword.

KLAUS

Hrn.

6.  A close up of Klaus again, similar framing to Panel 1.

CAPTION (Klaus)

Until the end.

The Umbrella Academy – I Heard A Rumor – Shaun Richens.

PAGE ONE – 6 PANELS.

1.1 Wide.  THE RUMOR walks down the steps of the Hargreeves mansion. Her shadow falls long across the lawn as the light from the house seeps out into the blank starkness of the cold evening.

NO COPY.

1.2 The feet of The Rumor as she walks across the grass away from us towards the base plinth of a large stone statue that stands alone and tall in the centre of the empty garden. (The Statue is out of frame.)

NO COPY.

1.3 Close up on The Rumor. Her face half in shadow, her eyes closed tight.

THE RUMOR: I heard a rumor…

1.4 Wide. The Rumor on her knees at the base of the memorial statue of her adopted brother BEN HARGREEVES (THE HORROR) the stature shows him in mask and cape, his hero look. Large tentacles sprout from the torso of the stone statue.

We are looking up at the statue as The Rumor looks down at the ground unable to look at her dear brother.

THE RUMOR (Small) : …That you didn’t die

1.5 Tight on The Rumor, we see half her face and one of her shoulders. Her eye is wide open, a tear filling in the corner. Her mouth has dropped and is as dry as the sun. A man’s hand rests on her shoulder.  

THE RUMOR: Ben?

1.6 Pull out. The Rumor is still on her knees. The Kraken (Diego Hargreeves) stands behind her his hand on her shoulder.

The Rumor quietly weeps into her hands.

KRAKEN: Even you can’t fix this one kid. 

Why The Umbrella Academy?

Why The Umbrella Academy for my pick this week? Well because I used to be a snobby geek and this comic helped me stop that. 

The only reason I read the first trade for this book was so I could say it was terrible and have evidence to back it up. I was a snobby nerd in my youth and figured the only reason Gerard Way was getting to write a comic was because he was in a popular band, (a band I didn’t care for.)

I read a copy of the book and when I was finished I thought, “Wow this is a great book”, wait what, no I must have been mistaken surely it couldn’t be great. So I read it again…

Damn, it was even better the second time around.  The story was the X-Men by way of Hellboy with a big helping of pulp. The story was everything I had ever wanted from a comic, it was action, adventure with strange superheroes, it felt fresh and oh so cool, like someone had written a comic just for me, It just so happened that someone was Gerard Way.

Oh man and the art! This was the first time I was introduced to Gabriel Bá. His style was unlike any of the house style stuff at the big two. He drew with flair and passion like a Saturday morning cartoon on shrooms. Within ten pages the dude had shown me a wrestler battling a space squid, kids fighting a monument brought to life and a zombie robot. He instantly entered my top five favorite comic artists ever (and remains there to this day.)

I had learnt my lesson, a hard one for a snot nosed teenage comic fan to learn, but an important one, The Umbrella Academy taught me to never pre judge something. Everything creative should be judged on its own merits.

So I didn’t like My Chemical Romance (Gerard Way’s band) so what. I don’t like the way my mum cooks her bacon I still bloody love her.

Tail between my legs and humbled by this incident I swallowed my nerdish pride and added the second mini series to my pull list, never to pre judge again.

And so this week I ask all my fellow tenured writers of Thought-balloons and all of you who want to play along at home to write some awesome comics so maybe we can teach a lesson or two…

Mr. Way I am sorry good sir.

Zod – Year One – Brian Manton

Issue 1, Page 15

Notes: This is a bit of a retrofit/elseworlds history of Zod which uses some pre & post crisis storylines.  Jax-Ur has been imprisoned for destroying Krypton's moon (and the lunar colony of Kandor along with it) during an attempt at outlawed interstellar space travel.

1.
Kryptonian jail cell. A purple energy field buzzes across the entrance.

JAX-UR sits on the floor, in the rounded corner of the barren room, his knees tucked into his chest.  With a hopeless expression, he looks up toward ZOD.

Zod stands outside the cell, with his arms behind his back.  He wears a Kryptonian military uniform.

Zod:  You've heard of this "Phantom Zone" Jor-El has been playing with? Well, I've suggested a use for it. They're going lock you up in there, Jax-Ur.

2.
Zod switches off the cell energy barrier with the control panel on the wall. He maintains eye contact with Jax-Ur, who has gotten up off the floor and looks to Zod with a glimmer of hope.

Zod: Be grateful. If not for me you'd already have been launched into space with a crystal in your brain.

