Mortimer the Magnificent, a failed stage magician who made a deal with the devil (not the literal one - at least probably not) to gain dark magic powers to get his revenge on Harry Dresden, as Mortimer blames his failures as a pretend magician on Harry's status as a real one. We're right around the climax, where Mortimer has Harry on the ropes and decides to explain his (admittedly somewhat lame) motivations. This page is Harry's response.
Panel 1 is an inset panel in the top corner of panel 2, which takes up the top portion of the page. The middle portion is panel 3, which is made up of smaller micro-panels that run the width of the page. Finally, panels 4 and 5 make up the remainder of the page (they could even be done so that Mortimer and Harry are facing each other directly with the space between them cut out by the gutter).
1 - Inset panel. A close-up of Harry Dresden opening his eye.
DRESDEN: What?
2 - A stage. We're in the auditorium where Mortimer did all of his performances. Mortimer stands on one end, his formerly shabby uniform transformed into a dark and malevolent equivalent through his actions and new found powers. He is summoning some of the power currently, as an aura of darkness emerges from his arms and body, travels the length of the stage and appears to be holding Harry down / crushing him. Harry doesn't look great, the damage and violence of the fight wearing on him.
DRESDEN: You summoned a dread being, made an unholy bargain, and promised it the souls of half of Chicago because you can't trick people into enjoying your magic shows?
3 - A group of five micro-panels showing Harry force his way past Mortimer's dark power back onto his own feet. The darkness should remain around Harry, but as the panels progress, his determination and anger increase with each one.
3.1 - Harry is still lying down, the darkness surrounding him. However, he has managed to raise his head from the ground to look at Mortimer.
DRESDEN: That, my friend...
3.2 - Harry is elbowing himself up to a sitting position.
DRESDEN: ...is one of the dumbest things...
3.3 - Harry is now in that sitting position, one leg bending to move it beneath himself.
DRESDEN: ...that I have ever heard.
3.4 - Harry crouches, nearly back to his feet.
NO COPY
3.5 - Harry is back standing. His face remains gritted with the effort, but he also looks mad as hell.
DRESDEN: Ever.
4 - Switch back to Mortimer. A combination of fear, frustration, and anger washes over his face. He maintains the spell against Harry, but it doesn't seem to be accomplishing much.
MORTIMER: No! I was promised enough power to destroy you! This is impossible!
5 - Back to Harry. He's mad. He has his staff drawn, holding it at his side in a ready position. The darkness seems to already be abating somewhat.
DRESDEN (1): What's impossible is how stupid you are.
DRESDEN (2): But don't worry, I'll put a stop to that shortly.
I don't know why, but Mortimer reminds me of Dr. Doofenschmirtz from Phineas and Verb, where he explains to Perry his latest peeve-destroy-inator, because he can't stand clog dancing, or tree-shaped deodorizers, or adult contemporary music... Good fun set-up. The last lines though, fall a touch flat, was hoping for something "badder". Neat tale to be sure...
ReplyDeleteEh, I've heard dumber. Seems right about in line with your typical motivations for 'Supervillain who wants nothing more than revenge'.
ReplyDelete