Previously: Jack Ryder has been split from his alter ego, the Creeper, by Shade the Changing Man, but with the wrong mind in the wrong body. This has been done under the guise of a medical trial, but may be mystic in origin, as the main researchers have been using black diamonds to separate people's "shadow aspects" from their minds in order to explore the afterlife.
Layout: ok, try to think of this as one of those classic Dr. Strange pages, the ones with no borders, but changes POV and creates an overall story flow. This is a realm of magick, so the artist can go as abstract and geometric as he wants for backgrounds, maybe with a few Batman '66 camera angles mixed in to keep everything off kilter. Last element should be straightforward, though...
Upper-left corner - HARRY DRESDEN, dressed in a cheap gray suit, no tie, stands in a doorway of light upon a band of energy, arms outstretched in mystic summoning.
DRESDEN: Lords of Order! Hear me, Dresden, your servant! Come forth and--
Upper-right corner - foreground, the profile of SAS combat magician WILLIAM GRAVEL, clean-shaven and white hair cropped close to the scalp, scowling as he shouts. Background, DRESDEN looks shocked at GRAVEL.
GRAVEL: Oy! Lords of Chaos, yada yada, wankers all, when Gravel speaks, ya bastards best come runnin'!
DRESDEN: ...Jesus, William...
Middle left - a glowing Metatron's Cube and a black gelatinous blob floating and looming large in the aether before DRESDEN and GRAVEL, foreground, who should be small silhouettes, to give the Lords a sense of scale.
LORD OF ORDER: IT DARES.
LORD OF CHAOS: iT thINxss to cOMmANd iTSss LOrDzzz...
DRESDEN: No! We only want to beg your wisdom--
GRAVEL: Idiots, both of ya! Your Creator's discarded Wrath is returned, and you daft buggers're frigging about protocol!
Middle right - DRESDEN (right) elbows GRAVEL (left) aside as he addresses the Lords. They should be looking up and off page at us.
DRESDEN: ...JEEsus, William! Please, Lords! We ask only to... It's time.
DRESDEN: Release your Avatars!
LORD OF CHAOS (off-panel): yEZss...ssO bE iT!
Bottom third of the page - Same POV as previous panel, but zoomed in to just head and shoulders. The light is brighter, but two bird-shaped shadows fall upon their faces, one on each, a raptor-like shape on GRAVEL's (who's grinning wide) and a smaller one over DRESDEN's (whose mouth is agape).
LORD OF ORDER (off-panel, above): SPIRITS OF WAR AND PEACE! SAY YOUR TRUE NAMES AND CLAIM YOUR RIGHTFUL POWER ONCE MORE!
(off-panel): HAWK!
(off-panel): DOVE!
...to be continued...
...to be continued...
There's part of me that feels like this should have gotten much harder to follow than it is right now, but I think you might be just on the right side of keeping it under control thus far.
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