Jax-Ur:  Do... do you believe me? The sabotage?

3.
Zod has entered the cell. His eyes look up and to his left, as he thinks. Jax-Ur is confused.

Zod:  They call me General, but do not let me command my men as an army.

Zod (linked):  The Council refuse to act on sound intelligence.

4.
Zod stands in front of Jax-Ur, looming over him.  Jax-Ur is terrified.

Zod:  Mark me, Jax-Ur... the Coluan was coming for Kandor.

Zod (linked):  I was not going to let him take it.

5.
Jax-Ur has backed away, horrified.  Zod clenches his fists.

Zod:  The Council appointed me to defend Krypton because they knew I could act where others would falter.

Zod(linked):  I will bring war to Colu.

6.
Close on Zod - his eyes narrow, determined.

Zod:  That's where your spaceships come in.

General Zod - Father's Day - Ray Wonsowski

(...ok, had a hard time this week, was originally going to do a joke page; Zod hosting Saturday Night Live with Neil Young as a musical guest..."No, no, not after, Neil before Zod"...anyway, then my brother, pw!, the artist, came and visited for Father's Day weekend.  He drew a picture for my boys, that they colored, which was so cool to me, I am using it as my first panel.  So without further ado, the Wonsowski family jam...)

Layout:
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Panel 1 - A crystal room on planet Krypton.  GENERAL ZOD fights JOR-EL, punching him in the face:

ZOD:  Betrayer!

Panel 2 - JOR-EL is on the crystal floor, ZOD is straddling JOR-EL, strangling him, his hands about the scientist's throat.

ZOD:  By obeying the Council's edict, you have doomed all of Krypton!

ZOD:  I could have saved them all!  I could have led Krypton to a new dawn!

Panel 3 - JOR-EL, still being strangled, grabs onto a long, slender crystal in desperation.  ZOD screams, spitting in his foe's face.

ZOD:  You have killed us all!!  

ZOD:  Me!  You!  Your wife!

Panel 4 - JOR-EL, off-panel, breaks the heavy crystal over ZOD's head, knocking him unconscious.

ZOD:  Your s--

SoundFX:  KrAK

Panel 5 - Foreground, ZOD facedown on the floor, out cold.  Background, JOR-EL, a couple of COUNSELORS, and their personal ELITE GUARD, stand over him.  One COUNSELOR rests his hand on JOR-EL's shoulder; JOR-EL looks at it in disgust as he rubs his neck.

COUNSELOR:  He would have thrown the whole of this world into panic and chaos.

JOR-EL:  He would have executed you as traitors, for keeping those you serve ignorant of this planet's destruction.

JOR-EL:  And I am not wholly convinced that he is wrong...

(BIG thank-you's to Nikolas, Victor, and Uncle Peter for the art-assist this week, the inspiration for this week's script, and the most neat-o Father's Day ever!)

(Oh, and also my wife, Sonnia - thanks for the kids!)

General Zod - Brains and Brawn - Niel Jacoby

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Panel 1: Kel-Dar, Krypton's leading cyberneticist is working in his study late at night.

SFX: KNOK KNOK KNOK

Panel 2: Kel-Dar answers the door. Krypton's military leader, the esteemed General Dru-Zod, is standing before him, flanked by his flunkies.

Zod: HELLO, KEL-DAR  I HAVE BUSINESS TO DISCUSS, AND I'D PREFER TO DISCUSS IT MORE PRIVATELY.

Panel 3: Kel-Dar is still at the door, considering what Zod has said.

Zod: ...

(LINK)

YOU ARE GOING TO INVITE ME IN.

Inset panel: Zod enters, leaving his flunkies outside.

Zod: THANK YOU FOR YOUR HOSPITALITY.

Panel 4: Zod and Kel-Dar are sitting in Kel-Dar's living room. Kel-Dar is sitting in his chair, while Zod is just sort of sit-leaning on his armrest to sort of appear more physically dominant.

Zod: NOW, ABOUT THIS BUSINESS. YOU'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON THE PLANETARY CENTRAL PLANNING SYSTEM, CODENAMED B.R.A.N.I.A.C.. YOU'RE GOING TO FIND A WAY TO WEAPONIZE IT, AND YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE IT TO THE KRYPTONIAN MILITARY.

(LINK)

I ASSUME YOU'LL BE WANTING COMPENSATION FOR YOUR WORK. CONSIDER NOT BEING BATTERED SENSELESS BY THE MEN OUTSIDE THE DOOR YOUR COMPENSATION.

