Wednesday, August 19, 2015

A Trio of Photos – Life Finds a Way – MK Stangeland Jr.

(9 Panels)

Panel 1: A small, quaint village in Europe, in ye olden medieval days. It should appear to be a very recent development, having hardly had an opportunity to really establish itself yet. The SUN and MOON are positioned overhead in a way that lines up with future panels to gives the impression of the passage of a great deal of time.

Panel 2: The same village, having matured into a small town. Included is a stone church building featured at the center, with a city square in front of it. It is a small, but booming community. SUN and MOON overhead line up to show the continued passage of time.

Panel 3: Disaster Strikes! – the town has been hit by the BLACK PLAGUE, and hard. It is a town that is falling apart and on life support, but not quite dead yet.

The SUN and MOON continue to pass overhead as time keeps going.

Panel 4: Years later – the town has stabilized from the PLAGUE, and shows the earliest signs of recovery.

The SUN and MOON continue to pass overhead as time keeps going.

Panel 5: The RENAISSANCE has arrived – the town has not only recovered from the PLAGUE, it has grown well beyond its pre-PLAUGE size, into a small city.

The SUN and MOON, of course, continue to pass overhead.

Panel 6: The near future – the community is now a city of significant size, and shows touches of futuristic elements.

The SUN and MOON continue on their way.

Panel 7: Once again, Disaster Strikes. Off in the distance, we see a mushroom cloud form as the city is hit by a nuclear explosion, unleashing total destruction.

The SUN and MOON pay this no mind, continuing to pass overhead.

Panel 8: The former city, in a post-apocalyptic state. It is a wasteland of devastation, with ruined buildings and no signs of life. By all accounts, the place looks completely dead.

The SUN and MOON keep moving.

Panel 9: A town reborn! A small post-apocalyptic survivor community, on par with the size present in PANEL 1, has set up in the ruins of the old world, though it’s difficult to tell their actual size given the remains that still stand. Signs of new plant and animal life are present as well, but should be minor touches indicating that it’s a very new, very recent development.

The SUN and the MOON continue to move as they have since the beginning.


(END PAGE)

4 comments:

  1. The rise and fall and rise again of a civilisation in 9 panels - damn impressive work MK. I would love to know where the germ of the idea for this story came from. Again like Grants page this is something I don't think I'd have ever come up with. Wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It came from the way you arranged the photos you selected, which I saw as portraying a small three-part story in and of itself - civilization at it's peak (full modern-day subway system), fallen civilization (empty ruined church(?) which invoked memories of Fallout 3), and those who remain (a rugged back alley with a man looking like he's ready to fight for survival).

      What I did was effectively take the story I already saw, then expanded upon and 'clarified' it.

      Delete
  2. I like the little story of this town's (extended) history that you evoke here. It's simple, but manages to convey a lot. The only thing I don't understand is how the sun and moon are supposed to be moving in order to convey the passage of time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A fair point on the 'moving' sun and moon, and it's not an easy thing to depict in a static comic panel. I probably do write my comic script in more of an 'animated' style where I envision actual motion happening than is beneficial to writing comic pages.

      What I'd imaging using to get the moving sun and moon across would be the sun and the moon being shown multiple times in each panel in a sun-moon-sun-moon type pattern, arranged in an arc designed to replicate the usual sun and moon path as they travel in the sky.

      It might not have quite the effect I'm imagining, but I'm hoping that if it were actually visual it would get across the basic idea.

      Delete

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