(LINK)

NO QUESTIONS. GOOD.

Panel 5: Zod is walking out the door, his flunkies at his sides. We can see Kel-Dar still in his chair, looking towards the door.

Zod: WE HAVE AN AGREEMENT. MEN, SHOW HIM HIS PLACE.

Panel 6: Kel-Dar is getting up from his chair, panicked.

Kel-Dar: I THOUGHT WE HAD A DEAL!

Panel 7: We see Zod through the doorway.

Zod: WE DO.

Panel 8: Zod walks away, as the door closes. We're still seeing him through the doorway.

Zod: THEY'RE ONLY GOING TO BEAT YOU HALF-SENSELESS.

General Zod - There But For the Grace of Zod - J.D. Coughlan

Panel 1: Zod stands, his back to us, gazing out a window contemplatively, his hands behind his back. Out the window, we see a shining, futuristic city. In the reflection, we see that Zod is older now; grey-haired. We also see Superman (referred to here as Kal-El) in a military uniform behind him, at attention.

KAL-EL: Imperator Zod? The people are ready for your annual Colonisation Day speech.

ZOD: I was just thinking, General El...

Panel 2: Over Kal-El's shoulder. Zod has half-turned from the window to face him. Zod's expression is still contemplative.

ZOD: Every year on this day, I find myself pondering... What would have happened to us had my... revolution not been successful?

Panel 3: Close on Kal-El. He remains at attention, but is slightly troubled by the question.

KAL-EL: Our race would have perished along with our original home, Imperator. We never would have come here, overthrown the impure Xudarians, and turned their world into our glorious Neo-Krypton.

Panel 4: Zod starts walking towards Kal-El, an ever-so-slight smug grin on his face.

ZOD: Hm. Our short-sighted former rulers failed to see that Kryptonian greatness lies not in our soil but in our blood.

Panel 5: Zod is now in the foreground, with Kal-El following him out the door. Zod has a more sinister grin on his face, unseen by Kal-El.

KAL-EL: Yes, Imperator. It is only a tragedy you were unable to save my mother and father before those fascists executed them.

ZOD: Indeed... Such a pity about that...

END OF PAGE

ZOD – Kneel Off – MK Stangeland Jr.

(3 Panels)

Panel 1: Large panel – not splash page size, but should occupy the majority of the page.

ZOD is facing off against LOKI – a large number of LOKIs. These are illusions being created by the real one, and as such are mostly just standing around, looking intimidating, and shouting at ZOD.

ZOD, on the other hand, is attacking the illusions in an effort to get LOKI to kneel by force.

ZOD (1): KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!

LOKI ILLUSION 1: You first, you contemptuous brute.

ZOD (2): You will kneel before me!

LOKI ILLUSION 2: I’ll remember that once I have you on your knees.

Panel 2: A long-distance view of the events from PANEL 1 as being viewed through a pair of opera glasses.

ZOD: KNEEL!

SFX: *munch*munch*

LEX LUTHOR: (Off-panel) I must admit, Loki…

Panel 3: LOKI and LEX LUTHOR are in an office building, looking through the window at the scene from PANEL 1. They are sitting in high-class executive chairs and LOKI is viewing the scene through opera glasses while LEX LUTHOR is using some standard binoculars.

LOKI is busy chewing on some popcorn, but holds the bowl he’s been eating out of to the side as he offers some to LUTHOR.

LEX LUTHOR (1): …you certainly know how to entertain.

LOKI: *munch*Popcorn?*munch*

LEX LUTHOR (2): No, I’ll pass.

(END PAGE)

Zod -Inspection -Dan Hill

PAGE ONE

Panel 1

We're inside a barracks. The room is sparse, all white space. The only furnishings are a row of beds either side. In front of each bed stands a young RECRUIT, all of them wearing dark all in one jumpsuits. Amongst them is a young ZOD.

At the end of the room, REX-UR, the drill instructor, begins his inspection.

He cuts an imposing figure, tall with a buzz cut and razor sharp cheekbones. Every cadet is frozen in fear.

CAPTION: Military Academy, Krypton.

Panel 2

Inset: Close up on a young ZOD standing to attention. He looks visibly nervous and has several bruises on his face.

ZOD(CAPTION): Once, even I knew fear.

Panel 3

Wide: a profile shot of Rex-Ur as he begins to walk down the like of recruits.

ZOD(CAPTION): I saw it wielded as a powerful weapon...

Panel 4

Rex-Ur has now turned, facing us.

ZOD(CAPTION): I saw it shape and twist minds.

Panel 5

Tight on Zods reaction, sweat forming on his brow.

ZOD(CAPTION): Especially weak ones.

Panel 6

On Rex-Ur's feet as he clicks his boots together.

SFX: Click

Panel 7

Wide: a reverse shot of the first panel, now looking towards the opposite end of the room. Rex-Ur stands ramrod straight.

All of the recruits lined up by their beds, including Zod, are now kneeling.

ZOD(CAPTION): It's something I never forgot.

Zod - Before - Ben Rosenthal

1. A line of people in a grown room. It stretches the length of the panel. The first two people on the left hand side of the line are kneeling, with the third person beginning to crouch, getting ready for his turn to kneel.


2. The line continue, but with the person who was on the far right of the previous panel's line now kneeling, with others after him getting ready to kneel.


3. Different people again in the same line. Towards the end of the line stands Superman. Next to him is Zod.


4. Everyone up to Superman is kneeling. Supes is not. He is standing, staring straight ahead. Zod is looking at him. He cannot believe the arrogance of Superman.


5. Same as the panel above with Supes still looking ahead, not kneeling. Zod has his hand to his mouth, coughing in an effort for Supes to kneel.

ZOD
Ahem.

6.  Same as Panel 5, but Zod is facing front now.  He is muttering to himself.

ZOD
Jerk.

Zod – Crown Me Your Father- Shaun Richens.

PAGE ONE – 5 PANELS.

1.1 Wide. The Lincoln Memorial Statue. GENERAL ZOD stands with his back to us, his hands crossed behind his back. He looks up at Lincoln.

CAPTION: Six days from now.

ZOD: This piece of stone is nothing compared to the works they will craft of me.

1.2 Zod has turned. He now looks down at SUPERMAN who is on his knees, his hands behind his back, they are lashed together with chains made of red kryptonite.

ZOD: Despite what strength you think you have Kal-El.

1.3 Tight profile shot of Zod and Superman. Zod cups Superman’s face by the chin and pulls his face close to his.

ZOD: Really you are just as weak as the fools you look to protect Clark.

1.4 The kneeling figure of Superman can be seen behind Zod as he walks away leaving Superman in the shadow of the Lincoln statue. Zod floats just off the ground his arms outstretched.

ZOD: You will always live in the shadow of Jor-el and old Krypton.

ZOD: Whilst I shall bask in the glow of my new Krypton.  

1.5 Wide. The Washington Monument stands tall to the right of panel as we look out across the reflecting pool towards the Lincoln Memorial. A massive crowd of thousands of people fills up every space around the pool they all kneel.

General Zod floats high above the steps leading up to the Lincoln statue his arms out stretched.

ZOD: Rise before Zod and crown me your father and ruler of new Krypton.

Why Zod?

When you think of the Man of Steel a whole plethora of sinister and powerful villains come to mind, Darkseid, Bizarro, Brainiac, Lex Luthor, and whilst all of these characters bring out something different in the big blue boy scout it is only General Dru-Zod who holds a mirror up to him. Zod is the flip side to the same coin as Superman. He is the reflection of how Earth would be different if it was another Kryptonian who had fallen to our planet, or if Ma and Pa Kent hadn’t been the ones to find baby Kal-El. Zod is the fear inside Clark that his power may corrupt him.

Zod was originally a small time Superboy villain. It wasn’t until the movie Superman II when actor Terence Stamp brought the character to life on the silver screen that he got a creative boost comic side. Now some of the best comic creators have taken the reigns of the Kryptonian General, from John Byrne to Steve Gerber, and Geoff Johns and Jeph Loeb, all of them have had him face of with the last son of Krypton.

But now with the release of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel movie we are left with only two options, we either take to our knees to kneel before the feet of Zod or we stand up and meet the new face of the General. Either way it is up to us Thoughtballoons writers and all those who want to enter the fray at home to choose. 

Storm – Toward Liberty Square – Brian Manton

1.
Aerial view of Cairo, where we see two bridges over the Nile river - the Qasr al-Nil Bridge and the 6th October Bridge. Thousands of protesters gather at the west side, trying to gain crossing en route to Tahrir Square.

TEXT:  Cairo, January 28, 2011.

CAP:  You wouldn't believe it unless you were here. I mean, there's clips on YouTube but you can't really make it out.

2.
Shot of the western entrance to the Qasr al-Nil Bridge [reference below].

Riot police have the entrance completely sealed off with four green personnel carriers. Protestors, men and women from young to old, surround.

A protestor has climbed onto one of the personnel carriers. A policeman reaches for his leg. Another man rallies the protestors with a bullhorn, waving them forward. Some of the protestors are clearly injured. Spent tear gas canisters litter the ground.

One man, with a red scarf wrapped around his mouth, stands defiantly atop one of the lion statues that mark the entrance to the bridge, as the clouds of tear gas are taken away in the wind.

CAP:  Just as it was looking like they would push us back, a wind blew up from nowhere and cleared out the tear gas.

3.
View from the entrance to Qasr al-Nil Bridge, looking up the road towards the 6th October Bridge where a mini storm cloud forms - black spiral tendrils compiling. This bridge is also blockaded by riot police and swarmed with protestors - this detail will be quite small in the distance, but if the crowds can be indicated it should be sufficient.

CAP:  Then we heard this noise - this thunder.

CAP:  Up at the entrance to 6th October Bridge we see a black cloud just sort of - forming.

4.
The west side of October 6th Bridge [reference below]. This bridge is much wider and is not adorned with statues.
Lightning strikes an empty vehicle on the bridge and it bursts into flames. Riot police jump for cover. Protestors cheer and push forward. We see people climbing the vehicle blockade. The disarrayed riot police do their best to hold the protestors at bay - some attack violently with their batons. The rain pours down.

CAP:  And... KRAK!

CAP:  The protesters just poured onto the bridge.

5.
Back at Qasr al-Nil Bridge west entrance. In the bkg we can see that 6th October Bridge is in sunshine again. The cloud has moved down here now. The protestors rejoice and cheer as they get soaked in the heavy rain and wind. In the bkg the riot police have regrouped nearer their blockade and are not attacking the protestors.

This panel has more focus on the protestors than previously. We can see their signs, placards (with both English and Arabic writing) and Egyptian flags. "GET OUT MUBARAK" "FREE EGYPT" "We want a FAIR election!"  [Further references below]

Amidst the crowd we see a young Ororo Monroe, around 10 years old. She wears a blue hoodie with a faded Nike swoosh. Her hood is down and her long white hair is heavy with rain. She stands behind one of the protestors and is reaching inside a slit in the underside of the front pocket of his backpack, taking out a wallet. She holds a box-cutter in her other hand - somewhat concealed by her sleeve.

She smiles widely. *Here's a difficult one to ask an artist for... try to show that she is not just happy about scoring the wallet. These are her people and she shares in their joy. It's not a mischievous smile. It is very genuine.

CAP:  The wind changed again and brought the cloud right above us.

CAP:  Someone shouted "Even the sky wants us to pass".

CAP:  We broke through Qasr al-Nil Bridge later that night.


##References:

Article with photos from the Qasr al-Nil Bridge on the day

Western end of Qasr al-Nil Bridge 

6th October Bridge (view from west side)

Protestors 1
Protestors 2

Storm - Thunder and Lightning - Niel Jacoby

Full splash: Storm and Jushin Thunder Liger standing back-to-back, surrounded by The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

Caption: SURROUNDED BY THE BROTHERHOOD, WITH ALL HER ALLIES OUT OF COMMISSION, CAN STORM, THE MISTRESS OF METEOROLOGICAL MAYHEM, TEAM UP WITH JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER, THE MASTER OF THE SHOOTING STAR PRESS AND THREE-TIME BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS CHAMPION, TO SAVE THE EARTH FROM ULTIMATE DOOM?

Caption: CONTINUE ON AND SEE, GOOD READER, IN THIS STORMALICIOUS 3-PART NOVEL:

Story logo: THUNDER AND LIGHTNING!

Storm - Weather-Beaten - J.D. Coughlan

Four long horizontal panels.

Panel 1: Close-up of Storm. She looks exhausted, anguished, defeated. Rain pours down on her face.

STORM (CAP): I can tame the elements.

Panel 2: Medium shot of Storm. We now see she is on her hands and knees in a field of green grass. Rain pours down on her.

STORM (CAP): I can make wind and rain and hail and thunder and lightning do my bidding.

Panel 3: Wide shot of Storm. The field, and the rain, stretches far.

STORM (CAP): But my powers are useless against the uncontrollable chaos I now face.

Panel 4: Very wide shot. Storm is almost a dot now, but still identifiable. We now see a road next to the field. In the foreground, next to the road, is a large sign which reads:

SCOTLAND
welcomes you
ceud mìle fàilte

STORM (CAP): I have met my match.

END OF PAGE

Storm – A Cool Southern Breeze - Shaun Richens.

This would be drawn my Sean Murphy in an ideal world.

PAGE 1 – 7 PANELS.

1.1 Wide. The bleak white expanse of Antarctica, the sky is nearly as clear and white as the blanket of snow on the ground. A row of bright orange and yellow tents dots the horizon, standing tall behind them is a selection of HALLEY VI ANTARTIC RESEARCH STATIONS, in blues and oranges. To one side of the research station is a DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR.

Researcher BROOKS (Coming from inside the research station): I think this might work.

1.2 Pulling inside the research station. A group of researchers huddle around a sleek, futuristic looking monitor. Researcher Brooks sits centrally to the monitor.

The screen displays a weather radar image of the local area. The image shows a large swirling blue weather cloud-moving in. (Reference something like this.)

RESEARCHER BROOKS: This is unprecedented. Fisher, check the scans.

1.3 Tight on RESEARCHER FISHER, she looks astonished. Her breath clouds up as she speaks.

FISHER: No need to check the scans. But we might want to turn the heating up.

1.4 Close up on the thermostat built into the wall. The thermostat reads - 57°C

NO COPY

1.5 A Polar bear stands on a tall and thin piece of ice in the middle of the ocean. His four paws close together as he tries to stay balanced. The bear looks down worried towards the ocean below.

NO COPY.

1.6 The Polar Bear suddenly has more room as the ice grows and forms a mini ice island. The bear looks up towards the suddenly dark sky.

NO COPY.

1.7 Wide. STORM floats in the air over the ocean. Her cape and Mohawk sway in the strong winds that she whips around herself. Dark clouds form overhead and large snowflakes are falling.

ICEMAN (Bobby) skates over the ocean on a path made of thick ice. From his hands he sprays even more ice this is the source of the bears new island.

STORM: You feeling the breeze yet Bobby?

ICEMAN: I might break a sweat I’m so hot.

STORM: Always with the smart mouth young man.

Storm – Check – MK Stangeland Jr.

(NAMOR the SUB-MARINER is on the verge of one of his ‘Invade the surface world!’ binges again.)

(10 Panels)

(Since this page probably looks a little crowded, I’m trying my hand at one of those panel guidelines for it to help show how I’m thinking it might all be able to fit.)

1122

1133

4567

899(10)

Panel 1: NAMOR is storming down a beach and halfway into the water. STORM has flown to put herself in NAMOR’s path.

STORM: Namor, STOP!

NAMOR: Stand aside, woman.

Panel 2: NAMOR sweeps his hand aside to try to signal for STORM to get out of his way.

NAMOR: You may control the weather, but I rule the sea!

Panel 3: Upward angled view of STORM as her eyes begin to glow, intended to make her look more intimidating. Above her, the sky begins to darken and clouds begin to form.

STORM: You doubt my powers out here?

Panel 4: Wide view of the surrounding area as a miniature hurricane – miniature as in about as covering as small an area as is possible – begins to form around the two.

Panel 5: View from inside a nearby city as people begin to look towards the direction of the uniquely small storm that’s begin to form off in the distance and the clouds that hang above in the sky. While the winds aren’t very violent around them, there is sign that there’s far lesser winds affecting them as well.

Panel 6: View from space of the general area surrounding where NAMOR and STORM are standing, where it’s seen that as small as the storm is, the clouds that are forming around it can still be seen from space.

Panel 7: Image of a news program, where an anchor is sitting at a desk with a picture of a hurricane up over his shoulder.

NEWS ANCHOR: This just in, there are reports of a freak, miniature hurricane forming…

Panel 8: Panel returns to NAMOR as he stands in the middle of the storm. He looks around, but in typical NAMOR style, he appears unphased by STORM’s display.

Panel 9: The hurricane begins to break up as STORM lets her powers subside. The white is gone from her eyes and there is now a smile on her face.

STORM: Glad to know you’re able to listen to reason, Namor.

NAMOR: Of course…

Panel 10: STORM flies back past NAMOR towards shore with the expectation that he intends to follow her. She’s largely off-panel at the moment, though, as it largely focuses on NAMOR, who is still standing in the water. He turns so that he can watch as STORM flies past her, the intent being that he’s ‘checking her out’. There might be a small, cartoonish style heart over his head to help emphasize the point that her display caused him to become smitten with her.

NAMOR: …what kind of king would I be otherwise?

(END PAGE)